My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 3

Sera

The Valdris palace looked exactly the same.

I stood at the main entrance staring up at white stone I'd spent my childhood hating. Three years and they hadn't changed a damn thing. Same arched windows, same marble columns, same guards in their ceremonial armor.

The drive here had been long. I'd caught a bus to the border territories, then hired a car for the rest. Three days of travel, three days of staring out windows trying not to think about what I was coming back to.

The scar on my collarbone still burned.

One of the guards recognized me. His eyes went wide.

"My lady, we didn't—I should alert—"

"Just open the door."

He did.

I made it three steps inside before someone screamed.

My mother came running from the east corridor, skirts gathered in her hands. She wasn't elegant or composed or any of the things a Queen was supposed to be. She was just a woman who hadn't seen her daughter in three years.

She hit me hard enough that I stumbled.

"Sera!" Her arms went around me, squeezing tight. "Oh gods, Sera, you're here, you're really here—"

I stood there, frozen. I'd forgotten what it felt like to be hugged by someone who actually cared.

She pulled back, hands on my face, tears streaming. "You're home. My baby’s home."

"I'm home, mama."

"Sera!"

Lyra came running down the corridor. She'd grown up. Last time I'd seen my sister, she was seventeen—still figuring herself out, all nervous with braces. Now she was twenty. Taller, filled out, beautiful.

She slammed into me and my mother both.

"I can't believe you're here!" Her arms went around my neck. She broke free, taking my face "I swear I thought…” She hugged me back, “You are back."

“Yeah." I hugged her back. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." She pulled back, grinning even though she was crying. "You're here now."

For a second, it almost felt okay.

Then a voice came from the end of the hall.

"Sera."

We all turned.

My father stood there in his formal robes, hands clasped behind his back. King Aldric Valdris—ruler of the wolf territories, master of political alliances, and the man I'd made a bet with three years ago that I'd just lost.

He looked at me. I looked at him.

Mom's hand found mine and squeezed. Lyra moved closer to my side.

My father walked forward and stopped a few feet away. His face showed nothing.

"I see you've decided to honor our agreement," he said.

His voice was level. Calm. Like I'd just been on vacation.

I swallowed. "The three years are up. I'm here."

"Indeed." His eyes flicked to the scar on my collarbone. "I take it things didn't work out with your mate."

"No."

"A shame." He didn't sound like he thought it was a shame. "We'll discuss the arrangements tomorrow morning. Be in the grand dining room at eight."

Then he walked away like this conversation had never happened.

The three of us stood there in silence.

"He's glad you're home," Mom said quietly. "He just doesn't know how to show it."

I didn't believe that for a second.

───

They showed me to my old chambers. The rooms looked exactly the same—same bed, same curtains, same view of the gardens where I'd spent half my childhood planning escape routes.

Coming back here felt wrong.

A servant brought dinner to my room. I picked at it and tried not to think about tomorrow.

There was a soft knock around midnight. Nadia slipped inside before I could answer.

We stared at each other.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"How do you think?"

She crossed the room and sat on my bed. "What happened with Kane?"

I told her. Not everything—I didn't have the energy for everything. Just the important parts. The ceremony. Elara. The rejection.

She listened without interrupting.

"So tomorrow your father's going to discuss the marriage," she finally said.

"Yeah."

"The alpha you're supposed to marry. Do you know anything about him?"

"Just that his name is Dimitri Volkov. Second son, reasonable temperament." I pulled my knees to my chest. "My father said he was suitable."

Something shifted in Nadia's expression.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Just... be prepared tomorrow, okay? Your father's been working on this alliance for years."

"I know."

She stood. "Get some sleep. You'll need it."

After she left, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

* * *

I heard Lyra before I even reached the dining room doors.

"—and I'm telling you, he was completely mortified. Just standing there covered in wine—"

Her voice cut off the second I walked in.

"Sera!" She was up and out of her chair before I'd taken two steps, practically running around the table. "You're awake, I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day—"

"Lyra, let her breathe," my mother said, but she was smiling.

Lyra grabbed my arm anyway, pulling me toward the empty chair. "Come on, sit, you have to eat."

"I can walk by myself."

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