61. Taking Back My Voice

Aella

It’s strange how you can share your life with someone and still feel as though there’s an abyss separating you—a chasm widened by fear, doubt, and unspeakable trauma. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, I actually study my husband.

Roman looks so at ease in sleep, his features relaxed, a far cry from the strained mask he wears when awake. Being Alpha, a leader to our pack, carries a weight, a gravity that he rarely shows but is there, lurking in the background. His responsibility doesn’t end there. He’s been the linchpin holding me together since my return—gently caring for me, never pushing, always there.

Yet as I observe him, I notice things I never did before: the dark circles under his eyes, growing more pronounced, the beginnings of worry lines creasing his forehead. Time has been unkind to us both in different ways. I’ve been the ghost haunting our lives, a wraith in our own home. And here he is, still steadfast, still waiting.

My fingers itch to touch him, t