Echoes Of War

CHAPTER XV | RUDE AWAKENING

Blaze stirs, his lashes fluttering against the dimness of the den. The first thing he feels is warmth-not his own, but hers. Lunis. Her body pressed against his, steady and sure, her breath a quiet rhythm that fills the silence. It seeps into him like sunlight after a storm, soft, familiar, achingly comforting.

Still fogged with slumber, Blaze lets himself linger in the cocoon of warmth, lulled by the quiet rise and fall of Lunis' breath. For a fleeting heartbeat, the world feels gentle, his worries smoothed away by their shared closeness.

Then-something jabs sharp into his flank. His body jerks with a twitch, an ear flicking in irritation as his tail lashes dismissively. He grumbles low in his throat, reluctant to let go of the fragile dream he clings to.

"Blaze! Wake up!"

Senna's bark slices through the den, sharp as claws raking down stone. The sound jolts him fully awake, scattering the remnants of his peace like startled birds. His amber eyes snap open, still glazed with sleep, his chest tightening as he twists toward her voice.

Green eyes narrow at him through her silver mask, sharp as a hawk's glare. "Well?!"

A growl rumbles low in Blaze's throat, irritation raw as his fangs flash. "What do you want, Senna?"

Unbothered, the she-wolf sinks onto her haunches with deliberate ease, head tilting high as if his anger were beneath her notice. "Navira asked me to come get you. The pack's preparing for another elk hunt-" Her gaze flickers toward Lunis, still unmoving beside him. "Besides you've been sulking long enough over her."

Blaze blinks, the words like a claw raking across his chest. He forces his hackles flat, swallowing the snarl clawing at his throat. His amber eyes darken, but his voice comes out clipped, tight with restraint.

He shifts, curling his body protectively closer to Lunis before adding, sharper this time-"I'll be there soon."

Senna sighs, standing up as her eyes roll skyward. "Don't fall asleep or I'll bite your tail next."

Blaze doesn't bother to answer. Instead, he lowers his gaze, the sharp edge of Senna's words sliding off him like rain against stone. His attention drifts to his own pelt-unkempt, ragged, heavy with the sour tang of neglect. In the last three Suns, he's done nothing but tend to Lunis.

He groomed her wound when it bled, kept her fur clean when fever-sweat clung to her skin, coaxed water between her lips in her fleeting moments of wakefulness. Every heartbeat has been for her, every thought tethered to her fragile breaths.

And in that devotion, he has forgotten himself. His once-bright coat lies dulled with dirt and tangles, his muscles ache from sleepless nights curled by her side. Hunger gnaws at his belly, but he hardly notices anymore. The only thing that matters is her.

Amber eyes linger on her still frame, his chest tightening with each rise and fall of her breath. For her, he can endure anything. For her, he can go without food, without rest, without peace.

Because if she leaves him-none of it will matter anyway.

"Get out!!"

The snarl splits the early quiet like a whip crack. Blaze's head jerks up just as Senna bursts from the tunnel, tail clamped between her legs, her silver mask streaked with fury and humiliation. Without another word, she bolts through the den's entrance and vanishes into the cold light beyond.