-Sebastian Lightwood:
I didn't move from the chair when his breathing changed.
It was subtle at first, just a shift in rhythm, a deeper pull of air into his lungs. Then his fingers twitched against the blanket, knuckles flexing as if his body were remembering itself, remembering how to function and move. Elias was already on his feet before anyone else noticed, crossing the room in two uneven steps, his hands hovering as if he were afraid to touch.
"Dad?" His voice cracked on the word; something twisted painfully in my chest when I heard that wobble in his voice.
The Alpha's eyes fluttered, then opened fully. Clear. Awake. Too awake for a man who was supposed to be dying hours ago.
Elias made a broken sound and laughed and cried at the same time, dropping to his knees beside the bed. "You're— you're awake. You're okay, you're—" He pressed his forehead into his father's chest, arms wrapping tight around his dad like he was afraid he'd vanish again.
