We Could Die Chasing This Feeling

***Austin*** Once I feel able to get up, the walk back to the house feels longer than ever. Each step drags. My legs feel heavy, my chest hollow, the air itself weighing me down. Weaker. Like a part of me has been snatched away, leaving nothing but a man with a raw hollow, where a strong alpha once stood. Arguably... that is exactly what's happened. I stop suddenly, and turn to Amoya. She’s already watching me, still and knowing, the faint shimmer of knowledge behind her dark brown eyes. She’s Seen this interaction already. I can feel it in the way she waits. But she still needs me to ask, I still need to follow the thread. “Why?” I ask bluntly. She doesn’t hesitate; her answer is rewritten, of course. “What do Lycans prize above all else?” I almost laugh. “Their pack.” Her