**DEREK POV**
I don’t feel it through the bond.
That’s the first thing that tells me something’s wrong.
I’m standing in my office with a mug of coffee I poured five minutes ago and haven’t touched. It’s gone lukewarm in my hand, that skin-warm temperature that makes it taste like regret if you drink it anyway. The kind that coats your tongue and reminds you of all the things you meant to do properly and didn’t. The blinds are half open. Morning light stripes the floor in neat lines that don’t match the mess in my head. Dust hangs in the air, visible only where the sun catches it, drifting lazily like nothing in the world is urgent.
I’ve already brushed my teeth, already showered, already gone through the motions of being an Alpha who starts his day like any other day. I stood under the
