Chapter Ten: Tension

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Remember when I took you up to the top of the hill?
We had our knives drawn.
They were as sharp
As we were in love.
If God crossed us
We'd take all his drugs,
Burn his money
And his house down,
And wait for the fire to spread.

Sometimes hate is not enough
To turn this all to ashes.
Together as one
Against all others
Break all of their wings to
Make sure it crashes

Marilyn Manson - "Running To The Edge Of The World"

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Here I am…

Wolf stood at his doorway, trying to put the keys into the hole, but being stopped each time by his conscious. He wanted to make sure that he knew what to say to Serena and when to say it.

Just blurt it out, get it over with…No I couldn't do that to her.

The thought of how she would react tore at him like a knife opening up a stitched wound. If she didn't forgive him, he would have no one to live and die for. He could only hope for the best like his commander did.

Perhaps this is just a hurdle for us to jump over? Could I get through this clean? Only one way to find out…

The lupine took a few deep breaths to ready himself, and unlocked the door. He pushed the door open and peered inside. The place had looked the same as it did when he left Corneria City a few months prior. To his left was the kitchen that was connected to the living room just ahead of him, still filled with the black leather couch and lush carpeting that at one point was covered in his own blood. Still, there was someone missing from the scene…

Something further down the hall caught his eye, it was a long tabletop with numerous photographs on it. He studied them and saw that they were mostly pictures from his wedding and honeymoon. One specific picture seemed to catch his attention, it wasn't from either event though. The picture was rather simple, just him and Serena sitting underneath a tree, the lupine had a hat on and was pushing the bill down to his eyes so he could sleep. Serena was resting peacefully on his shoulder, she seemed very content with everything.

Wolf remembered that day, it was before the two were even engaged. Panther took the picture when he wasn't looking. He was pissed at first, but after looking at it, he thanked him for taking it.. They spent most of that day on the hill that the tree was located, talking about the city and it's inhabitants. He wished he could go back in time to that tree so he could relive those times. Life was simple, with no real issues that got in his way.

Suddenly, he heard a flush emanating from his room. Wolf's heart went into his throat. He stood paralyzed, not knowing what to do. A door opened and out of it came Serena, wearing a black tank top and tight jeans. Her bangs were no longer white, they had been dyed red shortly after being wed. The same went with the tip of her tail, which now looked like a brush with crimson paint splotched on it.

"Wolf!" She said ecstatically, embracing her husband. He wanted to back away from her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He held onto her like his life depended on it.

"Hey Serena." The lupine quietly whispered into her ear. His whole body was trembling, he knew that he couldn't last much longer without losing it. Serena sensed that there was something troubling him, and looked up at him, trying to read his face. She couldn't tell what it was.

"You look upset Wolf, what's wrong?" He attempted to say something, but instead all that came was a stream of tears. Wolf collapsed into her arms, having lost all control of himself.

"I hate to do this to you Serena…" He sniffled. "But I can't keep this from you."

"Keep what from me?"

"I-" He stumbled over his words, drowning them in his constant weeping. "I slept with someone on Zoness…" He pulled himself away from Serena, who had gone silent. He couldn't bear to look at her, he was afraid if he did, she would turn him to stone.

Serena stood there, unsure how to react. The somber guise made her think he regretted it and wished to know more. But with any situation like this, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. The person who had vowed to remain faithful to her had broken his promise. It was as though her heart was ripped out of her chest and squashed to bits.

"Wolf…I…Why?" He turned around and looked right into her tear filled eyes.

"I was drunk Serena, I had no idea what happened until I woke up the next morning." The lupine began to slowly caress her arm in a comforting manner. "I need you to know I never meant to do it…" Serena took a moment to further examine his explanation and cleared her throat.

"I can't forgive you that easy…"

"I know, and I will go to the edge of the world to make you forgive me." It was silent again, it may have been a few seconds or a few minutes but it felt like forever.

"Even if I could forgive you, I don't see how we could go on any longer." She walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. "You're always in space, and I never get to see you."

"But I send you-"

"THAT'S NOT THE SAME!" She cried out, allowing more tears to fall to the floor. Her breathing was fierce and labored. "I can never see you in person. You have no clue how much I missed being in your arms. No idea how much I missed seeing you smile." And without any notice, she dropped the bombshell on him. "I LOVED YOU!" She buried her face in her paws, and screamed into them.

Loved. She had once loved him. And with the recent turn of events, she wasn't sure if she could love him anymore. The words put Wolf into a state of utter shock and bewilderment. It almost felt like a dream to him. He slumped himself against the wall and held his head down, as if he was in mourning.

"I still love you Serena…" She wouldn't budge however, she had been taken beyond the point of no return. "I think I'm going to head out for a little while, I feel like talking to someone I haven't seen in a while…" The lupine stood up and headed for the door, she said nothing, everything had been said…

When he got outside, Wolf took out a cigarette and lit it as quick as possible. He was stressed beyond explanation and needed something to relax, but not even the idea of nicotine streaming through his system brought him down from this low. So he walked to the one place he thought he could find some sort of advice. Ironically, it was at the Cornerian Insane Asylum…