8. “A normal human”

Ava's POV

“I knew you did come here  Ava, earlier than I expected tho” a familiar voice said behind me and I gulped hard as I slowly turned to face him.

“Lord Lucian, it’s not what it looks like?” I said immediately as I put my hands in the air and he scoffed.

“Really?” He asked as he leaned back on the chair, “What does it look like then?” He added as his eyes trailed over me and I gulped.

“I….I saw the door wasn’t closed, so I came to close it” I said as I stared at him and a chuckle escaped his lips.

“If you came to close the door, why did you come inside?” he asked with a raised brow and I instinctively gripped the hem of my dress as I bit down on my lower lip.

“Be….because” I stammered as I stared at him.

He stood up from the chair as he walked towards me, the more I walked backwards the more he closed the space between us until my back touched the door.

“Ava Blackwood” he said, as he lifted my chin with two fingers, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“Yes, Lord Lucian?” I asked back as I held his gaze.

“Why did you come here?” He asked and I remained silent as I looked down to avoid his eyes. He scoffed as he stepped backwards and a breath I didn’t know I was holding escaped my lips.

“There’s something going on with you, and I’m going to figure it out” 

“I already told you why I was here” I said back as I tried to steady my breathing and he nodded.

“Your tattoo” he started as he gestured to my hand and I immediately hid it behind my back.

“It’s not normal right?” He asked again but I remained silent.

He closed the space between us again as he whispered into my ears. 

“I’m going to figure out what you are hiding” he said and a gasp escaped my lips. He looked at me one more time before leaving the room.

My legs immediately gave out beneath me, and I slid to the floor. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear myself think. What do I do now? I asked myself as my chest tightened. I slowly tried to stand up as I rested my body on the door of the room, I  exhaled deeply as I opened the door of the room as  the cold night air hit my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I quickly headed to the servant quarters as I sneaked back into our room. 

Tina, Elina and Lyra were still fast asleep, so I quietly crawled back into Lyra’s bed as I forced my eyes shut. I tried my best to go back to bed but my mind didn’t let me, my thoughts kept drifting back to lord Lucian. What does he think I’m hiding? Am I going to be in trouble for sneaking into the archive room? Is my tattoo really not normal? 

My eyes remained wide open as my brain kept running different scenarios in my head and I didn’t even realize when the sun came up.

“Argh!” Lyra yawned.

“Is it morning already?” Elina murmured as she squinted her eyes.

“Woaw, did you sleep at all?” Elina asked as she stared at me and I remained silent.

“She probably snuck into the archives last night” Tina joked and they all laughed but I shrugged.

“Hold on, did you sneak into the archives last night?” Lyra asked as she came down from my bed.

“Yh, I did” I replied as I clutched my trembling fingers.

“Oh my gosh, how was it? did you finally figure out who Seraphina is?” Tina asked with excitement written all over her face.

“No!” I exclaimed as I rubbed my shoulders vigorously, and their expression instantly changed.

“I……I  got caught by lord Lucian” I added and they instantly froze.

“Oh my goodness!” Tina screamed as she clasped her hands on her mouth.

“What did he do? Are you in trouble?” Lyra asked worriedly as she held my hand.

“I don’t know” I started as my mind drifted back to what happened in the archives and my fists tightened.

“H….He just….left” I added as I looked at them.

“Just like that? He didn’t say anything?” Elina asked with a raised brow.

“Not necessarily, I told him I came to close the door because I saw it was open” I replied and Tina sighed.

“Phew! You are becoming more like me you know” she said and Elina rolled her eyes.

“Did he believe you tho?” Lyra asked and I turned to face her as I shook my head.

“Not in the slightest, I’m just waiting to see if I will be punished later on” I said back as memories of what madam Rhea did to me came rushing back and a tear rolled down my cheeks.

“Oh Ava,” Elina said as she sat on the other side of the bed and hugged me.

“It’s going to be okay alright” she added and I sniffed back as I tried to stop the tears from rolling down.

“I think it’s time you just let go of the name Seraphina” Tina said from her bed and I turned to look at her as I cleaned my eyes.

“It’s only going to get you in trouble Ava” Lyra said as she wiped my tear stained cheek with the back of hand.

“Besides, you don’t know who that is. It may be a servant, a rouge, or a former concubine it’s just a name” Elina added and they all nodded.

“But I feel it here” I said gesturing to my heart. “It’s not just a name, I can’t explain it but I…I….” I tried to say as my voice broke and Lyra held me in her arms.

“It’s okay Ava, just breathe” she said and I nodded.

‘Let it go? Is that the right choice? What about the suspicious look on beta Kieran’s face that day and why was lord Lucian in the archives? Was he waiting for me? Something is definitely going on, how can I just drop it?’ I asked myself as I tried to calm my mind.

 I sat up on the bed as I stared at their worried faces and I gritted my teeth in anger. “I….” I hesitated before I let out a huge sigh “I will stop looking for who Seraphina is”

“That’s good Ava, don’t get yourself in trouble over things that aren’t worth it” Lyra said as she held my hand and I gave her a small smile.

“I hate to be abrupt right now guys but I think we are late for our duties” Elina said as she gestured to the scorching sun outside the window and my eyes widened as I stood up from the bed.

“I need a free day from cleaning” Tina said as she flopped back on her bed and we all laughed.

~~~~~

The rest of the day went by like a blur, and the sun was already about to set. I tried my best to listen to the girls advice and stop looking for who Seraphina is or who she was, but the gut feeling in my chest wouldn’t let me. I took in a deep breath as I picked up the mop and the bucket from the floor.

I was about passing by Alpha Alaric’s study when I heard voices coming from inside.

“That girl isn’t normal Alaric” I heard Lord Lucian say. I hid behind the door of the study as I tried to listen in on their conversation.

“She’s a servant” Alpha Alaric replied in a hushed tone.

“Before that she was Alpha Damien daughter” Lord Lucian said and Alpha Alaric sighed.

“His wolf-less illegitimate daughter” Alaric added.

“Okay what about her mother? What was she?” Lord Lucian asked as his ruffled his hair in frustration.

“A normal human” Alpha Alaric replied as he settled into his chair.

“A normal human?, Are you sure she was a human?” 

“Yes Lucian, Jesus she was a human named Seraphina okay” Alpha Alaric replied and my heart immediately dropped as a gasp escaped my lips before I could cover my mouth. 

‘Seraphina was my mother’ I whispered to my self as the realization dawned on me.