Ridian.
“See,” I told Samantha when Cilla went off after seeing us together in the dining room. “That’s what I have to deal with nowadays. She’s acting like a child. She was not like that before.”
Samantha sighed. “Maybe you just didn’t know her that well. You got married pretty fast. You should have studied her for at least a year. I think the moon goddess makes mistakes sometimes so just because people are fated mates doesn’t always mean they’re compatible.”
“I just don’t know what to do with her.”
“Give her time,” Samantha said. “That’s all you can do now. Don’t give in to her. Let her be until she realises that she’s being childish. In the world of werewolves, you cannot afford to be weak. When you show weakness, everyone will descend upon you.”
Samantha was right. I guess being a slave and rescued from it had made Cilla dream up an utopian world that didn’t exist. Now that she was free, she thought she could make it happen. Unfortunately for her, a world where everything and everyone was perfect and good could never exist. She had to get used to that reality.
We chatted for a while before leaving the dining room. Samantha went to check on Camilla’s project while I went to see what my mother and brother were up to. I had seen them heading to the gardens in the morning while talking in low tones but had ignored it.
I found mother standing behind Brody who was busy pruning some hedge.
“Good morning,” I said to them.
“Good morning, drama boy.” Brody said. “Heard your luna ran off in a fit of rage after finding you with Samantha. Do you really think anyone believe that nonsense that you’re just friends?”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s the truth. If they don’t believe it, I don’t care.”
“I think that wife of yours needs some taming.” My mother said. “She’s a bit too dramatic for a luna. We can’t have a luna that’s so erratic. But, I have think you for conquering that pack. Did you know that there’s a lot of untapped rare minerals in their land? Brody and I were just talking about it. i have a human friend who is an executive at one of those big human mining companies that could get us a fortune from Moonshine pack.”
“No, mother. I don’t want human involvement in this. The moment humans discover rare minerals in a certain area, they will descend on it. Don’t you remember what happened to Azure pack?”
When I was young, Azure pack had been the richest pack because its territory contained rare minerals like diamond. Because the alpha got so excited, he couldn’t wait for the minerals to be mined using rudimentary methods because they were slow. He enlisted the help of a human friend of his. That friend turned out to be the worst enemy. The humans came with atomic bombs and air bombed every werewolf in Azure. Most of them ended up dead. Those who survived ran away and joined other packs. That was how the pack died.
Since then, the rest of us had started to be more careful. That story had traumatized as me as a child because of the gross description of what the bombs had done to the flesh and bones of the people. I could never forget it. It was a gross reminder of what human beings were capable of. They called other species monsters, but they were the worst monsters that had ever walked the earth.
We chatted for a while before I decided to go and do my other duties. Before leaving, I gave a stern warning to mother and Brody to refrain from making decisions that were not in line with my values when it came to Moonshine pack. If they wanted to get involved with humans, they could but had to avoid doing anything that could lead them to my packs.
Later in the day, one of my soldiers came to my office and told me that they were worried because the luna had not returned home.
“Where did she go?” I asked him.
“We have no idea,” he said. “She didn’t tell us.”
My fist connected with the table as I stood up. “How could you let her leave without knowing where she was going? What is your work?”
“We thought she had told you about it. She said she said she was going to the mines but they say she never arrived.”
“You’re all useless. Have you tried looking for her? Has anybody called?”
“Nobody has called yet, but Jared and a small team have gone to the woods to search for her. They have been searching for over an hour but we have not got any information.”
“Let’s go,” I said, getting out of the office. “I can’t believe you’d all be so irresponsible. Did anyone go with her?”
“No. she didn’t want anyone to follow her.”
“And you listened to her.”
“She’s the luna.”
“Someone was supposed to follow her.”
Just then, a guard came running.
“Any information?” I asked him.
“Yes, she has gone to moonshine pack. We received a call from Ray. She is okay. The pack welcomed her.”
I felt like a heavy load had just been lifted off my shoulder.
“Okay,” I said. When I turned, I saw Samantha approaching. She asked me what was going on and I told her.
“That’s good. Now you don’t need to go after her.”
“Right,” I said. “How are things going with Camilla.”
“She’s very busy preparing a party for the elder’s council.”
My eyes narrowed. “Since when did Camilla host parties for the elders?”
“Since they wanted to know more about her activities. Everyone is proud of her including me. I love what she’s doing. You’re invited as well, not as an elder of course. As her brother.”
“I don’t think I can attend.”
“Why not? A party will be the perfect distraction from everything that’s going on.”
I smiled. “You know what? You’re right. A party is exactly what I need right now.”