Lunar Temptations

Ch 72

Whatever was going through her mind remained in there as her face gave nothing away. She appeared to be handling the surprise of finding me at her door quite subtly.

"And who was kind enough to lead you here?" She asked a brow arching. I shrugged, "I simply asked around and ended up here."

There was no way I was giving Archie's name away. This woman was a complete mystery to me, and I couldn't guess what she would do to Archie if I told her about him and how he led me here. She assessed me for a moment and proceeded to glare at me before opening the door further.

"What is it, Luna Dawson?" She asked, guiding me to a chair by the fireplace and taking the one adjacent to me. That was when I took a quick look at the room. The place had a vintage look that gave it an entirely different appearance. The wooden furniture had intricate carvings on it. The bed sat by the far wall of the room, and a floor-length ornate mirror by its right side reflected the rest of the room. The wallpaper was old and faded, but it appeared to be deep red with black motifs on it. On one of the walls sat a bookshelf containing some dusty books that looked like they hadn't been touched in decades, and beside the shelf hung a floor-length tapestry.

Old black rugs, looking as clean as day, were spread out, covering a large area of the floor and expanding to the chair I sat in. Candles hung on the wall, but the light coming from the window was enough to illuminate the room. It was said that for long enough, the children of our first ancestor lived here before they decided to divide and multiply.

"I hope I wasn't disturbing you," I said but immediately regretted it when her brow raised. "No. Why are you here?" She asked, standing up and walking away to a small cabinet in the corner of the room.

She appeared to be slightly on edge, and her rushed reply gave that away. It was unexpected considering how composed she was last time. Maybe she was taken aback by my visiting her room like this. However, something was off, and I could sense it.

I watched her take two glasses out of the cabinet, and they were the only things in the room not vintage. For an odd reason, it made me realize that I wasn't transported back in time and was still very much in the modern world, despite the convincing ambience of the room.

"Why do people come to council members?" I asked, leaning back in the chair as she took hers again. She placed the two glasses on the small table between us before pouring herself some wine. Its colour matched the wallpaper, and when she paused before pouring me one, she arched a brow, questionably, and I nodded. Once our glasses were full, she replied.

"What's bothering you so much that you had to find me in the depths of the Direwood Hold?" She leaned back into her chair, taking a sip of her wine. "How can I help you?" Her words were stern, and her eyes trained on me as if I would pounce on her at any moment.

I inhaled deeply. I had carefully thought about sharing this with her, but if Winnie said that she had the answer to it, then it was all the better for me. I would be hitting two targets with one arrow. If everything worked in my favour, then I might get on better terms with her before the ball and also have the answer to something that has been bothering me for days. I could have asked Zayden directly about it and confronted him, but a part of me was afraid... afraid of the rejection that I had faced that night. I could be called a coward for it, but I didn't want to go through that again.

"My sister believes that you are one of the wisest of the wolves alive," I said, matching her gaze. She pulled her glass away and placed it back down. She intertwined her fingers while listening intently. I took that as a sign and continued, "I don't know if it's appropriate to come here and seek advice like this, but this is important to me." I paused, gulping. "And I don't know anyone else who could possibly give me an answer to this."

She stared at me for a while, contemplating something. "Don't make me ask now, continue."

I wanted to roll my eyes. This woman was really uptight, yet a part of me believed in this, in what I was doing. Maybe it was just a start on the wrong foot, and I might end up solving it. It was better to be hopeful for now.

"Does an Alpha always have control over their transitions?" I asked.

"Yes, they do. Alpha wolves possess complete control over their transitions, unlike normal wolves," she said and took another sip of her glass. "Except in some rare cases."

"What rare cases? Like the ones where they lock themselves up and lose control over themselves?" I said, watching her. Her eyes narrowed, and a small crease formed on her forehead. "It's rare but not impossible," she commented, but her eyes were focused somewhere else.

"Who are we talking about here?"

Her question took me off guard. I licked my lips nervously. A part of me was doubtful to share his name at this point when I could get the information unanimously. Zayden had been nothing but honest to me, and except for the rough parts of my life, everything with him had been quite smooth so far. The mystery of the metal door room was the only thing that was left unsolved now. Did I really need to risk this? How would he react if he knew what I was doing right now?

"Need I remind you that everything we talk about here is highly confidential?" CM Samara's voice brought me out of my trance, and I shook my head. "Can I trust you?" The words were out of my mouth before I knew it.