Moonbound: The Rogue's Second Chance
Chapter 133: WHO ARE YOU HIDING?

Chapter 133: WHO ARE YOU HIDING?

Serena gave her an awkward smile and discreetly angled her body to bar the other woman from walking into the room. Her hand rested casually on the doorframe, but her shoulders were tight with tension. Internally, she was already praying to every god she’d ever heard of that Livia wouldn’t insist on stepping in. But who was she trying to fool? Not herself, certainly. Livia was not the sort to loiter in hallways without purpose.

"Livia," Serena repeated, this time in a more steady voice.

Livia blinked and looked her up and down, she had noticed the way Serena had replied to her. She looked at the hallways to see if it was someone making her act like that, yet the hallways were still empty.

"Serena," Livia murmured. Her voice was gentler than usual. It had been getting easier, calling her by name instead of "rogue." Something had been plaguing her mind for so long and she could put it off no longer.

The woman wanted to get it done with in the time they had before the Dawnbreak party would arrive, Livia felt awkward in the hallway. This was the first time that she was making an effort to subdue her feelings.

"I would like to come in," Livia said.

"No," Serena blurted out, too quickly. She jerked forward, almost bumping into her. Her smile returned, strained this time. "I mean, it’s not in order. I wouldn’t want the Alpha’s cousin to see the mess I’ve made."

Right after, Serena bit her tongue, her words sounded so mechanical and grating to her ears. She pressed her lips together and looked at Livia squarely. She hoped the woman would leave soon.

Livia’s brows pulled together slightly. Her mouth parted as though to speak, but no words came out. Something about the nervous way Serena hovered in the doorway didn’t sit right with her. She tilted her head, lost in thought. Not once had Serena’s room ever been out of place. The blonde always kept it neat, almost obsessively so, like she might be told to leave at any moment and wanted no trace left behind.

Serena stepped forward again and gripped the doorknob a little too tightly. "No, I’m not," she said, clearing her throat after.

"Then why don’t you want me to come in?" Livia tilted her head, voice sharpening. "I have a very important matter to discuss with you."

Serena’s eyes widened slightly. Her fingers twitched on the edge of the door as she pulled it closer to her body. "What?"

Livia’s instincts had now told her something was afoot, Serena was walking closer and closer with each passing word. Just what was she hiding?

"Something’s going on," she said, her tone clipped with rising authority. "I, as a Hawthorne, demand that you let me into this room."

Serena swallowed, slow and audible, her lashes flicking downward. She couldn’t let Livia in, not by any means. If the woman stepped inside and caught the unmistakable scent of her cousin under the bed, Serena would never recover from it.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, thoughts scrambling for a way out. Would it really be so bad if she found Darius in there? Her heartbeat answered for her: yes. Absolutely, yes.

"I cannot. I told you the room is in a mess and well I am also going through-"

Livia wrinkled her nose and looked Serena up and down. "You cannot contain yourself and put up a sign?"

Serena hung her head, she was using lies to get anything to get Livia out of here, even as far as using her natural hormones. She knew why Livia wrinkled up her nose like that—werewolves on heat emitted pheromones that only their kind could smell. If she could use it to get Livia out, then it would be welcome.

"I am... you see I am a rogue and-"

Livia raised up a hand and turned her face away, disgust written all over. "Look at the clothes you are wearing. Is that why animals like you do not have courtesy?"

The insult struck like a slap, but Serena kept her face still. Her lips pressed into a line, and she tried to focus on the doorknob biting into her palm. She hadn’t gone into heat since Cullen’s death. With the loss of Feyra she had more or less been reduced to the status of a human being. But that was not what was bugging the woman, it was the fact that Livia had seemingly played along.

Other wolves could tell instantly if a woman was in heat just by smell alone, but Livia had not noticed until Serena had told her. The blonde woman had shot the other woman a confused look—why was Livia going along with the lie? The door was nearly closed as Serena inched ever closer to Livia.

It did not matter, as long as both of them pretended, they would be out of the hot water.

Suddenly, Livia snapped her neck to Serena. "Liar."

Livia jabbed a finger in Serena’s direction and looked at her with a frown. "Liar," she repeated.

"I am not a liar," Serena defended weakly.

"You know you are lying. What are you hiding in there?" Livia pressed. "So much so that you had to go as far as using that to lie to me."

Serena’s mouth hung open, her grip on the knob tightened even more and she exhaled slowly. "Please, I do not want anyone entering into my room at this time."

Livia shot her an incredulous look and then laughed, though it was devoid of any real amusement. She pushed her hair back and then folded her arms. "Who are you hiding in there?"

Serena blinked rapidly and then licked her lips nervously. Sleep was still in her eyes, but she had to shoo Livia away. It would have been such a wonderful morning if this hostile woman had not shown her face at the moment.

"There is no one in my room, please leave," Serena replied.

"And who do you think you are?" Livia retorted.

The gears in Livia’s head spun for a bit and then she gasped. Her hand went to her mouth as she stared at the older woman. "Do you have a man in there?"

Serena froze and then finally shut the door. She leaned over to Livia so as to not cause a scene. "No."

"How could you do that to Darius?" Livia hissed.

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