Toni's PoV:
The library was vast and warm. I looked around it, the sulky feeling turning to awe as I surveyed the vast room. I had never been one for books -- I liked to read them well enough, but between attending human school and the rigorous training and tutoring my father put us through, I'd never had much time. That being said, staring at the Fortier pack's library made me want to invest more time in the hobby, and I couldn't help but forget for a second where I was.
The library was huge, with shelves of books reaching from the floor to the ceiling and a winding labyrinth of shelves. There were worn in armchairs and reading lights at every corner, all in the usual pack blue, of course, and I could see long wooden tables running between the aisles. I stepped forwards, taking in the soft light streaming in from the windows and the gentle heat contrasting itself with the stone cold sterility of the rest of the pack house.
The books at the front of the library were all new, all pristine and unread, but as I got further along the first aisle I noticed more cracked spines and worn down edges. The shelves were organised by genre, then age, then alphabetical order, so that by the time I reached the end of the first aisle the books must have been at least a hundred years old. A person could have spent their whole life in that room and still not have read every book.
I ran my hand along the spines, looking for something interesting. I figured that if I was going to be stuck in this stupid pack house, I might as well find something to do. I wandered round and round the library, alone, hearing nothing from within or outside the room.
Eventually I found an old hardback book that caught my eye. It was red, with a cracked spine and faded gilt lettering. I pulled it out from it's place high on the shelf and had a look at it. Happy with my choice, I plopped myself down into a nearby armchair and began to flick through the book.
I had been reading for about an hour when I was disturbed. I was completely absorbed in the book, turning the pages rapidly as I devoured its story, so I didn't notice the footsteps behind me until they were next to me. Even then, I didn't look up, so the stranger coughed loudly to get my attention.
"Excuse me," the stranger said, their voice stilted and overly formal.
I jumped out of my skin, the book falling to the floor. With a slight laugh, I bent to pick it up. "Um, hi?" I said, unsure.
"My name is Rupert Gillespie, and who might you be?" The man was middle aged and portly, with a round belly and balding head. He had a shiny, egg shaped head, with a clipped beard and thin wire glasses. He stood above me, his nose in the air, and grasped his hands firmly around the edge of his blazer. I immediately got the impression that the stranger thought of himself as very important.
I paused, wondering what the man wanted with me. I thought about revealing myself, telling him that I was the daughter of an Alpha, and the fiancee of his next Alpha, but I stopped before opened my mouth. If I lied, if I changed my name, I could pretend I was somebody else. I could pretend, just for a little bit, that I wasn't miles away from home and that I didn't have any responsibility on my shoulders. I sighed.
"I'm... I'm Marie Webber," I eventually said.
The man seemed to deflate a little at my lie. He pulled up a nearby chair and sat across from me, pulling out a handkerchief so he could pat at his sweaty face.
"Oh, I see," he said, frowning. "I thought you might be someone else."
"Who?"
"The next Luna. I heard a rumour that she'd already arrived, but there hasn't been an announcement yet, so I guess it's not true. I've never seen you before, though." He eyed me with faint suspicion.
I decided to continue with the lie. "I've only just arrived, Mr. Gillespie."
"Oh? Where from?"
I had to think quick. "I'm from the Veriten pack, I'm here to help my friend, the Veriten Alpha's daughter, settle in."
Mr Gillespie's face lit up, his interest ignited once again. It appeared he loved to gossip. "So she has arrived?"
"No," I said, thinking carefully about my words. "I had to come before to make all the preparations."
"Of course, of course, we couldn't have the little princessa here without all the proper arrangements," he snorted. "I'm sure she's ridiculously spoiled."
I had to hold back my laughter. Despite being the daughter on an Alpha, I had very rarely gotten my own way. "You'd be surprised. She's quite normal really."
Mr. Gillespie raised his eyebrow. "That must be why our heir spends so much time with her, a breath of fresh air compared to the other heiresses he must know, I suppose. Did you know he goes down to her pack at least four times a year?"
I didn't have to fake my surprise -- I had always assumed Will only visited us when his father made him, and he always seemed to hate being around me. "Is that unusual?" I asked.
"Very. But he has to get on with her before the wedding, I suppose."
I nodded, letting us fall into an easy silence. Mr. Gillespie dabbed again at his forehead, where a bead of sweat was dripping from his crown to the tip of his nose.
"Do you know when the girl's arriving, then?" He asked.
"Um... no. I wasn't told. I know they had to speed up the process, though. They were only meant to marry when she turned eighteen." That much was true -- from what I had gleaned from my father and Will's conversation, something had happened which meant we had to marry a lot sooner.
Although I didn't know what it was, I suspected it was something bad. I didn't want any more secrets -- I didn't want to be kept in the dark any longer -- so I resolved to see how much this strange, gossipy man knew.
"Yes, yes, the attacks scared Alpha Bellerose and he wanted the alliance to come into play sooner -- he wanted full access to the Veriten resources, naturally."
"What attacks?"
"The vampire attacks, of course," Mr. Gillespie said, his eyes gleaming. I could see he loved to speak about the issue, he seemed almost excited to answer my questions. "They killed a few of our wolves -- for the first time in over a century -- and it scared everyone."
I stared at him, gobsmacked. I had heard nothing about a vampire attack.
"Could you -- could you excuse me for a moment?" I stuttered. "I just have to do something, now."
Mr. Gillespie nodded, a knowing smirk on his face. He sat there, oblivious to my racing heart and panicked expression, unaware that I was so scared I could barely think.
"Are you going to go tell the princessa? Good for you, but don't tell anyone you heard it from me."
I nodded and darted out of the library, my book falling once again to the floor.