The Luna's Pack and Her Alpha

Five | Dinner

Veronica

My father and I eventually made our way down to the clinic for our tests. I thanked Dr. Moreno for his time before I returned to my office to meet Sage.

Our meeting was brief, Sage is a lifesaver. With her notes, we quickly finalized all the decisions for the project. Her thoughts on the designs were well thought out and insightful, I made a mental note to have her sit in on these meetings from now on. She headed out after sending a few emails, leaving me alone in my office.

I sat in my now empty office making a list of the wolves I’ve had the most contact with over the years so that I could gather background for the Elders investigation. This investigation needed to be over in 11 days, I refuse to let my Uncle’s scheming delay the Transfer of Power by even one day, so I’ll do anything I can to help move the process along. I was just finalizing the list when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in”, I said without looking up from the list in front of me.

The door opened and closed before I heard a tray being set down. I looked up to see my mother seated on my couch looking at me with a worried expression on her face. Unlike my father, this is an emotion she shows a lot. I smiled at her, but it didn’t seem to ease any of the worries she had, “Hello, mom.”

“Hello, Veronica. Come sit with me, I brought you dinner.”

Before I could decline my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. After the blood test, my tank was well past empty. I couldn’t afford to be weak right now, so I stood and walked over to join her on the couch. As I sat down she lifted the lid of the tray to reveal a large sirloin steak with sautéed onions, a huge serving of mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and what looked like a pound of mac ’n’ cheese. I was a very active wolf with a large appetite, but this is way more food than I typically eat.

I eyed my mother suspiciously before she explained, “I passed Sage on her way out, she said you missed lunch.”

I smiled and tried to force a chuckle, but it came out as a sigh, “Dad was wrong, she’s not well trained, she’s just excellent at her job,” I paused, “and an excellent friend.”

My mom watched me as I dug into the food in front of me, “You should tell her that.” Before I could swallow my mouth full of food to protest, she continued, “I know that you show your gratitude to the whole pack and all your employees, that’s how you were raised. She knows she’s good at her job, but she does more than take your calls and keep your schedule straight. She takes care of you. When you’re not at the office she calls Mrs.Rogers to make sure you’ve come down to eat lunch. All your phone calls between 7 am and 11 am are routed to her phone, so that you take time to recover after morning training, and when you leave the office she notifies the border patrol so they know when you’ll be arriving, just in case anything should happen to you on your way back to pack territory. That woman has been taking care of you and supporting you the way I support your father.”

I had finished my mouth full of food and took another bite while I thought back on all our interactions. How had I not noticed all the things she does for me? I never requested lunch at work, but there’s always a hot meal for me waiting at my desk. I never questioned why she did it though, I guess I assumed she was just being a good assistant. I never thought about how there was always a plate ready for me just as I came down to the kitchen to get it, I simply thanked Mrs.Rogers and returned to my office with it. I never thought much about the fact that I didn’t get calls in the morning, but Sage always handed me a stack of messages when I arriv–my mom cleared her throat, interrupting my thoughts.

“She’s sneaky about it all. It’s nothing you could’ve noticed, but you should make sure she knows how important she is to you, Veronica, not just Ms. Green her boss, and future Luna.” She explained.

I nodded, “Can you help me with something?”

She smiled like she knew this was coming, “of course, what do you have in mind?”

“Sage’s birthday is next Saturday. I’m expecting Saturday evening won’t be the best night for a celebration, but Friday night should do just the same.” I said before I resumed eating.

“Friday is your birthday and the night of your party,” my mother said waiting for more information on my plan.

I finished my bite before explaining, “Right so everyone, including her, will be here. Have Mrs.Rogers make a confetti cake with strawberry frosting. We’ll bring it out near the end of the night, we’ll sing happy birthday to her, and I’ll give her the gift I got her.”

My mother smiled at me and promised to get everything set up before the worried look returned to her face, “Do you want to talk about the investigation?”

I shook my head, “Nothing to talk about. The accusations are false and only meant to weaken me before the Power Transfer.”

She nodded, but the worry didn’t leave her face, “Just make sure they don’t succeed. Don’t sit up here all night preparing by yourself. You have a team for a reason, utilize them.”, her voice was soft, but I knew this was not a suggestion, it was an order.

“Yes Ma’am,” was my response before I shifted my focus to finishing my meal.

We sat in silence and she watched as I finished the huge meal she had brought for me. After every bite was gone she placed the cover back on the tray and stood to leave.

“Thank you, mom.” She smiled back at me before closing the door on her way out.

I returned to my spot behind my desk and pulled out my phone to shoot a text to Damon and Leo asking them to come up to my office after dinner. Communicating would be so much easier once my wolf was awake and I could send mind links. I set my phone down and leaned back in my chair, taking a moment to rest while I waited for them to arrive. We have a bit of work to do tonight.