Chapter 88. A Familiar Place

Ainsley

My curiosity is piqued by the strange edge in my grandfather’s voice.

Something about his demeanor has changed. It’s not just grief or exhaustion from the news that his mate has passed but something else entirely, something deeper—a tension that lingers right beneath the surface, unable to be masked.

I follow him, my footsteps quiet against the wood floorboards.

The house is eerily silent, though not in an uncomfortable way.

These walls feel like they’ve been untouched by time, holding onto secrets that have long since settled into the foundations. The air is thick with the scent of aged wood, old books, and the faintest trace of something floral, something that reminds me of my grandmother.

It’s been so long since she’s been here, but I wonder if her presence somehow still lingers in these halls even after she’s moved on to the other side, coming back to the place she’d once called home. Coming back to her mate after so long, even