The Luna Sage

Chapter Seven: Lunch

Bev snaked her hands around Adam, pulled mine off his sweater and hooked an arm around me, leading me from the room.

When I looked back, Adam was following, a small smile on his face and his hands tucked into his jeans pocket.

Bev had led me through what I learned was the Packhouse. A large six-story building that was built into a mountainside. We were on the 5th level, a small housing and medical wing for Betas (second-in-command) and visiting Packs, the penthouse, Adams office, was on the 6th and the Infirmary, on the 4th.

Followed by two levels, the 3rd and 2nd levels were full of housing for the home Pack, Bev called them the Warriors, and the 1st was a lobby and housed a gym out the back. There were sublevels, but Adam growled when Bev suggested a guided tour and revoked her offer, falling silent until we were on the first floor.

I watched as some young men and women ran across the lobby as we stepped out, clad in shorts and singlets. They jogged to the back where a large red double door separated the lobby from the gym.

A couple opened the doors and I peaked at what I could only guess was various equipment.

My curiosity spiked.

A hand pressed against the small of my back, filling the area with warmth, pushing me gently forward instead of towards the playground for big people.

I pouted but didn't protest due to the warmth and followed behind Bev as she pushed the glass door open, rambling happily about the town's features.

I squinted against the bright light but found myself smiling at what I saw as we got off the steps.

An expanse town, mostly nestled in the edging of a mountain, to the left of the Packhouse, smaller houses lined, stone-carved and simple, peppered with trees and berry bushes; I watched families come in and out of them, waving before getting into cars or stepping onto the sidewalk of the seemingly only road in the place. The rest of the town spread out in front, stone businesses grouped together but nestled between walls of trees and nature. I spotted a large clearing that opened to the main part of town filled with businesses. Close to it was a stone area that ended at a road that backed onto a large cliff.

My mind flashed to my arrival, realising how far I'd fallen from that exact cliff. It was at least 8 stories high, but men were walking across it now, patroling I guess.

I turned back to the lush town before me. I spotted a metal fence far back when I climbed a lamp post to see further, standing on my right tip-toe to get a better look.

It spanned the mountain gap that formed the entrance of the town. Past it expanded a wilderness that waved and dipped between a rocky mountain range before exploding to the horizon as the sun held high in the sky, kissing the earth with brilliant rays and warmth so pure, I closed my eyes to bathe in it for a second.

Opening them again to the laughter of the children as they ran past me, a little girl with blonde pigtails and a bright blue sparkling dress chased a small blonde boy in a vibrant yellow sweater, her pink backpack pounding her little back as she called for him to slow down, her voice breathless with laughter.

Behind them both, gripping a yellow backpack and two colourful boxes with handles, a man ran, his face pulled into a stressful and concerned stare after the two young ones.

They turned into a large U-shaped group of buildings to my right, the man finally catching up with the children while they argued amongst themselves at the gate. He handed the small boy the backpack and one of the colourful boxes, hesitated, looking between the two and then switched it quickly for the other one he held, handing the small girl the one he'd originally given the boy.

He pecked both on the top of the head, smiling proudly, as they ran into one of the buildings.

The words 'School' were marked on a wooden sign out the front.

I turned away, stepping down and rejoining Adam who had waited patiently, watching me with a small smile tugging on his lips.

He held out his hand when I was closer and instinctively, I took it.

His warmth bloomed across my skin as his fingers intertwined with mine and I found myself leaning into him and grabbing his forearm with my free hand.

Trees were scattered everywhere, they were currently crisp and brown, signaling winter was near.

I gasped. My hands tightened.

I had escaped in late summer.

The thought of having been free for so long and not realising, it crushed my heart.

I had spent so much of it running, and I'd been so exhausted I never noticed the beauty of the days and nights.

I silently prayed for Mother to forgive me and that I promised to cherish them every day henceforth.

"Mira, dear?" His soft voice broke through my panicked prayer. I opened my eyes I hadn't realised I'd closed, meeting his dark gaze.

"I'm sorry," I whispered quickly, ducking my eyes, I saw my hand was white around his large tanned hand, and the knuckles on the hand gripping his forearms were somehow impossibly whiter.

His fingers trapped my chin between them and forced my head up.

"Just breathe." He whispered back, pressing his lips to my cheek for a moment before straightening and turning me around softly before I could respond to his touch.

Bev waited for us across the road at what looked like a café she mentioned on our way out. It was surrounded by rose bushes and had a post office on the right and a long building that lined behind them, facing the road that stretched out of town, it looked like a workshop of some kind.

The café was bigger than it looked, its outside housed 4 spread-out white straw-wrapped tables and 4 chairs to each, white and pink roses that peppered the bushes that surrounded the large patio despite the cold weather were also put into vases that sat on every table.

Two tables were occupied by a group of men who looked slightly dishevelled and tired.

All wore back long-sleeved shirts and black pants that had a lot of pockets. Heavy-looking boots encased their feet, covered in muck and some had branches trapped in their laces.

There were eight of them, a rainbow of eyes had watched me since Adam had started to pull me across the road.

I was downwind, but I was still impressed they could smell me from at least 10 metres away.

I guess. I was bad at math, having not really learnt it for anything other than brewing. Measurements of that kind weren't really required.

The eyes stayed staring as we crossed the sidewalk and into the encased café. They went to stand and I gripped Adam.

He raised a hand at them, their eyes all glazing over mid-rise and I realised I was seeing the mind-link a Werewolf Pack shared. A telepathic communication they used in Wolf form to relay information across great distances. I didn't know they could access it in human form.

They all regained their gleams and some smiled at me sweetly. They altered their stance and bowed their head to me before sitting back down and returning to their conversations and filling themselves with food a man had brought out to them on a wide tray. Bev reached out and pulled me in through a set of glass doors and into the warmth of the café.

It was beige and brown, white tables like outside filled the centre of the room and booths with dark brown leather seats lined the walls.

It was empty except for the man who ducked back inside with the tray, bowed his head at Adam and smiled at me as he walked to the back.

At the back and centre of the room sat a glass display of a glorious array of baked goods and sandwiches.

A counter sat nestled beside it in an L-shape around to the back, a register, a stack of deep blue boxes with white writing scrawled along the side stacked beside two steaming trays filled with bright red cupcakes. The man busied himself with a clear bag filled with some kind of red thick liquid.

Strange potion.

I was pulled into a booth by Bev, releasing my grip on Adam who turned slowly to the counter and headed for the tall, dark-haired man standing behind it. His hair was spiky and pulled back, a white sleeve shirt hidden underneath a dark blue apron splattered with white powder and the thick red potion from the bag he put down to greet Adam with a broad smile and twinkling blue eyes.

"That's Liam, he's the Packs' baker," Bev said, looking over the blue sheet she'd picked up from the table. The words on it were odd, but I recognized colours and some words like ham and lettuce.

"Is that like a Sage?" I asked, trying to read over Bev's shoulder. She reached across the table and grabbed an identical sheet to hand to me.

The top read 'Menu'.

Whatever that was. It sounded close to horse excrement.

Bev laughed magically.

"No, he makes food like baked goods and pastries." She looked at me oddly when I raised a brow at her second word. "They're like....umm..you know what, we'll just get you some." She quickly pulled herself out of the booth and before I could track her movement, she had lept over the counter, grabbing one of the stacked boxes as she did and landed expertly to her feet, never breaking her stride as she popped open the box, slid a window on the other side of the glass cabinet open and started to pick out some of the items with a pair of weird looking pliers.

Tongs. I remembered. Having seen them in the Coven kitchen.

Cooking utensil.

"Hey! That's on your-" Liam was cut off by Bev's blazing gare she gave him until he looked back at the booth I sat in, his eyes darkened for a second before he bowed his head at me. "Give her one of everything."

Before I could do anything, Bev slid back into the booth, bumping me enthusiastically as she opened the large blue box to unveil an array of colourful and mouthwatering looking...pastries.

Bev held up a long bread roll-looking item, but it was sliced in half down the middle, filled with thick milk and covered in chocolate.

"Try this." She said excitedly, putting it on a plate and using a butter knife to cut it in half.

A thicker yellow milk laid under the white.

My eyes widened at the resemblance it had to a poison salve.