Morning in Grimridge arrived slowly, the kind of quiet dawn that spread across the pack house in soft grey light before the sun ever touched the high ridges surrounding the territory. The stone walls of the Alpha's quarters held the night's warmth, the thick furs layered across the bed still carrying the heat of two bodies long after sleep had settled.
Sable woke before the sun. For a moment she didn't move. Her eyes remained closed as she listened to the steady rhythm of breathing beside her, letting herself linger in that strange space between sleep and awareness where instinct often spoke louder than thought.
