Chapter 17 — Rebecca

Morning light spilled through the tall windows of the living room, the pale gold glow softening the edges of everything it touched.

Rebecca watched the dust motes drift lazily through the air as Regina laughed at something Aldric had just said.

The sound caught Rebecca off guard.

Not because it was unfamiliar — she remembered Regina laughing years ago — but because of how different it felt now.

Lighter.

Stronger.

Back then, Regina’s laughter had often been careful, something offered to comfort others even when she herself was hurting. It had been kind, but fragile.

Now it rang with something steadier.

Peace.

Rebecca leaned back slightly into the couch cushion, studying her quietly while the conversation continued around them.

Regina sat curled slightly toward Aldric, one leg tucked beneath her, a loose strand of hair falling across her cheek. She brushed it back absentmindedly as she spoke, completely at ease in a way Rebecca hadn’t seen before.

And Aldric…

Rebecca’s gaze flicked to her brother.

He looked different too.

Not on the surface — he was still the same tall, silver-eyed warrior who carried himself with that quiet alertness that never quite faded. But the tension that used to live permanently in his shoulders had eased.

Not gone.

But softened.

His attention moved between the two of them, but Rebecca noticed something Regina probably didn’t — the way his awareness never strayed far from her.

A subtle shift of his gaze when Regina moved.

A faint tilt of his head when she spoke.

The protective instinct humming quietly beneath everything else.

Rebecca smiled faintly to herself.

Some things never changed.

But this?

This was new.

The bond between them was unmistakable.

Even without trying, Rebecca could feel it — the warm, steady pulse of connection flowing between them like a quiet heartbeat in the room.

Mate bond.

It wasn’t loud or overwhelming.

It was calm.

Stable.

Like something that had always been meant to exist.

Rebecca folded her hands loosely in her lap as Regina finished telling a story about a disastrous attempt at cooking dinner a few weeks ago.

“…and somehow the smoke alarm still went off even though nothing was burning,” Regina said, laughing softly.

Aldric raised an eyebrow. “You nearly set the kitchen on fire.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“You absolutely did.”

Rebecca chuckled, warmth spreading through her chest.

This felt… normal.

And normal had been rare for all of them.

Years ago, the three of them had met under circumstances none of them would ever forget — circumstances filled with fear, survival, and the kind of trauma that left marks long after the danger was gone.

Rebecca remembered those days too clearly.

The cold stone walls.

The echoing silence.

The constant feeling of being watched.

But she also remembered the small moments that had gotten her through it.

Regina sitting beside her during the quiet hours when sleep wouldn’t come.

Listening.

Never pushing.

Just being there.

Rebecca had been younger then — scared, angry, unsure who she could trust.

Regina had never asked for trust.

She had simply earned it.

Little by little.

Day by day.

Rebecca hadn’t forgotten that.

And apparently… neither had Regina.

Regina’s laughter faded slightly as she noticed Rebecca watching her.

“What?” Regina asked, smiling.

Rebecca blinked and returned the smile. “Nothing.”

“You’re doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

“That thoughtful stare.”

Rebecca laughed quietly. “I’m allowed to observe.”

“Observe what?” Regina asked suspiciously.

Rebecca tilted her head slightly, her gaze sliding briefly toward Aldric before returning to Regina.

“You,” she said simply.

Regina frowned slightly, amused. “That sounds ominous.”

“It’s not.”

Rebecca leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees.

“I was just thinking about the last time we saw each other.”

Regina’s expression softened immediately.

“That was… a long time ago.”

Rebecca nodded.

“Feels like a different lifetime.”

For a moment, the room grew quiet.

Not uncomfortable.

Just reflective.

The past had a way of settling into conversations whether people invited it or not.

Aldric broke the silence gently.

“You both handled it better than most people would have.”

Rebecca glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s generous.”

“It’s true,” Aldric said calmly.

Rebecca huffed softly.

“Maybe. Or maybe we were just too stubborn to fall apart.”

Regina smiled faintly.

“That too.”

They shared a quiet look — one filled with unspoken understanding.

Survival had a way of binding people together.

Rebecca leaned back again, her gaze drifting between them.

“You know,” she said thoughtfully, “I remember thinking back then that if anyone could survive all that… it would be you.”

Regina blinked.

“Me?”

Rebecca nodded.

“You had this… calm about you. Even when things were awful.”

Regina looked slightly embarrassed.

“I definitely didn’t feel calm.”

“You didn’t have to feel it,” Rebecca said gently. “You just had to be it.”

Aldric glanced at Regina, the faintest hint of pride flickering in his silver eyes.

Rebecca noticed.

Of course she did.

She’d known her brother long enough to read the smallest shifts in his expression.

“See?” Rebecca said with a grin. “He agrees.”

Regina’s cheeks warmed slightly.

“I’m being ganged up on.”

“Accurately evaluated,” Aldric corrected.

Rebecca laughed again.

God, it felt good to laugh.

For so long, conversations about the past had been heavy, weighed down by grief and things that couldn’t be changed.

But this?

This was different.

It felt like healing.

Rebecca’s attention shifted again to the quiet current of energy in the room.

The bond.

It pulsed gently between Aldric and Regina — a calm, steady rhythm that wrapped around them like warmth.

She could almost see it.

Almost.

Mate bonds were rare.

Sacred.

And powerful.

Rebecca had always wondered what it would look like when Aldric finally found his.

He’d spent so many years focused on protecting others that she’d half believed he might never allow himself something like that.

But now?

Rebecca studied Regina again.

Kind.

Strong.

Steady.

Yes.

Rebecca understood immediately.

Her brother had chosen well.

Not that it had been a choice.

Mate bonds never were.

They were something deeper.

Something instinctive.

Rebecca rested her chin lightly against her hand, watching them with quiet amusement.

Regina caught the look.

“Oh no,” she said slowly. “Why are you looking at us like that?”

Rebecca blinked innocently.

“Like what?”

“Like you know something.”

Rebecca grinned.

“I do know something.”

Aldric sighed faintly, already recognizing that tone.

“Rebecca—”

“You two are painfully obvious.”

Regina nearly choked on air.

“What?!”

Rebecca gestured lazily between them.

“The leaning. The glances. The synchronized breathing.”

“We are not synchronizing breathing!”

Aldric rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Rebecca burst into laughter.

“Relax,” she said. “It’s cute.”

Regina covered her face with both hands.

“I regret opening the door.”

“You absolutely do not,” Rebecca said, still smiling.

Regina peeked through her fingers.

“…okay maybe not.”

Rebecca’s laughter softened.

For a moment she simply watched them again — the way Aldric’s hand rested casually near Regina’s on the couch, close enough that their fingers brushed occasionally without either of them seeming to notice.

The quiet comfort between them.

The ease.

And something inside Rebecca’s chest settled.

For years she had worried about her brother.

About the weight he carried.

About the loneliness he never talked about.

But seeing him now…

Rebecca exhaled slowly.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

And Regina…

Regina looked happy.

Not the polite happiness people showed the world.

Real happiness.

The kind that reached the eyes.

Rebecca felt warmth bloom in her chest.

Hope.

It had been a long time since hope felt this natural.

The shadows of the past weren’t gone.

They probably never would be.

But they weren’t suffocating everything anymore.

People healed.

Slowly.

Messily.

But they healed.

Rebecca stood up suddenly, stretching her arms overhead.

“Well,” she announced.

Regina blinked. “What?”

“I’m hungry.”

Aldric raised an eyebrow. “You just got here.”

“And now I want breakfast.”

Regina laughed again.

“Fair enough.”

Rebecca headed toward the kitchen before pausing halfway.

She turned back, looking at them one more time.

Her brother.

Her friend.

The quiet bond glowing between them.

And for the first time in a long time…

Rebecca felt something simple and bright settle in her chest.

Hope.

Because if anyone deserved happiness—

it was them.

And maybe…

just maybe…

the shadows of the past were finally starting to fade. ✨