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R osalynn and Darian are waiting for us when we finally reach the garden. Nero stands in the corner, his face even more scrunched up than when he looks at me, and I almost laugh. I’ve finally found someone he hates more than me; I wasn’t sure that was possible.

The rest of the guys are close, but not here yet. All but Garrett, who lands on the wall, still in his wyvern form.

Coward.

It was his idea to bring Ryker here, but that’s fine. I know he doesn’t really like him, and while I don’t blame him, I’m more than happy to vouch for Ryker.

The second my feet are on the ground, my shadow wings vanish, leaving Ryker with nothing to hide behind. I can feel his nerves, hear the way his heart rate picks up, his shallow breathing, and I know he’s panicking.

Without turning around, I let my hand move from his wrist down to his hand, threading my fingers through his with a squeeze, hoping to comfort him, if even just a little.

It takes a second, but his heart rate slows, and he squeezes back.

“Serena?” Rosalynn sounds unsure as she takes a hesitant step forward before stopping abruptly.

With Ryker no longer on the verge of panic, I turn my attention to the King and Queen.

“Rosalynn.” I move toward her, pulling Ryker behind me. “This is Ryker.” Stepping to the side, I put Ryker on full display, and once again feel him stiffen, but he doesn’t run.

That’s a good sign.

Well, that and the fact that neither Rosalynn nor Darian has attacked him or called for the guards yet.

Nero, on the other hand, looks as if he’s ready to kill.

Not that I think he could take Ryker; I still keep an eye on him.

Nero isn’t always good at asking permission, and if he comes after Ryker, I’ll happily put him down. I’ve had enough of his bullshit.

We stand, hand in hand, opposite the King and Queen as we wait to see what they will say, Garrett at our back. The sun has risen just enough that he casts us in a shadow that fuels us both.

If things go to shit, I know we can get out of here in time.

Do you really think that Mother won’t love him? She has a thing for lost children who need love. Garrett says through the bond, and I shake my head. I should have known he would be snooping around in my head.

I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but Ryker isn’t exactly a child. I meant for the words to sound sassy, but instead they almost sound dirty, and I mentally kick myself as his wyvern growls low and menacingly behind us.

Watch it, Tiny. Sharing with your mates is one thing, but I’m not sure my beast can handle anyone else. He doesn’t sound mad; in fact, he genuinely sounds as if he’s worried for his safety, and I can’t help the smile that pulls at the corner of my lips.

Turning my attention back to the conversation, or lack thereof, in front of me, I find Darian stalking toward us, and suddenly I’m not so sure that bringing Ryker here was a good idea.

“Maybe we should go…” I say in a rush, looking from Rosalynn to Darian. Her face reflects my worry, while her husband’s is set in his usual blankness that makes it impossible to know what he’s thinking.

“Wait, dear,” Rosalynn calls, quickly moving forward in an attempt to catch up with him. He doesn’t slow, and I know Darian will reach us before she reaches him.

I tug on Ryker’s hand as I take a step back, but he doesn’t budge.

“It’s okay, Darling. Whatever it is, I deserve it,” he says without looking at me, holding Darian’s gaze even when he comes to a stop right in front of him.

Ryker is taller; he has at least three or four inches on him, but Darian is stocky.

He grew up farming the land, and even years later, he holds that large form from years and years of manual labor.

Ryker, while not weak, isn’t as broad, his muscular frame thinner though somehow just as intimidating.

They stand looking eye to eye for what feels like an eternity.

I feel the guys as they come through the gate, moving behind us and shifting back, an unseen support that helps me breathe a little easier.

I’m seconds from screaming, the tension choking me as I wait to see what Darian will say.

I knew there was a chance this would happen, but I’d expected Rosalynn to help me, and from the look in her eyes as she watches them, she intends to should this go sideways. I didn’t expect Darian to be here, to have to deal with him right away, the second we brought Ryker here.

He isn’t my biggest fan, hasn’t been since we were children. But after Draven attacked the kingdom and made his interest in me clear, I can’t say I blame him. I never wondered why he sent me away; he just wanted to save his people and his family.

I’ve seen the way he looks at me. I know that, like Nero and so many of the people in the village, he hates me, but his son is my mate. He tried to keep us apart once and failed; if he did it again now without reason, Garrett would never stand for it.

So we have a tentative truce.

One I very well might have just blown to smithereens.

“Pleasure to meet you, Ryker.” Darian holds his hand out, and Ryker flinches the tiniest bit, but I feel it.

I don’t blame him. I’d half expected Darian to attack as well. Instead, his hand is extended to Ryker as he waits.

Ryker’s brows scrunch together in confusion before he turns his head, looking to me for an answer.

I’m just as confused as he is, but I’m almost positive Darian isn’t being malicious right now. I shrug, and Ryker’s lips pull down in a slight frown that is somehow just as attractive as his smile.

I love seeing him express emotions other than self-loathing. Every one feels like a big fat fuck you to Draven.

Ryker turns his attention back to Darian, and with a deep breath, he braces himself before reaching out, gripping Darian’s hand, almost as if waiting for something to happen.

A smile pulls at Darian’s lips as he shakes Ryker’s hand with vigor, to the point that Rosalynn steps up, pressing a hand to her husband’s arm.

“Enough, dear. You’re going to rip the boy’s arm off,” she says with a smile that’s all warm motherly love as she looks up at Ryker, who quickly looks away.

“Apologies.” Darian laughs and lets Ryker’s hand drop, reaching up to cover Rosalynn’s hand with his own in a rare show of affection between them. “I’m sure you’re all exhausted after all that training. Get some sleep and then meet us for lunch, and we can talk more.”

Without another word, they turn away, heading back into the castle with Nero hot on their heels.

Leaving me with my jaw on the floor as I watch them.

How did they know?

“Mom knew for a while, even before I talked to her about Ryker, she knew what you were up to,” Garrett tells me as he walks up beside me, a smirk on his lips like this is all highly entertaining to him, and I guess it probably is.

If this situation were reversed, I’d laugh at him.

The thought of him here with another girl twists my stomach, and I feel my shadows bleeding from my hands.

Crap. Okay, I wouldn’t laugh; clearly jealousy is a trigger.

Ryker shoots me a questioning look, but I shake my head, breathe, and try to get control again. Thankfully, it works, and Ryker seems to be the only one to notice, since our fingers are twined together.

Pushing all thoughts of Garrett with another woman far away, I get back to the topic at hand.

“She always knows everything.” I chuckle, shaking my head because, really, I should have known. Even as kids, we couldn’t get anything past her. Somehow, I don’t think it has anything to do with her ability to see the future, and more to do with motherly instinct.

“We should get some sleep, though. That wasn’t exactly a small injury this time, Serena.” Blair walks up behind me, and I feel him like a warm hug even though he isn’t touching me.

“I’m fine,” I insist, even though I know it will fall on deaf ears.

“Well, how about we go to bed because the rest of us need our beauty sleep? Not all of us are machines.” Pike walks around us, headed toward the castle. Turning back to walk backward, he yawns, folding his arms behind his head. While I know it’s fake, I can’t stop myself from yawning as well.

Damn him.

“HA, see you are tired!” Pike shouts before he runs back toward me, yanking me into his arms and tossing me over his shoulder. I drop my hold on Ryker instead of risking having my arm pulled from its socket.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t tired. I never denied that!” I shout, slapping a hand to his ass hard enough that my hand stings.

“Oh, spank me harder, Mommy,” Pike says with a moan, and I dissolve into a fit of giggles, half embarrassed that someone might have just heard him and half turned on because… well I’m not really sure why, but I don’t think I really need a reason with these guys.

I guess that’s one of the cons of having so many sexy men as mates. I get to live in a damn near constant state of horniness.

Figuring out rooming took a while, but eventually we got it.

Garrett had attempted to give him a room in the guest wing.

The same wing our actual rooms are, including the one from when I was just a girl, but considering none of us stay there, I didn’t love that idea.

I wasn’t going to leave him alone to run.

I see the panic in his eyes; all of this is new and scary for him.

No, if he was staying there, I was staying with him.

Saying so had almost caused an all-out brawl.

So instead the guys pulled a mattress back to Garrett’s room, and he got to sleep under my favorite window where I wasn’t too far away.

I caught his gaze as I crawled into bed with the guys and felt a pang of longing to have him here with us.

I know better than to push too much, though. We’ve already come a long way tonight.

One step at a time.

As if he could read my mind, a smile turns his lips, and I can’t help but smile back under the weight of it.

Ryker is hot, but that smile… he’s heart-stopping.

For a moment, I worry he might not be here when I wake. Maybe he’s staying awake so he can leave once we’re all asleep. But my fear only lasts a second when I remember him telling me he doesn’t sleep all those nights ago in his cabin.

He said it like it was a bad thing, but with how tired I am lately, I wish I didn’t need to sleep. Unfortunately, I do, and between the stress of the day and the feeling of the guys around me, I’m out in seconds.

My dreams are filled with fire, blood, death, and that tree again. People scream and run; I feel their fear, like a hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen.

Draven isn’t here this time, but I almost wish he were; watching him fight the tree was so much better than this.

I wake feeling trapped, my dropping like it has a lead weight in it. Was I asleep for minutes or hours? I don’t know, but panic is heavy on my chest as I struggle to fill my lungs. My head hurts, my eyes feel heavy, and when I rub them, I find my cheeks wet with tears.

Why was I crying?

I don’t feel rested at all, but the guys are all passed out, even with the sun streaming in the window. I’d love to blame its warm rays for the way my hair sticks to my face, but I know it was my dream… no, nightmare.

The feeling of eyes on me pulls my attention to the window, and I find Ryker sitting in my spot, a book on his lap that he’s ignoring in favor of watching me. His eyes move over me, full of concern, and I force a smile that I don’t feel in hopes of convincing him I’m okay.

He doesn’t buy it, but he also doesn’t call me on it, and I’ll take it.

Once my breathing is under control, I fall back on the bed, unwilling to wake the guys after so many nights of them missing sleep on my behalf.

I lay awake, letting my mind wander. Going back over our conversation with Theo the other day, what I know of my past, and the nightmares.

It’s like I have a puzzle, but only half the pieces.

Pike huffs in his sleep at my side before he rolls into me, wrapping his arm around my waist and his leg around mine, trapping me.

It should feel suffocating, especially after my nightmare, but it’s not.

If anything, he’s kind of like a weighted blanket, and before I can really think too much about it, I fall into a blissfully dreamless sleep.