Chapter 35

• Lucas’ POV
• I’ve never been one to watch someone sleep. In fact, I haven’t had any peaceful sleep since my first shift. Each time I close my eyes, I see Emma. I hear my father’s words, the lessons he hammered into me for years: *Strength is survival. Emotions are weak. Weakness gets you killed.* Tonight was no different. Sleep wasn’t an option, but for the first time in a long while, I felt... still.
• I sat on the sofa in my bedroom, watching my mate, Elara, sleep until the first light of dawn crept through the curtains. The steady rise and fall of her chest, the soft murmur of her breath—it all seemed so foreign to me. Her face was peaceful, completely at ease. It was a kind of peace I’d never known.