The Luna: Braver Than We Are

Chapter 9

Adam remained silent during the rest of the meal, Alina blabbed for the two of them. She behaved as if their conversation began in a totally different way. Adam knew she pursued him for a long time, but he never thought she would go such length as to speak with grandfather.

He lived in a separate apartment in the Longclaw Residential and his grandfather owned a mansion in the center of the estate. When he bid Alina farewell in the car, she was visibly disappointed but drove away without fussing.

Instead of opening the front door, he waited for her car to disappear around the corner and walked to the mansion. The estate was built for the pack members. The center was for those of higher position, not in the ranks, but in the company. Although, most of the directors would be at least gammas in a traditional pack. The simple workers, who happened to be the omegas lived on the edges of the estate. Every building was modern and well kept, no one had to crowd in some s**t-hole excuse for an apartment and no one was poverty-stricken. Only some didn’t have it as good as the others.

The whole estate was shaped in concentric circles. They didn’t speak about it freely, but this shape was invented after the raid to make it easier to defend. They were safehouses and even had portable barriers concealed on every street. They could turn the estate into a fortress in half an hour.

They were trying to live like ordinary humans, but there were some aspects of their nature they simply couldn’t ignore. They couldn’t live without a pack, or they would go feral, so had a pack and pretended it to be a company, that cares for their employees to the extent of building homes, schools and hospitals for them and. They had to have an alpha, so they made him a CEO. They couldn’t deny the mating pull and alpha had to have his luna. And, last but not the least, they couldn’t deny the other entity occupying their souls. These entities sometimes needed to take over and go on the run, that’s why they had a private forest, or a werewolf who denied this side of his being sooner or later went feral. And when he went feral, there wasn’t anything that could be done. Every pack had units to deal with such situations, Longclaws called them security team. Marius, their leader was Adam’s childhood friend, but they no longer spoke to each other, unless it was necessary.

Adam heard there were packs, in some secluded areas that lived the old ways, with pack runs and howling to the moon and he knew that his pack was one of those that rejected those ways to the fullest possible extent.

He walked the streets and thought about all this stuff, not understanding the purpose of those thoughts. The bypassers greeted him with respect. The was going to take over soon. As soon he’s found a proper luna. He frowned, remembering that he isn’t on a leisure walk and soon will have to clash with grandfather.

The mansion was a big one, designed to impress, show strength and wealth and not to be very homely and Adam didn’t like it even a bit, as his grandmother did. He suspected that grandfather wasn’t also fond of it, but he was a leader, so he bore with it. A perfect place to host a banquet, but not to raise a little boy.

Adam entered the back door and found his grandmother in the kitchen, giving the maids dispositions for the following day. He smiled, she was elegant, but warm and approachable at the same time and her warmth emanated on the whole room, making it a little bit more pleasant.

“My dear boy!” she beamed with joy. He hugged her and nodded to the maids. Some of them blushed. He didn’t notice, but he noticed how frail his grandmother became.

“Granny, you look stunning as always.”

“And how dare you lie to an old woman, giving her hope that there is something left for her?”

“Hush, grandfather can hear,” he laughed.

“You come here so rarely, I almost forgot your face.”

“I’m sorry, granny, I’ve been busy.”

“I know, you are both such workaholics. Your grandfather came late for dinner and he is revising some papers in the cabinet.”

“I need to speak with him, but I will come to drink some tea with you,” Adam said really meaning it. He loved Nadia Longclaw deeply.

“Again, giving a false hope,” she said smiling sadly. “Go, boy and be back soon.”

Adam waved and went to the cabinet. It was a large room with a huge desk and an enormously big conference table. All meetings of local alphas took place there. At least those alphas who decided to pretend to be humans.

Wiliam Longclaw was sitting at the desk. He was tall and must have been muscular in his younger years. He still remained slim and agile and it was visible in his every move.

“Adam, good to see you,” he raised his head. He was old and he wasn’t trying to hide it. Deep wrinkles on his face looked almost like scars. “I was going to ask how was your date with Alina. Did you agree on everything? Can we prepare the ceremony?”

“You knew?” Adam was furious and screamed. In a traditional pack, the alpha would use his power to suppress the one who disrespected him in such a way, but William Longclaw only smiled sadly.

“I asked her if she was willing to become a luna,” he said slowly, looking straight into Adam’s eyes.

“Why? You are my grandfather, not my owner. My whole life I did what was expected of me and I was good at it, but you don’t get to decide on this matter.”

“I’m sorry. The pack has to have a luna or it will collapse. It repulses me as much as you, but there are things we can’t change. We can’t let them down again.”

“I know it all, but someday I will find someone like Maria.” The wolf inside him howled with pain when Adam mentioned his deceased mate.

“Then you’ll need to rush it. Nadia’s condition is worsening,” Adam paled, he was aware that his grandmother was ill. “She was consulted by Professor Wexler, he advised a therapy in Weston.” Weston was well known academic city with a secret clinic for supernaturals. “We will go there in three months. By this time I have to hand all my matters to you. Find your luna by this time or agree on Alina.”

“Why do you have to go with grandma?”

“This is a reverse therapy.” Adam was shocked, reverse therapy meant nothing else than transferring life force from one mate to the other. If they’d succeed, William would be weakened and no longer fit for the alpha’s position. “Yes, I love her that much. Don’t tell her, she would decline.”

“I won’t, I love her too,” Adam murmured turning around and leaving the room. He couldn’t see the pain in his grandfather’s eyes.

Adam excused himself to Nadia, he didn’t want her to see his anxiety. When he walked back to his apartment, Viola came to his mind. It wasn’t that late, so he dialed Jonathan’s number.

“Not saying that I'm not pleased with your call, but that’s unusual.” He heard instead of a normal greeting.

“I know I’m the worse friend in the world,” somehow he thought about Marius. “But want to visit the facility tomorrow and I wondered if there is anything you need.”

“That’s nice of you and I’m not going to investigate your motives,” Jonathan laughed. “There are some things you could fetch. Can you memorize?”

“Yeah.” Jonathan started mentioning some stuff, probably for kids, Adam focused on remembering the names.