Chapter 20

James Heartman chuckled at what his wife, Karen said to him as they walked through the streets of Laredo. "Do you think Alex is doing well in the pack house?" Lauren asked him, changing the topic.

He nodded in confidence. "Yes, he's doing very well, Karen. Our son is very capable of taking care of his people and the pack house," he assured her.

"You know he does not speak so much," she reminded him.

"Yes, but, he converse well with Hendrix, his best friend. It would not be difficult addressing the people with someone like Hendrix by his side," James assured her again.

"Well, you're right. It's getting cold. We better head back to the lodge," she said to him as she ran her hands up her arms to keep her from freezing.

He nodded. "Yes, we should. I'm getting tired from this walk already," he said, and they both chuckled.

They turned down the streets and headed back to the lodge they had paid for as they toured around Laredo.

Out of nowhere, a scraggly looking middle aged man came out and grabbed James Heartman, and he was extremely shocked by this. "He's alive! He's alive!" The scraggly looking man echoed in a deranged state.

Lauren gasped as she wondered in shock what was going on.

James tried his best to step away from the man who he considered mad before him. But, the man would not let him. "He's alive! He's alive!" He kept yelling.

"Step away from me immediately," James ordered him, but the man would not let go of him.

"Just listen to him first, James," Karen said to him.

"Who's alive?" James asked him.

"The demon. The demon is alive somewhere! He's alive somewhere! We need to stop him!" He yelled out.

"Where?" James asked, looking dumbfounded at the man.

"The prophecy," the man shuddered as he looked up to the sky. "The prophecy of the blood moon. The prophecy of the demon. It's all coming together," he said and looked back at Heartman. "It's all coming together!" He screamed a deafening scream, and then laughed hysterically before running away.

He disappeared into thin air, and just like he came, he was gone. Heartman turned to Karen. "What was he talking about?" She asked him, looking stupefied.

He shook his head. "I really have no idea," he responded as he looked in the direction the man had disappeared into.

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The sun rose up high in the sky, and Mia fluttered her eyes sheepishly. A warm smile crept on her lips and she had no idea why she was smiling. She got up to a sitting position on the bed, and stretched lazily. "Felt like I have been sleeping for ages," she said as she stifled a yawn.

Just then, a knock came on the door. "Come in," she responded, and hissed in pain as she suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of her head.

Mera walked in bearing a tray of breakfast for her. "Good morning, Luna. How're you feeling now?" She asked as she placed the breakfast on the table.

Mia raised a brow. "How I am feeling now? What do you mean?" She asked, unable to recall last night.

"You do not recall what happened to you last night?" Mera asked her in surprise, and Mia shook her head.

"Do tell me," she urged Mera.

"The alpha brought you back to the pack house in his arms and you were all wet," Mera explained to her, and a sudden memory of last night flashed through her mind. She recalled seeing Alex covered in smoke, and the both of them falling into the river. But, she could not remember the mundara symbol and the fact that he had almost killed her.

"Where's he? Is he alright?" She asked all at once.

Mera nodded. "Yes, he asked me to bring you breakfast. That, he was sure you would be awake by now," she replied.

Mia smiled at his thoughtfulness and then at Mera. "Thank you, Mera," she said to her.

"You're welcome, Luna," Mera responded with a smile, and she curtsied before walking out of the room.

Mia rushed into the bathroom for a quick bath. Today, she was not in the mood to relax and feel the tranquility of the water.

A few minutes later, she was done and dressed in a satin corset sleeveless dress. She walked over to the table and sat down on the couch. She began to eat her breakfast while she thought of Alex and what happened last night.

Mera had told her Alex carried her in his arms, and she blushed hard at the thought of it, despite the fact that she had no knowledge of it when it happened.

She hurried over her meal and hastened out of her chambers. She met him sitting cross legged in the sitting room, and some other people were seated with him.

It looked like he was having a meeting. "There has not been any report yet, alpha. We would like to be aware of every little detail going on," one of the men spoke to him.

Alex nodded, a blank expression on his face.

"The alpha has not found anything tangible. We should all be patient," Hendrix advised.

"We do not know when the next red moon would appear, and we do not want to be caught off guard," another spoke.

"Believe in us, we'll find the source of these deaths before the next moon appears," Mia said from behind Alex, and he felt the hairs at the nape of his neck stand still.

"We'll ensure that we stop these killings and bring the perpetrators to book," she added in confidence, and the staffs nodded.

The meeting went on and on, and Alex did not hear the sound of Hendrix's voice anymore, and he noticed that Hendrix was gone in a split second. He furrowed his brows as he wondered where his right hand man and best friend had suddenly disappeared to.

The meeting was over, and they all returned to their various homes. Alex stood up from the chair, ready to leave the house to avoid the blabbering woman.

"Thank you for last night," she said in appreciation.

He stared at her for a few fleeting seconds and then put his hands in his pocket. "Maybe I should have left you in there. At least I will not have to bear the torture of listening to your irritating voice," he said, hoping his harsh words would push her farther away from him.

Instead she smiled. "Unfortunately, you're stuck with this voice forever," she replied, blinking her eyes sheepishly.

He stared at her, and with one lasting look, he walked out of the pack house. Mia smiled after his retreating figure. "Hey," she called attempting to go after him, but she stopped. She wanted to ask him about what she saw last night in the river, but, she did not want him to see her as an uncultured girl going after him to pry out information from him when all she wanted was to know if he was okay.

She sighed as she turned around and walked towards the stairs.