Brittany's POV

I wake to a living room that feels like a battlefield—no, an army encamped in my home. Dozens of bodies crowd the space: warriors in tight clusters, their presence like a fortress against an invisible enemy. Even the hallway holds sentinels, their stern faces a silent warning that the world outside has shifted into a dangerous place. I step out of my bedroom, and the cold sheets beside me scream Alexander’s absence. The bed feels hollow without his warmth, and ...