A LUNA'S CRAVING FOR LOVE

Charlotte

I woke up with a start and looked around me. I was sleeping on a bed, not some old, tattered mattress for the first time.

The bed was so big that Davina and Loretta, the two maids who were supposed to look after me, lay stretched out on it. Most people would feel sleepy, but I did not.

Instinctively, I opened the door quietly, expecting it to creak, but it didn't. It was a silent door. I padded out of my room, glancing at the two maids lying on my bed.

"Ma'am, we can't lie on your bed," Loretta, a short girl of about seventeen, had whispered when I asked them to join me.

"You can," I nodded toward her. "And I'm not 'ma'am,' I'm Charlotte."

"The Alpha will not be happy with us if he hears us calling you that," Davina, the other maid, gasped. It was as though I was disturbing them.

I shrugged. "Then don't call me that in his presence." I jumped on the bed, giggling. After Sarah's bed, this was the most comfortable one I'd ever laid on.

"What if he somehow finds out?" Loretta hurriedly asked, glancing at Davina.

"Are you going to tell him, Davina?" I asked, lying comfortably on the bed.

The hallway was lit with lamps, and beside the lamps were different paintings. We had such paintings at home; they signified family members.

I stopped before a painting, staring at it longer than necessary. It was of a man with long flowing hair. He had pure red eyes that screamed evil. I shuddered and turned away as I kept going.

I reached the edge of the staircase and peered down. I smiled to myself, imagining sitting on the stairs and sliding down. At home, I was never allowed to go near the stairs. I'd only been up once since my mom refused to raise me and left me with the downstairs maids.

I tiptoed down the stairs, remembering the first and only time I had climbed the Blackwood Pack House stairs.

"Come with me, Charlotte; nothing will happen." Sarah dragged my hand toward the steps. I tried to wriggle free, but she was much stronger than I was.

"No, Sarah. I don't want Papa to see me up there. You know how he gets when I do something he doesn't like."

"You're not doing anything wrong," she turned sharply toward me. "What's wrong is that my sister has never seen what my room looks like." She resumed dragging me up the stairs.

I let her drag me, protesting but silently relishing the thought that I would finally see what was up there. My parents and most of the pack members living with us had visited a neighboring pack, so no one could stop me from exploring.

"Wow," I exclaimed when I glanced down the hallway. An elegant red carpet ran across the doorways of each room. On the walls were paintings.

"How do you like the place?" Sarah asked, releasing my hand and staring at my face.

"It's nice. You live here?" I sheepishly pointed toward a room.

"You haven't even seen my room." She held my hand again, drawing me closer to the door. "This is just the foyer; Papa likes to sit here and read the human paper."

"Human paper?" I narrowed my eyes, darting them from the foyer to Sarah.

"Oh, mine." She touched her chest. "You've never heard of the human paper? They document everything they do. Papa thinks it's interesting."

"And you?" I asked, noting the way she said "Papa" instead of "I."

"It's boring," she said flatly, withdrawing from the foyer.

"Come, let me show you my room." Sarah held my hand and dragged me toward a door, pushing it open forcefully. I winced, expecting it to creak and make a disgusting noise, but it didn't.

When I reached the steps of the Trinity Pack House, I saw another set of paintings. I recognized one of them. It was Frederick, sitting majestically on a horse. I felt jealous, remembering that Sarah was also a good horsewoman, while I couldn't even saddle a horse.

"Hmmm." I heard a sound behind me and turned sharply to look around the room. Everything was silent except for the crackling fireplace.

"Probably just thinking," I thought, walking toward a door that led to a hallway.

"How am I supposed to find the kitchen?" I heard the sound again and sprang backward, my eyes wide open.

"Anybody there?" I asked, and silence greeted me.

I could feel eyes peering at me again, like at the river. Then I heard his voice.

"What are you doing, Charlotte?" He emerged from the shadows, where he must have been observing me.

I hesitated, feeling a flutter in my chest. Was he going to scold me? Yell at me? Or flog me? "I was looking for the kitchen. And the laundry room. I like to get a head start on my duties in the house."

"What?" His expression turned incredulous.

"I'm looking for...," I started to repeat myself, but he cut me off mid-sentence.

"I heard you the first time," he said, raising his hands. "You think you need to do chores here?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Don't I?" I asked, using one foot to scratch the other.

"Just go to your room," he waved me off. "It's past midnight. Goodness, you must have been so traumatized at home." He turned to look at me as if for the last time.

"But at least I should..." I protested.

"Charlotte, you're not in your father's house anymore," he said flatly. "If you love that place so much, I can ask Thomas to take you there when the day breaks."

And with that, he stormed off.

Frederick

I woke up feeling a bit tired and strange.

"Someone is in this room," I thought, jumping up with a start.

"Oh, Heather." My face paled as I stared at her for a minute. She was lying naked on my bed, my duvet comfortably covering her. Unconsciously, I started counting her breaths as she heaved up and down. Snapping back to reality, I realized I was already married.

"All of this is wrong," I muttered. I put on my shirt and tried to sneak out from under the duvet, but Heather's hands found mine.

"Don't go," she said sleepily, holding me tight.

"Why?" I sighed heavily.

"I just want you beside me," she said, peering up from the duvet and meeting my angry stare.

"That's not a very smart thing to say," I replied flatly, swatting her hands away.

"Why not?" She sat up. She was braless, and my throat tightened.

"Why?" I breathed in and out. "You left me for...God knows where...."

"France," she interjected instantly, holding my hand again.

"I don't give a fuck where you've been," I snapped, swatting her hand away and tucking it back under the duvet. "You left me, then came back the day I brought my wife home, and now you're curled up naked in my bed, telling me you want me beside you."

Heather shook her head. "People won't get the real picture when you say it like that," she said calmly, no longer looking sleepy.

"Please, paint me the real picture," I said sarcastically.

"A girl."

"Hm, huh." I nodded repeatedly.

"You're distracting me," she glared. "A girl who wants to travel the world and the love of her life who is stuck being an Alpha. I grew up in Torrance, Fred; you don't expect me to remain here for the rest of my life, do you?"

"You wanted to leave, Heather," I said heatedly. "This has nothing to do with seeing the world."

"It has everything to do with it," Heather raised her voice slightly. "Do you know I've been to Paris?"

My brows creased. "You think you're the only one who's traveled?"

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "You didn't tell me that. It's a beautiful city, isn't it?"

"I've been to the United Kingdom," I nodded, ignoring her last statement.

"If you mention one more country, you must have traveled far wider than me," she chuckled.

"I'm married now; you shouldn't be here," I said curtly. "When the day breaks, please leave. I don't want to make this mistake with you again."

I got out of bed and put on my trousers. Heather stared at me expressionlessly as I stormed out of the room.

The hallway felt cold when I stepped out; it wasn't the time of year for such coldness, so why was the mansion so chilly?

I strolled downstairs, hoping to reach my study-the only place in the house where I was guaranteed absolute peace.

As I descended the last steps, I saw a figure looking up at my painting. My wolf recognized her scent before I could register who she was. Charlotte glanced at the painting, and the look in her eyes didn't seem like she appreciated it. She looked around as though she could sense me, but I knew she couldn't, since I was in the shadows, and she wouldn't let her wolf search for me.

She walked toward the hallway that led to another set of rooms. "Where is she going?" I wondered.

"What are you doing, Charlotte?" I asked, stepping out of the shadows. My face was arched, and I stepped forward, expecting an explanation.

She stopped in her tracks and smiled nervously. I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I... I was looking for the kitchen," she stammered. "And the laundry room," she quickly added. "I'd like to get a head start on my duties in the house."

"What?" My face twisted in half amusement.

"I'm looking for...," she began to repeat herself, but I interrupted her quickly.

"I heard you the first time." I raised my hand, signaling that I didn't want her to speak just yet. "You think you need to do chores here?" I asked.

"Do I not?" she threw my question back at me, shifting around nervously.

"Just go to your room," I said, shaking my head and waving her off. "It's past midnight." I looked at her incredulously. "Goodness, you must have been so traumatized at home."

"But at least I should..." she began, but I cut her off firmly.

"Charlotte, you're not in your father's house anymore. If you love that place so much, I can ask Thomas to take you there when the day breaks." I could see the fear my words put into her.

I turned and walked back to my room. Heather was still sitting up when I entered.

"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost," she asked, studying me.

When I didn't answer, she shook my shoulders. "Have you?"

"You won't believe what I saw downstairs," I said, my eyes wide.

"Try me," Heather urged.

"Charlotte was down there trying to find the laundry room," I pointed downstairs, my voice low.

"Charlotte? Your wife?" I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Yes," I answered slowly, suddenly regretting that I'd told her.

"Wow, what a traditional housewife. We don't breed many of those wolves anymore," she said sarcastically, laughing.

"Mind your tongue," I glared. "That's my wife you're talking about." I dove under the duvet, then brought my head up after a while. "You should be gone when the sun comes up."

"You keep reminding me," she muttered, getting out of bed to sit on the couch.

Charlotte

"Wow, this is beautiful," I commented, looking out the window. The sunlight shone on me, and it felt strange. Back at Blackwood's, I lived in a room where the only window was so high that it didn't bring in any sunlight. I watched some men clipping flowers downstairs while others led horses to only the gods knew where. Since Thomas told me that Frederick loved to ride, I craned my neck, hoping to see him.

"Ma'am, would you like to go out and look around?" Loretta asked as she made the bed we had slept on, her face curled in a smile.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrow. "Is there not something I should be doing?"

"You mean apart from Luna's duties?" Davina asked, turning to look at Loretta. They communicated with their eyes and laughed.

"Luna duties?" I was confused. I had never seen my mom do anything besides bark orders, mostly directed at me.

"What do you mean by Luna's duties?" I turned partially from the window. "And I've told you to stop calling me ma'am. It's Charlotte."

"Yes... Char-Charlotte," Loretta stammered. Getting them to call me by my name was going to be a challenge, but being called "ma'am" was uncomfortable.

"So, what do you mean by Luna duties?" I bailed her out, and I could see her heave a sigh of relief.

"You know," she shrugged, "like telling others what to do." She blinked at me, then her eyes fluttered up. "Your parents were Alpha and Luna. You should know more about being a Luna," she said hurriedly.

"Well, sadly, I don't. I hope that's not a problem," I smiled sadly.

"My lady," Davina started to say, then caught me glaring at her. "Oh, sorry. Charlotte. You're hilarious. Would you like to go out with us? We're going to the kitchen. Food should be ready by now."

"Oh!" I nodded. "Maybe you should just head to the kitchen while I look around."

"That's what I was referring to as Luna's duties," Loretta laughed, and I joined her.

We all walked out of the room, and I went back to the paintings I had seen during the night. Although the lamps had been turned off, the painting that had made me shudder in the dark still gave me goosebumps.

The house was alive with people now. I went downstairs to the hallway where Frederick had seen me.

"It's all rooms," I smiled. I would have accidentally woken someone if Frederick hadn't come when he did. As I strolled away, I noticed one of the room doors was open.

"Did you lose your way?" A woman came out of the room, staring at me intently.

"No," I answered politely.

"It feels good to be strolling idly in the morning. This is Melissa, not me." I chuckled at the thought.

"Charlotte, your breakfast is ready. You should follow me to the dining room." Davina poked her head into the hallway. I could hear the woman gasp.

"Ah. What are we having for breakfast?"

"Scrambled eggs," Davina said, falling in behind me. "You'll like it."

The dining table was a very long mahogany table with two king-sized chairs at either end. I didn't need Davina or Loretta to tell me where I was supposed to sit.

As they served the food, I noticed it was on only one plate.

"When is Frederick joining us?" I frowned, glancing at his empty seat.

"Oh, the Alpha won't be joining you for breakfast," Loretta said nervously.

"Why?" I frowned even harder.

"Hmm... he is..." Loretta stammered.

"He's having breakfast with someone in the Alpha quarters. He said he regrets not joining you and will do so as soon as possible," Davina finished Loretta's statement for her.

"Alright then. Alpha duties, I suppose," I nodded, picking up a fork from the cutlery. "Maybe he just doesn't want to dine with me. Who cares?" I muttered.

I dug a spoon into the eggs and tasted them. They were good, and I found myself unconsciously turning toward Frederick's empty chair.

"I hope I don't have to do this alone every day."

A muscular man dressed like an omega walked in. He was a bit older than Frederick, and his eyes scanned the room. Davina approached him instantly.

"What do you want?" Davina asked. "Luna is having some private time."

"The Alpha would like to see you," the omega said.

"Me?" I frowned.

"Yes, ma'am. You," he nodded, then turned to Davina as if to tell her she was not the one being called.

"In his room?" I rose slowly, dropping the fork.

"No, he's waiting outside. I will escort you." He stepped aside, waiting for me.

I pushed the eggs aside and stood up, following the omega.

When we left the compound, Frederick was on a white horse. He was dressed casually, and I looked around for the visitor with whom he was having breakfast.

"I was told-"

"Would you like to follow me to the river?" He interrupted my question.

"River?" I frowned, surprised that he would ask.

"You heard me correctly," he scolded. "Unless you think we don't have rivers in Torrance."

"Oh." I chuckled. "Far from it. I don't have a swimming dress."

"You weren't wearing one the day I met you." He extended his hand for me to climb onto the horse, which I did, and we rode slowly out of the pack house.

We rode slowly and silently. His breath made my hair stand on end.

"I was told you had a visitor," I repeated the question I had wanted to ask earlier. "Your business partners?"

"No. Just some people," he replied nervously. "I don't like talking while riding." He kicked the horse, and it moved a bit faster.

"Oh. They must be important since you skipped breakfast. Your omega then?"

"Let's just focus, Charlotte," Frederick said curtly.