Reclaiming Home

Reclaiming Home
POV Sage Winters

The words hung in the air like a challenge I hadn't agreed to accept.

"What?" My voice came out sharper than intended. "You registered me? I never said I wanted to participate."

Uncle Caius chuckled through the speaker, that amused sound that meant he'd already decided everything. "It's just a small exchange conference, little Sage. Surely you won't blame your old uncle for looking out for you?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off smoothly. "It's decided then. I look forward to seeing you shine at the conference."

The line went dead.

I stared at my phone, frustration warring with reluctant understanding. Thorne's hand squeezed my shoulder gently.

"He's right, you know," Thorne said quietly. "You need a platform to show everyone who you really are as a healer, not just as my mate or Caius's niece."

I exhaled slowly. "He always does this. Makes decisions for my own good without asking first."

"Because he knows you'd overthink it," Thorne said with a slight smile.

I couldn't argue with that. Left to myself, I'd spend weeks convincing myself I wasn't ready, that I needed more preparation, more credentials, more everything. Uncle Caius knew me too well.

"Fine. But right now, I need to call Calla."

I dialed quickly. She answered on the second ring.

"Sage? Everything okay?"

"Hey, sis. I need you to find me a reliable professional manager to run Silverpine Global."

There was a pause, then excitement burst through. "You got the shares back? When? How?"

"This afternoon. Long story involving lawyers and Thorne being terrifyingly efficient."

"I bet." Calla shifted to business mode immediately. "Give me until tomorrow and I'll send you profiles with full backgrounds."

"You're the best. And sis? Thanks. This means a lot."

"I'm proud of you. Your mom would be too."

My throat tightened. We said our goodbyes, and I turned to find Thorne already on his phone.

"Evander, I need our best legal and financial team assembled by tomorrow morning. This is for Silverpine Global. Ms. Winters will be bringing in new management and I want them supported with Ashford Group resources."

He ended the call and pulled me against him. I pressed my face to his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat ground me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Always. We're mates, remember?"

I looked up at him. "There's one more thing I need to do today. I need to go to Winters Estate. It's part of the assets that should have been mine, and I want it back."

Thorne's eyes flashed gold briefly. "Then we'll go get it."

---

The drive took forty minutes through evening traffic. We'd taken one of Silverpine Global's company cars, and as familiar streets rolled past, memories I'd buried tried to surface. I pushed them down, focusing instead on the future. On reclaiming what was mine.

"You're tensing up," Thorne observed, taking my hand.

"Just ready to get this over with," I said.

The estate came into view around a curve in the road—a two-story colonial with white walls and black shutters, surrounded by gardens my mother had planted. Gardens Lydia had probably let die or replaced with her own tasteless choices.

We walked to the front door together. I rang the doorbell, and the chime echoed inside—a sound I remembered from childhood, from happier times.

Footsteps approached, quick and irritated. Then the door swung open. Lydia stood there in an expensive silk blouse, her hand raised like she'd been about to call out to someone.

"Back already? I thought you said—" The words died when she saw me. Irritation flashed across her carefully made-up face. "Sage."

Just my name, flat and unwelcoming. Like I was an uninvited solicitor.

Then her eyes tracked to Thorne standing behind me, and her entire demeanor shifted in an instant. The irritation melted into awkward uncertainty. Her hand fluttered to her pearl necklace—a nervous gesture I remembered from childhood.

"And... Alpha Thorne." Her voice climbed half an octave, took on that breathy quality she always used when trying to impress someone important. "This is unexpected."

"We need to come in," I said steadily. "This concerns you."

Lydia's eyes darted between us, landing on Thorne's expensive suit and the leather portfolio he carried. Her smile grew strained, uncertain. Social conditioning warred with the urge to slam the door in my face.

"Of course. Please." She stepped back reluctantly, her hand gripping the door edge until her knuckles went white.

Lydia led us to the living room, her heels clicking nervously against hardwood. She gestured vaguely at the couch. "Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?"

"No," Thorne said coolly. "This won't take long."

He reached into his portfolio and extracted a thick envelope. The moment Lydia saw it, her face went pale. Her eyes fixed on it like it was a snake.

"What is that?"

"Legal documents," Thorne said, holding it out. "Ronan signed agreements this afternoon returning the shares and assets he illegally held from Sage's mother's estate. According to those agreements and the original property deed, this house—which was registered in Lyra Winters' name—belongs to Sage."

"I don't understand." Lydia's breathing got faster, more shallow.

"It's quite simple," Thorne continued, his tone professional but with steel underneath. "This property belongs to Sage. You're currently residing here without legal right. The agreements specify immediate transfer of possession."

"No." Lydia shook her head, still not taking the envelope. "Ronan would never—this is our home. We've lived here for fourteen years. There must be some mistake."

"There's no mistake," I said. "My mother's will was clear. This house should have come to me when she died. Ronan falsified documents to take control."

Lydia snatched the envelope from Thorne's hand and tore it open with shaking fingers. She pulled out the documents and started reading, her lips moving silently. I watched the color drain from her face as she scanned page after page.

"This can't be right!" She looked up, eyes going wild. "These are forgeries! Ronan would never sign something like this!"

She fumbled for her phone in her pocket and jabbed at the screen with trembling fingers, calling Ronan's number.

The phone rang in the tense silence. And rang. And rang.