The air at night felt heavy with smoke coming from the fires at the edge, but Evelyn could not fall asleep. She was standing on the deck of the Alpha's room, holding tightly to the cold stone as the moonlight made the pack lands look silver. Far away, small lights flickered on the horizon. They were too distant to be lights. Too uncontrolled. Too scattered. Fire. Fji was teasing her again, burning what he wasn't yet able to take.
Behind her, Damien moved in his sleep. His cough broke the silence, a sound she had started to hate hearing. She turned quickly, walking across the room to help him, putting her hand on his back as he struggled to breathe. He waved her away with a weak smile, too proud to accept pity, but the blood on the side of his mouth gave him away.
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," she whispered, wiping the red away with shaky fingers.
