NEVA POV
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Ryke didn't sleep for three days.
Not literally — his body forced brief, fitful rest eventually — but the specific hypervigilant wakefulness that had gripped him since the alarm sounded didn't release, not fully, not even once Ren was safely home and the immediate danger had passed.
I found him at her door on the fourth night, exactly where he'd been every night since, watching her sleep with an intensity that had nothing peaceful in it.
"You need rest," I said, coming to stand beside him.
"I can't," he said. "Every time I close my eyes I see the empty crib."
I understood. My wolf carried the same wound, waking me at odd hours with the specific echo of that morning's terror, refusing to fully release even now that Ren slept safely down the hall.
"We need to talk about
