Moonbound: The Rogue's Second Chance-Chapter 60 - SIXTY - DELEGATE

Serena stepped aside and let him in. She closed the door with a soft click and followed Darius, wringing her hands.

"Would you prefer the living room or the dining area?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder.

Serena’s eyes darted between the two spaces. The living room, with its wide windows and overstuffed chairs, offered comfort. The dining area, however, was closer quarters, smaller table, less space between them. Her lips curled into a faint, amused smile.

"The living room," she said at last.

He nodded and waited for her lead. Darius was uneasy, quite frankly, he did not want to sit down to discuss something of this nature.

"I wasn’t expecting you to be at the door," Serena said once they stepped into the living room.

She sank into the cushion to his left. One leg crossed neatly over the other as her fingers played with the hem of her sleeve.

Darius arched a brow. "You expected someone else?"

Serena twisted a pale strand of hair between her fingers, feigning casualness. "Well... not like that, I meant..."

Darius relaxed into the cushion and cast a sidelong glance at her. "I didn’t know I wasn’t welcome at the Ambassador’s manor."

Serena laughed and shook her head."I mean, you’re a busy man. I would’ve expected Annamarie at the door, not the Alpha himself."

"Ah, I see." Darius tapped the heel of his boot against the wooden floor. "Annamarie visits often?"

"No," Serena said with a wistful glance toward the window. Sunlight filtered through the glass, catching on dust motes that swirled like lazy spirits. "I wish she would, though."

The manor was generous in size, far too generous for one. It did get lonely being here at the manor. Serena was grateful she had been given such a spacious space, but that only happened because of her fake status.

"Do the pack members know of this place?" Serena asked.

"Yes," Darius replied, then allowed a crooked smile. "But the Moonseeker told them violent spirits lived here. That’s why it’s quieter on this side."

Serena’s eyes widened, and that prompted Darius to smile and then burst into laughter.

"It was a tale," he added, shaking his head, "meant to preserve the privacy of guests at Black Thorn."

"With so many wolves in Ironshade, I’m surprised none dared to test the tale," she mused, a teasing glint in her eye.

Darius rested his head on his hand as he listened to Serena intently. His eyes never left hers.

"They might have," Darius said, tilting his head. "But the Moonseeker’s words carry more weight than mine. Something about being the chosen mouthpiece of our benevolent goddess, hmm."

Serena’s face scrunched up like she wasn’t buying the words. It made sense after she dwelt on it, werewolves were more spiritual creatures, not like vampires who were haughty little things.

""She’s... intimidating. I’ll give her that." Serena confessed.

Darius leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees. "Is that so?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and she waved her hands in front of her as if warding off an unseen offense. "Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that. I apologise."

Darius chuckled. "It’s okay. I used to be scared of her too, but when I was still a pup."

Serena tried to imagine what Darius would look like as a pup, red hair still in every direction, a scowl on his face like all children had when told no.

"You visited her often?"

His shoulders slumped just a little as he leaned back again, eyes drifting briefly to the floor. Another sigh. Another one of his thousands.

"I accompanied my mother to the temple," he said. "She was a devout worshipper of Lunara."

Serena nodded, folding her arms across her chest.

"So I did run into the shrine master more often than I would like. Soon after, I realised she was an old woman who had gone on living for a long time."

Serena raised a brow. She knew the Moonseeker was old, but from his words, he alluded to the fact that she was much older than she had imagined.

"A long time?"

"Yes." Darius drummed his fingers against the cushion absently, as though his mind had momentarily wandered back to that weathered temple. "I believe she’s seen three Alphas of Ironshade through their rule... it could be more."

Serena gasped, her lips parting in surprise. She had placed the Moonseeker somewhere around the age of Evelyn, but she was wrong.

Seeing three Alphas through their rule was a long time. Her former Alpha had been in power before she was born and might remain so for a long time. Werewolves lived much longer than humans, but the Moonseeker’s lifespan surpassed that of a regular wolf.

If that was the case, Serena would have to go see her again. The issue of her inability to shift might be fixed with the priestess.

"That’s incredible," Serena said.

Darius nodded and looked out of the window. "It is. She has helped me countless times."

"I see," Serena said quietly.

Serena shifted before she caught herself. She realised that Darius was sitting with her, having a conversation. He had mentioned they needed to talk, and surely it was not something so casual as this.

"You said we needed to talk," Serena said.

Darius nodded and stroked his chin. He was unsure of how to start, he was here to get Serena to prepare her mind about the coming delegate to Ironshade.

He twiddled his thumbs before he sighed, drawing himself nearer to the edge of the cushion.

"There’s been something that came up," he began, pausing to rub his thumb against his palm. "And it involves you."

Her foot began to bounce ever so slightly, a tremor of nerves. She clenched slowly at her dress. She had not heard any other person come with Darius. Still, that did not put her at ease, he could easily overpower her and put her away in prison.

What could he have found out? Did they go back to Lupine Hollow and find her former home? It was not possible, it was much too dangerous. And if they had gone ahead with it, she owned no possessions from Silverstone because she was exiled without her belongings.

She swallowed hard and tried to force herself to calm down and listen to his words.

"Ironshade is going to have a very important visitor," Darius continued.

Darius watched as her shoulders slumped, she looked like she had just let out a lot of air. He was confused. Why was she always so tense around him? He had been working on his attitude since she came to the pack, and yet she still had this look of fear in her eyes.

"A visitor?" she asked, eyes narrowing with confusion. "I do not follow."

"Are you familiar with the Cardinal pack of Kaldora?" he asked.

Darius was not sure about how much the rogues knew. As they were without packs, information would be scarce. But he had begun to learn that they knew more than they let on, Serena being one of the examples.

She nodded slowly. Good, he would not have to explain much to her.

"Well then, as you know; Crimsonclaw is in the East, Ironshade in the West, Stormcrest in the South, and Dawnbreak..."

"...in the North," they both finished together.

"The visitor is a delegate from Dawnbreak," he said, his voice low. "And you... are an ambassador from Crimsonclaw."

"Ah..." Serena looked down at her bare feet.

This posed a problem for everyone. She was the supposed highest-ranked officer for diplomatic affairs for a Cardinal pack, which would be fine because it was confined to Ironshade. But the delegate was an external representative of another Cardinal pack.

The pressure on her would increase, but it was very much different. She would have to act as someone who had known nothing but the icy mountains of Crimsonclaw, which would not be particularly difficult under the assumption that the delegate had not been to the East.

"So you see the problem," Darius said.

Serena held her wrist in her other hand and looked at him with worried eyes.

"I do. I am sorry," she said.

Darius blinked, as if her apology startled him. He shook his head once, firmly.

"I’m the one who claimed you were an ambassador," he said. "That’s on me."

"Still, I did leave Oakspire," she said in a small voice.

"That you did," he said gravely.

Serena uncrossed her legs and straightened her spine. What could she do now at this point?

"I could leave-"

Darius’s hand came up sharply, palm out. "We are not doing that." His tone carried the weight of a command, but his eyes were gentler.

"I promised," he said, quieter now, "after that storm, you would leave when you chose. And I’m keeping my word."

Serena gazed at her hands and exhaled. "What do you need me to do?"

"For now, not much. I came over to inform you of this." Darius sighed and settled into the cushion. "I’m not even sure myself."

He let his head fall back against the couch, then threw an arm over his eyes, shielding himself from the dim light filtering in through the curtains. The other hand rested loosely on his thigh, his fingers twitched.

There must have been so much pressure on him, of what to do. A delegate from a Cardinal pack was a big deal. Guilt squeezed at her heart. She felt responsible for this mess.

"I am really sorry," she said again, her voice laced with sincerity. "I am."

Darius shifted, pulling his arm down to look at her. There was a faint frown on his brow, but he said nothing yet.

Serena took a slow breath. "I am prepared to do whatever it takes to rectify this."