Chapter 39: The Echo of Silence
The first thing Lyra Hale noticed was the silence.
It wasn't the empty silence of a barren place, nor the tense, waiting silence before an ambush. This was a deep, resonant quiet, broken only by the gentle sigh of wind through ancient pines and the distant chatter of a creek. It was a silence that allowed her to hear the beat of her own heart, steady and strong against the firm warmth of Kael's chest.
Dawn had painted the cabin in soft, honeyed light, stripes of gold falling across the rustic wooden floor and the tangled furs of their bed. She lay nestled against Kael, her head pillowed on his arm, her leg thrown possessively over his. The scent of him—pine, snow, and pure, dominant Alpha—was mingled with her own and the lingering aroma of their lovemaking. It was a perfume of peace, and she breathed it in as if it were her first true breath.
