Adam and I spent two days playing tourists. We explored the castle complex, which included a cathedral and a church nearly as old as I think Bran is, and walked through the streets of Old Town. Adam bought me an amber necklace and matching earrings. I found an antique crystal goblet with the figure of a wolf on it.

—

ADAM AND I WERE CUDDLED UP WATCHING A MOVIE in one of the meeting rooms in the jet when Bran came in bearing a bowl of ice with three soda cans buried deep. He closed the door behind him, set the bowl on the floor, and watched the movie with us for about ten minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Matt Smith?” I said. “Really? You are not the Doctor, Bran. At your age, it is important to keep a lookout for excessive hubris.”

“Thank you,” he said. He took a drink of his soda. “Your mother put you in my arms when you were less than three months old. I knew that I had no room in my life for such a fragile thing. I gave you to the best man for the job.”

“Bryan was amazing,” I told him, wondering what his point was.

Bran nodded. “Leah would have killed you if I had kept you.”

“She almost killed me anyway,” I said dryly. Bran’s wife and I had a hate-hate relationship that worked quite well for both of us.

“And yet,” Bran said softly, “you were mine from the day I first held you. No matter how hard I fought it. It isn’t safe to be in my family, Mercy. And you were this fragile creature who put herself in the path of destruction on a daily basis.”

He had abandoned me twice. First when he sent me away because Samuel wanted me. Samuel was nearly as old as Bran, who is older than dirt, and I’d been sixteen. Bran could have sent Samuel away—but Samuel was his son, and I was only an annoying stray. It had taken an Adam to make me trust people again. The second time Bran had abandoned me was worse, because it was the second time. He’d cut his ties to my pack, for all the right reasons—and it had felt just as bad as it had when I was sixteen, only I felt stupider.

And then he’d risked everything he believed in—because if Bonarata had known who Matt Smith really was, all hell would have broken loose—to help Adam rescue me. He’d risked war between the werewolves and the vampires to keep me safe.

Carefully I said, “Thank you for coming after me.”

“You rescued yourself,” he said. “I should have stayed home.”

Adam laughed. “I’d have been in trouble if you hadn’t been there. And why do you think Libor was so cooperative? If it had just been me, we’d have had to fight it out before he agreed to go hunt down Mary’s seethe—I know his type.”

I sat up and looked at Bran while my body was warmed by Adam. “What did you do to Zack that made his father hate you so much?” I paused. “I think his birth name is Radim, right?”

“Zack?” said Adam.

Bran made a Bran sound. “Radim. Poor Radim. I can’t tell you the details. Let’s just say that being a submissive in Libor’s pack would not be something I’d wish on my worst enemy. Particularly if, as in Radim’s case, he was Libor’s son.” He tapped a finger on the top of his empty soda can. “I might have kidnapped him,” he said finally.

“Okay,” I said, and settled back against Adam.

“No wonder Zack doesn’t like you,” Adam said.

“That’s a different story,” Bran said. “You’ll have to ask him.”

We watched the rest of the movie without talking. When it was over, Bran said, “I love you.”

I said, “I know.” Adam nudged me with his shoulder, and I laughed. “I love you, too.”

—

WE TURNED DOWN OUR STREET JUST AFTER DARK. THAT made it easy to see the flashing lights of the fire department trucks. Adam didn’t say anything, but he put his foot down on the gas pedal.

We parked on the lawn to avoid blocking the driveway for the fire trucks. The garage roof was a blackened ruin, and there was at least one wall that was a burned wreck. The whole house and yard were soggy with water. I could smell char and burnt things, but I couldn’t see anything burning. People—werewolves and firemen for the most part—were wandering all over the place.

In the bustle and hum, no one noticed us except Aiden, because everyone else was focused on the garage.

He had his arms crossed and a militant expression on his face as he marched up to us.

“Hey, Adam. Hey, Mercy,” he said in a tight little voice. “Welcome home. I stopped the garage from burning down, but that was after I started it. Apparently I burn down garages when I fall asleep doing homework. I’ll find somewhere else to live.”

“Hey, Aiden,” I said. “I destroyed a whole apartment building.” It had been the golem, but I thought I was entitled to claim his damage for my own. “Can I come live with you?”

Adam just laughed, reached out, and ruffled Aiden’s hair. “It’s good to be home.”

“Yes,” I agreed wholeheartedly. “I think I should go make some chocolate chip cookies.”