Page 29 of Violet Moon
Sera stared at Emmaline.“Wait.What?”
“She never asked me.I wouldn't have wanted it anyway, but she never asked me.Parisa picked you,” Emmaline said, emphasizing the final word.“With good reason, too.What you two have isn’t —” Someone knocked on the front door.Emmaline glanced at it before finishing her thought.“It isn’t something you can force.It happens naturally.You fit together well.”With a smile, Emmaline excused herself to get the door.
Sera turned back to her failed choux buns and started cleaning the mess to get ready for the next batch when a familiar voice made her tense.
“Oh sorry!I didn’t know Beta Seraphine was here, too.”Jo apologized from the living room.“I can come back another time.”
“Nonsense.You can join us,” Emmaline replied.
Jo tried to excuse themselves again, but Emmaline refused to take “no” as an answer.
Sera kept her back towards the opening to the living room as the two approached.
“Beta!What are you making?Are these for the bakery or just for fun?Are you really learning to bake?Because that’s so cool.You could make something special for Violet Moon!I’d love to see it.”
“Choux buns,” Sera replied, her body tense.
Jo slid in place next to her, peering at the flat buns.“These look a lot like when I first started, though mine were flat and soggy.Or had sunken middles.Or cracked tops.But it’s whatever.We can always get better, right?”Jo waited for a response and when it didn’t come, continued.“I usually come over here to complain about my family because Emmaline’s a good listener and my family is the literal worst.”Jo drummed their fingers on the counter.“Can I try some anyway?”
At the mention of family, Sera lost her grip on the present.Her skin felt itchy.Her vision got blurry as memories threatened to replace what she could see.“They’re not good enough to try,” she said, voice sounding far away to her own ears.
“Please,” Jo insisted.
Sera was no longer at Emmaline’s, but back in that seaside town with her brother looking up at her, begging in that gentle voice of his, his little hand sliding into her own so she could hold it as they crossed the street.
“I’ve got to go.”This isn’t how Sera wanted her day to go.She warred within herself because this was an opportunity to be a better Beta, to get to know Jo and deal with her past, but she wasn’t ready.It didn’t feel right.“I forgot I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Oh that’s too bad.I was hoping to get to bake with you,” Jo said.
“Yeah, too bad something so suddenly came up,” Emmaline said, arms crossed in front of her chest.She clearly wasn’t buying it.
Sera didn’t care.She needed out.She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and started towards the door in a daze.“I’m sorry.I’ll come back another time.”
Closing the front door behind her, Sera turned in the direction of the stable.After all that, she needed to change out of this skin and run as her wolf.
After Emmaline’s, Sera wanted a quiet night by the fire.She prepped everything for an evening chat, took her seat, and waited for Parisa to settle in beside her.
She didn’t have to wait long.Parisa walked into the room, eyes wild and hair unusually out of place.
“We should spar tonight.”
“You want to do what?”Sera sputtered, coffee flying out of her mouth.
“Spar,” Parisa repeated, “It’s not that odd of a request.”
Sera narrowed her eyes, searching Parisa’s face for some reason behind this sudden request.“Not odd, but it’s been a while.”
“Precisely why I thought it might be useful.If you’re not up for the task I can find someone else,” Parisa tapped her foot on the floor.
“No one else would be at my level,” Sera said, though she was still trying to figure out where this was coming from.
“Too bad no one’s at mine.”Parisa raised an eyebrow.
“We’ll see about that.”She stood, brushing cookie crumbs off her trousers.“I’m surprised because I can’t remember the last time we sparred.”
“And doesn’t that alarm you?”
“Not particularly.The world is different now.”
