Lucy’s POV
Days went by, but the dark cloud that had been cast over Moonstruck didn’t abate. We still hadn’t made headway concerning how the rogues had made their way into the pack, as as the uncertainty loomed, so did fear and anxiety grow amongst the pack.
Tired of staying indoors all day with little to do, I stepped outside the walls of the palace in order to get some air. Guards had been stationed at the exits, just as the Luna had commanded, and one had even advised me to not stray too far from the pack so that I didn’t inadvertently put myself in danger.
The triplets had gone out for a brief meeting, which was all they ever said since they had come to Moonstruck, and I was starting to stick out like a sore thumb. Yes, I was to marry Shaun soon, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was nothing more than an accessory in all this. I hated the way I felt, and that was also why I even decided to go out that day and just . . . do something different.
Outside, the sunlight gently cast its light on the clearing, making the whole place look like a paradise of some sorts. Light often made things look that way, but once darkness fell, it became the very place where someone had lost his life.
I heard someone walking up to me, and I turned around.
Surprisingly, it was Anabella, followed by Agatha. I hadn’t seen them since that night when she was with Scott, and with the way I hadn’t even seen them together since that day, I started to think that I might have misinterpreted things.
But could I really misinterpret two people having sex?
“Hello,” I greeted, hoping to appear polite. As much as I didn’t like the fact that my quiet time had been interrupted, I still had to be cordial.
Anabella didn’t respond, but I knew that she had heard me. There was a look in her eyes that I didn’t like, but I just wanted to jear what she had to say first before anything.
“Fancy meeting you here,” she finally said when she got to a respectable distance. “I almost thought we wouldn’t be able to find you.”
Behind her, stood Agatha, but the older woman kept averting her gaze as though she was ashamed to look me directly in the eyes.
“Well, thank the goddess that you did. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” I watched the younger woman intentionally, hoping to catch a glimpse of something-anything behind her eyes. Still, I saw nothing.
“Agatha and I here wanted to talk to you about a very small issue,” she said, moving just a little closer. Now, I could tell that whatever was going to come out of her mouth next was likely something that was going to get me riled up or just ruin my mood.
“What issue is that?” I asked, feigning innocence. I knew for a fact that she hadn’t seen my spying on her and her friend the other day. And O doubted she knew about me accidentally coming across her and Scott while they were in the throes of passion.
“Well, it’s just something little that has really been bothering me, and I thought it would be best if I simply asked you instead of just making assumptions, you know?”
My gaze went between both women, a little unsure of what to expect, but steeling my heart regardless. “Okay?”
“Well, we heard that you are actually a slave from Bloodbath. Is that true?”
I only allowed myself to be shocked for a few seconds. Of course, there was no way news like that would have remained a secret. “I am no longer a slave.”
Anabella didn’t seem to understand that she was touching a subject that I didn’t want to revisit, but that meant I was likely doing a very good job with keeping my expression intact. “But you once were, yes? And not only that, somehow, you became the Alpha’s treasured slave wife.”
“Why are you asking me all this?”
“I just want to know the truth. If you were married to the Alpha of Moongrowl, how then are you supposedly getting married to his son?”
It was the same question that the Luna had asked me. There and then it made complete sense who her ‘source’ had been.
So it had been Anabella. But why?
“I really don’t want to answer that question,” I said as calmly as I could.
“Why not? It’s just a harmless question. I’m just trying to understand how on earth you were able to get those two men right under your finger.”
I sighed. I was done trying to play cordial. “I don’t have an answer for you, Anabella.” I looked at the older woman behind her, a little upset that she had to be here as well. “I saw you as an aunt, Agatha. I didn’t expect that this was the way you would treat the child of your best friend.”
That seemed to bring something powerful out of her. She raised her nose and shoulders. “I severed ties with your mother long ago, child. I’m certain she wouldn’t have been proud of her child prancing around as well like some . . . whore. Moving not even from one man to the other but going for father and son.” With every word she spat, something ugly reared its head higher and higher.
This was not the woman I had known when I was younger.
She seemed to realise that she had let something slip, because went quiet again. But she was too late. I had already seen her true thoughts.
Truly, you could never really trust people because they would just turn out to be so different at the end of the day. I didn’t even know how to feel or think. I was just flabbergasted at her words.
“Thank you, I’ll be taking my leave now,” I managed to say, walking away from them both.
So much for some peace and quiet.