Chapter 74

• PETE
• "The Gamma and the Beta are here," my mother's knock at the door stirred me from a half-conscious state. I realized I had my arms wrapped around someone, and the soothing scent of their presence encouraged me to nuzzle my nose beneath their ear. They shifted closer to me in response.
• As much as I selfishly wanted to awaken them, I couldn't bring myself to do it for something as grim as this. Instead, I gently withdrew my hand from their waist and moved their head from my shoulder. It might have been the most restful sleep I'd experienced in ages, but it also carried a heavy weight of melancholy.