Ashina opened the door quietly, it creaked loudly in the quiet of the night but she ignored it. She glanced around the yard, and then sucking in a deep breath, she walked out of the house, closing the door behind her.
Hugging her jacket closer to herself, she began to walk down the driveway until she got to the street. She then turned towards Ulva's house and walked as fast as her legs could carry her.
All around her, the Borough was entombed in deathly silence, everywhere was so quiet that she could hear the snores of some wolves right in their beds. The aura of sadness and grief clung stubbornly to the air as if the atmosphere itself was mourning the loss of Ulva. She shook her head slightly as she walked faster, she couldn't keep crying about something she had no control over. What was done was done, it was up to her to start making things right. There was no other way about it.
Soon, Ashina stopped before Ulva's house. It was a towering structure, that stood stark against the night sky, casting an immense shadow over the street. As she stood there, her mind flashed back to the day Ulva and Lena brought her here shortly after her father's death.
"Consider this your home, Shine." He had told her, at the time it had not made sense to her because she was grieving and all she could think about was losing her parents. However, within the coming months and years, she realized just what he meant.
Lena and Ulva had opened their home to her, taken her in like their daughter, and practically saw her into adulthood. Thanks to their guidance and company, she didn't have to go through the grief of losing her parents alone. She always had them in her corner and that was something she would never forget. She could imagine the path she would have taken if Ulva had not been there to set her right.
Now, hours after killing him, she stood in front of the same house. She was going to look Lena in the eye and tell her everything. If there is anyone who deserved to know what happened to Ulva, she was the one.
With her mind made up, Ashina walked down the driveway to the door. When she got there, she grabbed the knob and twisted it, she wasn't shocked when she found it open. Upon becoming the alpha, one of Ulva's policies was to always have an open door so that wolves would always be able to reach him. Whether he was home or not, wolves could come in. All the time that she lived with them, she never once remembered the door being locked.
Now, she pushed it open and walked in. The house was dark and felt empty, just like everything else in the Borough, she could feel his absence. It was as if the second he died, everything that he ever touched or connected with felt a paradigm shift.
She knew her way around the living room like the back of her hand, so she carefully picked her steps as she made her way to the switch, and slapped it on at once. She flooded the living room with soft lights. Once it was lit up, she froze as she realized she wasn't alone. Lena was also right there in the room. She had been sitting in the shadows, staring out the window.
"Lena…" she gasped. "I didn't know you were here."
"This is my house, Shine." She said quietly. "Where else would I be?"
"Uhm…" Now that she was with her, Ashina had no idea how to go about it. Her fingers tangled together in nerves as she fought to control herself. "Lena… I… I uh…"
Ashina couldn't get a single word out, she slowly lowered herself into another couch as she watched Ulva's mate. The woman didn't even turn from the couch, she didn't look away from the window. She also didn't acknowledge that Ashina was trying to say something and failing woefully at it.
Ashina couldn't believe that she was doing this. She had thought that she would be able to look Lena in the eye and tell her the truth, but none of that was going according to plan. Her nerves were failing her and guilt was eating her up. She couldn't bear to have Lena turn on her when she learned the devastating news.
Ashina pinched herself in the thighs, forcing some clarity into her mind. She sucked in a deep breath, tightening her fists as she looked at Lena, "uhm… I'm sorry about what happened to Ulva tonight in the woods. I was there with him and-"
"You're sorry?" Lena cut her off, "That's what I've heard all night. Everyone is sorry that my mate is dead, one would think they're the ones to kill the damn alpha."
Ashina swallowed at that, "Lena…"
"Just shut up, okay?" Lena snapped, "I'm sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over again."
"Come on Lena, you know how much Ulva meant to me. You know what you two meant to me. Believe me when I tell you this, I'm sorry about what happened tonight."
Lena was quiet for a while, then she slowly turned to look at the young lady, "Maybe you are. After all, Ulva basically became your father after Lockhart died. But still, it doesn't make me want to hear it anymore."
"Lena…"
"It's infuriating, okay?" Lena blared. "I'm sick and tired of everyone telling me how sorry they are! I'm sick and tired of everyone telling me to be strong and to take heart. If that's what you're here to tell me, shut up and get the fuck out of my house!"
Lena's words hurt her deeply, but she didn't move. She knew the woman was just grieving and she wasn't going to take the harsh words to heart. Ashina had a mission there and nothing was going to make her deviate from it, "I'm not just here for that. It's about what happened in the woods. Ulva and I were…"
"Save it!" Lena snapped. "I don't want to hear it."
"What?" Ashina's eyes widened, "I want to tell you what happened to Ulva, the truth that I didn't say at the bar. I want to tell you the full story."
The grieving widow slowly turned in her seat to face Ashina fully, "the full story? Is that a joke or what? I don't care about that, Shine. All I know is that both of you went into the woods and only you walked out. Ulva is dead and you're not. That's the full story."
Ashina's eyes burned as she fought off tears, she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry anymore. However, Lena's words hurt her deeply she just couldn't fight it. She got to her feet, her entire body trembling. Then, without another word, she turned and ran out of the house, going as fast as she could.
Guilt was eating her up from the inside like acid, she ran faster and faster, not knowing or even caring where she was going. The quiet streets lay empty before her as she kept running, pumping speed into her legs as she ate up the distance. The more she ran, the more she screamed, letting the world know that she was done mourning.
It was time to get answers. That was the only way she could bear to face Lena.