Lucette sat beside the wolf and waited for it to shift, but to her disappointment, the wolf just stared at the deep and open field of landscape that grew high, howling from time to time.
She looked at his brown fur which moved as the wind blew over. She took her hand and patted the wolf's back.
It is fluffy and warm!
Such a good feeling, she smiled at her thought. She shifted her gaze to meet the wolf's golden eyes with a green hue, four eyes across from each other.
Somehow looking at the wolf right now, she swam with her memories to those days when she stared at the moon from her small window, talking to herself about how she felt lonely and dreaming of her freedom. She wanted to know what life beyond the wall of the palace would be. The wolf's eyes had such a longing. To be free.
Maybe what the wolf needed was just a gentle pat.
After all, knowing that someone would always stand beside them, would ease the pain.
After a minute of staring, the brown wolf looked away, burying its head between its front legs.
"My name is Lucette, you know when I saw you two weeks ago, you attacked me, so you owed me an apology, but you saved me, the Luna of the Shadow Moon Pack—" Lucette wanted to brag a little but stopped.
"Wait, you smell like the pack members, so you're also from my pack? I requested you to shift, and you didn't do it. Are you disobeying your Luna?" Lucette said, pointing a finger at the wolf.
"I order you to shift, now!" Lucette ordered, but the wolf's pointed ears went down as if it shutting them.
Did it close its ears because it found me annoying?
No wonder no one would talk to her back then. Miranda listened to her, but sometimes the old woman would be fast asleep, letting her chat alone.
Is it seeing me as a noisy woman?
She felt heartache because of her crushed ego that even a wolf didn't take her order into account. Lucette's shoulder hung low.
She should master the method of control and would practice it with the wolf. She smiled mischievously.
…
Orson stirred up from his sleep. "F***," he cursed as he got up in the same house from two weeks ago. He smelled blood, frowning.
Not again!
This had never happened two consecutive times in years! He extended his hand to the drawer beside his bed, grabbing the phone in it.
"Pick up the d*** phone, Kyle!" he said, throwing the phone over his messy bed.
'Horizon, Horizon,' he called his wolf, but no one replied.
'Just talk to me, you d*** old wolf.'
What a morning!
Orson went to the bathroom letting the cold water run over his body.
Horizon, his wolf, since Akeela died, they never interacted the same as before. That dreadful day eight years ago, he lost his dear one. Thinking about this, Orson felt a pang in his heart.
He touched the left side of his chest. Strange? He thought his heart had long become dead, but it was beating, reminding him he was alive every passing second.
Orson went upstairs, smelling the freshness of a jasmine flower's scent. He frowned upon knowing the scent's source.
That woman again!
He didn't have any impression of her at all. She was a forced thing onto him. If not for the agreement his grandfather promised him, he wouldn't accept the marriage proposal.
He needed to wait for a while. When he would pick pieces of evidence on who killed Akeela and punish whoever was the reason for her death, he would send her back to her home.
Thoughts flooded his mind when he marched to the house's door.
"Wait." he stopped walking and turned his head in her direction.
"What?" Orson asked, staring at 'his new mate' with a scornful smile printed on his face.
"I-I made breakfast if you want to eat—" she said.
"No," he answered, opening the door.
"I made it a while ago, and I assure you it will be delicious. You just woke up and must be hungry," she tried to convince him, he wanted to refuse, but the smell of the food was just… yummy. His stomach grumbled in agreement.
"Since you said the food is delicious, I will check it," he replied, closing the door and going into the kitchen. He sat on a chair while she served the dishes. Orson looked at the meal deeply with a raised brow without touching the food.
As if sensing his gaze, she picked a fork and ate some of the fried eggs.
Orson raised a brow and then ate fast. She was quite smart, even knowing that he didn't trust her enough to try her food despite his acceptance of her invitation.
Orson took seconds before he munched the food. She was skilled in cooking. Even a simple orange juice tasted wonderful.
"How is it?" she asked him, waiting for his answer.
"It's… good," he answered and resumed his eating.
Meanwhile, Lucette's lips twitched. Good? If it was just good, why are you burying your head on the plates?
Orson got up and moved for a few steps. "Thank you," he said without looking back, and then he strode out.
He went straight to the packhouse, getting into his office he called for his beta. "She was here?" he asked Jordan as soon as he entered.
Her scent was all over the place.
Jordan's brows tilted, but he nodded. "The Luna spent the previous nights here because Hannah asked her to," he replied.
That woman spent the night here?
As the new Luna, she could come here, but she even befriended his beta's mate this fast.
Just what was in her mind?
"How are things in my absence?" he asked when he saw his beta come into his office.
"Our contract with the Rancom Company is ready. I put it on your desk, you need to sign it. Theo supervised the recruits' training, there were few promising members. And last, there was an intruder two nights ago, but the patrols couldn't catch him," his beta said.
"Couldn't catch?" he said, looking straight into the eyes of his beta.