Lucien's POV.

The first thing I notice is the rise of her chest.

It’s faint… barely there… but enough to make my own lungs unlock.

For hours, I sat hunched in the chair beside her bed, elbows on my knees, head bowed, listening to the quiet beat of her heart through the bond. Weak… thready… like a thread of silk stretched too thin.

Lyra and other healers drifted in and out, whispering warnings I refused to hear or rest.

"Alpha, you haven’t slept, the pup is fragile, she needs ...