Alpha Ethan and Luna Esme greeted their guests, his arm hooked around her waist again after she shook their hands. The two men smiled after seeing Alpha Ethan's possessiveness wouldn't allow her free from his hold for more than two seconds. Beta Kai, who had chin-length black wavy hair, brown eyes and light olive skin, smiled down at her revealing dimples on his cheeks, making him look a lot younger. It was Alpha Asher who patted his Beta on the back, urging him to not look at the Luna any longer.
Kai cleared his throat looking back at Alpha Ethan, who glared at him before continuing with small talk until they were all settled at the long glass dining table with views of the sun setting on the sea. Alpha Ethan sat at the head of the table, Alpha Asher to his left and Esme to his right with Beta Kai to her right. Esme felt nervous both from keeping her image up as a Luna and because she was sitting with two men that were not her mate.
"Don't be nervous. You're a Luna. There will be many more occasions where you will need to dress up and greet other powerful men and women," Isana murmured, trying to gain some courage as well. Her wolf was also nervous, but she sensed it was for another reason, but when Esme tried to probe further into her mind, she blocked her out. "It's nothing. Let's get through this. Practice makes perfect, right?"
Esme frowned, but Ethan's hand on her thigh gripped so tightly she knew there would be bruises. Her frown disappeared, and she relaxed her face, smiling gently and nodding along to their talk. But even though they were discussing the future of both packs, her mind wandered again to her wolf. Isana never kept anything from her, and she had excellent senses; these senses were what kept them alive 'in the wild,' as the pack called it.
Isana was unsettled, but she didn't know why; Esme wanted to ask her, but Beta Kai called for her attention while the two Alpha's were engaged in a debate about the Blue Moon pack.
"I can see why Alpha Ethan here is so besotted with you. You are quite the little stunner, but I find it strange that he never mentioned your past, what pack you were from or like the rumours that have spread.. if you were actually a rogue," Beta Kai smiled and tilted his head to the side, placing his knife and fork down in the middle of his finished plate.
Hmm, this Beta appears to be more than just muscle.
"There is a reason Beta's are second in command. If the Alpha perishes, they could become the next Alpha unless there is an heir," Isana informed her.
"True, but that doesn't mean all Alpha's and Beta's are bright. Remember Alpha Tom.." Esme pointed out the obvious of how she deceived the Alpha into thinking she was a ghost.
Pushing aside her inner conversation with her wolf, Esme dabbed the napkin on her lips then smiled gently. She could feel Ethan's irritation at the Beta's comment, but he couldn't speak for her because he was talking to Alpha Asher. This was her time to prove something to her mate; he didn't need to keep watching her every little move or word said.
"Thank you for the compliment. I am as besotted with Ethan as he is I. We are mates after all," Esme glanced at Ethan meeting his gaze adoringly as he clasped her hand and kissed her knuckle briefly before he continued with his discussion, and she looked back at Kai.
"And you would not find it strange if you were mated. Ethan understands that I would prefer to keep my past matters quiet. It is of no huge secret but one that is not a happy conversation starter," Esme began, her voice remaining calm as her heart settled down after feeling Ethan's claws retract on her thigh. It seems she had answered wisely.
"Please do tell; it would be in your best interest if you did, so Alpha Asher can be certain with his decision." Kai clasped his hands together and leaned back into the white leather dining chair.
Esme grabbed the champagne bottle in the bucket next to her and poured more into Kai's glass, holding his gaze, smiling before continuing, "I do not know much of my upbringing. I remember as a young child I was part of a pack, but then I became a rogue along with my mum. We moved around a lot like most rogues."
Kai's eyes widened slightly before his lips thinned as he looked to his Alpha, his gaze going slack momentarily. They had mind-linked one another. Usually, or from what she was taught, this was very rude and not allowed at dinners between two Alpha's and who they bring. It would generally mean they have something to hide, but she ignored it like Ethan did.
"Do you remember what pack you were from? In Southern laws, it is customary that the pack would keep the child if the parent or guardian could not settle down in one place until the child is fully grown," Alpha Asher interrupted his attention now on Esme. She looked at him, startled by his input but quickly lowered her gaze, making sure not to meet the Alpha's startling blue eyes.
Staring at her champagne flute, her finger felt the glass's length as she thought back to the night her dad chased after them. Her heart pinched at the memory. Ethan's grip on her thigh brought her back to the present.
Esme subtly cleared her throat and smiled, "I don't know the pack's name. I just remember it was in the Northern territory. And I am by no means attacking the laws, but there are more rogue children than you may anticipate," She met Alpha Asher's gaze and watched as his blue eyes flicked to amber.
"So much for not testing the Alpha. Lower your gaze!" Isana reprimanded her.
As a Luna, she could still meet another Alpha's eyes, unlike wolves of a lower status than those as the leaders of the packs (Alpha, Luna, Beta, Gamma and Delta), but it was still tricky talking with Alpha's. They didn't like to be tested or challenged; in any case, that could mean looking at them as you shared a different opinion. Which would not help Ethan in his negotiations with Alpha Asher.
Esme followed her wolf's order and looked back down. "It is hard to split up a mother from her pup. But sometimes, it is the complete opposite. A rogue would rid themselves of their pup because looking after one makes them a target to other threats. That pup is then left alone to survive," Esme sipped the champagne, her thoughts turning to Marcus momentarily; he was one of those pups who had been abandoned. "It is tough to live among rogues where the rules are.. well.. there are no rules in the wild."
The room stilled at her comment, and she waited with bated breath at the other Alpha's reaction. Had she screwed up? She hid her anxiousness and avoided Ethan's gaze.