His Missing Luna

Chapter Seventeen

Amelia's Point of View,

There was nothing I could say in reply to Peyton's declaration. 'Thank you' just didn't seem to cut it. And the fact that I wanted to say it, made me feel a little uneasy.

He looked at me for a long time after that. His artic eyes seeing right into the depths of my very soul.

'That's super cheesy' Vae laughed.

'I know! I'm a real mills and boon girl'. I laughed along with her.

Peyton got out of the car. I wasn't sure whether I should follow him or whether I needed to stay put. The simplest of decisions were completely beyond my tired brain.

My door flew open, startling me. Peyton held the door open, like a perfect gentleman. He went to offer me his hand but at the last minute he thought better of it. He waited patiently as I unbuckled my seat belt and got out. I was unsteady on my feet due to my tiredness and swayed a little. Peyton caught my elbow to steady me and the heat from his hand zinged all around my body. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire. He dropped his hand in less than a second. But his touch had already affected me in a way I never dreamed was possible.

"Thank you." I said politely.

"My pleasure," he answered, giving me a small smile that traveled straight into my lower belly and settled there.

I glanced over Peyton's shoulder and saw a small group of people waiting by the pack house. They looked almost as apprehensive about meeting me as I was of meeting them.

I started to fidget nervously.

"Who are they?" I nodded my head in the stranger's direction.

"Why don't we head over and meet them?"

"Why are they staring at you?"

"They're not looking at me. They're looking at you."

"Why?" I gasped, alarmed.

"Because I've been looking for you for a long time. And I haven't been at my best with them recently. They're hoping that you'll change all that."

"No pressure then!" I mumbled. Peyton laughed. "Come on, I promise they're not as terrifying as you imagine them to be."

I highly doubted that. They were his people, not mine.

Peyton looked at me. "It's ok Amelia, they're not going to try and influence you into doing anything you don't want to."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

He shrugged. "Lucky guess."

We walked slowly up the driveway. Peyten was a couple of steps in front of me, moving with the confidence that must come from owning your own home. Something I'd not have the pleasure of doing.

Finn was standing next to a long-haired red-head. She had dark brown eyes and pale skin. Her face was covered in freckles. She was dressed casually in jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She was wearing a warm smile which put me at ease straight away.

"Amelia, this is Raya," Peyton announced.

"Nice to meet you." I said politely.

"And you, Luna. Although we've actually met before."

I frowned. She didn't look like anyone I'd ever seen before.

"I've been here all of my life. I was six when you left. We used to play together."

"We did? I'm sorry I have no recollection of that."

"Don't sweat it, Luna, it was a long time ago. It will be great to get to know you again."

I nodded.

"Raya is Finlay's mate. And this is Nathan, my Gamma."

Nathan stepped forward and nodded once curtly. He had white blonde hair and almost jet black eyes. He was carrying a lot of muscle, and, although very handsome, he looked completely terrifying.

"Luna," he acknowledged, before taking the same step backwards. Like he had broken rank. He didn't seem particularly friendly. I looked over my shoulder to check Peyton's facial expression. He wasn't phased by Nathan's behavior, so I had to assume that was just his way.

Next, a woman stepped forward. She was a generation older than we were, but she was still absolutely stunning. She was wearing a 50s style navy blue pencil dress. It had a sweetheart neck, with a white collar and waistband. Her brown hair had been curled and she was wearing a white flower hair clip behind her right ear.

"Good Afternoon Luna. I'm Elizabeth. I manage the day shift her."

I frowned. "Day shift?"

"Yes Ma'am. We have chefs and cleaners and assistants on hand, twenty-four hours a day, six days per week. And this," She gestured to the younger girl beside her "is Trudy. She will be your personal Omega."

Trudy stepped forward and bowed.

I gaped at Elizabeth. "What on earth do I need a personal Omega for?" I also didn't know what an Omega was. But it sounded like some sort of assistant. Trudy was dressed in a gray tunic and gray trousers and wore flat black shoes.

"For anything you may need. Laundry, cleaning, helping with shopping." She ticked each job off on her fingers.

"I can do all of that myself."

Elizabeth looked at Peyton for some help.

"Elizabeth isn't trying to offend you, or question your abilities. Of course, you can do all of those things. But why would you want to?"

"It will be a pleasure to serve you, Luna," Trudy put in. "I have worked very hard to get this job."

Great! It looked like I'd just pissed off the one person that could really help me out here.

I smiled. "I'm sure we'll figure it out together."

Peyton took over then. "Trudy, I think Amelia would be really grateful for a bath and a set of clean clothes. Maybe some food too?"

"Of course, Alpha." Trudy turned and went back inside the house.

"Elizabeth. You're dismissed. As are you Nathan." Peyton was a lot better at this than I was. So now there were just the four of us.

"So, can I give you a tour of the pack house?"

I opened my mouth to answer her, but all I did was yawn. My hand flew up to my mouth.

"Oh, I am so sorry. It's been a very long morning."

"Perhaps the tour could wait a while, Raya. I think Amelia could do with some rest and I need to check in at the hospital.

Usually I didn't like being spoken for. But on this occasion I was extremely grateful.

Raya pulled a face. "Fine, but you promised me I could show her around."

"And I will keep that promise. But this is about the Luna, not you."

"Spoil sport." She grumbled.

The four of us walked in through the front door and into the most amazing house I had ever seen in my life.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

Raya looked at me with a confused expression. She was obviously used to the grandeur of the house. But I was seeing it for the first time. Or maybe the second. I wasn't sure.

The foyer was breathtaking. It had two winding staircases. The handrails on each were chrome whilst the stairs were wooden, which complimented the hardwood floor beautifully. There was a huge dome-shaped skylight in the center of the ceiling and the back wall was, more or less, made up of windows. Underneath the dome was a large glass coffee table that was surrounded by two brown and beige sofas and two enormous chairs.

"Do you like it?" Peyton asked. Which, I thought, given the look on my face, was a pretty daft question.

"The chairs are there so that you can take a rest before you walk to the other side of the room," Finn joked.

I noticed there was a picture on the table and started to walk towards it.

"Who's this?" I asked aloud as I picked up the photo of a lovely looking woman. On closer inspection, it was easy to see who this lady was. "Peyton, this must be your Mom."

She had his eyes. Or rather he had hers. The photograph had been taken in that very spot. Peyton's mum was sitting on the sofa, book in hand and a pair of glasses pushed up onto her head. She was smiling into the lense with a very similar smile to Peyton. Her eyes shone with love, so whoever had taken the picture must have been very special to her.

"Yeah that's her," Peyton replied.

"Is she here?"

Peyton shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. He blinked them away, and then quickly left the room.

Finlay spoke quietly. "We lost our Luna six months ago." He sounded really cut up about it.

"Six months?" I repeated.

Raya nodded. "You weren't the only one to lose your mother that day."

"What happened?"

"Andras strangled her with his belt after he'd beaten her with it. He made Peyton watch."