11: OVERHEARD.
1212 Words
LYCAN PRINCE LEO GOULD.
I shut the door to my quarters and slumped down on the sofa. I was still annoyed that my father had stopped me from visiting her, even though I understood his reasoning. I wasn’t sure why I was so worked up about it, which frustrated me more. I had never been so interested in a woman's well-being. Or, so desperate to see her. This all felt strange to me. Was it purely because I had saved her life? Whatever it was, it felt as though I was going crazy from being kept away from her. I needed to do something to keep busy, to occupy my mind. My eyes landed on the laptop and papers that were still on my table. The photograph of her and that guy felt as though it was taunting me. I turned it over, not wanting to see how happy she looked in his arms anymore.
I thought about what my father had told me. She was probably from the Moonlit Sky pack. I had heard of it, of course, as it was part of my father’s jurisdiction, but I had never been there. It was one of the smaller packs; we rarely heard from them. My brother would have visited on his tour of the region. Given that he was heir to the throne, it would have been one of his duties. I looked at the clock, wondering if it was a reasonable time to video call him. He was away at the moment on official business. I didn’t envy my brother one bit; in fact, I was glad that I didn’t have to take over from our father. I decided to just text asking him to call when he had time instead. For now, I would just look into the Moonlit Sky pack myself. If someone living there had been the one to hurt her, then I was going to find out. It felt even more urgent now that my father knew where she came from. I wanted to know the truth before my father made contact with them or tried to send her back.
EX-LUNA ROSE ADAMS.
The moment they returned from searching, I began questioning Charles. Had he seen anything that might tell us who took her? Where had they looked? and probably a hundred other questions. Yet my husband held me and answered as many of them as he could. He told me that they had found Violet’s trail leading into the forest, but that at some point it had vanished. He told me about a strange animalistic scent they had picked up, but that they hadn’t found anything to help find her. I was distraught, but held myself together with all the dignity and grace of a woman who had been a luna for over two decades. “So what are we going to do? I asked, turning to my son-in-law. “Well, if we are going by the assumption that Violet has been kidnapped, and that whoever called you is the person behind it, then there’s nothing much that we can do now until he calls back,” he replied.
Nothing that we can do? I didn’t understand how he wasn’t threatening to tear the world apart to find her. Yes, it’s true they are not true mates, but I had thought they still shared a connection, a bond of love. She is his wife and Luna, how could he be so calm? “Is that it?” Charles asked, clearly sharing my confusion. “Well, no. Not exactly nothing. We will still have teams out searching for her, and I will begin calling in any favors that I have with other packs, including my brother’s. We will also set up a round-the-clock guard on the phone to ensure we do not miss that call when it comes. In fact, I would like my beta to take the first shift. I will take the second myself if they haven’t called by then,” Lucas said. I felt a little better; at least he was taking some action.
“Which line did they call on earlier?” he asked. “Violet’s office,” I told him. He nodded and turned to his beta, “Conner, set up in the Luna’s office and do not leave until I personally excuse you. When that phone rings, let me know, then put it on loudspeaker and record the conversation. We may be able to gather some clues from it that we don’t pick up on in the moment,” Lucas told him. Conner nodded and left to get a recorder and set it up. I was already at Violet’s office before he arrived. There was no way in hell that I was going to miss that call. I decided to use the office en-suite while I waited. I had just finished washing my hands and was about to dry them when I heard the office door open. I considered calling out to Conner to let him know that I was here so as not to startle him, but stopped myself on hearing Amy’s distinctive whiny voice.
“I don’t understand! Why are people saying that Violet was kidnapped?” she asked. I was surprised by her concern; I had never thought she was particularly close to my daughter. Although, since taking her vows to the Moonlit Sky pack, Violet was still her Luna. I silently scolded myself for thinking that way. “When Violet was discovered missing, they went looking and found an empty grave. Then someone called here and told Mrs Adams that they have her. I don’t understand it myself, so I can’t explain it to you,” Conner replied. There was something about his tone that made me want to hear more. “What do you mean someone has her? You mean her body, right?” Amy asked. “I guess we will know more when they call back,” Conner said, sounding irritated by her questions.
I had a few of my own after their conversation, though, and I needed to ask them before Amy left. I pushed the door open and entered the room. They both turned and stared at me in shock. “Mrs Adams! I had no idea you were in there!” Conner exclaimed. “Clearly. Now I would like to know why you are asking about a body?” I said, turning to Amy, who looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. She glanced back and forth between her brother and me. “Well?” I asked. Amy quickly regained her composure, her face taking on the same self-assured look it usually wore. “Conner said there was a grave. A grave would usually mean a body, wouldn’t it?” she said cockily. There was just something about her actions today that was rubbing me the wrong way. I was about to press her some more, but the phone rang at that moment. We all froze and stared at it for a split second. I reached over and answered, while Conner hit record. “Violet. I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day!” I heard the voice of my daughter’s best friend, Lacey, say.
- Writer
