Killing the Wolf

17. A wolf in the forest

Serafina told them everything, except Henry Trinh's words about her secret desire and resentment. She told them every little detail from the feeling he created in her mind to a tone of voice he used. There was a collective gasp when she told about him making Oliver disappear and... well... making her feel he was her mate. 

"Do you still feel that?" Evelyn asked. 

Serafina shook her head.

"Thank heavens, no!"

"Good," Evelyn sighed. 

Shawn who had been standing in the back of the room stepped forward. The alpha powers were radiating from him and it made everyone else bow their heads. 

"What does he want from Serafina?" he asked no one particularly. 

"What do you mean?" Evelyn frowned.

"He didn't just randomly choose her. I feel it. There is a reason for this. Why her?" He let his eyes fall on his sister. She looked away, though she didn't know why. Maybe it was the dominance in his eyes.

"Shay?" he asked.

"What?" she snapped - unintentionally. 

Shawn was taken aback, but he hid it quickly. He searched her eyes. She couldn't hideaway from her Alpha no matter how hard she tried. 

"What?" she whispered.

"Do you know why?" Shawn asked.

"I don't know."

Shawn kept staring.

"I don't know! Honestly! I just felt like he was searching for something in me. But I don't know what."

"Ok. We need to figure out what that is. And we also need to-"

"Shawn stop! I can't hear your plans!" Serafina cried out. "He can get into my mind! If I know, he knows!"

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Serafina left the room. It was almost over midnight but she needed to run. After returning home from Hawaii, she had shifted several times. At first, the sensation had been uncomfortable; she had been in her human form for over a year. But now it felt good - it made her feel whole. She looked around and after realizing no one was around she took off her clothes and placed them in a plastic bag which she hung on a tree branch. Then she let her body shift into her wolf form. As her human body disappeared she let her emotions run wild. She couldn't feel Oliver even in her wolf form. She let out a howl. She didn't miss Oliver, but she missed a mate. In her wolf form, Serafina had always ended up forgiving the boy no matter how much she disliked him as a human. No there was nothing to forgive for he was nothing to her. Mixed emotions made her move faster and lose the sense of time.

As Serafina leaped over a small creek, she saw something move in the corner of her eye. It made her stop and scan the air for scents. She did pick up one. It was a wolf. She groaned. Someone from the pack had probably followed her. She took in the scent for the second time to figure out who.

But it wasn't a familiar scent. Her muscles tensed and she eyed her surroundings. The wind turned and the scent didn't reach her anymore. She cursed in her mind. She couldn't locate the wolf, but her own scent, for sure, would reach the wolf. 

"I should call for help," she thought but didn't have time to lift his head and howl, because she was tackled on the ground. She was pinned down and held there, though barely. 

"It's a female!" she thought. Serafina bit its paw that was against her own upper body. The wolf whimpered us Serafina's teeth sunk into its skin. It jumped off Serafina and put some distance between them. The wolf seemed startled as it looked down its bleeding paw. Serafina lunged at it but though the wolf had not been focused seconds earlier, it was able to dodge away.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" a woman yelled as Serafina turned to attack again. Serafina remained in a fighting position and kept her eyes on the woman. It had shifted into her human form. The woman held her hands up and took steps back.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I mean no harm."

Serafina started to walk around her trying to figure out who she was. She had long black straight hair and dark brown eyes. Her skin was tanned. She was a native American.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

Serafina bared her teeth and growled. 

"Please," the woman said. "I don't mean no harm."

Serafina thought what to do. There was a strange werewolf in her pack's lands. It had attacked her. Well, maybe not attacked but tackled her down on the ground. If she was dangerous, Serafina had a better chance of defending herself in her wolf form. But the woman didn't look dangerous. Her body was relaxed and there was nothing angry nor agitated in her eyes. 

Serafina nodded. She let her body shift and her human body stood in front of the woman. The woman didn't seem faced by their naked bodies, so Serafina didn't bother to cover hers.

"What do you want?" she asked. She kept her legs slightly apart in 5 o'clock position - just in case the stranger decided to attack.

"I'm here to see Fay. My name is Max. I'm her friend," the woman spoke. 

Serafina frowned. She had heard Lucy talk about someone named Max with Qiana. But they had sounded like there was something strange going on.

"You have a strange way of entering another pack's lands," Serafina said. 

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Your Alpha is not a huge fan of mine..." her voice trailed off. Serafina clenched her hands in tight fists. 

"Why doesn't my brother like you?" Serafina asked and simultaneously she counted how many steps away this Max was from her. 7 steps. She'd have time to react if the woman would attack.

"You're Serafina!" Max smiled. "I've actually met you. When you were just a child. My goodness, you've become quite a fighter." 

Serafina shook her head.

"Why doesn't my brother like you?" Serafina repeated her question. 

Max gave her a sheepish smile. 

"Because I helped his mate escape him... And," she spoke with her melodic voice, "I've been working with Fay since the day she ran away from this place."

Serafina nodded. She had heard of Fay's friend when she had been eavesdropping Seth and their father.

"Hey!"

Both of their heads turned and they saw a fuming Fay.