Chapter 6

6

“ O h 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.”

Gods, I'd forgotten how obsessed Jack's dad was with pedigrees. He’d been over the moon when we announced our intention to bond. “It's good to see you too, Lawrence.” I forced a civil smile. We needed his cooperation if we were going to scale the beanstalk outside their village without any additional trouble.

“And I see you’ve already reacquainted yourself with Sean.” His gaze brightened as it shifted to his youngest son. “He’s grown into quite the young man, has he not? Turned eighteen last autumn.” He beamed. “He can barely walk through the village without a swarm of admirers flocking around him, he's so popular. What do you think, Mariana? He'd make a fine mate. Nowhere near as flighty as his brother was.”

Sean's face flushed with embarrassment. “Dad, please.”

“What?” Lawrence retorted, all innocence. “It's true. And just think of the children the two of you would produce. They'd be magnificent!”

“I'm not in the market for a mate at the moment.” Particularly not one twelve years my junior. “But I'm sure Sean will make someone very happy someday.”

Lawrence sighed. “Drat. I was so hoping to find him a werewolf to bond with, but they're mostly all men aside from you and your grandmother.”

“Doesn't mean he couldn't bond with one of them, if he was so inclined,” Tenebris murmured. “Or perhaps a handsome young witch?” He cast Sean a sly look.

Calum grumbled under his breath.

“The reason we're here, Lawrence,” I hurried to interject, knowing we were rapidly approaching an argument I didn't have the patience to moderate, “is about this.” I held out Abuela's letter.

Lawrence took it, his gaze dropping to the signature at the bottom. “A letter from Elena? How is the old girl?”

“Young enough to kick your ass for calling her an old girl,” Tenebris muttered, grunting when I jammed my elbow into his side. I swear, it was like he was trying to make this difficult.

“She’s doing all right, although it seems the barrier is getting to be a bit too harsh for her to traverse. Her magic’s still top-notch, however. Visions and all.” I nodded to the letter, and Lawrence looked back down at the sheet. His thick, brown eyebrows rose as he read it over.

“So. You’ve come for the beanstalk,” he said, solemnly refolding the letter.

“At Abuela’s request, yes.”

“And you think these… beans… will allow you to pass through the clouds safely?” Skepticism dripped from every syllable, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from making a snarky retort. As if Abuela would send her only granddaughter on a suicide mission.

“I do.”

“Well.” He stroked his short, dark blond beard, his expression growing thoughtful. “It’s certainly an intriguing idea. No one’s seen the Sky Castle in, what? Sixty years? I was only a little scamp of a thing when the barrier took over the clouds and cut us off. Too young to go visiting giants. My father, on the other hand, spoke of it often. He was quite fascinated with the world above us.” He hesitated. “If those beans work like your grandmother claims, I’m surprised he never used his to attempt the climb.”

“Grandpa Braun has a magic bean too?”

“He was on the council when Elena joined, so I would assume so,” Lawrence replied. “Not that he ever mentioned it before, and now… well. His memory isn’t what it used to be.” This, for once, did not come as a surprise. Grandpa Braun’s struggle with what the outside world would call Alzheimer’s had begun well before I left Mondue.

Lawrence tapped the letter against his palm, his expression clearing as he gave me his full attention. “To heck with it. If the three of you want to risk your neck climbing through those gods-forsaken clouds, who am I to stand in your way? If the bean doesn’t work, and you fall to your death, I’ll at least have this letter to prove it was Elena’s foolhardiness that sent you up there in the first place. That said, you’ll still need to get approval from the council. There are wards in place around the base of the beanstalk, and while I have no doubt a witch of your caliber could undo them on her own, it would be best if we did things by the book.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “You’re the council leader. If you’re in favor of letting us ascend, I doubt anyone will protest.”

“A few years ago, I would've agreed with you,” Lawrence said. “But our newest member has proven to be quite outspoken and persuasive, and I suspect he’ll have a thing or two to say about it.”

I arched a brow. “A new member? Who?”

“Someone you know, actually,” Lawrence replied. “Noah Kraus.”

I blinked in surprise. “Noah Kraus is on the village council?” Just saying the words out loud felt weird. Two years younger than Jack and I, Noah had been a constant companion in our youth, always eager to go along with whatever wild scheme Jack or I came up with. He'd never taken point, however, or offered up his own ideas. He was a follower, not a leader. Or so I’d thought.

Lawrence nodded. “He's grown a lot in the ten years since you've been gone. Become quite the outspoken man. I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces me as head of the council when I retire.”

Little Noah, a future village chief. I would have never seen that coming. “And you think he'd object to our plan?”

“I can't say for sure,” Lawrence admitted. “But he’s been lobbying for the beanstalk’s destruction for years. Claims it’s a liability to village safety.”

“He wants to destroy it? Really?” He certainly hadn’t felt that way when we were kids. In fact, if I remembered correctly, Noah had always been just as intrigued by the beanstalk as Jack and I. Maybe even more so. “I would have thought he’d be the first in line to climb it, given the opportunity.”

“People change.” Lawrence’s gaze softened as it settled on my face. “Noah took Jack’s abandonment pretty hard, and when you up and left shortly after…” He shook his head. “That well and truly crushed him. He was never the same after that.”

The guilt his statement conjured must have shown on my face, because he held up a hand. “Jack’s leaving came out of nowhere. You did what you had to do to get through it, same as all of us. No one blames you for needing space.”

I glanced at Sean, whose gaze was fixed firmly on the lush carpet underfoot. Shame mixed with the guilt already souring my stomach. Never again. Never again would I let something as pointless as heartbreak hurt the people around me. For once, I was going to be the hero instead of the villain.

“Well, I’m here now, and someone up there needs me,” I stated. “So Noah will just have to deal with it.”

Lawrence chuckled, and his eyes lit with a tender light. “You've grown into quite the woman, Mariana. I would have been proud to claim you as family.” He glanced at Sean. “And you're absolutely certain you're not interested in taking a mate?”

I chuckled. “A hundred percent positive. Sorry.”

He sighed. “Ah well. If you hear of any lady werewolves on the outside looking for mates, be sure to send them our way.”

Sean rolled his eyes behind his dad's back, making a face.

“Again, my apologies,” I said with barely restrained laughter. “But I'm afraid a female werewolf is only born every few decades—the alpha for each new generation.” I grimaced. “The only other un-bonded one is five years old and busy driving her dads up a wall.”

“Damn.” Lawrence turned and patted Sean's shoulder. “Sorry, son.”

“I'll try to recover,” Sean deadpanned.

I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth to hide my grin.

“I'd be more than happy to assist with that.” Tenebris fluttered his lashes with exaggerated innocence.

Lawrence spared him a brief look of confusion. “Right. Well. I should probably begin making the rounds if you wish to meet with the council tonight. Please, make yourselves at home while you wait. You'll spend the night here as our guests, of course.”

I glanced around the room, the myriad of paintings poking at all the wounds that should have stopped hurting years ago. Would the rest of the house do the same? I thought of Jack's room and the window I'd grown so fond of sneaking through. The collection of wooden figurines that covered his shelves, each creature carved by his steady hand. The tree house we'd built at the edge of the forest, ominous fog rolling underneath as we giggled in our fort. The embers of adventure kindling in our childish hearts.

The memories shouldn't hurt this much. I'd been with dozens of men and women since Jack. I'd severed myself from this village and everything that ever connected us. He'd chosen to leave, and I'd made myself move on.

“Of course.” I forced my lips into a smile. “That'd be lovely.”

I'd overcome these memories if it killed me.