*Isla*
Maddox left Elijah with me, of course. It’s his responsibility as Beta to rule in Maddox’s place when he’s away. While I like Elijah and have come to appreciate his quiet presence in the house, I miss Maddox.
It’s been almost three weeks since he left. We’ve spoken on the phone a few times, but a lot of the time he’s been out of range, and I’ve gone days without hearing from him.
Elijah was also called away on a super secret mission during this time and came back in a huff. He was injured, too, scraped and bruised and in a piss poor mood for days.
Trinity and I agreed to secretly press him about it, with Trinity doing the dirty work and me listening to whatever Trinity could find out about Elijah’s uncharacteristically emotional mood, but he was keeping his mate in the dark despite her most convincing efforts.
It’s been an odd few weeks, to say the least.
“He should be home soon, right?” Trinity asks from across the dining room table. She bounces Isaac on her knee, who is beaming and drooling like mad, choking on his belly laughs.
“I have no idea,” I admit, forking a piece of roasted salmon into my mouth. I’m in no mood to eat. The heat of summer has dissipated, and the deep green of the trees around the castle have begun to fade, their branches now speckled with gold, the first signs of fall. I feel like time is speeding by at a great rate of speed and Maddox is still no closer to returning.
Isaac will be three months old soon. He’s fattened up and constantly smiling. He especially likes Trinity and Hestia, which I’m thankful for. Losing Mystica and Poppy has left a hole in my heart that I don’t think anyone can fill, but at least I have them.
And Cindy, of course.
Speaking of which…
“Where’s Ben?” she asks as she bustles into the dining room. She holds a letter up in the air, looking a bit exasperated. “I’ve looked all over for him, and I can’t find him anywhere!”
“He should be upstairs packing up his things,” I reply, furrowing my brow. “Was he not in his room?”
“No, he wasn’t.” Cindy purses her lips, looking more than annoyed. I like Cindy. She takes her job very seriously and has fallen under Hestia’s wing when it comes to learning the ins and outs of her position in my court. Unlike Poppy, Cindy can rein in her attitude. Like Poppy, that attitude shines through regardless of how hard she tries to keep it in check. It’s always flaring behind her eyes, but her mouth remains in a tight line, twitching with words unsaid.
I like her more and more everyday, especially since she’s made it her mission to get my younger brother ready for his life-changing move to Wellington to start his prestigious education.
I’d tasked her with helping Ben get ready to start his first semester at Wellington, and he was supposed to be packed by now. First thing tomorrow morning, he’d be on a train to a mountainous region of Crescent Falls to attend the prestigious university tucked high in the mountains and surrounded by small, picturesque towns that look like something out of a fairy tale.
I can’t wait for him to go only so I can visit and explore.
But Ben is nervous and starting to pull away from all of the women in the house who have been pestering him for days about whether or not he’s packed and he has everything he needs.
“He’s hiding, then,” Trinity laughs, which makes Isaac laugh even harder, even though he has no idea what we’re talking about. “I’ll send Elijah to sniff him out. He has to be somewhere. Unfortunately, only Alpha Maddox can make him answer a mind-link.”
“Who is the letter from?” I ask. Cindy looks down at the envelope and shrugs, handing it to me. There is no return address or sender. Another odd thing to add to the list, I guess.
I think of the bundle labeled “Ella” still sitting on my dresser upstairs. How many unsolved mysteries are going to plague us?
“Probably from the school,” I lie absently, handing it back to Cindy. “I’ll look for him.” I know, and I don’t mention it to the other women in the room, that Ben is a little hung up on the young woman named Juniper he met at the party we held for Elijah after the trials. I know they’ve been exchanging letters, and for whatever reason are being secretive about it.
They’d make a great match. It would be an advantageous coupling for both Juniper’s father and our family. Juniper is high born, the daughter of an Alpha who is our ally, and Ben is well… Ben. He’d be a catch no matter his social standing.
And Maddox means to make that standing as high as possible after he graduates from college.
But I feel like a huge jerk for even thinking about their relationship this way. They should be together because they’re in love, not because it secures alliances.
I’m still getting used to being Luna, I guess. In a way, securing matches like this is part of my job. It doesn’t mean I like it.
They won’t be together like that, bound to each other, unless they’re mates.
I do find it cute that Ben has a crush.
Cindy saunters off in search of Ben upstairs after saying she’d drop off his letter on his bed. I smile over at Trinity, who is babbling incoherently to Isaac. “Can you watch him for a moment?”
“Of course I can,” she grins, tickling his ribs. He squeals in delight, drool dripping off his pudgy chin. “Let’s go to the playroom, my little drumstick.”
I smirk, but internally I am glowing with pride. Who would’ve thought Trinity would become someone I trusted, let alone trusted enough to be alone with my child? I know the worst she could do to him is spoil him to death, so I take off, going over my mental to-do list while I make my way to my office.
I peek into various rooms on my way looking for Ben. Where could he be?
“Luna–”
“Goddess above!” I screech, my hand slapping over my heart. Elijah sighs heavily as he moves out of a darkened area of the hallway, looking slightly annoyed. “You scared me to death.”
“You say that at least three times a day.”
I frown at him, my heart still racing under my hand.
“I should buy you some tap dancing shoes,” I mumble, then take a deep breath before meeting his eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“I have something I need to discuss with you, about the… trip I had to take. I’m under the impression, however, that Maddox would prefer me not to say anything to you about the matter until he gets back but… I feel that it’s imperative that I do so–now.”
I nod, somewhat excited that I finally get to find out the reason for his odd behavior and injuries. I escort him to my office, his feet not making a sound while my own shoes clack against the hard floors. I want to ask how he trained his body to move with such silence, but that can wait.
“All right,” I say, closing my office door behind me as Elijah walks into the center of the room, his hands clasped behind his broad back. “What is it you want to tell me?”
“There’s a pack five-hundred miles from here, Obsidian Temple. Have you heard of them?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You wouldn’t have,” he muses, turning to face me and leaning against my desk. “Maddox’s father annihilated the pack roughly forty years ago. They were planning an uprising, but he moved in before they could act. Maddox wasn’t even born yet.”
I wait for him to go on, but his face pales.
“Is that where you were? In their old territory?”
“No, their old territory was taken over by other Alphas decades ago. But Maddox… a few weeks ago they found themselves in a situation on the way to Dayfall. They made a wrong turn and ended up off course and came face to face with a group of warriors from an unknown pack. Maddox asked me to look into it once they were able to continue on with their travels, so I did, and I might have brought back…”
“What are you saying?”
“There is a girl in the dungeon. Her name is Emery. She is fifteen and the Alpha of Obsidian Temple.”
“There is a fifteen year old girl in my dungeon?” I shout, seeing red. “What the hell, Elijah?”
He shrugs, his eyes meeting mine with a gleam.
“I urge you not to let her out–”
“Of course I’ll be letting her out!” I shout, balling my hands into fists.
He takes a step toward me, holding out his hands in surrender as he continues, “There were twenty other children in that castle. It was falling to pieces around them. I rounded them up, convinced their Alpha it was the right thing to do… even though she fought, a bit, but still, she gave in. The children are safe and being cared for in the village–”
“You took children away from their parents–”
“There were no adults, Luna. These children were alone and had been for some time. Emery… their Alpha, their leader, she has been taking care of them on her own since she was six years old–”
I sit down, my mind spinning. “I don’t understand?”
“Neither do I. None of them will talk. None of them are older than twenty. The two men coming into their wolf powers within the next year that we rounded up won’t say a Goddess damned thing.”
“What happened to these children? And their parents”
He shakes his head. A wave of dread washes over me as I look up at him through my lashes.
“Will she talk? To me?”
“No, but she’ll talk to Ben–”
I shoot up, furious.
“Is that where he’s been sneaking off to? The dungeon? And you knew?”
“I didn’t know he was missing–”
I rush to the door and yank it open then turn back to look at him.
“You and I will be going into town to check on the rest of these children tonight. I will figure out what to do, okay? You should have told me. You’re supposed to be loyal to me as well,” I scold. Elijah just nods, but his eyes darken. “Do not keep things from me, Elijah. I am your Luna.”
“Do not let her out,” he repeats. A chill runs up my spine.
This is a fifteen year old girl he’s talking about. How bad can she be?
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* * *
I catch Ben just as he comes out of the doorway leading down to the dungeon. I pin him to the wall, and he yelps in surprise.
“So this is where you’ve been! You’re supposed to be packing, Ben!” I hiss, pointing my finger against his chest. He raises his hands in surrender, looking a little pale. “You’re not to go down there any longer!”
“So Elijah told you,” he grinds out, his eyes flaming with sudden fury, which is rare for him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.
He stiffens. “She won’t talk to you, that's why. I was trying to figure out what was going on because I was worried about her mouthing off to you and Maddox and getting into more trouble than she already is.”
I relax at that, but continue to hold my ground.
“I am the Luna, Ben. You have to tell me these things! I had to say the same thing to Elijah just now. This girl is being kept prisoner in my house without my knowledge, and that’s wrong. You know that's wrong.”
“I thought it was Maddox’s wish–”
“Maddox isn’t here,” I say sternly, pushing against him before turning to the stairs leading down into the darkness. “I am in charge, and this isn’t right.”
I look up at the warrior who is standing on the other side of the doorway, his eyes downcast as he tries to ignore the fight taking place between me and my brother. I reach out and yank the heavy keyset off his belt, giving him a death glare.
“I should put all of you in the dungeon for this,” I snap, looking from the warrior to Ben, then I rush down the stairs.