It's for the Moon Godnes to know

Chapter 19

Pete’s POV

Upon arrival, we handed over our coats and hats to a well-dressed waiter. There should be no doubt that we had arrived in a fine house. The servants were in their finest clothes, the candlesticks were long and there was a pleasant background music from one of the salons. I had not been there since my tea visit, but even I had no doubt that they had drawn the lines up this evening. Maxwell stood attention when we reached our hosts. Lady Penelopy stood in front and offered us a gloved hand. Maxwell made a military bow, thus avoiding her hand, I myself had to take it and leave a light kiss on the back of the hand.

One thing Maxwell and I had in common was our aversion to the edict that was followed by the high society in the capital. But we were both brought up to know it and follow it when needed. Lord Melbury stood beside his Luna and greeted Max kindly with a light bow, he gave me a warm hand, wishing for us both to enjoy the evening.

We posed ourselves in a corner and watched the other guests. It was clear to see the difference between married and unmarried. The married women looked like peacocks! Tall hair, with feathers and other embellishments, thick makeup and brightly colored low-cut dresses. Next to them stood the unmarried girl in closed dresses, in faint pastel colors. Their hair was all neatly trimmed down, perhaps with a single little white rose as embellishment. Some of the girls wore makeup, but it was so simple that it might as well have been omitted.

The married men sat comfortably in chairs and sofas and talked to each other while smoking or drinking from a glass. The unmarried men stood more or less separately, most captured in conversation with married women, with their unmarried daughters next to them.

"Welcome to the meat market!" Maxwell whispered next to me, with no hidden laughter at all. I sighed deeply. As I stood there looking around, I could not see a single girl who would fit me at all. These innocent little lambs, were not she wolves, there was no one who seemed to have the strength it takes to be a Luna.

I was just about to tell Maxwell that we might as well run away, that there was no reason to stay when dinner was announced, and there was no escape.

I odd to have foreseen what to come. I was seated with a pure young newly changed wolf on one side, at most a beta, with her loud mother on my other side. Not only did she speak inhumanely loud, my wolf hearing suffered severely from it, but she also constantly reached out in front of me, to place or remove food from her daughter's plate. The girl had to take care of her weight so, no poultry for her, the girl had to eat more, so more vegetables on her plate. I tried to eat my food without talking to any of them, but it was difficult, with the arm moving back and forth in front of me. At one point I looked annoyed at the girl, could she not ask her mother to stop, but she just looked resignedly at me, there was no trace of embarrassment or regret, only abandonment. I apologized and left the table. When I had been away for almost a dozen minutes, Maxwell came out and found me. Before he could say anything, I asked the nearest waiter for our outerwear. Without a word, I pulled Maxwell with me out the door and started walking back to my hotel. After five minutes of walking, Maxwell began to speak.

"I must confess, the food is much better than at the barracks!" I kicked a rock on the sidewalk. "I should not be able to say, I could hardly be allowed to taste!" I replied angrily. Maxwell nodded and continued, "Was that reason enough to break up too early and leave the company without apologizing and saying good night?" I started shaking, not from the cold, but something more primitive. Maxwell noticed it, and when we reached a larger park, he dragged me into the park with him. Without a word we both started running, we could not switch to our wolves, but we could allow them to step forward and use our bodies. Both my wolf and I needed to burn off some steam. I was not the only one who was angry, my experience was hard on both of us and we needed to burn off our frustrations.

After a few laps in the park, we stopped under some big trees and threw ourselves into the grass. Maxwell knew me as well as anyone, so he let me lie for a bit before he started asking questions.

"Will you tell me why you were just about to shape-shift inside the middle of town, in a lighted place?" I sighed and looked up between the branches and found solace in the sight of the new moon. How long ago was it that I had last looked at her? I hardly knew where the words came from, maybe from my heart, my soul, maybe from my wolf!

"I was sitting next to this young beautiful wolf, her mother was overprotective, domineering and invasive. You would think it was her youngest puppy, not a ready-to-marry girl. I made eye contact with her, and then it became clear why no female wolf here in the city has managed to capture my interest for more than two minutes! " Maxwell said nothing, just waiting for me to continue, I breathed a few times.

"It's not wolves that inhabit this city, it's lap dogs!" Maxwell growled a little, but did not interrupt me. "The girl was a trained lap dog just waiting to be bred!" I sighed and felt relieved as if this knowledge had weighed, not only on my soul, but physically on my heart. My father always said when I was younger that if there was something wrong, it always helped to share his sorrows, they would not be so heavy if there were more about carrying them. Maxwell got up and took a look at his uniform, held out his hand and pulled me up. He looked up and down at me, sighing deeply.

"Come on, we need to be washed!" I shook my head.

"Are you trying to make me a lap dog now?" Maxwell let out a loud and hearty laugh, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Never in my life, I know when I will be faced with an impossible challenge ... You are and will always be a wild wolf, no one can tame you!" I sighed deeply and nodded, "Not even the moon goddess has been able to find someone who can!"