Lucky could feel many pairs of eyes following her every move as she entered the dining area of the Pack House. There were so many in attendance! She wondered if dinner was always like this at Midnight Moon, but suspected it had something to do with her arrival. Word had spread quickly that she was the Alpha's daughter, that he never knew existed until she arrived. That she was a product of Alpha Liam and his true mate, Lola, who had vanished without a trace nearly two decades ago, before the Alpha knew she was pregnant.
"She looks like her father," Lucky tuned in to conversations around her, curious. "I can't believe how strong the resemblance is."
"She's the most beautiful she wolf I have ever seen," a young male voice replied. This was met with good natured chuckles from the pup's parents and their friends.
"She's a little old for you, my pup," said the boy's father. "I agree, though, she is lovely."
"I wish my skin would glow like that," a young female sighed wistfully.
"She's Lola's daughter?"
"Yes, Lola, Alpha Liam's true mate. He met her years after he had already taken Luna Gina as his chosen. As I recall, Lola was beautiful too, and very sweet."
"Who isn't, in comparison to Luna Gina?" Someone said under their breath. This statement was met with hushed laughter. Apparently others shared her opinion on the Luna.
Lucky spotted Alpha Liam near the head of the largest table, having what appeared to be a heated discussion with Luna Gina. Lucky suppressed a smile, knowing she had gotten under the Luna's skin. Any sympathy she'd had for her father's chosen mate had faded when Gina had insulted Traven's mother.
She felt a tug on her arm, and looked down to see an adorable pup who looked to be around 7 or 8. He looked up at her with adorable blue eyes, running his little fingers through his unruly black hair.
"Well, hello there," she smiled, "who might you be?"
"My name is Marcus," he replied with a huge grin. "Is your name really Lucky? Are you the wolf from the TV? Are you going to be our Alpha now?" Startled a bit by his last question, she tried not to show it. She and Sophie found seats next to Sophie's mate, William, and Amelia sat to Lucky's right. Eli quickly joined them, looking apologetic. "Eli!" Marcus pounced on to Eli's lap, throwing his arms around his neck.
"I take it you two know each other!" Lucky observed, charmed by this pup's enthusiastic, outgoing nature.
"Lucky, this is Marcus, my nephew. My sister's mate is Midnight Moon's lead trainer, for the warriors. This is their oldest son."
"I'm Uncle Eli's favorite nephew," Marcus told them, proudly perched on Eli's lap.
"Don't tell anyone," Eli warned him, smiling. Marcus turned his attention back to Lucky.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Marcus batted his eyelashes, and Lucky ruffled his hair.
"I can be your friend, who is a girl," she told him. Marcus seemed satisfied with her answer, and jumped off of Eli's lap, running off to tell his friends that the Las Vegas Wolf was his new girlfriend.
"What's so funny over here?" Alpha Liam made an attempt to be lighthearted, but worry was evident on his face. "You know you can sit with us, Lucky." He pointed to the next table, to the empty seats by his place at the head of the table. Luna Gina glared at her, and Lucky fought the urge to flip her off. Barely.
Shit. She didn't know what to say. "We were laughing at Eli's nephew, he has a lot of questions. And he's adorable," she answered. "He's telling all of his friends the Las Vegas Wolf is his girlfriend."
Alpha Liam laughed, he was well acquainted with Eli's nephew. His sister was one of his best warriors, having found her mate in Midnight Moon at a pack picnic years ago. Their eldest pup was seven years old and full of mischievous energy, much like his uncle.
Marcus, like many others at Midnight Moon, was enchanted by his daughter's beauty. They had taken quickly to her mother during the short time she was with them. Most of them, anyway.
Luna Gina's circle had been vicious to her. Especially when Neveah, who was young at the time, had started spending time with her, helping her plant flowers around the small cottage she stayed in and helping her cook. His wife had allowed it only because Liam had made it clear that Lola was not to be mistreated, but that didn't stop the glares and thinly veiled threats and insults. If he was honest with himself Gina really hadn't paid much attention to Neveah, handing her off to her nanny and preferring to spend time shopping and drinking with her friends.
If he was even more honest with himself, he probably would have chosen to be with Lola and divorced Gina if she hadn't disappeared. The Alpha and Luna of Midnight Moon had a cordial relationship at best, even before Lola had appeared. He knew Gina had married him for the money and status. Her father was an Alpha, but of a small pack who lived modestly by comparison to Midnight Moon. He wondered if she would have bothered with him if he wasn't Alpha, or if she knew the secret buried in his family's past that had gained him the title.
"I just wanted to let you know you were welcome to join us." Liam said, turning to look at his table. The Luna quickly looked away, not wanting to let him know her true feelings about Lucky.
"Well, I ran in to this lovely lady when I had to use the restroom, and we got to talking about the puppies. I am going to take my new baby girl to see her later on, since she loves puppies. She invited me to sit with her, and I didn't want to be rude and say no," Lucky smiled at Sophie and William, who eyed the Alpha warily.
"Of course. Well, enjoy your dinner and visit, maybe stop by and see your dad later?" He nodded politely to the couple, and looked pleadingly at Lucky. "I am curious to hear about your mate."
"I will do that, Alpha- I mean dad, I will come see you later this evening." She smiled, and watched him walk away towards his traditional place. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and gave Eli an annoyed look. She quickly forgave him, seeing the way his face fell, after all, he hadn't meant to spill the beans.
The discomfort of Sophie and William around the Alpha was palpable. They both relaxed as he walked away, and Lucky sighed sadly. It seemed that whatever happened four years ago created a rift in the pack. She could sense it, the unease, and she wondered how much of it had to do with her mate's trial, conviction, and escape. From what Traven had told her, many had gotten caught up in the mob mentality, wanting quick justice for the death of a much loved pack member, blinded by their anger, following the lead of their leader. He believed that there were plenty who wanted to stand up for him but were afraid of the anger rolling off the crowd and the Alpha, fearing making themselves a target of it.
Lucky was angry at them, they would have let an innocent die, her mate, her other half, all because they were afraid to stand up to their Alpha. They should have been able to voice their concerns without fear of repercussions. She was angry with her father, but the fact that he was her father complicated matters. She found it hard to hate him, considering that a lot of his bitterness probably stemmed from the disappearance of his mate and the fact that he was stuck with a royal bitch of a Luna.
Dinner was wonderful, slow roasted prime rib with mashed potatoes that melted in her mouth, buttery and full of flavor. The asparagus, which she normally didn't care for, was cooked to the perfect tenderness and flavored so well that she found it herself rethinking her view on asparagus.
Conversation was polite and guarded. There was a tension in the air that Lucky wished she could rid the pack of using her gifts, but she didn't want to start glowing or anything else out of the ordinary and make a scene. She correctly assumed her moonchild status should be kept on the down low, at least for now. She also correctly assumed it couldn't be kept a secret forever.
She thought of Traven, wondering what he was doing. She wished she could mind link with him. She would call him later, maybe even let his parents talk to him. She worried about that, would it somehow be intercepted? She dismissed her thoughts as paranoia. Traven would have told her if they had surveillance on the pack's phone calls. She has talked to him earlier, and her phone was not from anywhere near the pack.
Throughout the meal, the Luna cast furtive glances her way, clearly struggling to keep her composure. Lucky ignored her, but it begged the question. Why did she hate her presence so much? Was it simply that she reminded her of past heartbreak, or was there something more? Her instincts were leaning heavily towards the latter.
There were buried secrets in this pack. She wasn't sure if she wanted to unearth them, but had a feeling fate had led her here for that very reason.