The Wolf Within

Chapter 15: I Keep My Own Secrets

Toni's PoV:

Will stood in front of the door, his face stormy. He was dressed in a blue dress shirt and black trousers, his icy blue eyes staring into me. I stepped back.

"William!" I said. "I was just — um — trying to find the library."

He quirked his eyebrow up at me. "Don't lie to me, Antoinette."

I gulped, readying another lie, but he didn't give me the chance. "I suppose we should spend a little time together, then," Will sighed. "It seems you can't help getting into trouble. Come, Antoinette, have dinner with me."

Dinner? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. 

My mind raced as he took my arm in his and led me back up the stairs. There had to be some plot at work, some other machination that explained why he hadn't gotten angry and why he was being so suddenly hospitable, I just couldn't figure out what it was. My grip on his arm and the situation was loose.

Will ran a hand through his messy, black curls. He, too, seemed to be lost in thought.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my quarters," he said, directing me down a corridor. "Did you like the library?"

I paused. Will's face was softer than usual, his mouth no longer set in a harsh scowl. Instead, his eyes were gentler, looking past me and down the corridor, with dark bags beneath them. He looked tired. 

"Yes, it's very beautiful. There's not a lot of people, though."

"No," Will said, "I suppose it makes sense you got bored." He stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor and turned the handle. The wood was shiny and finely polished, and when he pushed open the door I could see the rest of his room.

It was larger than Phillip's, and, unlike any of the rooms I'd seen so far, it opened up to a study first. Opposite the door was a giant window, furnished by deep blue curtains, and in front of that was a beautiful mahogany desk. My eyes glanced over the polished wood of his desk and the comfortable looking chair behind it. Shelves lined the walls, which were painted a royal blue, and a smaller desk sat on my left, with another chair behind it.  Towards the back of the room were lush sofas and armchairs, all in matching blue, and a fireplace, as well as several doors leading to other rooms. 

Will sat behind the big desk, seeming to collapse into the chair. He shut his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. I stood by the door and shuffled my feet, waiting for him to speak.

"Sit," Will said, waving his hand at one of the chairs towards the back of the room. I pulled it forwards so that I was sat opposite him, acutely aware that I just a few hours before I had been standing in his brother's room.

"We need to talk about your role in our pack, Antoinette," he began. "I haven't announced your arrival yet, so there are only a handful of people who know you're here."

"I know," I said.

"You know?"

"I've met a few people while in the library and wandering around. I told them my name was Marie."

Will snorted, shaking his head. "Seems just like you to lie about it," he said, smiling at me.

"It's good that I did, though, right? You don't want people to know I'm here."

Will fell silent, the smile sliding off his lips. I watched him fold his hands over each other and lean over the desk, resting his elbows on the wood. 

"It's not that I don't want them to know, Antoinette," he said, "I just think it would be better to wait until we'd gotten further with the process. I thought you would prefer it, actually."

"Oh."

I stared at him, caught off guard. I couldn't remember the last time he had done anything for me, specifically -- we had known each  other for years, yes, but we hadn't gotten along. When we were kids we fought all the time, and, as far as I was aware, he would only ever do the bare minimum for me -- he was just doing his duty.

"The truth is, though, Antoinette, that you'll have to step into your role soon. You're the future Luna of this pack, and that means responsibilities -- these are troubled times."

"Troubled times?" 

"Yes. Things have changed. It's our duty to help fix them."

I listened intently to every word Will said. His words fell from his lips like pebbles into water, sending waves out to shore, and they worried me. He was talking, I knew, about the vampires who had attacked wolves on his territory, but Will didn't know I knew about that. I decided not to tell him.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked instead. I could already feel the defiance bubbling within me -- I didn't want to be there, and I didn't need anymore responsibilities. I already had more than enough. 

Will smiled, his lips tight, as he watched my reaction. This was a boy who knew what having so much duty on your shoulders felt like, but he also knew how much I hated taking orders, especially from him. 

"I need you to be quiet and to stay away from the rest of the pack until we're sealed. Then I can announce your arrival officially."

"So I'm meant to just stay locked up in my room until you decide it's convenient?" I spat.

Will sighed. "Please, Antoinette, don't be stubborn. You need to work on commanding the pack's respect, you need to be a proper Luna -- it's best if you have time to learn that."

I glared at him, crossing my arms over my chest.  "Why don't you try being stuck in your room all day without anyone to talk to?"

"Look, okay," Will said, flinging his hands up in defeat. "I'll find things for you to do -- I'll spend time with you when I've finished work, if that makes you happy. Tomorrow I'll even take you to the market in town!"

I opened my mouth to respond to him, exasperated as we both were, but, before I could say anything, there was a knock at one of the doors. 

"Come in, " Will said, his voice firmer than before.

The door swung open to reveal a steep set of stairs and a man dressed in an outfit a bit like Sophie's. He made eye contact with Will, completely ignoring me.

"Good evening, Master William, I have some--"

"Ah, Louis!" Will said, smiling. "Perfect timing -- could you bring us up some dinner, please?"

Louis nodded, his smile thin. "Yes, of course, but I was sent to fetch you, Master William. The Alpha sent for you."

Will stood up immediately, his face stony once more. During the course of that evening, I'd seen him display more emotion than I had in a lifetime of knowing him, but now it was all gone. I watched them both carefully. 

"I'm sorry Antoinette, but we'll have to have dinner some other time -- Louis, do you mind escorting her back to her room? You know which one."

Will left through the same door we'd entered in, Louis and I following shortly after. I wondered what could be so important that the Alpha had need Will immediately, instead of just waiting until morning. 

It seemed that the longer I stayed at the Fortier pack, the more questions I had.