Dawn of the Bond

Sunlight spilled through the thin window panes, painting the cabin walls in a quiet, undisturbed gold.

Valera floated upward from the deepest rest she had ever known, her consciousness surfacing without the usual adrenaline spike of a soldier on alert. The very first thing she registered was the solid, rhythmic thud drumming against her resting cheek.

A heartbeat. Heavy, steady, and vibrating t