The room felt unusually quiet. Serena shifted in her seat, glancing once more at Charlotte, who remained lounged in her chair with her legs still draped over the desk. The other woman had made no motion to leave, not even the faintest suggestion that she had overstayed her welcome. Instead, she leaned further into the chair, as though she were settling in for a long evening.
Serena looked out the closed windows briefly and then back at Charlotte, she berated herself for being so nervous.
She then walked to the bed and busied herself with straightening the covers, though they didn’t need it. The silence between them was thick with unspoken things, and Serena wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. She folded the edge of the blanket again, smoothing it down for the third time.
Charlotte didn’t speak. She merely watched with that half-lidded gaze, as if mildly entertained by Serena’s nervous energy.
Serena cleared her throat and sat down again, this time on the edge of her bed. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her nightgown, and the sound of the wind brushing against the windows became the only thing between them.
"You don’t have to stay, you know," Serena offered quietly, though she didn’t say it unkindly.
Charlotte smirked. "Why? Am I interrupting something?"
Serena gave her a dry look. "No. But it’s late. And I thought perhaps you might have something else to do."
The other woman tilted her head back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling. "There’s nothing else for me to do. You’ve got the most interesting room tonight."
Serena huffed softly and rose again, walking over to the dresser. Her fingers hovered over the box of matches, and after a brief pause, she struck one. The small flame sparked to life, and she carefully lit one of the thicker candles near the corner of the room. The dim glow softened the corners, casting shadows that danced faintly along the walls. It helped to ease the heavy dark, even if just a little.
Charlotte’s eyes flicked toward the flame, but she said nothing. The silence returned and wrapped around them again, familiar now. Serena turned back to her bed and sat once more, resting her chin on her palm.
Somehow all the sleep had been washed away from her eyes and now she was acutely aware of Charlotte staring at her. It made her a bit uncomfortable that there was some sort of elephant in the room that was the issue of Livia, but Charlotte had already shut down the prospects of talking about it.
"You’re not used to company," Charlotte remarked after a time. This update is available on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Serena blinked. "Excuse me?"
Charlotte raised a brow. "You look like you’re sitting on thorns."
"I’m just... tired," Serena muttered, avoiding her gaze.
A knock came at the door. Serena’s eyes widened and she straightened quickly. Before she could even respond, the door opened. Darius stepped into the room.
He stopped short when his eyes landed on Charlotte, then on Serena. His expression flickered from surprise to something unreadable, though he masked it quickly. His posture remained calm, but there was a tightness to his shoulders.
Charlotte, to her credit, didn’t move. She merely raised a brow, uncrossed her legs, and sat up a little straighter, folding her arms across her chest.
"Alpha," she said with casual coolness.
"Charlotte," Darius greeted, his tone equally calm, but his eyes never left Serena.
Serena rose, brushing invisible creases from her gown. "Darius, I didn’t expect you."
Then she caught herself and then turned slowly to Charlotte, who thankfully did not see the shock on her face. She mentally facepalmed as she remembered Livia’s strict warning about addressing Darius with his full title. And here she was comfortable calling him by his first name in the presence of Charlotte.
"I didn’t expect to find company either," he replied, gaze finally shifting toward the lit candle and the general state of the room. "Am I interrupting?"
"No," Serena said a little too quickly. "Not at all."
Charlotte smirked again but said nothing.
Darius stepped further in and closed the door behind him with a soft click. He didn’t look like he intended to leave. Instead, he moved toward the window, glancing out briefly before turning back to them.
"I wanted to check on you," he said. "After your return."
Serena felt her heart squeeze. "I made it back fine. The horse got spooked but–"
"You fell?" Darius asked with a raised brow.
Serena played with the hem of her dress and then looked at Darius, she did not understand why he was not getting the non-verbal signals she was screaming at him. Why in the world was he talking so casually to her in the presence of Charlotte? She already knew that they were acquainted with each other, perhaps even friends in the past.
Her brows tightened at the thought of that, she cursed inwardly and pushed it away. If so, did she know that she and him were fated mates? Was this another thing that they kept from her again?
"Wow, she’s so powerful that she simply refuses to answer our great Alpha," Charlotte said with a whisper.
Serena jerked forward and looked between the two of them, she felt her cheeks heat up. She was grateful for the warm orange hue of the candle, no one would be able to see her red cheeks.
"No, I apologise... Alpha. I did not fall," Serena said in a deflated tone.
Charlotte placed her hand on her chin and looked between the man and the woman. She wondered what it was about this woman that intrigued Darius , even she herself was curious about this blonde woman called Serena. And she was sure to dig around, it was the duty that Silas had given her after all.
One of the best, his old mind had ever conjured up.
"I see..." Darius said.
Truth be told the man was irritated to see Charlotte there, his agenda was far from checking in, but that was where he would stop for the night. He knew that curly-haired woman was someone who sought entertainment always and he would not give her anything to make her start sniffing around him. He frowned slightly, his whole world was really turning on its head.
He cleared his throat and walked to the door and nodded curtly. "Well I will see you tomorrow, Ambassador."