AURORA VALORICSleep did not come easily.

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the distant sounds of the pack settling for the night. Laughter drifted faintly from somewhere far away, followed by the closing of doors, the padding of footsteps, the quiet normalcy of a life I had never been allowed to belong to.

My head throbbed beneath the bandage, but the pain there was nothing compared to the tight, restless ache in my chest.

Something was wrong.

I pressed a hand over my heart, ...