[ Old World - Blackmoon Colony ]
By the time Kieran pushed through the last barricade of guards and stalked out into the open air, his chest felt too tight, his hands balled so hard his knuckles ached.
The outskirts were quieter than the inner camp…except they weren't.
From inside the camp, faint but still sharp enough to cut through his head, came the raw, broken cries of Lyla. She was deep in labor. From the sounds of it… a hard one.
He stopped for a moment. Listened.
Her cries rose again, long and painful. The kind that scraped against bone.
But they didn't pull sympathy from him…only another deeper, sharper ache.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath, dragging a hand down his face.
Because every scream, every damn sound of pain reminded him of someone else. Of Autumn.
Alone. Out there. Without him. He knew she was closer to her due date… and it made him all the more desperate.
His jaw locked so hard it hurt.
