Ahsaas's POV:

I was in my room, studying—

or pretending to.

The books were open in front of me, obediently spread out, but my mind refused to sit where my body was. The words on the pages felt distant, like they belonged to someone else’s life, someone whose body wasn’t aching from the inside out. My periods had started today, and the cramps were relentless—deep, twisting, the kind that don’t scream but slowly crush. Every few minutes, a wave of pain rolled through my lower abdomen, stealing my breath and leaving me clenched in my chair.

And I was hungry.

Not a simple hunger.