Page 9 of A Castle of Broken Memories

I ground my heel on his toes, hissing, “Behave yourself.”

Sean gave him an uncomfortable smile as he stepped to the side. “Yeah, sure. He's upstairs reading to Granddad. Why don't you guys come into the living room, and I'll let him know you're here?”

“Thank you, Sean.” I shot Calum a look as we entered the house. The last thing I needed was a jealous werewolf on my hands. Coming here was awkward enough without the added drama.

Tenebris, however, clearly didn't mind, and he flashed his dimples while he floated inside, all but fluttering his lashes at Sean as he passed.

Sean shifted under his gaze. “Mariana, do you mind showing them where the living room is? I'll head up and let Dad know you're here.”

“Sure you don't want me to go while you entertain these two?” I teased.

He backed up, his face blanching as his gaze darted between Tenebris's simper and Calum's glower. “Nah, that's okay. I'll, uh, send him down.”

“Suit yourself.” I grinned while he turned and fled. Okay, so maybe I could handle a little drama. I'd forgotten how much fun Sean was to tease, even as a snot-nosed kid. My grin froze when I led the boys into the living room, however, the colorful paintings filling its walls making my heart stutter and skip. Rain-drenched walkways glimmering with multi-colored light as the sun broke through, a pack of wolf pups tussling in the grass. A young woman throwing her head back in laughter, a flurry of dark curls cascading over her red cloak. My chest tightened at the look of sheer joy radiating from her face, each delicate stroke a testament of the love bubbling up inside her. She was so, indescribably happy.

I'd forgotten more than I realized.

6

“Oh wow.” Tenebris's eyes widened as he looked around the room. “These paintings are incredible.” He paused before the one I was currently frozen in front of, his gaze bouncing between me and the painting. “Is that you?”

I forced myself to turn away, stalking over to one of the armchairs and sinking into its soft cushions. “It was, once upon a time. Back when I was young and stupid.”

“You look happy.”

“Idiots often are.”

“Hmm.” He shifted his gaze to the other paintings. “Who painted all of these?”

I frowned, folding my arms over my chest as I muttered, “Jack.”

“Really? You never told me he was an artist.”

“Why would I?”

He shrugged. “I don't know. You told me the two of you were supposed to be bonded. Seems like you might have mentioned it then.”

“Leave it, Ten,” Calum muttered, shooting him a warning look as he sank onto the leather couch opposite me. As if he was well aware of how much I hated talking about Jack. But if that were true, then he would have to know—oh gods.

Of course he knew. They all fucking knew. They may have been living on the opposite end of the forest, but I’d been Elena Cabrera’s granddaughter. The future alpha. Word of my engagement and resulting breakup had undoubtedly reached them. And yet, they never said a word about it. I was an idiot, and they’d been too kind to point it out.

I cleared my throat. “It’s fine, Cal. And Ten-Ten, I was drunk when I told you that. I'm fairly certain you ended up with your face between my legs shortly after.”

“Now that you mention it, you're right.” Tenebris grinned, abandoning his perusal of the various paintings and dropping onto the sofa beside Calum. “You were especially delicious that night, if I recall.” He stretched his arms across the back of the sofa as he focused his attention on the open door. “Speaking of delicious, I do hope Jack 2.0 comes back. I'd let that beautiful boy climb my beanstalk any day.”

“He wasn't that pretty,” Calum grumbled.

I shot him a sympathetic look. Pining after someone like Tenebris was a recipe for hurt. “The only beanstalk anyone's going to be climbing is the one that'll take us through the clouds. Don't forget, we came here for a reason. No distractions.”

“Boooo,” Tenebris pouted. “You used to be more fun.”

“I used to be a lot of things, but I'd like to think we're both trying to be better people these days.”

He sighed. “I suppose.”

Hurried footsteps in the hall drew our attention to the door, and I stood when Lawrence Braun entered the room, followed closely by Sean. The past ten years had taken a toll on him, graying his hair and hunching his previously broad shoulders. Wrinkles lined a tired face, but the smile he gave me as he crossed the room to take my hands was positively glowing.

“Mariana.” He kissed both of my cheeks. “How wonderful to see you again, my dear girl. And just as beautiful as ever.” He frowned. “Why my idiot son would ever choose the outside world with its scorching sun over you is unfathomable. A stunning werewolf alpha. How proud I would have been to call you daughter.”