Page 164 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

Ronan held up his phone.

“Calendar confirms. Also checked the camera feed. Delivery’s legit.”

Serenity blinked once, then again.

Her birthday.

In all the chaos, the heat, the survival—it had completely slipped her mind.

A soft smile spread across her lips.

“I could use something sweet.”

She pushed off the couch and padded barefoot to the door, hoodie swishing at her thighs. The boys murmured behind her, their low chuckles following her.

She flung the door open with a playful grin.

Then froze.

There, on the porch, holding a box with “Happy Heat Day” in cursive frosting script, was a man she hadn’t seen in years. Silver streaked his dark hair now, but his eyes were the same—sharp, kind, and haunted.

“Happy New Year,” he said, a grin cracking across his face.

Serenity’s breath caught.

“Pa… Papa?”

He barely managed to set the cake down before she threw herself into his arms.

He grunted, hugging her close.

“Haven’t been hugged like this since you were eight.”

Tears spilled silently from her eyes as she gripped him, fingers curling into the back of his coat.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered.

“I had to disappear,” he murmured back. “Had to let them think I was gone. I couldn’t risk them taking you.”

He pulled back, cupping her face. “I’m sorry, Serenity. For all of it. For making you think you weren’t the diamond I spent my life searching for in a field of coal.”

Her lips quivered. “I missed you.”

Behind her, the door opened wider. Darius stepped forward, taking the cake with a nod of thanks. Ronan and Lucian followed, flanking her.

Her father raised a brow.

“These your Alphas?”

Serenity wiped her eyes and nodded.

Lucian grinned.

“In the flesh.”

Ronan held the door.

“Welcome back to the land of the living.”

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