CHAPTER 213: WE CANNOT RELAX

"What do you mean by that?" Serena asked quietly. She shifted slightly in the chair to avoid the nail that had pricked her upon sitting.

She kept her shoulders square and looked Charlotte dead in her bright brown eyes. She wondered what had prompted her to ask that sort of question. Was it that she was too friendly with Darius? Or the time he came to her room in the dead of night? What was Charlotte thinking of? She would never understand the woman.

"Who is Darius to you?" she repeated.

"Well, he is the Alpha of Ironshade for starters, and, well, my host," Serena replied.

Charlotte hummed and then shrugged her shoulders. "The Darius you know and the Darius I know seem to be very different people. But then again, memory might be failing me."

Serena nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of Charlotte’s words.

Charlotte leaned back in her chair, one leg crossing over the other as she gave Serena a slow, almost lazy nod. "Fair enough," she said finally, tapping her finger against the armrest. "Alpha and host. That is a very... agreeable answer. Maybe even a very avoidant one too."

Serena watched her with a level gaze. There was something strange about the way Charlotte spoke, as if her words were chosen to dance around the truth, not deliver it. "You have met him before," Serena said, not phrasing it as a question.

Charlotte’s lips curled. "What makes you say that?"

It was obvious. He had recognised her the night of the communal gathering, and he knew her actual name. Though Serena decided it would be wise not to mention the fact that she had asked Darius about her, just to talk away suspicion about the fact that Darius and she had meaningful conversations.

"The way you reacted when he walked in the first time. And just now, you said the Darius you know and the Darius I know seem different. That does not sound like someone speaking from stories alone," Serena said.

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Charlotte’s eyes. She exhaled slowly, letting her gaze drift up toward the ceiling beams. "Memory is a fickle thing, Serena. You think you have it pinned down and then some day you recall a face in a different way, a voice a bit softer, a gesture out of place. Maybe I knew him. Maybe I did not. Maybe it was someone else entirely, and my mind is playing games."

Serena frowned. "You are being vague on purpose."

"Yes, and you are clever for noticing. Good girl." Charlotte smiled, but there was no mirth behind it.

Serena sighed, realizing she would get nothing more. She shifted in her seat again, tucking her hands beneath her thighs as her thoughts spiraled. "What do you think happens now?"

Charlotte didn’t answer immediately. She leaned forward, folding her hands loosely. "What happens now," she echoed, as though tasting the weight of the words, "is that every breath you take from this moment onward will be examined. Every step, every glance, every silence. Dawnbreak is not some mountain pack from the middle of nowhere. They are one of the cardinal houses for a reason. They are cunning, and right now... they are cornered."

Serena went still. These wolves were far from home, far from their Alpha—far from their leadership. Leaving now would be foolish, and Serena hoped they would not, because that would mean that the actual Crimsonclaw delegate might get wind of this. Whatever decision they would have to make would have to be final and within Ironshade.

Charlotte continued, her tone softening only slightly. "You ripped the rug out from under them in that room. You and Darius. And Riven...well, he does not seem to take well to surprises. They brought eight of their finest wolves here to secure something important, something they assumed would be theirs alone. And now, suddenly, Crimsonclaw enters the fray? The East rises again with a diplomat no one saw coming?"

"I didn’t mean for it to be," Serena said quietly.

"It does not matter what you think," Charlotte replied flatly. "You are a threat now, whether you meant to be or not. They know it, and they’re already recalculating, watching and plotting."

Serena’s fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her skirt. "Do you think Riven would do something rash?"

Charlotte tilted her head. "He will not lash out like a wild dog. I do not believe that is his style, unless Dawnbreak are fools now. But he will press and go digging. He will look for your weaknesses, and if he finds them, he will exploit them."

"Then I will give him nothing."

Charlotte snorted. "Easier said than done. You are still learning who you are in their eyes, let alone your own." She stood, her hands brushing along the edge of the mantle beside them. "Serena, you have done well. I am not going to lie. But this is not the end. We cannot afford to relax."

Serena stood as well, smoothing her hands down the front of her dress. "Then I suppose I’ll keep performing."

Charlotte gave her a slow, considering look. "I will have to harass Silas for more pay. I did not know babysitting would be part of the work that was expected of me."

A silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken things. The fire in the hearth remained cold, but the air in the room was thick with tension, memories, and warnings.

"Thank you," Serena said softly, surprising herself.

Charlotte blinked, then smirked faintly. "Don’t thank me yet, darling. The wolves have not bared their teeth."

Serena moved toward the door, her steps quiet. But just before she opened it, she turned back. "You’ll tell me one day. About how you know Darius and Livia. Will you not?"

Charlotte gave a languid shrug. "Maybe. If we are both still alive by then."

Serena didn’t reply. She slipped out, letting the door close with a soft click behind her. But Charlotte remained where she was, watching the empty space Serena had left, her smile long gone.