Darius hurried out from the dining area, leaving the two women alone. He hoped they would remain civil with each other. Well, he hoped Livia was kind enough to hold her tongue.
The man walked briskly through the hallway; one of his Elders, Julian, had demanded his presence. He was the scribe and record keeper of Ironshade.
Elder Julian had summoned him, apparently for something urgent. With Julian, everything was urgent, from missing library scrolls to dust accumulating in corners. Still Darius respected the man and he hoped it wasn’t anything serious.
The red-haired man pushed open the door to Julian’s office and found the old man staring into the burning fireplace.
"Elder Julian," Darius greeted, arms folding across his chest.
The man turned to face him. He was a man of short stature, never really caring how he appeared. His clothes smelled of age, and his lips were always turned down in a perpetual frown.
"Alpha," Elder Julian said, returning the greeting.
"You said it was urgent," Darius began. He walked over to his seat and sank into it.
The nearly bald Elder sat opposite him, reaching for a leather-bound journal that looked like it had seen a century or two. He laid it carefully between them, his fingers lingering on the worn cover.
Darius clasped his hands under his chin and sat forward.
"I’ve traced Beatrice’s lineage," he continued, voice slow and deliberate. "She’s from Dawnbreak."
Darius closed his eyes briefly and pursed his lips. He restrained himself from disrespecting Julian by asking a question that might offend him.
"I see... is that all?" Darius asked.
The Elder dug into his pocket, fixed on his reading glasses, and opened the old book, sending particles of dust into the air.
Darius waved the small particles away, clearing his throat. He always thought Julian was a lonely old man who could be irritating. Follow current novels on novel•fire.net
He would never admit it, but Julian reminded him of himself. Julian’s only child was one of the wolves that patrolled the borders, keeping Ironshade safe. Darius knew the distance disturbed at him. This talking, teaching, lecturing was how Julian filled the silence.
He spent his free time telling Darius about ’urgent matters,’ but they were simply his past-time activities.
Julian’s voice droned on, reciting historical cross-references and lineage overlaps like a bard with no audience. Darius let him talk, nodding at the appropriate places, contributing when it felt right, but his mind was elsewhere.
"Julian," Darius interrupted gently, clearing his throat. "It’s the hour of the dead. Tomorrow’s a new day. I’ll be here to listen then."
Julian remained silent for a few seconds, taking off his glasses and wiping them with a spare cloth. He slipped them into his pocket, closed the journal, and rose from his seat.
"Very well, then," Julian said.
Darius stood with him and saw him to the door. He waited a few moments after the soft shuffle of Julian’s footsteps faded before he left the room himself.
He rushed to the dining hall, but to his dismay, Serena and Livia had already left. The table had been cleared, the candles snuffed out, and the wine glasses polished clean.
Darius rubbed the back of his neck and left the hallway, looking for either of the women.
He had looked in different rooms, but he saw no one, and there were too many scents in the air to pick out where they might have gone.
Just as Darius was about to give up, he bumped into someone who seemed to be in a hurry. It was Livia.
He grabbed her arm to stop her. When their eyes met, his countenance fell, her eyes were red with unshed tears, and she bit her lip in her characteristic way of holding them back.
Darius pulled her closer and inspected her face.
"What happened?" he said in a calm tone.
Livia pulled back, her shoulders stiff. She shook her head, brushing a stray tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. "It’s nothing, Darius."
But the man wasn’t convinced. It took a lot to ruffle Livia’s feathers, and the only person that came to mind was Serena.
Darius sighed and pulled her into a hug. "Was it her?"
Livia remained silent, and that was the answer Darius needed to hear. She pulled herself away, shaking her head.
"No, it wasn’t," she said, shaking her head quickly. "I got ahead of myself... Just forget it, alright?"
Before Darius could get another word out, she disappeared down the hallway. He clenched his fist and continued in the opposite direction. He would find Serena, one way or another.
"Fancy seeing you here," he said, walking up behind the blonde woman.
Serena flinched, her hand jerking just enough to send the candlelight flickering wildly. She let out a breath when she saw him and reached to steady the lamp.
"Darius," she said. "I didn’t expect to see you here."
"It’s my castle," he said with a raised brow.
"I suppose you’re right," Serena replied.
Darius looked down at the book in front of her. History of Ironshade, it read. "So what brings you here?"
"I couldn’t sleep," she admitted, looking at the flickering flame.
"What happened between you and Livia?"
Her hand, mid-motion, stilled in the air. Then she slowly lowered it onto the book, her fingers splaying across the worn leather cover. So something had transpired between the two women.
Enough to bring Livia to tears, and that would mean the topic of her parents had been brought up. It confused Darius, Livia hated talking about it. So what had provoked her to that point?
"Her parents... she said they were killed by rogues?"
Darius’ guess was correct. He sighed and sat on the table, gazing into Serena’s green eyes.
"They were... she told you?"
Serena nodded slowly, playing with her fingers. "It must have been a horrible experience for her."
Darius looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was a horrible day for the pack. Darius shuddered at the memory.
Rogues had infiltrated the pack, and they were violent. Livia’s parents were in the military and had been the first line of defense- they fought with their lives. This had been before his father passed.
But Livia bringing that up out of the blue to Serena, who was a rogue, was strange. Serena still wasn’t telling him the full truth of what had happened between the two.
"What happened to your parents?"