Lucy’s POV
“It’s the calm before the storm, and we would be fools to ignore it this moment and pretend like everything is fine,” said Seth impatiently after the Luna of Moonstruck suggested that we stay for a few more days while she sent more men to investigate the rogues.
“When will you understand that I’m doing this to protect you?” she retorted, a little angered. “I can’t send you off to your deaths. I can’t lose any of you!”
“And we’re grateful, aunt, we truly are, but we can’t sut back and stay here while Moongrowl remains undefended. Most aren’t even aware of this threat yet, and the more time we spend doing this, the more time we’re giving to these . . . enemies to plan how to attack us.”
The Luna didn’t speak this time, but it seemed like finally, the words of her nephews had reached deep into her both logically amd emotionally.
“It’s not right to keep us here. We haven’t forced our way our by ourselves because that’s not the kind of memory we want to leave you with, but if we can’t get you to understand the urgency to this matter, then we’ll have no other choice,” said Shaun, adding to the conversation. His voice reverberated gently over the walls of the spacious room, adding a slight echo to his words. By the time his words had settled on the ground, we were all staring at ourselves, looking at who would take the mantle of speech next.
“Please understand, Aunt Trudy,” said Scott in that light, honeyed voice of his. He usually kept quiet at meetings, but recently he had begun to show a slightly different side to him. In fact, Scott had changed in some little ways pertaining to his style. He was still mostly the same, but that tortured, brooding look in his eyes had vanished into thin air. He actually looked a little more approachable now.
Trudy King regarded her nephew with silence as a companion. On her face, one could see in full detail the extent of her emotions. Conflict. Resolution. Finally, worry.
“Fine, have it your way,” she said at last, throwing her head back into the headrest of her chair. “I’ll have my men check your carriolater today so that they can make sure everything is in place for you to travel.”
As relief washed over us, Seth sighed loudly, clasping his hands together. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for listening to us,” said Shaun, looking up at her with respect.
But the Luna wasn’t done yet. She lifted a finger. “It’s good that I have been planning a little party for you three. I never even got to celebrate seeing you all after so long. It’ll be holding tomorrow evening. After then, you are all free to return home.”
There was a visible reluctance from the triplets, but they seemed to swallow it down for the woman’s sake. I caught the hurried stares they used to communicate with one another, and their slight nods and hand gestures. It all passed by so quickly that even I wouldn’t have caught it if I hadn’t been paying attention to them.
“And Scott, what’s wrong?” she asked in a voice that told us that the last conversation was closed and sealed. “Anabella tells me that she’s made no progress with you. You don’t even allow her have conversations with you.”
Hearing her name brought back memories and reminded me about why ut was so important that I had to keep that vixen away from the triplets. I had told Shaun about her, but he didn’t seem to have taken me very seriously. It was clear that he and his brothers were used to getting female admiration, but something about that Anabella just didn’t sit right with me at all. Whatever she was planning, it was more than just mere admiration.
–
The next day came by in a flash, and before I took cognizance of it, I was already getting my hair done and putting on a ball gown that snatched up my bodice so tightly that I thought my breasts were going to permanently flatten from the pressure.
Shaun came to pick me up at exactly the time he said he would. I opened the door and stepped out to meet him, pretending that we hadn’t been spending our nights in the same room.
“Oh, you’re right on time,” I said, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, knowing fully well that it was only going to make him crave more. “I’ll only be yours for an hour, and then, you can bring me back home.”
“One, I’m always on time. Two, you’ll be mine forever. And three, define ‘home’.” He drew me closer and shut the bedroom door behind me.
“Hm, home is where the heart is, I suppose.” We had started walking along the hallway, headed to where the party was holding. “Amd if I’m using that to judge, it means that my home is not very far from where I currently stand.”
A deep, genuine smile crossed his face, and right there in the centre of the hall, where anyone could walk past and see us, he gave me a deep kiss that I felt all the way to my toes. He didn’t stop until I had to hang on to him to keep from falling over due to the sudden weakness in my knees.
“Did you think you get away with saying something like that?” he whispered into my ear.
I remained silent because my tongue had gotten tied, and the heat coursing through my body made my mind go completely blank with thoughts better meant for the bedroom.
Fortunately, he didn’t wait for me to come up with a response, and gently led me away to the party.
As soon as we got there, Anabella showed up. She as wearing a black dress as tight as sin, and I could think of a million reasons why she had chosen such an outfit. All of them were undoubtedly for the sake of garnering the attention she so deeply desired.
She was drinking some clear wine that smelled like apples, and from the slight droopiness in her eyes, she was likely already inebriated, or close to that point.
“Welcome!” she said in an overly sweet voice and hugged me before I could even accept or reject the action. “We’ve bee expecting you.”
“Thank you, Anabella,” said Shaun, giving her a small smile that made my belly churn. “Have you seen my brothers?”
She nodded. “Yes, I can take you to them. Come” She turned around as fluidly as a snake and led us away from the center of all the action and into the quieter, more subdued area of the hall.
Truly, Seth and Scoot were seated at a table, discussing something that my hearing couldn’t catch properly.
The conversation clearly came to an end once they both saw us approaching and lifted their heads and hands beckoning us closer.
LAs soon as I got to the table, Anabella tripped and bumped into me, spilling her wine all over the front of my dress. Her tiny squeal didn’t compare to the shock I felt. l
A hiccup shook her shoulders. “Sorry.”