Emma could feel sweat pooling up all lover her body. She glanced at Lucius and back to the man who had asked the question, not knowing where to start from. Thankfully, Lucius stepped in.
“Miss Greenfield is my friend and you all know that. I consulted you before I attacked Alpha Axel so you know all the history. She was the one who brought my sister back to the pack and we’ve been good friends since then. I have to admit, I started to feel something for her and told her about it but she did not want to create trouble, which was why she ran away.
Unfortunately, she was kidnapped by the vampire king who is trying to create a hybrid army, something I forgot to tell you about. Anyway, miss Greenfield and her friend were able to escape but did not have anywhere to go, and that’s why they decided to return here. The truth she and I are starting to develop really strong feelings but I’m married now so there’s never going to be anything between us.”
“But sometimes you wish you could get rid of Michelle and be with miss Greenfield, right?” the old man piped in.
Lucius gave him a confused look.
The man chuckled, as did the others. Emma noticed that the looks on their faces were not that serious anymore. “Son, you don’t have to explain anything to us. We warned you about that woman but you never listened. She’s crazy and we all emphasize with you. If most of us were in your position, we would have already got rid of her and married this beautiful young woman.”
Hearing the older men approve of her felt weird but Emma was glad.
“Was that why you sent her away?” Lucius asked.
A blonde man who seemed the youngest of the elders chuckled. “No. she was really driving us crazy and that’s not how a luna should behave. However, John eavesdropped on your conversation yesterday after they moved out of the living room.”
“Yes,” john, one of the men who had seen them when Michelle almost killed Emma, said. “I heard what she said. I heard her admitting to have an affair and told everyone about it. I don’t know why the moon goddess matched you and Michelle but it is very clear that you’re not very compatible and may never be.”
Lucius sighed. “Can she leave?”
“Yes, let her go. We have a lot of things to talk about.”
Emma stood up and left as fast as she could. When she closed the door after getting out, she took a deep breath, feeling relived.
She had been so scared of trying to explain herself in front of all those men. She was relieved to know that they were not on Michelle’s side. Michelle knew how to sabotage herself more than anyone else could. The woman made it really difficult for people to like her. Had she listened to the elders and not been so dramatic, they may have been more lenient to her.
After leaving the floor, Emma found herself in the ground floor and was heading out when she saw Casey and three young women coming out of a room. She raised a brow and walked towards her friend.
“Hi Emma,” Casey said, pulling her aside. “How did it go?”
Emma sighed. “Better than I thought it would. Things are okay for now.”
“That’s great to know. You’ll give me the details later. There’s a science fair in town and the school kids have already been taken there. We’re going to town to act as chaperones and watch them. Wanna join us?”
“Do you even have to ask? I’ll take any opportunity to step out for a while.”
“Come on guys,” one of the girls who had been with Casey said as the group headed towards the front door. Emma and Casey followed them. Outside, they got into a black van and it set off.
Now that she was feeling more relaxed, Emma had the chance to observe the area near the pack. The part of the forest near the road was not very thick. The trees were long and thin, spread out with fairly wide spaces between them. The road was a bit narrow but well maintained.
The young children from the pack had already arrived at the community centre when Emma and her colleagues got there. Jane opened their trunk and started removing some of the refreshments for the kids. Emma and Casey along with other girls carried boxes of water and other drinks to the tent that the male werewolves of Summit pack had set up outside the building. After greeting each other, the two groups got to work. Some were to remain outside and be on the lookout for possible predators while others were to go in. they were all allowed to check out the project displays if they wanted.
Casey and Emma chose to stay outside but decided to first go and see what was going on inside. The hall was large and was fairly crowded with young children and a few adults. There were all kinds of projects on the tables. Some were mundane and simple while others were bizarre. Volcanoes, homemade ovens, homemade solar panels and many other interesting things.
They went to the table marked Summit children’s organisation. Since the project was being spearheaded by the central government which had humans and people who had no idea that supernatural creatures existed, they had to give the group a human name.
They found the young people finalising their project display. It was an interesting one. It was an automated garden system which was supposed to use artificial intelligence to optimize plant growth. Casey, Emma and others who had just come in listened as one of the children eagerly explained the project. There were several sensors and actuators controlling the system. There was even a graph showing the rate of plant growth.
When the young girl had finished explaining, the audience gave her a round of applause. The crowd had grown as she explained.
“Very well done.”
Emma froze. What was he doing there?