Venus left the two alone in the cabin. Strangers to each other, but with one thing in common.
They both had a painful history with the Riverwood Pack.
Lucian turned to Serena and looked her over. His eyes hovered over her loose and crinkled clothing. He chuckled and pointed to the bag.
"That's all you got?"
Serena looked at the duffle and back at him.
"No. That suitcase is also mine, from before I left." she ducked around Lucian and into the front bedroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She slammed the door shut between them without waiting for him to respond.
"Not like I wanted to talk to you anyway," Lucian mumbled, glaring at the closed door.
Serena collapsed to the bed and buried her face in the soft pink quilt from her childhood. Its edges were worn to almost threads, and small rips from overuse dotted the squares. She inhaled the scents of her youth as she thought of her history.
She slid from the bed to the hardwood floor, her knees hitting it with a loud thud. She grumbled as pain shot up her thigh. Serena flung out an arm, grabbed the still barely-touched suitcase, and dumped it on the floor. Her shirts, pants, dresses, and undergarments formed a messy pile of colors on the rug in the center of the small bedroom. All of which were meant for a summer weekend. She grumbled as she tossed the clothes into a dresser drawer beside her. She slammed it shut and proceeded to do the same to the contents of the duffle bag.
After all was finished, she flopped onto the twin bed and folded her arms over her chest. Her head was filled with fog, keeping her thoughts just out of reach to see the details, but visible enough to keep her mind racing. She groaned and slammed a pillow over her face. Her cries of frustration and sadness were muffled by the feathers and stuffing of the pillow. Her throat ached and pleaded for mercy as she continued her cries.
She was suffocating. Suffocating not from the pillow, but from the expectations and the hurt. The role she fell for and wanted with all her heart. The life she began to want was now gone. She was lost once more.
Slowly, she rose from the bed and stumbled through the dark hallway toward the living room. She traced her fingers along the paneled walls, following their familiar path toward the entrance. She swung around the corner of the door and slammed into something solid.
Lucian groaned as Serena's face collided with his chest and shoulder.
"What the hell..." He grumbled, gripping Serena's shoulder tight. "Oh. It's you."
Lucian rolled his eyes in the dark as he looked over the dazed Serena.
She rubbed her head and groaned.
"Yep. It's me." She shrugged her shoulders and massaged her temples.
"Why are you not in bed?" Lucian pushed Serena away and quickly placed his hands behind his back.
"What are you, my mom?" She grumbled.
She lifted her eyes and met Lucian's embarrassed gaze. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, avoiding maintaining eye contact with her for too long.
"No. I'm just solid. You hit on me pretty hard there."
Serena rolled her eyes and slid past him through the doorway. She collapsed on the couch and pulled a blanket over her face.
The edge of the couch dipped at Serena's feet as Lucian sat beside her on the couch. He placed a hand on her ankle and squeezed it slightly. She flung the blanket off and pulled away from him, sliding her feet under her as she did so.
"What the fuck was that?" She snapped, her eyes firey.
Lucian held his hands up and scooted away from her a cushion.
"You just hurt your ankle, didn't you?" He pointed a finger to her foot.
She looked down and the ankle he had grabbed glared red against her pale skin. It puffed up abnormally and stung on contact.
"How didn't I know?" She muttered to herself. "How did you notice?" She flicked her gaze to meet his.
"It's the werewolf part of me. I notice things." He shrugged and reached for her foot. She relented and soon her foot was in his lap, elevated above her waist.
"Thanks..." She grumbled half-heartedly.
"What was that?" He held a hand to his ear and leaned toward her, a sly grin on his face.
"Thanks." She repeated a little louder and a little more angrily.
"You're welcome."
He was satisfied to have made some sort of effort in their relationship. He held her ankle on his lap, massaging her foot as much as she would let him.
Soon soft snores came from the woman beside him.
He looked over and saw Serena laying with her arms angled wildly and her hair covering half her face in a mess. Her mouth gaped wide open. Her tank top bunched above her belly button, exposing some of her stomach and ribs. A strap slipped over one of her shoulders, hanging there barely by a hair. Lucian chuckled and lifted her foot from his lap, replacing his lap with a nearby pillow.
"This will be interesting..." He whispered to himself, scanning over her body as she slept. His gaze caught on a small scar on the bottom of her ribcage. It poked out of the edge of the tank top. He poked a finger at her shirt, lifting it only slightly to see the entire pink scar.
It stretched from the bottom rib to just under where her bra would begin. He pulled the shirt back down and stepped back, thinking about how she got the fresh red mark as he made his way toward the master bedroom.
He slipped into the shower and let the warm water rinse the dirt and grime from the last few days down the drain. Taking with it the fights and the frustration that came with it as a moment. The crispy dried blood melted off the base of his neck and shoulders and ran in circles around the drain.
He exited the bath and searched the closet and medicine cabinet until he found the small box he needed.
He removed the first aid kit and set it against the sink. Taking out a disinfectant and a suture kit, he began to painstakingly clean the wounds from his back. He plucked the stubborn bits of grass, wolfsbane, and pine needles before lathering on the ointment.
The prick of the needle sent shivers down Lucian's body. Good shivers. The pain of growth and cleaning was his favorite. After cleaning up the extra blood that dripped on the counter, he checked over his body once more.
The scars from years before were still there but slightly faded. Nothing new other than the few marks from earlier needed attention. He groaned as he slid a shirt over her head. The pain tickled his spine but irritated his soul.
He entered the living room and slowly sat down in the rocking chair across from Serena. He spent the rest of the night slowly examining her features in the moonlight. At least until sleep overtook him too.