Lunar Temptations

Ch 39

Just as I thought of getting away or hiding somewhere to prevent myself from being spotted, did I hear approaching footsteps? They were faint and certainly did not come from inside the room. I hurriedly made my way towards the source to find them before they could find me eavesdropping. I made sure to be quiet as I made my way out of the hallway. The footsteps neared, and I turned one corner to come face-to-face with them.

A low gasp resounded from the little woman across from me as I took her by surprise. Her body jerked, and she took a cautious step backwards.

"Oh, I am sorry," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, concerned. Her face turned red, and she quickly bowed down to me, "I should be the one sorry, Miss Dawson."

I shook my head and waved it off.

"Don't be. Can you guide me to the meeting room? I seem to have lost my way," I said, smiling. She immediately nodded. Turned out, Zayden had sent her to escort me, and she was a little late to get to the lounge downstairs. I had already left by the time she got there. Her name was Lisa, and she appeared to be younger than me with beautiful gold hair. She apologized a little too much for being reckless, but I called it a mistake and tried to wave it off. The people here seemed to treat me as their Luna already. The gesture was humbling, but I wasn't a fan of formality when it really wasn't even a big deal.

"You are forgiven, Lisa," I said as she walked down towards the meeting room. My voice was stern and stated dominance, exactly how she saw me. If she saw me as a Luna, then I had no choice but to act like one to make her believe that she was really forgiven. She was a pure soul with an innocent face; I tried to be kind, but she wasn't exactly comfortable with it.

We finally arrived at the meeting room, and I inhaled deeply, burying whatever I had witnessed a while ago deep down. It better not show up on my face, not until I had any proof. Upon entering the huge room, I cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention. Its vintage interior reminded me of home, and suddenly I realized how much I missed it. I didn't even get to spend enough time there before I had to move out.

Zayden was already staring at me, and the look on his face was stoic as he stood up. Of course, he must have sensed my presence from far away, exactly how I had felt him nearing as we closed in on the room. I threw a quick look around to find several others staring back at me. Nervousness began to flood through me, and I passed a small smile before walking over to my fiancé. I recognized some faces; among them were beta Drake, Nicole, and Rowan Castillo, who sat at the other end of the table opposite Zayden. The other two of them were new to me.

All of them stood up following Zayden. My face turned slightly red at the sudden attention from them but also the feel of a warm hand sneaking up to the small of my back. Warmth was known to be effective in calming a person; however, it seemed to be doing the opposite right now. His touch made chills creep up my spine in the most exotic way possible. I was ashamed to admit it, but I didn't want it to end.

"Raya will be joining us today in the meeting," he spoke authoritatively. His father's brows furrowed momentarily before he spoke up, "She doesn't hold the official position yet." His tone wasn't suggestive but rather stern.

"Even better, she will be starting early," Zayden retorted immediately. I gulped at the exchange of words between the father and son. He didn't have to take my side that blatantly, yet I couldn't help but feel pride blooming in my chest. That man wasn't making any intentional attempt to dissipate my hate towards him, yet it was working well nevertheless.

The father threw a warning look at me, and I did my best to reply with a straight face. I would have given him a kind smile, but that could have come off as taunting, and a straight face was the safer option. Zayden proceeded to introduce me to his delta and his wife. They were a young couple just like Nicole and beta Drake. The meeting continued, and I listened carefully to the various problems and policies being discussed. The issues were mainly easy ones to deal with, and after a while, the topic finally drifted towards Macy.

Esther had come in a while ago and was behaving more normally than ever like she wasn't plotting in favour of the criminals a while ago. One thing was sure, whoever that man was, he seemed way too influential to have Esther in his control. I quietly analyzed the details in my head while the case was being discussed.

"Drake, any word about the evidence?" Zayden asked, turning the attention towards his beta.

He was a tall and well-built man, similar to Zayden, and at times, his gaze wouldn't tear off Nicole. Their love was blooming and evident to the entire table. They beautifully complemented each other, and I wondered what their twins looked like.

Maybe I should consider visiting them soon. - I thought to myself.

"Your security system was hacked, thus the wiped footage. It was clearly an inside job, and I wonder if Miss Dawson saw anything odd that day since she was home," Drake said, and even though it was just a suggestion from him, I couldn't help but gulp. I could feel Esther's eyes on me, but she quickly looked away and went back to her facade.

"No, nothing odd happened that day," I lied, calmly. A part of me felt ashamed of lying about this, but I had no other way. If I told them about Esther, then it would come off as a wild guess, nothing more. At least not without proof.