Chapter 44

ALPHA LUCIUS’S POV

As consciousness washed over me like a slow-moving tide, I became aware of the emptiness beside me, the absence of Vesta's presence a stark reminder of the events that had transpired the night before. The sheets were cool beneath my fingertips, the remnants of her warmth lingering in the air like a fading echo.

I blinked against the morning light filtering through the window, the soft glow of dawn casting shadows across the room. Time had slipped away from me, lost amidst the depths of slumber that had held me in their grasp until the sun had reached its zenith in the sky.

I rose from the bed with a heavy heart, the weight of my actions weighing upon me like a leaden shroud. Emotions, foreign and unfamiliar, swirled within me like a tempest, threatening to consume me in their relentless onslaught.

I felt a pang of sadness gnawing at the edges of my consciousness, a hollow ache that echoed in the depths of my soul. I was not accustomed to such emotions, to the vulner