With a lot of work to be done, I returned my attention to the laptop before me while Karl retreated to the background, and the study fell into silence.
My gaze unconsciously drifted to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the Milky Way stretched before me, overlooking the sleeping city below and toward the dense forest beyond.
Civilization and wilderness, order and instinct were separated by nothing but distance.
My unconscious felt the pack connection… peaceful, steady, and calm.
I drew in a deep breath, snapping my attention back to the work undone.
The faint hum of the air conditioner pulsed through the walls like a steady heartbeat.
Every light was dimmed except the one above my desk, casting a sharp glow over documents neatly arranged in precise stacks and the soft glow of my laptop.
My gaze focused as I reviewed… quarterly acquisition reports, the recent territorial zoning approvals, as well as some confidential personnel files; some human, some not.
