Elara's voice cut into her mind before she'd even opened her eyes.
Elara:Serena, where are you?
Serena stirred awake with complete déjà vu.
Fin Shadowclaw's arms were around her and her back was against his chest. Her head was throbbing, and everything felt fuzzy.
Shit.
She jolted, fully awake now.
The sun was up. She was in another alpha's bed in her underwear.
He was still asleep, from what she could tell. She quickly slid out of the bed, trying not to disturb him.
He looked exhausted, and kind of adorable. Also unfairly attractive. Fuck she needed to leave immediately.
She saw her combat suit slung over a chair and quickly pulled it on.
She realized she didn't have a cloak. Shoot. And this would look bad. She had just slept with another alpha in his bed.
Aeron's voice startled her.
"You look stressed," he observed.
She screamed, heart pounding. Aeron's expression didn't change, which meant either he had no startle reflex or this wasn't the first time a woman had screamed in this tent. She was not going to think about that.
She didn't know why she was so on edge. Outside of the fact she had just slept with the alpha of another pack.
Shit that sounded bad.
Nothing happened, but it didn't look that way. At least she thought nothing happened. Did they kiss? Her brain was still concussed. She was in her underwear in a king's bed and couldn't fully account for the evening. Gods help her.
"I'm late, and I don't have my cloak," she answered after a second.
Aeron made a portal without word.
"Thank you," Serena said with sincerity.
✦✦✦
Serena entered her tent, and to her relief, no one was there.
She ran to her bathing chamber to clean herself off.
Why did she feel guilty?
"How did I end up in Shadowclaw's bed?" she muttered aloud as she washed her hair. "And Gods what is wrong with me?"
She knew she was concussed. And she knew she broke a matebond.
Elara mindlinked again.
Elara:Serena? Are you alive?
Serena took her gold cufflink off so that her mindlinks could actually stay private. Or so she thought, since she and Elara still weren't aware they weren't making them fully private from the alpha, gamma, or beta.
Serena: Define alive. Because if you mean functioning like a normal person, absolutely not.
Serena stepped out of the bathing chamber, towel wrapped around her, and found Elara already waiting with her combat suit laid out.
"You look like a drowned cat that lost a bar fight," Elara observed, eyeing her up and down.
"Thank you for that," Serena replied flatly. "You always know exactly what to say."
"I'm here to help." Elara tossed the suit at her. "Put this on. We have fifteen minutes before someone comes looking, and I refuse to let you walk out of here looking like a cautionary tale."
Serena pulled the suit on while Elara gathered supplies for her hair.
"Sit," Elara commanded, pointing at the chair.
Serena obeyed, too exhausted to argue. Elara worked quickly, brushing through her damp white hair and pulling it into something elegant enough to hold under a crown.
"You're quiet," Serena observed after a minute.
"I'm working," Elara replied, but there was something in her tone. A smugness that didn't match hair styling.
Serena glanced at her in the mirror. Elara was biting her lip, clearly holding something back, and doing a terrible job of hiding it.
"What?" Serena asked.
"What do you mean, what?"
"You have a face."
"I always have a face. It's attached to my head."
"Elara."
Elara secured a pin and stepped back, grabbing makeup, dabbing it on with aggressive precision, then worked on covering the dark circles under Serena's eyes.
"You're stalling," Serena pointed out.
"I'm creating art. There's a difference."
"Your eye is twitching."
Elara huffed. "Fine." She took a breath, and then her composure cracked into the biggest grin Serena had ever seen on her face. "Hale and I had sex last night, and it actually worked this time."
Serena's jaw dropped.
"Like, fully worked," Elara continued, practically glowing. "No awkward stopping. No logistics disasters. No one fell off anything."
A wicked grin flashed across Serena's face. "And...did he fit?"
"Don't," Elara warned before Serena could say anything else. Serena giggled.
"Yes, it fit. It went all the way inside of me and I didn't freak out I'll have you know." Elara paused dramatically. "And it was really fucking good."
Serena shot out of the chair so fast that Elara stumbled backward.
"I'm so proud of you!" Serena shrieked.
"Sit back down, I'm not finished with your—"
But Serena was already jumping up and down, clapping her hands together like a child who had just been handed an entire cake.
"Elara!" She grabbed her hands, pulling her into the jumping. "Finally!"
Elara started laughing, the sound bright and unguarded. "Stop it, you're going to ruin your hair, and I will kill you!"
"I don't care about my hair!" Serena was grinning so wide her cheeks hurt. "This is the best news I've heard in days. Possibly my entire life. How do you feel? Was he good? Did he—"
"I am not giving you a play-by-play!" Elara cut her off. "But yes, he was good. Very good. Embarrassingly good. I may have underestimated him."
"I knew he had it in him," Serena declared, then immediately heard it. "Don't."
"Too late. Technically, I had him in—"
"Do not finish that sentence."
Elara cackled, and Serena pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm so happy for you," Serena whispered, squeezing her.
Elara hugged her back just as tightly. "Thanks," she murmured.
Serena pulled back, holding Elara's shoulders. "I will always be in your corner. Even when you're being insufferable."
"Especially when I'm being insufferable," Elara corrected.
"Especially then."
Elara's eyes glistened for half a second before she blinked it away and cleared her throat. "Okay. Enough of that. Sit your ass back down. Your left side looks like it was styled by a blind raccoon, and I will not be associated with that."
Serena laughed and sat back down, letting Elara fuss over her hair.
Serena's mind went to Dexmon. How he marked her both times they had sex and she passed out after. She swallowed. This was not about her. This was Elara's moment.
"Did you pass out after?" Serena asked, a minute later.
"Oh I do every time he marks me." Elara's voice was nonchalant. "He does it when we kiss sometimes. Pretty sure he can't control it. And this time, he did it while we were..." Her face flushed.
"While you were what, Elara? Use your words."
"I will end you, Serena."
"Gods Elara. Now I keep thinking about that one time he marked you in front of..."
Elara cut her off mid-sentence. "Do not bring that up, Serena Frostborne. I swear to the Gods I will make your makeup look like a clown."
"Sorry Elara," Serena said immediately and shook her head with a small smile. "I just love how much he loves you."
Elara paused. Serena was marked twice last night, which is way worse. And she was hosed off naked with Shadowclaw holding her.
"Serena... there's something I think you might want to know," Elara began.
Serena's smile fell, face turning into concern.
Elara felt conflicted. Serena was smiling and happy a second ago. Would she want to know before a long day? There was nothing Serena could do as far as damage control. She was already fragile after breaking a matebond. But would she be upset if Elara didn't say something?
If the shoe was reversed, she wouldn't want to know. And there was a chance Shadowclaw already told her and Serena just didn't want to talk about it.
Elara took a steadying breath and made an executive best friend decision, for Serena's own good.
"I am sore as fuck," Elara said, face deadpan.
Serena started laughing, genuine and it made Elara laugh with her.
Something in her chest lifted briefly, but the unease settled back in a minute later.
Yet another aftereffect of a broken matebond.
Right?