The bright morning sunlight was filtering in through bedroom window's gauzy curtains the next time Serena opened her eyes again.
Everything felt utterly perfect and at peace in the world for one blissful moment. And then the dull throbbing behind her temples and the acidic taste of liquor coating her tongue kicked in, swiftly shattering that illusion. Serena groaned pitifully as she slowly became aware of her undoubted disheveled state. She was sure to still be wearing the rumpled cocktail attire from the night before, her hair a tangled rat's nest, and her makeup leaving unsightly smudges on the pristine ivory pillowcase beneath her cheek. Clearly, Killian must have managed to get her home and into bed at some point after their raucous night of debauchery, though she had zero recollection of how she ended up here. Serena cautiously pushed herself into an upright position. Her head felt like it was trapped in a tight grip and every tiny movement sent a fresh wave of nausea roiling through her gut. What she wouldn't give to be able to go back in time and slap that first tequila shot right out of her own hand before things had devolved into such a sloppy, drunken shitshow. Just as Serena was contemplating whether she could make it to the en-suite bathroom without puking all over her sumptuous bedding, she suddenly noticed the strong arm that was circled around her waist. Her gaze drifted down to the tattooed hand that was clasping her possessively. The intricate black ink of letters and dreadful animal designs swirled in mesmerizing patterns across his tanned skin. Serena noticed she wasn't on donning a soft cotton nightgown that grazed her upper thighs instead of her dress from last night. The fabric felt cool and soothing against her smooth skin. She stared at the man lying next to her - the same man who had shattered her heart into a million pieces just days ago. The one person who had been haunting her every waking thought and fitful dream since he walked out without so much as a care for her. A roiling storm of conflicting emotions battered Serena from the inside out, threatening to tear her apart. Although a part of her felt an overwhelming sense of relief and elation to be wrapped up in his familiar warmth and scent again after days of aching for his presence. She had missed the way their bodies seemed to instinctively mold together, like two perfectly matched puzzle pieces finally reunited. The steady rise and fall of his chest, the faint stubble on his jaw, the way his eyelashes fluttered slightly - all of it felt like coming home after a long, treacherous journey. But that fleeting feeling of contentment was quickly overshadowed by a searing wave of anger, betrayal, and hurt that crashed over her with the force of a tsunami. Where had he been the past couple of days? Had he been shacked up with his sordid mistress, reveling in her embrace while she cried herself to sleep each night? Or had he already moved on to a new flavor of the week to warm his bed, discarding both her and his alleged mistress like yesterday's garbage? The mere thought of Knox being intimate with another woman made Serena's heart contort painfully, like it was being slowly crushed in the grip of torture device. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, the sharp sting helping to ground her in the swirling vortex of her emotions. Serena wriggled herself free from Knox's arm and sat upright. Her gaze once again stared down at his peaceful, sleeping face, half-obscured by the black mask he always wore, even to bed - yet another frustrating quirk she could never get answers about. The mask was just one more wall between them, one more secret he kept locked away from her. A blind rage took over Serena like a powerful intoxicant flooding her veins. It clouded her judgment and drowned out the tiny voice of reason in the back of her mind. Without a second's hesitation, she arched her knee and delivered a forceful kick straight to Knox's midsection, putting every ounce of her pent-up anger and frustration into it. The impact sent Knox flying off the bed to crash onto the marble floor in a tangled heap with a bone-jarring thud that reverberated through the room. Knox was awake and alert in an instant. His eyes flew open as he scrambled to pull himself up into a seated position. His gaze was blazing with the intensity of a raging wildfire initially with his lips curled back in a feral snarl as his instincts took over. But the scorching flames immediately dimmed and were replaced with confusion and resignation when he saw Serena glaring at him with murderous intent from her perch on the bed. He sighed heavily, dragging a weary hand down his face as he took in her defensive body language. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her jaw set in a tense line and her eyes were glittering with unshed tears of fury. She had misunderstood the situation and jumped to the worst possible conclusions, he realized. Not that he could really blame her, given his perpetually shady behavior and chronic lack of explanations. It was obvious to him now that Serena had been out drinking and partying last night before she came to rouse him from his slumber, which she clearly has no recollection of. She reeked of alcohol. Her makeup was smeared into raccoon-like circles around her eyes, and her hair was a tangled rat's nest that would take hours to sort out. Under normal circumstances, he would have simply ordered a maid to clean her up before putting to bed and let her sleep off her drunken state in peace. However, so much had happened over the course of a single night... The memories came rushing back in a torrent, each one more painful than the last. He had spent every minute with Meredith and Enzo, discussing how to move forward with their plan. That vile woman had dared to take something far more precious and profound from both of them - something that should have been the greatest joy of their lives in just a short while. That damn power seeker had made sure to snuff out the beautiful little spark of potential before it ever had a chance to take its first breath. A profound, soul-crushing sense of loss and grief washed over Knox anew, the weight of it making his shoulders sag heavily. He sank down on the edge of the bed, cradling his head in his hands as he struggled to process the emotions crashing over him. Should he tell Serena what happened? Or would that just make things exponentially worse between them right now? Piling more trauma on top of current state seemed unforgivably cruel. Yet keeping such a monumental secret from her felt equally wrong. Serena was staring Knox down with a complicated storm of emotions roiling inside her like a violently shaken snow globe while he contemplated his next move. He looked pale and sickly, much more so than the last time she had seen him. His usual sun-kissed skin seemed ashen and dull, as if he were seriously ill or something. His hair was disheveled, sticking up at odd angles, and there was a haunted look in his eyes that she had never seen before. ‘What happened to him these days?’ Serena pondered. ‘Not that I cared about his wellbeing at this moment,’ she reminded herself sternly. She was too consumed by the scorching flames of anger and hurt licking at her insides to feel any sympathy for whatever he might be going through. "Are you alright?" Her muddled thoughts were interrupted by Knox’s gravelly and exhausted tone.Serena fixed Knox with an icy glare that could have frozen hell itself over. ‘He finally knows how to speak?’ "Why do you care if I'm okay or not? You certainly didn't seem to give a damn about my wellbeing when you walked out on me without so much as an explanation of your actions.” she spat through gritted teeth.Knox frowned. He opened his mouth to respond but Serena didn't give him the chance. She was on a roll now, all the hurt and anger she had been bottling up for days finally finding an outlet. "Just get out!" she hissed in a voice trembling with barely contained fury and unshed tears. "I never want to see you again as long as I live, you cheating bastard. Go back to whatever whore you've been shacking up with these past few days. I'm sure she's much more accommodating of your bullshit than I will ever tolerate."A muscle ticked along Knox's clenched jaw as her harsh words sliced into him like a barrage of daggers. Serena could see the bright flare of anger that i
Serena’s voice had risen to a near-hysterical screech as though the floodgates had just burst open. The words were tumbling out in a frenzied rush between ragged sobs. "Just because my marriage to that bastard Alex ended like a burning dumpster fire doesn't give you the right to treat me like some charity case by marrying me out of pity over a drunken one-night stand! I never asked for your pity or your last name!"Speaking of last name, Serena suddenly realized she even didn’t know what his last name was. “Is your name even Knox? Or some staged one to deceive everyone along with that damn mask on your face?”“Are you done?” Knox finally had heard enough. He crossed the short distance between them in a flash and dropped fluidly to his fists on the bed, fisting the rumpled sheets tightly as he lowered himself until their faces were mere inches apart. Serena flinched at his sudden proximity and her tirade cut off with a harsh hiccup of surprise. She could feel the heat radia
Knox's rage had finally reached its zenith when he stormed out of the bedroom.His teeth were gnashed together so tightly that the muscles beneath the taut skin of his face danced and his visage was one of pure, unrestrained ire.The veins in his neck and temples throbbed visibly with each thunderous beat of his heart, pumping anger through his system like molten lava.“Pretending to be happy with you all this time while neglecting the love of my life has been a great deal of suffering for me.”Memories of his past continued to flood Knox’s mind. The air around him seemed to crackle and distort with the sheer force of his wrath, as if the very atmosphere itself was bending and warping to the gravitational pull of his all-consuming rage. The hallway's temperature dropped rapidly, as if his rage had drawn all the heat out of it and replaced it with a bone-chilling cold that would make anyone unlucky enough to be in his path shudder.“My main intention has always been to win you
Serena curled herself into a little ball, feeling deflated and exhausted. There was a soft rap at the bedroom door before it eased open. Killian stuck his tousled head through the gap, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he took in her absolutely wrecked appearance with an amused snort."Well, well...look who finally decided to rejoin the land of the living," he drawled, sauntering into the room with a large cup of steaming coffee clutched in one hand and what appeared to be a couple of pain relievers in the other. "Got to say, you're looking pretty damn rough around the edges there, sister-in-law."Serena could only respond with a pitiful sniffle as he set his offerings down on the nightstand and settled himself on the edge of the mattress beside her. "Just kill me now and put me out of my misery," she rasped out, sounding utterly wrecked."Ah ah ah, none of that kind of talk," Killian chided. "We've got way too much fun still ahead of us for me to let you kick the bucket o
Serena felt hot tears well up and stream down her cheeks as she stared at the man who had just walked into the bedroom. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment before racing wildly she thought it might burst from her chest. She blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes roughly with the backs of her hands. She was convinced they were playing cruel tricks on her, that her mind was conjuring up this impossible vision out of desperate longing.But no matter how many times she blinked and rubbed, the image before her didn't change or fade away. The man standing there, looking older and more careworn yet still unmistakable, was her father, Walter Bolting - the same man who had been officially announced dead in a horrific car crash days ago. "D-Dad?" Serena called out in a trembling, broken voice thick with disbelief as she forced her heavy feet to move towards him. Her heart thundered in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. She felt lightheaded, almost disconnected from reality like
Serena felt heat rising unbidden to her cheeks as her traitorous mind instantly flashed back to that mortifying incident she'd witnessed on her first day. The lewd scene sprang to life behind her eyes with vivid clarity. Sevens naked, sculpted body glistening with a sheen of sweat as he moved with an inhumane intensity, limbs tangled in a knot of ecstasy, breathy moans and the slap of flesh on flesh filling the air.Serena gave her head a sharp shake, desperately trying to banish the X-rated images from her mind. “I’m fine.” She cleared her throat roughly, unable to meet Seven's piercing gaze. She could feel the weight of his stare boring into her as though he could through her feeble attempt at nonchalance with those unnervingly perceptive eyes of his.Killian, ever the one to bulldoze through awkward silences, immediately piped up with one of his trademark crude remarks. "Well, this spread looks absolutely scrumptious," he drawled, raking an exaggerated look of appreciation o
~At a different location~The gigantic mahogany double doors creaked open, revealing a massive hall that seemed to stretch on forever. The vaulted ceiling disappeared into darkness, giving the unsettling impression that the room opened up directly into some vast, starless void. The room was packed with faces that ranged from curious to perfectly drawn, hardly concealing the blatant desire for power that was burning in their eyes.They were all seated in elaborate high-backed chairs that looked straight out of a medieval torture chamber décor. The strange symbols carefully carved on each chair gave off a very occult vibe. Looking closely, one could swear some of the carved figures were subtly shifting positions when not being stared at directly. All attendees were dressed in all-black attire, with men sporting fitted suits and women donning dresses. All were adorned with faint runes that almost seemed to glimmer with an inner glow in the dim lighting.Some of the symbols wer
The air itself seemed to vibrate with residual energy even afterward.Knox, Enzo, and Meredith strode in at the front while their small entourage followed a few paces behind. The two men cut imposing figures in their crisp, tailored black suits, while Meredith's slinky black dress hugged her curves in a way that would make a Renaissance artist weep. They didn't seem even remotely fazed that the royal family remained stubbornly, insolently seated upon their arrival in a blatant snub. Their masks glinted in the candlelight, adding an air of mystery and danger to their already intimidating presence.Knox's mind was racing behind his stoic mask. His thoughts were whirling as he analyzed every subtle shift and nuance. He knew this whole dramatic meeting was nothing but an obvious trap conspired by that wicked fake Queen Sahar. But he'd decided it was finally time to stop hiding behind others. It was time for the supernatural world - hell, maybe even the human world too - to know