*FREYA*
It hasn’t been up to twenty-four hours since Jet left and I missed him terribly and he might not have reached half of his journey. By the time it was noon, I was starving so I stopped by Claire’s room insisting she joined us for lunch. After running out of each excuse I provided a solution for, she sighed and then followed me out.
I could tell she doesn’t trust anyone yet and I don’t blame her but I planned to make her comfortable with everyone which sort of reminded me of the first few weeks I arrived at the pack. Both Hunter and Kale were already there when we walked in.
“How did you manage to convince her? I tried but she would not budge” Kale asked me as I took the seat next to me.
“I guess, girl-to-girl works better” I told him as I turned my attention back to Hunter. He stopped eating and since Claire was sitting directly opposite him, he tried his best not to glance in her direction. I felt so bad for him, whatever Claire must have said to him yesterday before Jet and I arrived at the scene must have wounded him.
“This is delicious” Claire said. “I would love to go back to New York” She blurted out without looking up from her food. “There is absolutely nothing here that could remind me of who I was. New York on the other hand is the place I spent most of my life, according to Freya” She concluded.
Hunter standing abruptly and almost knocking over his chair made her look up at him in confusion. I hurriedly stood up and went after him as he angrily walk out. I catch up with him in the hallway. “Hunter wait” I called, I sigh in relief when he stopped.
“I know things are pretty rough right now but being annoyed or angry will solve nothing. Right now, Claire doesn’t remember you or anyone so getting her to warm up to us and trust us, might bring back our old Claire” I explained.
“Do you think I did not try to understand? But every time I look at her, I want to hit something or kill someone. I’m in fucking agony, I could feel every of her emotion, her emptiness, her confusion, no feelings or love towards me. It like she is a different person now. I cannot bare that” After saying that, he walk away and this time, I didn’t stop him.
“Things are pretty difficult for everyone right now, most especially Hunter. I will give Claire a tour around the castle to see if she will be able to recall anything. Stay close and keep an eye on Hunter” I concluded, leaning away from him.
As I watch him go, I realized that the sooner someone comes up with a solution to destroy this bullet in question before the council decides to go full rampage on werewolves. I didn’t even want to imagine the pain poor Hunter must be feeling right now. With my heavy heart, I went back to the living room.
“I would like to be excused now. Thank you for the meal” Claire said breaking the long stretched silence that started the second Hunter left. Once she was out of earshot, I move closer to Kale.
“I believe without her wolf nature, there is nothing that can be done to bring back her memories” He sighs. “The silver lining in this situation is, if Jet is able to track down Gwenevere” He told me. “She is not only strong enough to help you but Claire as well” He stopped talking all of a sudden and I look over my shoulder, following the direction of his gaze and wondering why he stopped.
“Good Day Gamma” She acknowledged Kale as she stopped beside me. “Lady Caroline is here to see you” She informed me.
“I shall try my best to keep an eye on him. However, you have no idea how stubborn Hunter can be” Kale said as he stood up to leave. “I have a few errands to attend to in Jet’s absent so, I will be seeing you later”
“What did she say her problem is?” I asked feeling irritated. Realizing I was now the Luna and these things were part of my duties, I plastered a smile on my face and rephrased my question. “Pardon me, I don’t know why I suddenly feel irritated. Escort her to one of the sitting rooms where she will wait for me until I’m done with my meal” I instructed.
After she left, I took my time to eat but couldn’t really enjoy the meal again due to several interruptions plus my mind was on Jet the whole time. I decided to call him once I have settled whatever issue Caroline has brought to my attention. A part of me wondered if she was here because of the ball I promised to host which is still a week away.
“This is a very unexpected visit Lady Caroline, I hope nothing is wrong?” I said as I stepped into the sitting room a few minutes later. I didn’t even have to tell her, Hazel had kept her busy with a fashion magazine and a glass of juice, otherwise she won’t be smiling like she is now.
“I did not think it would get to this point Luna, I have always attended to the court’s issues and if I could not, it will be brought to Alpha’s notice. We have you now, so that is a different situation, after the incident that happened on the full moon night, the farmers have raised the price of their goods” She explained and I blink uncertainly at her.
“Does the attack has anything to do with the farmers?” Pardon me for asking but I’m not just understanding anything. I gestured for her to sit and I did the same, figuring we can’t have this conversation while standing.
“Unfortunately yes, the attack left a lot of damage even though we have been victorious and movements are restricted and limited after their recent attack. We might run out of food items soon, especially if the demands keep going up” She answered.
“Well, I would like to see the damage” We both stood up and left the room, Hazel also joined us having waited outside the whole time. We were almost out of the door when a soft familiar voice called my name.
“Staying in my room all day is pretty boring, I would like to come with” She said. I looked at Caroline, who was busy eying Claire curiously before paying attention back to her.
“Of course you can come with” I closed my eyes, praying that we don’t witness or bump into anyone shifting.
The farmer’s market or whatever it was suppose to be called, wasn’t that far from the castle. Instead of going into town, we took the opposite route which leads to the forest. No transportation was taken, anyway it was a fine afternoon and people love going for walks in that weather.
We arrived at the Farmer’s market, twenty minutes or so later and I was in awe at the scene in front of me. It was a very wide landscape that could pass as a field depending on what part you are referring to, some parts have field-like grass, some have thick bushes, some parts are muddy and some are like gardens!
“The ruins are on the east” I heard Caroline say. We followed her in that direction and oh boy! The damages were much larger than I thought, raw wasted food was all over the place, the fruits were crushed and started to rot. “Everything wasted here could feed the whole town for a month!”
“Luna!” A couple of farmers approached us. “We are surprise but pleased to see you here. The Councils have attempt to screw us over once again… Ah” One of his partners elbow him by his side when he mentioned the word ‘Screw’ It was bad for women to cuss but worse for men to do it in from of women.
“Councils?” Claire asked, her confusion evidence by her tone of voice. While everyone stare at her, I gave Hazel a look and she quickly step in, making up some excuses to take her away from us. If the pack find out what was wrong with her, then everyone would lose their minds.
“This is a tragedy and a huge loss. I’m sorry this happened but there is no need to raise the price. I will send workers to cultivate the land again and replant it. The expenses of this damage will be covered by us. Please be patient” I pleaded with them.
“You should also join the workers Luna will send” Caroline chided.
They nodded eagerly at her. “Thank you so much Luna, Alpha would have done the same. He choose the right woman” One of them said and they all agreed.
I couldn’t stop myself from blushing, we said our goodbyes and parted ways with them. When we rejoined Hazel and Claire a few minutes later, Claire was busy chewing on an apple one of the farmers must have given her and that made me smile.
“That was my first Luna duty, it wasn’t as complicated as I thought. Did I handle that the right way?” I asked them.
“Yes” Claire was the first to answer. “What happened was not the farmer’s fault and definitely not us either. However, I do not understand the context of it all, who are….” I interrupted her before she could go further.
“And what do you think Lady Caroline?”
“Oh! You handled it very well Luna, you are new at this so it is very decent for someone in your position. Bigger issues will arise later but you did well” She finished.
We chatted all the way to the castle, Caroline parted ways with us to return home. And I was about to go inside my room when Claire pulled me back, a serious expression on her face.
“I could not help but notice you tried to change the conversation or interrupt me, whenever I decided to speak. Now I’m wondering why, so do you care to tell me what is going on? Who are the councils? Why did they damage the farmland? Why do you not want me to know?” She demanded and I stare blankly at her wondering what the hell I’m supposed to tell her!
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TBC