Itrudged upstairs to my old bedroom, surprised to find it exactly as I’d left it. I’d half expected my dad would have turned it into a second office out of spite.
But then again, he’d always said I’d come crawling back eventually. Perhaps keeping it like some weird time capsule from my youth was his version of spite. He’d made sure I knew my return was inevitable, my escape temporary.
The housekeepers at least had gone through and kept it dust-free, but otherwise it didn’t feel like anyone else had been inside in the ten years I’d been gone.
Half a pack of stale vaporleaf sat on my desk, the bottom drawer half open with a sock hanging out, abandoned in my hurry to pack and leave.
The walls still held the interests and accomplishments of my childhood—old movie posters, participation trophies I’d received for sports I’d never wanted to play, and books I’d taken from my mom’s collection to read whenever I’d wanted to feel connected to her.
An old family sword, humming with power, sat in its sheath on a shelf above my desk, whispering tales of bloodshed and battles won.
I snorted, kicking off my boots and falling face forward onto my bed. The last time I’d used that blade, my friends and I had been high on bruum, and we’d tried to slice fruit off each other’s heads.
I’d nearly lost a horn that night.
A knock sounded on the door, and it opened before I said anything or even moved.
“Boundaries, Maia.”
She scoffed, and I turned my head slightly, opening one eye to find her leaning against the jamb, a wide smile on her face. “Bounty hunting? Really?”
With a sigh, I rolled over on my back. “Like you didn’t already know. And besides, it paid the bills.”
I felt her presence as she moved across the room, the bed creaking from where she lay down a few feet away from me. “I should be super pissed at you, you know. You just abandoned me.”
I peeked at her, recognizing the teenager I’d left behind now in the face of a grown woman. She looked healthy, appeared happy. And she and my dad hadn’t killed each other yet.
It didn’t matter if his children were his polar opposites or his carbon copies—no one got along with him.
“You know it had nothing to do with you,” I replied. “I needed to get out. I needed to cut ties. And…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And you were collateral damage.”
“I get it,” she replied, her voice soft. “But that doesn’t make you any less of a shitty older brother. I was eighteen, you know. And even though I resented the way dad always favored you, I still looked up to you. Still loved you. Still wanted you around. Especially without mom here.”
Fuck, I was really letting down all the women in my life, wasn’t I? “I know. And I have a feeling a simple ‘I’m sorry’ won’t really cut it.”
“No, it won’t.” She turned onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. “I have some ideas on how you can make it up to me, though.”
I glanced in her direction, smirking as I caught her eye. “I’m sure you do.”
A comfortable silence filled the air, and for a moment, it felt good to be home. Maia and I had never been super close, but that was because I’d always been too wrapped up in my own misery and kraken shit to have given her much attention.
But if I was back now, that could change.
“So,” she started. “A mate. Tell me about her.”
My chest constricted, both with desire to shout Sage’s name and virtues from the rooftop, and from the guilt and pain of being separated from her, not knowing what kind of fresh new torture Victor was putting her through.
“Her name’s Sage. She’s a witch.”
“Omega, you said?”
I nodded.
“I would have pictured you with another alpha, to be honest.”
“Yeah, me too. But she’s… she’s great. She likes my beard. And my car.”
Maia chuckled, the cadence an echo of the warmth she’d inherited from our mom. “Well, that’s obviously the most important qualities one looks for in a mate.”
