The keys dropped from her hand and onto the ground, her hand jerked forward a little. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she kept her gaze on Charlotte. The woman looked at her with a bored expression, she was acting like she had just told her what she would be having for lunch.
An undecipherable sound left Serena’s lips and she blinked slowly. Charlotte was to kill her? Was Darius aware of this? Was anyone other than Charlotte and Silas aware of this? Her hands suddenly felt cold. Of course, there was no way she could redeem herself truly in the sight of these people unless she paid in blood.
Her hand went to her neck, this moment felt exactly like when her former Alpha had told her she was to be executed. Silverstone was a pacifist pack, but there were few times where they had to take the cold, hard route of execution. Serena was just a pup when something of the sort happened.
She could not understand what exactly was going on in the moment, she was not even sure what the man did to warrant the severing of his head. The blonde woman still remembered his pleas and desperate words, but they all fell on deaf ears. His fate was already sealed.
Was she like that man? Maybe she had committed a grievous sin in her past life to warrant this punishment. So many trials, but what were her rewards truly at the end of the day? Did it matter?
Her hands trembled as she raised it to her face, and she dragged it across her face. She looked down at her feet, they were coiled and felt alien.
"Really? You intend to take my life?" Serena said finally.
Charlotte watched the succession of her actions. Serena looked like someone that was flung into a trance. It was almost pitiful to watch, but it was her fault for finding herself in this strange pack. She pressed her lips in a thin line and stared down at her.
Charlotte laughed and then shook her head. "Heavens, no. Wow, you truly are bad at sighting jokes."
She flipped her way and made her way to the door. She turned to see Serena giving her a quizzical look. Charlotte did not care if she believed her or not, but she knew she had succeeded in confusing the other woman. That was good enough for her.
She rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged. "Prepare your mind. I will be back tomorrow and I hope you have a good night’s rest."
Serena shot out from her seat and stretched out her hand. "Wait-"
But Charlotte was already gone, seeming unbothered with her distress. Her hand fell to her side and she sighed.
"That was a bad joke," she murmured to herself.
She turned to the window and licked her lips. She leaned over the windowsill and held her head in her hands. A little headache had bloomed from nowhere and she cursed silently to herself.
"Do I run away?" Serena said aloud.
"And do what?" Feyra replied in their shared mindscape.
Serena dragged her finger against the clean windowsill, she held up her finger to her face and then flicked it. Feyra was right, it would ease her now to take such an impulsive decision. It would even make her feel better than she did in the last two days.
Her stomach knotted whichever way and she sighed. It was not like Lupine Hollow was some sort of heaven, even trading it for Ironshade seemed like a foolish thought. If she went back into the wild, she knew she would have to move far away, maybe the South.
"Those are terrible plans," Feyra interrupted.
"Perhaps, but it seems alluring now," Serena replied.
"Yes, now. You will regret it," Feyra began. "Listen, I can take off the ward that’s holding your more... troublesome nature. You are older now and-"
"It was done for a reason, yes? I cannot seem to remember the specifics but I think it was the best."
Feyra huffed and remained silent for a few seconds. "Yes, because it was difficult to deal with such a thing at a young age. Even your father was at a loss for what to do. You were bred for Crimsonclaw and not Silverstone, so the subduing ritual had to be done."
Serena exhaled from her nose and looked at the passing guard below. They seemed to double from the times she usually watched them. It was all because of Dawnbreak—what a sight it would be when they finally arrived.
It was a subjugation ceremony that was performed on Serena. From her fragmented memory, she remembered a lot of thrashing and blood. So much blood. It was always about blood, was it not? Serena sighed. She did not want to go ahead because of fear of how much she would change if she told Feyra to take off the ward.
Serena had an inkling of an idea of what would happen if Feyra did it. Her body would be stronger. Her eyes lit up when an idea struck her.
"If you do it... would I be able to shift?"
No reply came, at least not for several minutes. Serena had grown bored of waiting and gone back to the desk and picked up another napkin to embroider another design on. Newest update provided by N0velFire.ɴet
"No, I am not certain it would work. I may even erode part of myself in the process," Feyra replied.
"Then I want no part in it," Serena said firmly.
This was a dangerous thing then. If any more of Feyra were to fade, Serena feared that she may lose her wolf completely. If that happened, she was not sure how she would be able to cope or recover from yet another painful loss.
"I see, it may be a necessary thing we must do-"
"No, this will be the end of this discussion," Serena snapped.
The woman slumped into her seat and placed her hand on her head. She wondered what she would do about the threat that Charlotte had served her so casually.