James and I sparred for some time before we returned to my suite. I had come outside to get some exercise and clear my head, but my brain felt even more occupied by Loral than before.

By the time I was seated in my chair, I still hadn’t quite figured out what was going on with me. I looked at the file on my desk and once again found myself spending over five minutes on the same first page.

James came over. “Alpha, any instructions for the border ...