The sun's rays glittered against the fluffy snowflakes that coated the frozen earth in a thick blanket of white. The yellow, gold and white specks flickered as Venus trudged through the thick blanket toward the cabin in the woods, toward Serena.
She pulled the thick fur coat closer around her body. It helped against the chilly breeze and the flakes that danced along its current, but there were better coats to be had.
she reached inside the lining and pressed a gloved hand against the pressed flower resting against her side. Its petals crunched against the pressure of her finger. She jerked her hand out of the coat and back to her side.
She continued her way up the path, and a small trail of puffs of fog followed in her wake as her breathing increased. The hill was slick. As slippery as melted butter on glass. Venus bent over, her hands sunk deep into the snow's crust. She pulled herself up the last hill underneath that canopy of white-dusted evergreen. She clawed her way up the porch steps, her lungs screaming and frozen, and collapsed on the front porch. Her back pressed deep into the snow, a soft cushion for a quick moment of relief.
The deep thunking of booted footprints vibrated against the boards and into Venus' ears. She flipped her eyes open to see the dangling brown hair of Serena hovering above her face. Serena's face lightened immediately as Venus stared up at her friend.
"You're alive!" Serena beamed. She extended an arm for Venus. Venus grasped the arm tightly and heaved herself up out of the cushion of snow.
"Yes. I am." Venus gave Serena an exhausted smile as she leaned against the door.
"What brings you here? You were just here yesterday." Serena opened the front door and stomped off the snow clinging to her fur-lined boots.
Venus entered the doorway and did the same.
"You know me." She smiled half-heartedly. She shrugged off her coat. It flopped to the floor, scattering patches of snow all about the hallway. "I just love to surprise you."
Serena flung herself over Venus's shoulders, her body draped over the small woman. Venus welcomed the sudden embrace. Serena was warm, much unlike herself. The walk to the cabin was colder than expected. The normal warmth Venus had from her werewolf body, was sucked out into the cold forest, never to be seen again.
"I'm glad you're back," Serena muttered to her friend's ear.
Venus smiled softly, her heartwarming up from the house and her friend.
"Me too."
She pushed Serena away and picked up her coat from the floor. She dug around the sides, searching for the decaying flower. Serena craned her neck to look into the coat. Venus turned her back on Serena, blocking the view of the coat.
Serena crossed her arms and pouted.
"What are you doing?" Serena pulled Venus' shoulder.
Venus jerked her shoulder away and pressed the coat close to her body.
"Let's sit down." Venus rushed into the living room.
Serena followed closely behind, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"Is something wrong?" She asked as she plopped onto the worn couch beside Venus.
Venus raked her fingers through her clumped hair. The chunks of half-melted snow ran cold through her thin fingers and fell to the couch cushions with a soft plop.
"I talked to Atlas-"
"No." Serena shot up from the couch and toward the fireplace, the furthest place from the couch.
Venus visibly drooped. Her face fell, and her shoulders went with it.
"Don't do that." She said softly, hurt by Serena's immediate rejection of her brother.
Serena spun around, her face full of fire.
"Do what?" She spat. "I refuse to hear anything about the man that hurt me and hurt Lucian."
Venus cocked her head.
"What do you mean? Hurt Lucian?"
Serena's face paled. A hand shot to her mouth, almost trying to catch the words that had already escaped and shove them back into her mouth.
Venus slowly rose from the couch, draping the coat on the armrest.
"What did my brother do to Lucian?"
Serena spun away from Venus.
"Nothing. I've said too much anyway."
"No." Venus pulled Serena toward her. "Tell me. What can I do to make this right?"
Serena bit her lip. The words churned in her eyes, unsure of how to place them in a sentence or even a paragraph.
"Lucian told me everything."
"Okay..." Venus hesitated, unsure if she wanted to hear the story about to unfold.
"He told me about how he was removed from the Riverwood Pack and how the pack wronged him. And I have to agree that they did something wrong. They should have heard him out and accepted what he said as true."
Venus dropped Serena's hands and took a step back.
"What did he say?"
Serena clutched her hands to her chest. Her gaze was intense as she took the step toward Venus.
"He is the rightful Alpha."
Venus' world came to a stop. The room around her slowly zoomed in on her, cramping her into a small place. Her lungs rejected the oxygen that she was shoving into them. Her rosy cheek paled.
"What are you talking about?" Her voice quivered.
"His mother and your father had him. It was before your father met your mother. It was about a year before. That's why he's close to your age. Well, Atlas' age. He challenged the Elders and Atlas because of that and lost. He shouldn't have needed to challenge their authority, to begin with, if they had done a simple DNA test. That's prevalent now. So we could prove that he's the rightful Alpha."
"Serena. No." Venus blocked Serena from her approach with a simple wave of her hand. "Do you hear what you're saying?"
"I know it sounds crazy." Serena rolled her eyes. "But just hear me out."
"No, Serena. I don't think you understand how that works. Being Alpha is more than just being the firstborn."
"What?" Serena paused.
"You have to go through a whole process. The Moon Goddess has to speak to you and the Elders. She chooses you. It's more than being born to the current Alpha. If the Moon Goddess spoke to the Elders and Lucian, then he would have been Alpha. But she didn't. Atlas was trained by my father and Elder Briar to take over the mantle. That was another thing. Lucian was always meant to be the Delta. But he never was satisfied with his post. That was a sign that he would fail as Alpha. The Alpha must be willing to compromise and be willing to die for the pack. On more than one occasion, Lucian left his pack members behind. One of which died. Did he tell you that?"
A lump was stuck in Serena's throat.
"N-No he didn't." She dipped her head and gazed at the floor.
"What has Atlas done as the Alpha that my father never could've done? He's united many nearby packs in a pact to protect each other and come to our aid. He has made our pack sustainable, and we even have a thriving group of pups now. My father and his father were never able to do that. All they cared about was death and blood. Atlas has changed this region. For the better."
Serena was silent. Her voice clogged in her throat. A flush played on her cheeks as she thought over the words she had said.
Venus turned to the coat and snatched the flower. She shoved it against Serena's chest. Serena grunted and caught the dried flower. Its petals crinkled slightly against her fingers.
"Here. Atlas wanted me to give you this."
Venus stormed to the hallway. Before turning down the hall, she glanced back at a stunned Serena.
"He loves you, you know. You may not be the girl with the red scarf, but you are his mate. You will always be on his mind, and everything he does from here on out will be for you."
Venus rushed out of the cabin and into the snowy forest, leaving her friend stunned in the living room.