Luna Isabella

XI. Silent Evening

Isabella′s POV:

When we arrived at the Pack House, the whole place was chaotic. Everyone was rushing around cleaning something or throwing something into another room. Ian commands the wolves that were with us to take all the bags into my bedroom. He grabs one of the guys, “What happened?” he asks.

The guy eyes dart towards the other guys who was sweating uncontrollably, “You know the little bit-” he stops talking for a millisecond, eyes shooting around the room, “I mean girl who trespassed into our territory not too long ago?” he questions.

Ian folds his arms while his lips twist sideways in order to remember.

After some moments, Ian nods, then a chuckle escapes. He probably remembers what she did to Damien. I swallow the laughter lingering in my throat as the flashback stroked, “What about her?” he coughs to compose himself.

“Rumors said she is Alpha Nathaniel of Full Moon mate,” he replies.

Ian’s smiles drop.

Who is Alpha Nathaniel?

“You f*****g serious?” Ian replies with widening eyes then mumbles: “What are the odds,” he sighs then dismissed the guys who rush out of the Pack House.

Ian ran his hands down his face and groaned louder.

Hee-Young’s body shakes while the sweats drip down.

“Who’s Alpha Nathaniel, and why do you all look so worried?” I ask.

They exchange looks, “You remember how I explained about how packs are run?” Ian said, then began sitting on the couch and I follow him. Hee-Young told us that she would make us some sweet ice tea since it’s been a long day.

Ian rests his elbows on his knees then his chin on his knuckles. “Outside of this packs, there are other packs,” he began. I nod, knowing this irrelevant information. I had a life before being kidnapped, locked away, then ship into the facility, and trained to become a soldier.

“There are seven continents-” he states as if I was a child who didn’t know a single thing. I gave him a blank expression, not even granting him an eye roll. He coughs, “Okay, you probably already know at least that much,” he chuckles nervously, and I nod.

Ian began explaining how each continent has its governmental program that runs the packs, ensuring regulation, and minimizing the amount of violence. Each species has its own government, which overall made up The Council. In a sense, they are the international government, and they are governed by five members of a group called The Custodes.

I nod as he continues explaining the history of The Custodes, but I partially zoned out during parts I didn’t understand.

Soon, Hee-Young came with three glasses of ice tea complimented by mint and placed it in front of us. I smile when I saw the colorful swirly straw. Ian stops talking momentarily to sip his cup, and I did the same. There was a short but comfortable silence between us. We finish sipping at the same time, then released a deep sigh of content. “Great stuff Hee-Young,” Ian said, raising the glass, and she smiled warmly. She glanced at me, and I nod my head in approval of Ian’s words.

Ian resumed his explanation about the history of The Custodes, governmental programs, and all the other stuff.

I raise a hand, and Ian stops speaking. His two hands are still partially in the air. “Yes, Izzy,” he said, and Hee-Young brows twisted together since it was the first time Ian called me by that ridiculous nickname he implemented on me.

Sitting there, under his gaze, I feel like I was a student. “What does any of this have to do with the guy I asked you about?”

He looks up towards the ceiling then nod. “Oh yes, I was supposed to explain about Alpha Nathaniel,” he smiles grimly, a small tint of blush danced across his golden cheeks. Ian shrugs sheepishly, “Sorry, I tend to go on a tangent sometimes when I explain things. You should see me during training,” he chuckled lightly. “I would try to explain one thing then I would start talking about birds fly-”

“Gamma Ian,” Hee-Young whispers to stop him.

Ian scratched his dark curls. “There I go again,” he gave us another smile. “Now, I’m going to talk about wolves and stick to it. There are seven continents, and each continent has five top packs among all other packs. Northern America is ruled by Full Moon, Black Forest, Silver Stone, Red Rose, and Crescent. The strengths and values of each pack are determined by the list I stated in that order, and Alpha Nathaniel runs the strongest pack.”

I take a few blinks rolling the glass around my palms. The water leaks into my soon to be wrinkle skin. “So?”

Ian set down his empty glass, filled with ice, “Alpha Nathaniel is known for having an extremely short temper and enjoyed messing with other Alphas.”

“He fights other Alphas often?”

He shakes his head, leaning back slightly. “The werewolves government doesn’t allow warfare between packs. We determine everything civilly in court with the council presented.”

I ran my thumb down the smooth glass. “Then...how?”

“He looks at them,” Ian said in almost a whisper tone as if the conversation we had is forbidden.

I blink a few times, feeling the water hitting my thighs as the birds chirp in the background. The silence stretches between the three of us as I glanced at Hee-Young, who nods vigorously in agreement with Ian. “What?”

“He looks at them,” Hee-Young repeats as if it made sense.

“He looks at them?” I mumbled, feeling as if it will somehow make sense if I said it out loud. It didn’t.

Hee-Young set her glass down, causing the ice to clank. “Alpha Nathaniel has this look,” she said, and I raised a brow. “This look that says - you′re below me,” she whispers.

I look over at Ian, who rests comfortably on the couch. “What she said is true. I met the dude before, and he has this look,” he shrugs. “Wouldn’t blame him though; after all, he was raised to be the best of the best. Although, the other Alphas, particularly the older ones hated it. They can’t wait to knock his family off the pedestal.”

“But, they can’t,” Hee-Young mumbled.

I set my cup down when I realized it was empty. “Hm?”

“Full Moon is back up by a member of the Custodes since they are the pack that aided them in ending Acqua Rossa Spessa. They have been ruling Northern America for nearly three generations,” she states.

“So...his mate being here is a problem?” I ask, wondering why they can’t only give her back and maybe take me too. Perhaps, this is my way out?

“It’s rumored that Alpha Nathaniel is obsessed over his mate. We are all obsessed over our mates, but he is straight out cuckoo! I heard he broke his pack members’ limbs for even looking at her without his permission,” Ian placed two crunches hands in the air for dramatic effects.

Hee-Young nods, “The omegas from Full Moon said he is extremely possessive over her. They even heard that he might go to war with the humans and hunters community if they rejected his proposal in accepting her as his Luna.”

“A war?” I ask.

She nods, “But, it seemed that those communities have heard how one of their own is mated to an Alpha because nothing had happened so far.”

After the wonderful evening storytime, I went back to the bedroom to rest. Ian was walking behind me while Hee-Young said she had to go clean the living room. I don’t understand what she has to clean; after all, the place is spotless. I grab the handle, ready to escape into my bedroom. “Izzy,” Ian said. I turn around, eyes meeting his then the two wolves behind him.

It seems that Damien does not trust Ian to be around me, alone. So, there are always others presented with us. “Yes?”

He smiles and bows slightly, “I am happy you decide to stay,” he grins.

“I decide to stay?”

Ian stands up straight, chest heaving upward. There was a confused look on his face as he stared at me. “You want to stay... don’t you?”

I take a few blinks, “I...never-” my words were caught inside my throat.

He gave me a small smile but didn’t respond. Slowly, he lifts his hand to the top of my head. “Gamma Ian...that would not be a wise move,” one of the guys said, looking as if he is stuck between a wall and a hard place as he shuffled uncomfortably.

Ian chuckles and lowers his hand. “Yes...that would be an unwise move,” he said slowly then inhaled a breath. I glanced down at the hand that was still midway in the air. I lift my hand and tap it causing Ian to burst out in an uproar laugh. He grabs my wrist and slams his hand against mine. “High fives should be okay” he looks behind him. “Right?”

They glanced at each other and nodded, a low chuckle escaping their lips. “Yes.”

Ian looks back at me. “See you around, Izzy,” he said, then walks down the hall.

I look down at my palm, feeling my lips tugged upward slightly as the pounding inside my chest steadily increases. I turn around, avoiding the eyes lingering at me from the guards, and walked into the bedroom. Releasing a deep breath, I flop onto the bed. My eyes laid on the white ceiling, taking a few blinks.

Inhaling a deep breath, I feel a strong finger lurking down my cheek. I moaned lightly, hearing a sharp hazy breath in return. I swallowed, feeling a motion on my neck. I groaned, hearing a clicking noise, and suddenly it felt more comfortable to breathe.

Rough lips touch mine, causing my body to tremble.

The kiss was slow, cautious...desperate.

There’s a knock on the door that caught my attention, and I realized I fell asleep. I shake my head, feeling the discomfort lingering inside my stomach when I’m aware of the comfort I had set in this pack. I want to leave; I shouldn’t feel comfortable!

I tug on the collar that feels a bit looser around my neck and walked towards the door. Hee-Young was on the other side, with a smile on her face. “Ready to dine?” she asks. I tilt my head, allowing my dark hair to fall on the sides.

I open the door, and she steps inside. “Dine?” I ask.

She nods and heads towards the closet. “I made steak, so you, Alpha Damien, Beta Carter, and Gamma Ian, Alpha Nathaniel, and Luna Aria to eat tonight!”

I follow her, “Luna Aria?”

Hee-Young grabs a light purple long sleeve shirt with a high collar than handed it to me. “Alpha Nathaniel and Luna Aria decided to stay overnight since it was getting late,” she chuckles lightly, heading towards the pants section. “I’m surprised you slept through all the yelling downstairs.”

“Yelling?”

She nods, handing me a pair of blue jeans. “Luna Aria was horrendously poking Alpha Damien temper, and he cracked in the other room. He threw stuff everywhere and yelled at everyone! I thought he was going to reach for her throat and strangle her for a second,” she laughs, then walks out of the closet so that I can change.

When I finish changing, I follow Hee-Young towards the dining room. Hee-Young wanted to tie my hair up, but I feel more comfortable allowing it to stay down. When we entered, Damien, Carter, and Ian were already present.

Ian perks up when he saw me and gave me a light wave. I smiled and returned his wave. Damien’s face was emotionless per usual, while Carter chuckles. “Drama,” he sang in a high pitch voice, which was replied with a glare from Damien. Carter coughs and uncomfortably shifted in his chair. “There was something stuck in my throat,” he continues coughing, avoiding Damien deathly glare.

Damien’s eyes lurked from me to Ian and then back at me, but he didn’t say a single word.

“Stop it, Nathan!” a familiar high pitch voice scream outside of the dining room.

Damien rolls his eyes.

There’s a deep growl outside.

“Your rubbing is giving me a burn!” she shouts.

My head shifts slightly towards the door seeing three figures stepping in—one which I presumed as Luna Aria and two unfamiliar guys. One of the guys had his arm wraps firmly around Aria, so I concluded he is Alpha Nathaniel. He was quite tall, misty brown eyes and high bone features, with a content look on his face. The other stood behind him look quite young with a smile on his face as he brushed his dark brown hair back.

They walked around the table and sat down. My brows furrow, when Nathaniel grabs Aria and pulls her on his lap. She rolls her eyes at his actions, but he ignores it. I bit my lower lips, curling my fingers into my sleeves as I watch him gazed at her with deep affection.

He doesn’t look like what I expected him to after Ian and Hee-Young’s talk.

Omegas carry out trays of food.

The forks and knives clink against the plates as we silently ate.

“What’s your name?” a sweet but sharp voice drifts into the air.

My eyes lurk upward, meeting Aria, who had a small smile on her lips. There was something about Aria, something wrong. Her long-lashed batted against her tanned skin, shutting her large eyes momentarily. Even while she is smiling, I felt threatened by her. She had the same atmosphere as the subjects in the facility, but much more dangerous. It resembled...Subject 6.

“Isabella,” I barely manage to choke out despite the fast beating inside my chest as she analyzed me.

Her smile fell flat as the pressure rises in the room. I can feel the fear in my chest, waiting to take over as everyone continued eating. Perhaps it only wants to protect me, but there isn’t any danger - or what I may presume.

I thrust a piece of steak into my mouth and tried not to groan in the delight of Hee-Young cooking. After a few bites, my stomach was full, but I forced myself to eat, so I won’t have to deal with the presence of the room.

“Luna Aria,” Ian was the first to spoke, only to raise the tension.

“Yes?” she replies in a low, somehow sounding slightly agitated.

“We are having a small party tomorrow. Would you two like to attend?” he asks, and Damien bites his tongue. My eyes hovered towards Carter, who bent his fork while Nathan continued eating. Ian smiled warmly, waiting for her response.

“I don-”

Damien smirks, almost in a taunting kind of way and I wonder how deep is his hatred for Aria. They met not so long ago, how much damage has she done? “Ian, I don’t think Alpha Nathaniel and Luna Aria have any time.”

She placed her fork down, dabbing her lips with the napkin. “We would love to attend,” she said in a slow-motion, smiling widely at Damien, who snarls.

The silence return as Damien and Aria enters a deadly glare.

When Nathan and Aria finish, then excused themselves, I released a light breath. Quickly, I excused myself after them. I rushed towards the bedroom, feeling as if it was my haven away from everyone. My back once again met with the surface of the comforter, but before I can release a breath of relief, the door creaked open. A figure stepped inside, eyes gazing at me. I sat up, biting my tongue, knowing it wasn’t Alfie.

Why is he here?

Damien walks towards the lamps, not uttering a single word. My body jolted when he turned off the light, allowing the night sky to leak through the darkened bedroom. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. After some adjustment, I froze in place when Damien took off his shirt and pants. My body began trembling, heart rate increasing as the bed creaked, a somehow seemingly loud noise amid silence.

He threw a hand in front of me and pushed me down onto the bed. My eyes automatically shut, fist ready to throw another punch into Damien’s face if he tried anything. The pounding increases inside my ears as my breath deepens. “Shut up,” he grumbled.

Finally, I open my eyes, but it didn’t dare look at the man beside me. “Your breathing and heartbeat are too loud,” he said, pulling me inward. “I can’t sleep listening to that all night.”

I didn’t respond.

The whole night I didn’t say a single thing, merely staring at the ceiling. I swallowed, feeling his stares burning on the side of my head. It was drilling holes, deeply engraving itself inside my mind.

He grabs a handful of my shirt, almost as if believing I may escape in the middle of the night. His breath brushed against the top of my head as his chest hit the side of my cheek.

“I didn’t tell you to stop breathing,” he whispers.

I didn’t notice I was holding my breath.

“Just breath normally like you did this evening,” he mumbled, sounding sleepier with each word.

This evening?