Chapter 24 - TWENTY-FOUR - BE HAPPY

Chapter 24: Chapter TWENTY-FOUR - BE HAPPYThe ride was slow, though welcome. Darius suspected the coachman and the horses pulling the carriage were tired. It was silent between them, the kind of silence Darius could sit in comfortably. It felt better than the one he endured when he worked. A quick glance, and Darius caught Serena’s head bobbing up and down. After a few minutes, she rested her head on his shoulder. The redhead adjusted himself, pulling his body closer to hers so she wouldn’t wake up with a strain in her neck. He sighed and let his head sink into the leather chair, humming a simple tune his mother had taught him. It was a lullaby his mother used to sing when he was a pup. Soon, Darius closed his eyes, enjoying the ride. He was acutely aware of the way Serena’s chest rose and fell, aware of her little twitches. "Now, isn’t that nice?" Ronan, his wolf, commented snidely. "Go away," Darius grumbled through their mind-link. Ronan laughed, seemingly mocking him, and left Darius alone. Still, Darius could feel Ronan smirking at the back of his mind, but he ignored it. Soon, the ride came to an end, and Darius was reluctant to wake Serena just yet. "Take her to our home," Ronan suggested, surfacing out of nowhere. "Do not test me," Darius warned. This time, Ronan growled, annoyed at how his human counterpart pushed and resisted his feelings. The wolf said no more, though Darius suspected this wouldn’t be the end of their choppy conversation. Darius moved Serena gently, placing her head on the seat while he got out of the carriage and made his way to her side. He opened the door, exhaling slowly, unsure of how he was going to wake her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. She didn’t budge. Darius pressed his lips into a thin line and shook her a bit harder. "Serena," he called out in a hushed tone. "Not now, Mama. Let me sleep until the third cock crow," Serena muttered in her sleep. Darius scoffed and looked up to the sky, asking for Lunara’s grace. He shook the sleeping woman again, but with no success. Serena remained asleep, looking much too peaceful for Darius to keep trying. He placed one hand under her neck and the other under her knees. With a swift motion, he carried her out of the carriage. "I’ll be back," Darius said to the coachman, who curtly nodded. — It took every ounce of Darius’ will not to look at Serena. Even his wolf had begun to egg him on. For the time being, he shut off their mind-link, he needed quiet in his head. With great difficulty, he unlocked the door and ventured inside the manor. Darius used his nose to find the exact room she had chosen as hers. In truth, the whole manor smelled of her, and it hadn’t even been that long since she moved in. It was suffocating, but he liked it. Darius paused for a moment, shaking his head as if to rid himself of such thoughts. Pull it together, Darius, he warned himself. But the more time he spent around her, the more he thought about her, the more his resolve waned. Serena was the mason chipping away at his restraint. That scent of pine needles haunted him with every turn. Darius walked up the stairs in the dark, guided by his nose. The manor had two stories- he hoped she had picked the first floor. He was right. Serena had chosen the middle room on the first floor. He opened the door and placed her gently on the bed, using a free hand to position a pillow under her head. Darius pulled the pins from her hair, freeing the blonde strands. Absent-mindedly, he ran his fingers through it before catching himself and pulling away. He walked to the door and turned back, the moon barely providing enough light through the curtains to see her face. "Good night, Serena. May Lunara grant you sweet dreams tonight," Darius said. — Darius walked up the castle stairs, unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time until he reached his chambers. The Hawthorne castle, so big, yet so empty now. Only a few staff and guards remained to keep the place running. He recalled how it used to be filled with wolves of different ages, children running around, teenage wolves figuring out what they wanted to do in Ironshade. Now, the hallways were a ghost town. A shiver ran down Darius’ spine. He was beginning to hate it. — Darius tossed and turned before finally sitting up, sighing to himself. Ronan was fully ignoring him. He usually helped Darius sleep better, but the wolf seemed annoyed with him at the moment. Darius got out of bed, reached for his pitcher of water, and finished it all in one go. He slipped back into bed, clutching his pillow before falling into another uneasy sleep. — The woman brushed a strand of hair away from his face, humming a familiar song, one he sometimes sang to himself. "You know, if you feel a certain way, it’s terrible to bottle it up, my sweet child," said the soothing voice. Darius remained silent, pouting. His head rested in the woman’s lap, her hair tickling his neck. "Did you hear me, Darius?" she asked. The young boy nodded and sat up. "You know I’m not a little pup anymore." The woman laughed and shook her head. "I know." The two sat in silence, and Darius looked down. Somehow, he wasn’t a little pup anymore, he was a full-grown man now. He looked at the woman. Her hair was fiery red, just like his, and her brown eyes held so much unspoken pain. "Mother," he choked out, hugging her. "My sweet child," she said, rubbing his back. "Don’t go, please," Darius said, clutching her clothes tightly. "I’m so sorry, Darius," she said, pulling away, tears in her eyes. "Don’t bottle it up. It’s your turn to be happy."