Selene POV
Lucius scanned the length of my body; I could see recognition and doubt flicker in his eyes. It was as if he was trying to remember where he saw me.
Xavier on the other hand, didn't say a word. The only reaction I got was an arched brow before he settled on his chair.
"Shouldn't you apologize first for keeping us?" Gamma Theo said coldly.
He was still the same as before. I knew Gamma Theo for his temper and his rashness whenever things didn't go his way.
"You fixed an appointment without my consent and you expect me to run here like a little girl? Didn't Alpha Noah, tell you he was sending one of his advisors and not a maid in his palace?"
"And don't you know how to respect authority where you come from?" Theo threw back.
"That's alright," Lucius rested a hand on Theo's arm before turning to address me, "I apologize for fixing the meeting without your consent. Next time, we'll be sure to consult you,".
My heart fluttered in my chest as I stared at him. I had taken great care of my appearance this morning because I knew, more than anyone, that Lucius would recognize me. Now staring at him, my heart was pounding anxiously. Did he know who I was?
He had greyed a little, but aside from that, the sharpness in his eyes was still there.
He paused for a second, as his pupils went black, a sign he was mind-linking.
"My Alpha," he says after a moment, "Wants to know why you rejected the accommodation at the pack house?"
My gaze rested on Xavier whose eyes hadn't left mine since I arrived.
"I presume that's your Alpha?" I inclined my head in Xavier's direction.
"Yes ma'am," Lucius nodded.
"Well, I'll be more comfortable in the hotel. Besides, I'll be here for only a week and it'll be more convenient for me and my team. But no offence though, I'm sure it was going to be hospitable,".
"Okay," Lucius nodded, "Can we proceed to other matters then?"
I nodded and opened my laptop.
"I had the liberty of checking out your pack before I came and I saw a lot of interesting things. From my findings, it seems tourism is the only source of revenue for your pack, yes? I directed my question to Xavier, after all, he was the Alpha.
"Yes," Lucius replied, "And you can talk to me directly. The Alpha isn't in the right frame of mind to communicate now,".
I shrugged and shifted my gaze to Lucius.
"From my findings, for over three years, the pack has not exported but has spent a huge part of its capital importing, right?"
"Yes," Lucius sighed. "Listen, ma'am, there's no need to repeat what we already know. We want to discuss solutions and that quickly. So, if you could please concentrate on that for now,".
"I understand that you want answers, but you should know that I need the backstory before knowing what to do. I must first research how and when everything started, that way I could come up with an effective plan,".
I watched as the trio exchanged glances before Lucius turned back to me.
"Three years ago, after we lost someone important in the pack, things went haywire. We were first unregistered from the Werewolves Trade Council and other packs won't do local business with us, too. An unknown sickness wiped one-quarter of our workforce out and it reduced our population a lot. Plus, we've not had rainfall for a while now,".
"Okay," I nodded and pretended to type in something into my laptop.
In reality, I wasn't going to do anything. The bulk of the work would rest on my twins, Vina and Maeve. Their birth was what caused prosperity to the Moon Whisper Pack and their presence evoked the aura of the heavenly, which triggers prosperity.
No one knew this except me and maybe the moon priestess who had been my midwife three years ago. The day I gave birth to them, the blood moon had appeared and the moon priestess said that it could either spell doom or luck and so far, it has been luck all through.
"So," I continued, "The problem is more spiritual than physical then…"
The words had barely left my mouth when Linda burst into the room, panting. She had a distressed look on her face.
"Ma'am," she rushed to where I was "The twins, we can't find them,".
My blood ran cold as I bolted to my feet.
"What!" I exclaimed, rushing to the door, forgetting completely that I was in a meeting. "How did it happen?"
"I had bathed them and entered the bathroom to freshen up. By the time I finished, I noticed they weren't in the room. Thinking they would be with the security team or your work team, I relaxed and finished dressing up. Only for me to come out and ask them, but they all said they hadn't seen them,".
"Shit!" my heart was pounding vigorously against my chest. "I told you to watch the girls, Linda. You could have taken them in with you. You know how those children are,".
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Linda cried.
By this time, we've arrived at the reception of the hotel where I met with the security team. Worry was etched on everyone's face.
"What's going on?" I asked one of the security details, "Weren't you supposed to be stationed outside the suite?"
"I'm sorry ma'am," he lowered his head in shame "I came downstairs to get coffee, I didn't know…".
"You didn't know?" I shrieked, interrupting him "If anything happens to my children, I swear on the Moon, you'll pay for it. How can every one of you let a three-year-old slip from your grasp? I was only gone for ten minutes and this… find them,".
I was pacing, trying to calm myself down. I needed to think. The few times Vina and Maeve had gone missing, they both claimed that it was me who asked them to follow me. We performed rituals to rid them of hallucinating spirits.
But that was different. They had gone missing in a Pack they were familiar with and had returned by themselves when the vision cleared. But this was a strange land… they didn't know any place.
"What's wrong?" Lucius asked from behind me.
They had left the meeting room.
"It's nothing," I mumbled, holding my knees.
"But you're crying and shaking," he said. "Did something happen? Maybe we can be of help,".
I straightened and saw Xavier behind him. He had a worried look on his face, too. I stared at both men, contemplating if I should tell them or not. I had planned to keep the kids hidden throughout our entire stay here.
Vina was Xavier's replica, and it'll raise suspicion when they notice that one of my children looks like their Alpha.
"There's a rogue on the prowl," Lucius interrupted my thoughts. "So please…".
"Oh, my god!" I breathed, feeling fresh tears roll down my cheeks. I had forgotten all about the rogue. "It's my kids," I grabbed Lucius. "Please find them. They were in the room one minute and the next they were gone. Please,".
"Hey, everything will be alright, okay?" Lucius soothed me. "Do you have a picture or something we can use to identify them? "I'll send them to the Pack Police and they will immediately disperse search parties," Lucius said.
Without hesitating, I reached for my phone and opened it, scrolling to where I had their pictures. It was a recent picture taken when we arrived in Greyhound City.
"Their names are Vina and Maeve. They're three years old. They are twins but non-identical," I said in one breath.
"Okay," Lucius nodded, "Have you requested the CCTV footage of the hotel?"
"No," I shook my head. "Not yet. I don't know what to do." I was hysterical now. "They're kids and they're not familiar with this place,".
"Can you go up to your room and relax for a bit? I promise we will find them,".
"What kind of mother would I be if I sat back and did nothing?" I screeched, giving Lucius a dirty look.
"You're not in the best state of mind to look for them now," Lucius said gently. "And you'll only be in our way,".
"I'll just stay at the reception then," I exhaled. "I can't go up to my room,".
Xavier hadn't said a word until now, and I felt myself getting angry that he just stood there like a figurehead doing nothing.
He mind-linked something to Lucius, who nodded before he walked past us towards the entrance of the hotel. I wanted to scream out his name and call out his selfishness, but then I would have to explain while I wanted him to be concerned that my children were missing.
I supported my head with my hands, trying not to think of the worst things that could happen to them.
"Ma'am," Linda came and tapped me suddenly, "They're back," she said, pointing at the entrance of the hotel excitedly.
When I looked up, I froze as I saw Maeve in Xavier's arms with a cotton ball in her hand and Vina in his other hand with an ice cream cone.