LENORA'S POV
We arrived at the Serene pack house as I suddenly felt a wave of discomfort on my skin. I had hated the sight of this place and the memories attached to it but somehow again I've found myself under this same roof.
Alaric had been quiet all through the ride and flight back here and I appreciated the fact that he didn't say anything to me while Jenny on the other hand tried to start up some little conversations with me even though she clearly knew I wasn't In my right state of mind to be talked to and wanted to be in my own space.
I didn't have to wait for either Alaric or Jenny immediately we got to the pack house and I made my way to my room. I noticed Alaric was walking behind me, probably to make sure I arrive in my room btr he has nothing to worry about.
If I stress him too much then he might as well just get rid of me the same way he got rid of Jika right in front of me and the memory still haunts me. The way he looked at me before he died, I still remember everything and the way he stretched his paw to my face.
Even though I might have met him In less than a week,I had somehow bonded with him as he genuinely cared for me and didn't want anything in return for the care he gave to me. He was truly my friend and he proved to be better than anyone I have ever met only In a short period of time.
He brought me to his home and made me a family. He trusted me enough to show me things he didn't show anyone, yet I had led the beast right to him and he was devoured in my presence. In front of my eyes I saw his hazel eyes shut forever.
The memory of the event flashed through my mind again and I found myself crying my eyes out the instant I entered my room and locked the door from behind. I just wanted to be alone and maybe stay in this room forever.
As I was walking towards the bed, I passed the mirror and my face had made contact with the clothes I was still putting on. It was the same clothes I had worn for the training and he had slept on the soaked bare floor on it.
I remembered how he covered me with a blanket and gave me coffee to warm myself up and it made me smile a little when I remembered the smile on his face
As I laid on bed, I suddenly remembered Ariel and wanted to talk to her too but didn't know what to say to her. I just want her to be around me and suddenly, it was like the moon goddess for once listened to my thoughts, the door creaked open and Ariel walked in with concern on her face.
I had expected her to be mad at me and probably yell at me like she used to but there was no sign of anger on her face but I could only see sadness In her eyes as her face was swollen.
It was obvious that she had been crying all these while, maybe she had been worried sick about me.
"Ariel " I tried to call for her name but before the word could finish leaving my mouth she had jumped on me and gave me a really tight hug that was really soothing and all I needed.
"I was worried sick about you, when the Prince had left to find you I thought he would end up killing you and not spare you" she cried into my shoulders and for the first time I'm actually able to witness her crying in my presence and I was the cause of it.
A wave of guilt washed through me and I realised I had been selfish and ungrateful enough not to consider her feelings or think about her while I walked around carelessly in a foreign land.
"I'm so sorry,Ariel '' I apologized to her but she had stopped me halfway with a smile on her face as she wiped her tears off.
"Don't apologise, I'm sure you must have been overwhelmed with everything around you and you probably thought running away was the best option " she said and on hearing those words it was like a weight was lifted off of my chest and I hugged her back really tight.
Perhaps those were the words I needed to hear and the feeling of somebody who sincerely understands me made me feel even more better but then she suddenly pulled away from the hug.
"Gurl, I'm sorry to say this but you stink and you need a shower pronto " she chuckled even though her eyes were still filled with tears and u found myself laughing a little too.
I didn't want to shower anytime soon as I was not ready to wash my last memory of Jika away with me but then I knew I had to shower anyway if I wouldn't want some nasty things to grow on Mt body.
Perhaps I could still honour him by going to train regularly and show him how much I could improve and that I wasn't lazy anymore and could train. Perhaps it would make him happy with me and he would be proud of me.
"Okay i'll do that" I said to her and pulled of the clothes I was wearing, I wasn't going to throw them away and I dont think I'll ever throw them away but instead I could wash them and wear them whenever I miss him or whenever I want to train. It'll bring his presence closer to me.
I entered the shower, leaving Ariel behind in my room as she kept on staring at me. Everything in the bathroom was still the same way I had left it but it was obvious that someone had been coming to clean it up frequently.
After having my bath I came outside the bathroom but Ariel was nowhere to be found in the room. Perhaps she had urgent things to attend to and would be back soon.
I cleaned off my wet body and wore something comfy on me because I would need to go for training soon but as I was about to leave, a knock came on my door and i guessed it should be Ariel since she had just been here but as I opened the door, I met Jenny face to face with a smile on her face.
Sometimes I wonder why she bothers to fake the smile when I clearly know that she doesn't like me, but then perhaps I'm just thinking that way especially after she had said she liked Alaric. I can't believe I almost detested a girl because of a murderer.
"Hey Lenora " she greeted while flashing her pearly teeth and I shrugged in response. She seemed to be hurt by my response but decided to keep the smile on her face anyway.
"Can I come in?" She asked but rather than answering her, I walked out of the room and locked the door so we were both outside my room.
"Oh okay, can we talk?" She asked and I took the time to look at her eyes in search of any mockery or deceit but I couldn't find any one and decided to give her a chance to say what she wanted to say to me.
"Okay" I answered and there was excitement on her face on hearing my voice that I started to doubt if she had always been sincere and sweet to me all these while.
"I'm sorry that you have to go through all of these and I know it has been really hard for you but trust me when I say I want to be your friend and not your enemy, Lenora " she touched my shoulders and her touch were somehow soothing that I found myself sighing in defeat. Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on her.
"Okay" I answered her and she seemed to be really happy.
"So we're friends now?" She asked and I nodded in response while trying to force a smile out. I might have accepted to be her friend but it would definitely take a lot of time for my body and soul to accept that fact about her.
"We'll talk later?" She asked and I nodded my head in response before walking away from her presence. I have never for once trained in this pack house that it was really hard to find where the training room was but after walking past different faces of wolves staring at me and judging me I finally made it yo the training room and away from their whispers that I could clearly hear but they don't matter to me anymore because I'm used to hearing them always.
Luckily for me, the training ground was empty and I heaved a deep breath before starting with the first challenge. Hours went by and I found myself still in the room and it surprised me on how I got this good but one thing I was sure of was that it was all thanks to Jika.
A week later, I was still going to the training room regularly in the same clothes and there was a time where I overheard some female wolves mocking me yet I still wore it everyday to train.
I paused to take a rest for some while after training hard for an hour and it was then I spotted Alaric standing by the door with a smile on his face and he seemed to have been staring at me all these while.
Just at the sight of his face,I was really angry and could feel my blood boiling. He seemed to have noticed my reaction too and immediately left the doorway for me to pass through when he sighted me approaching the door with a straight face.
I stormed away from the training room and back to my room as I tried to control the anger in me but it didn't take too long before I heard another knock on the door.
Groaning out loud, I reached for the door and opened it with an angry face but it was just Jenny.
"Hey?" She smiled at me and I left the doorway for her to enter my room. She was carrying a tray of food in her hands and seeing it made my mouth almost salivate.
"I brought food "
"I'm not hungry" I replied but my stomach had once again betrayed me by letting out a loud rumble and I was sure she heard it because she chuckled afterwards.
"Well your tummy says otherwise so eat up and I have something to tell you afterwards " She said and opened the tray of food. I had only perceived the smell and it made my body system go crazy but on opening the food and sighting the succulent various food I couldn't even resist the food anymore as I grabbed the tray from her hand and dug my spoon in, I haven't eaten anything in over a week that I became really hungry.
Nevertheless, I tried to compose myself while eating so she wouldn't think I was weak at the sight of food.
After eating some few more spoons, I shifted the tray away from my body and cleared my throat with the apple juice she brought.
"What was it that you were going to say?" I asked and a smile tucked at the corner of her lips.
"It'll be better if I showed you" She replied and grabbed my hand as she led me to places I never knew existed in the pack house but where we were heading to looked like a dungeon and I was getting suspicious.
I tried to remove the negative thoughts from my mind because she wouldn't harm me but after all I've been through and the deceits, it was hard for me to trust.
"Here we are" She said as she pointed towards a cell and I was confused, there was an awkward silence between us but she was still wearing her smile.
"Lenora!" A weak voice called my name and the moment I recognised it, my body froze.