Chapter 54: The Echoes of Dawn
Dawn did not intrude upon the Alpha's chambers; it seeped in, a gentle, gray light that slowly painted the room in muted tones. The silence was a living thing, comfortable and deep, woven from the threads of spent passion and hard-won peace. Kael awoke not with a start, but with a slow, dawning awareness. The first thing he felt was the weight of Lyra's head on his chest, the steady rhythm of her breath against his skin. The second was the absence of the gnawing, acidic dread that had plagued him since the Obsidian Outpost.
