Sera crossed the last stair without a sound, the dire wolf pup tucked under one arm, her hair still faintly damp from the quick wash that she had done to wake herself up.
The smell from the kitchen drifted through the penthouse. Rice and meat, herbs crushed between careful fingers… it reminder her of Sunday dinner before everything went to shit.
Zubair stood over the stove like a wall that had learned to breathe.
Alexei lounged sideways on a couch, one ankle hooked over the other, grin too easy for the hour.
Lachlan pushed up on an elbow, blinking at the light.
And Elias watched from the arm of a chair, glasses low on his nose as if the morning itself were a problem to solve.
Sera did not address the heavy mood. Instead, she stepped onto the rug and lowered the pup to the floor.
"This is Luci," she introduced, voice even. "Short for Lucifer. He stays."
Luci planted his paws wide like a prince accepting a crown.
