Serena clenched and unclenched her fists. It was her reality. Any joy now experienced would be short-lived, a tragedy waiting to unfold. A low breath slipped from her lips as she closed her eyes, just for a moment, steadying herself.
Misery would eat at her soul forever if she kept moving . Yes, she would have to leave, but letting that dampen her spirits would sour all the fun she could have. That, in turn, meant only regret would fill her memories at every waking hour in Lupine Hollow.
She held her head up high and walked on. A promise was made there and then, she would not let the thought of leaving weigh her down.
"I’ll make the most of my stay," she said with a small smile, glancing at Darius.
He didn’t miss how her eyes glistened with unshed tears,how she blinked too quickly and turned her head, sniffing once like it would disguise the break in her voice. Darius kicked a stone down the road and fiddled with his fingers.
He admired her resolve to enjoy her stay. He silently agreed. Darius would enjoy her stay too. He exhaled. It would be done, everything would be done perfectly... until she left.
He shoved the thought down and smiled, his voice lighter when he spoke. "I used to hate hunting, you know," he began randomly.
Serena blinked, then looked at him with a crooked smile.
"Are you that surprised?" Darius asked.
"Would you be offended if I said yes?" Serena asked, teasing him.
She wiped the last of her tears and kept her eyes on Darius. "And what changed?"
"I became the Alpha," he said, puffing his chest out.
Serena chuckled, of course. He hadn’t grown to love it, he’d simply adapted. That didn’t count as change. Still, she played along.
They reached a quiet corner of Longdale, where a wooden bench faced the outer road, shaded beneath the curling branches of an old birch tree. The sounds of town faded into the background here, just the chirp of birds, and the soft rustling of wind.
Thankfully, no one had passed by. The news of the Alpha and the Ambassador in Longdale was still relatively unknown, though Darius wondered how long it would go unnoticed.
"And if you did not?" Serena asked.
"But I did," Darius said with a shrug. He angled his body to her slightly and placed his elbow on the backrest of the bench. "And do you like hunting?"
It wasn’t that Serena particularly liked or disliked it, it was simply a part of werewolf life. Seasonal hunting expeditions were organized for weeks, wolves returning to the main living area of the pack only to venture out again.
Serena did love the taste of moose, deer, and a myriad of other game meat. She had participated in a few hunts in her life. Still, she preferred the quiet, sanitized smell of the infirmary.
Her father loved the hunt. He never failed to bring back a trophy catch for her mother. The ends of Serena’s lips tugged up in a wistful smile.
As an exiled wolf, it was much harder. She could not shift, so she relied on setting traps for smaller animals, something she struggled with. That period had given her enough time to perfect her baking with fruits.
"I take it that you don’t," Darius spoke, breaking her train of thought.
She hadn’t realized that she had gone silent for a while. She shook her head.
"I do not mind, but I’d much rather stay ho- rather, stay back," she said, correcting herself.
It was a year into her exile when she had a proper home- an abandoned stone house she found in Lupine Hollow. Most rogue wolves stayed away from Lupine Hollow because of how dangerous it was to live there. It was like a death sentence, signed and sealed.
"I haven’t got much experience with it," she said thoughtfully.
Darius listened intently. Serena did not speak much. Always in her head, it seemed, or putting together stories. His upper lip twitched slightly. He was still wary, but he had swallowed most of it.
"Really? My father used to take me on a moment’s notice all the time."
Serena crossed one leg over the other and relaxed into the bench. "Your father... what was he like?"
She vaguely remembered the rumours about his father, Magnus Hawthorne. Ironshade was said to be ruled by iron-fisted wolves, run with strict rules and next to no leniency.
And Magnus was like that. Thankfully, he had never visited Silverstone. They were still affected, however. He caused an influx of rogues into the west of Kaldora, and most packs in that region suffered for it.
She remembered her father cursing because of it. It meant more work for him and being away from his family for a long period. Somehow, talks about Magnus had died down in Silverstone, more important business was to be heard about their regional cardinal pack.
"He was... well..." Darius began, his voice wavering. He was not sure exactly what to say to Serena.
His father was many things, but most were not positive. He looked at her expectant eyes. She blinked slowly, as if reassuring him. This content belongs to novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Darius exhaled and looked at the sky briefly. "He was a good leader..." he said, trailing off.
At some point, he was, only during the period when his mother was alive. He knew the stories of his father’s ruthlessness. It was tradition, as they said.
He played with a strand of Serena’s hair, rolling it between his fingers. The man was not kind. He had his moments, but it was his mother’s influence on the man.
"His spirit is at peace," Serena said, placing a comforting hand on Darius’ knee.
Serena interpreted his hesitation as grief. It was hard for her too, to talk about her parents. But it had been so many moons than she could count since they passed away. It was just her and her brother, Theodore.
"I know this back and forth is getting old," Darius started. "But I’d like to know what your father was like."
Serena smiled and took her hand off his knee and onto her chin. She had many stories about him. The day was shaping up to be one of the better ones.
Serena finally settled on the story she would tell Darius. She hadn’t talked this much in such a long time. It made her feel alive, almost.
"My father was strong," she said with a laugh.
She could almost feel his hands around her knees, steadying her while she was on his shoulders. It was something he did often, even when she complained she was much too old for him to carry her.
"There was this time he brought home this stag, the biggest deer I had ever laid my eyes on."
Darius couldn’t help but smile at how animated Serena had become once the topic of her father came up. He must have been a wonderful father to her.
Jealousy pricked at him and he swallowed it, letting her finish. She must have had a happy childhood growing up, even as a rogue. How strange, a son of an Alpha had a more tragic upbringing than a rogue.
"He was good with a knife too," she said. "He loved tinkering."
Serena talked on and on. Darius patiently listened to her words, never once interrupting. She was vivid with her recountings, and Darius almost felt like he was there with her.
He took note of how her tone had dulled. She sighed and looked to the sky. Life as a rogue did not seem so oppressed or dangerous as he thought it would be.
He did not want to assume too quickly. Serena must have skipped out on most things because she corrected herself in so many sentences. For the moment, Darius did not care about those oddities. He kept his gaze on her face and nodded to her words.
"... and that’s how I made my first roast on an open fire," Serena said.
She looked up at the sky, and the sun sat on top of their heads. It was noontime. How time flew when she wasn’t so uptight and watching her moves.
"You really loved him, hm?" Darius murmured.
"I did... I still do, and I miss him every day," Serena answered, playing with the hem of her dress.
They sat in comfortable silence before an idea popped into Serena’s head. She had just recalled that Darius had promised a cartful of apples just days ago.
"Darius," she called.
"I’d like an apple," Serena said.
Darius turned to her and smiled before he broke into laughter. Serena looked him up and down before joining him in his laughter.
"I was wondering when you’d remember that," Darius said.
Serena raised a brow. "You thought I’d forget?"
Darius lifted his hands in mock surrender and shook his head. "Oh, I never go back on my promises."
With that, the pair set out for the Longdale main square in search of Serena’s green apples.