Serena rubbed on her arm and sighed. Her eyes widened slightly and then she turned to Elen. Why had the woman given up that sort of sensitive information so easily to her? Weren’t wolves from Dawnbreak good at negotiation, it was one of the things they were known for.
Werewolves in Dawnbreak had to be civil and smart since their society was so mixed. The party sent here was obviously the cream of the crop so they would not make any mistakes. Serena brought her hand close to her face and felt for her skin. She exhaled slowly, was it because of how close she was to only council wolves that her thoughts had begun to move in this direction?
"Are you okay?" Elen called out.
Serena blinked rapidly and then let out an awkward laugh. She glanced at Elen, who was looking back with a concerned face. Serena shook her head.
"Yes I am. No need to worry," Serena said.
"Oh okay. I was wondering if I had somehow offended you."
Serena held up her hands and then waved in front of her. "Heavens no, you have not even done anything."
"Do you really mean it?" Elen asked. Fresh chapters posted on novel⸺fire.net
Serena nodded vigorously and then offered a small smile. "Yes I really do. I am sorry for making you think I was not comfortable here."
The blonde woman bit her lip and searched Elen’s eyes, here she was breaking rules but she felt calmer than she had all day now. This interaction felt normal and she eased into it. She just prayed inwardly that Livia would not start looking for her soon and find her outside talking with the Dawnbreak wolf.
"Oh you should not apologise... actually I should be the one apologising to you," Elen said quickly.
Serena let out a genuine laugh now. "We would go back and forth on this for a long time."
Elen laughed and then buried her chin between her folded arms, her eyes were downcast and she looked as sad as she was earlier. Serena sympathised with her silently, she really must have been forced like she said she was.
"It would be a waste of time and I would hate to waste yours," Elen murmured.
"Talking to someone new is never a waste of time, I think it is a lovely thing," Serena began. "I always learn so much, sometimes I pick up things that should have been so obvious but I never did until someone new told me about it."
Elen rose slowly and then gave Serena a quizzical look, like she was just now seeing the woman in a new light. Serena silently checked herself, had she said something out of turn, did someone smudge something onto her cheeks?
"Wow, I have never thought about it like that. I greatly appreciate you... er Selene," Elen said.
"Serena, but you are very much welcome Elen from Dawnbreak," Serena replied.
The brown-haired woman let out a shy laugh and then scratched her head. She looked off to the side to where a few men were tending to the horses and then back at Serena.
"Serena," she muttered slowly to get a feel of the name. "Thank you, you are so kind and beautiful."
"Ah." Serena looked down briefly and then back at Elen. "Thank you."
The smile on her face grew bigger. Elen looked to be someone her age, it must have been such a great feat to be picked as one of the wolves that would have made a journey to see the quiet Ironshade.
"I hope we are on good standing?" Elen said.Serena nodded and then spoke, "Is this the first time you’ve travelled outside Dawnbreak?"
"No but I have never come this far out and not anything close to this important objective. It would be for the good of Kaldora that this deal does not fall through," Elen said absentmindedly.
Serena nodded to her words, she figured that everyone would want this to go smoothly as it would benefit both sides. But she was not sure how the entirety of Kaldora would come into play. Kaldora was a vast continent filled with so many different creatures.
This deal might be good for werewolf society but that was even a stretch on its own. She shrugged off her mindless thoughts and placed her hand on her chin.
"It will not, our goddess will see through to it. It would help a lot of people in both packs."
Elen nodded, she looked Serena up and down and then smiled. "Wolves from Ironshade are so beautiful and there are so many unique faces, just like yours."
Serena returned the smile but inside her, she was uneasy. She brushed off her apprehension—it would do her no good to tense up in a moment. No matter how she felt for Elen, she had to remember that she was still part of a diplomatic party, they would never send an untrained wolf for something like that.
"I suppose everyone in the North looks the same," Serena replied.
"Hm, perhaps but you know there are even hybrids so we get our own share of unique faces," Elen said.
Serena nearly squealed and she moved closer to Elen, her eyes were widened to saucers. "Hybrids? Do they really exist?" Serena said in a hushed voice like she was divulging some kind of secret.
Elen laughed and nodded. "Yes, there are not much, our Alpha keeps them under strict surveillance. They are recorded like the rest of us. We learn something new from them every day."
Serena’s lips parted in awe, she wanted to ask more but then a familiar scent caught her nose. She slowly turned, hoping and praying it was not who she thought it was but deep down she knew it was a futile request.
She flashed an awkward smile to Livia who stood at the doorway with narrowed eyes. Serena cursed inwardly and then she heard her wolf laughing at her and the faint whisper of, ’you thought you were sly.’
Serena glanced at Elen from the corner of her eye and she also caught her staring at Livia. Serena rose and turned slowly to the irritated woman.