Noctisardor Bypass we built these dreams on sand

alone in the den with glaukos (well, besides the sleeping heda), ava was struck with just how enormous this man was.

she'd never met someone so immense. caracal had been slim-lined and agile. the boy in the woods had been stocky, but short. etienne was text-book svelte.

but this man was a brick, and looked like he carried all the menace of one.

ava stepped over the squirming bodies, repositioning herself close to her mama and the new cubs. while there were six in the den, and ava would care for all of them if asked, it was really only two of them that caused her heart to stir.

ezra and gideon. she wondered if this was how the sweetlings had felt, the day she arrived at their doorstep.

looking up, ava met the harsh gaze of two repressed, sunken suns. ava flinched, another dull ache pressing her temple.