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Serena doesn’t miss it either, not even attempting to hide her laughter as I grip the railing to stop myself from tumbling down the stairs.

When the hell did we get here?

Doesn’t matter.

“I wanted to talk to you,” I tell her as we once again start up the stairs, now that I’m no longer at risk of falling.

She raises a brow at me, looking unimpressed. “I got that when you said it the first time,” she tells me with a laugh, shaking her head as she continues up the stairs, leaving me to stumble after her like a lost puppy.

“I…ugh, I wanted to talk to you about Ryker and Lyle,” I tell her as she reaches the top of the stairs. Stopping dead, she turns to me, and I feel her eyes as she looks me over, no doubt looking for anger or signs of another fight.

She won’t find it.

I walk up the last few steps, and her eyes never leave mine, even when she has to tilt her head to continue to meet my gaze. Serena might be small, but she’s no longer the scared little girlshe was when we found her washed up on the shore or even when she was sent away.

Time has changed her, changed both of us, and for a while there I wasn’t sure it was for the better…

Now I know it was.

I was wrong about so many things, but most of all, for not trusting my mate.

I won’t be making that mistake again. From now on, we’re a team, and this is our pack.

“What about them?” Serena finally asks, her eyes narrowing, ready for the fight she’s so sure is coming.

Reaching out, I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her into my chest. “Nothing bad, Tiny, I promise.” I press a kiss to her nose and can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips as her cheeks turn the most adorable shade of pink and she goes cross-eyed, looking up at me.

Releasing her, I continue down the hall, sure she will follow me now, if only to satisfy her own curiosity.

It takes a second, but the unmistakable sound of her footsteps behind me makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

I can fix what’s broken; I know I can.

There’s no world where I can live without her, and while this one might not be perfect, it’s what we’ve got and what I can give her.

I move on autopilot. I’ve been in this room so often, not only when Serena was here, but once she was gone as well. There was a time after my father sent her away when I refused to leave. Everything felt too big, too lonely without her. I’d slept here, clinging to the memory of her as I tried to understand why my father would send her away when he knew she was my mate.

I didn’t talk to anyone for weeks, hardly ate, and couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was the way shelooked at me that day. Heard the way her words shook in fear while I worried I wouldn’t make it to her in time.

The day her scent finally disappeared, I lost it.

I went back to my room finally, and I destroyed it.

Mother cried. She and Father were already fighting, but I made it worse. Through it all, my father stuck to his choice. He really believed he did what was best for Serena and everyone, and while it might have torn me apart back then, I know he made the right decision now.

Serena not only stands a chance now, but she has other mates she never would have found if not for the way things happened. I’d love to believe that she didn’t need them, that she would have been all mine had she stayed, but I don’t think that’s true anymore.

As much as it pains me, I’m pretty sure she has another mate in this realm, too.

The idea makes me groan in annoyance, but it’s fine. The longer he’s around, the more I think Mother might have been right with all her talk of circumstances.

Doesn’t mean I have tolikehim, but I can tolerate him… most of the time, at least.

“Why are we here?” Serena’s voice is low, a whisper that is easy to hear in the small room of her past.

Her lips pull down in a slight frown as she moves to the dresser, looking at the knickknacks that still line the top even after all these years.

She’d been in here for a moment when she first arrived, but as far as I’m aware, she stays away, almost as if she’s avoiding it.