Chapter 67 Chapter 67

Chapter 67 Chapter 67
  Tiana
  We were all gathered in the dining hall, our first official meeting with Margaret, Luna Margot’s daughter, as Zane had announced.
  The long table in the hall was packed with higher-ranking wolves and most of the unit leaders.
  Margaret sat beside Kaius, perfectly positioned where everyone could see her.
  She was beautiful. That was the first thing I had noticed when she’d stepped out of that car yesterday. Tall and slim with hair that fell in glossy waves past her shoulders. Everything about her screamed proper Alpha’s daughter.
  “The journey was long,” Margaret was saying, her voice high enough to include the whole table. “But worth it to finally meet everyone. My mother speaks so highly of Fangstain.”
  One of the leaders smiled. “Luna Margot is a wise leader. We’re honored by this alliance.”
  “The honor is mine.” Margaret’s smile was warm. “To be welcomed into such a strong pack. It’s more than I could have hoped for.”
  She placed her hand over Kaius’s where it rested on the table. He didn’t pull away, but I caught the slight tension in his shoulders.
  “He has been so kind,” Margaret continued, squeezing his hand. “Showing me around yesterday. Introducing me to everyone. I can already tell this will be a wonderful home.”
  Beta Ezra nodded approvingly. “The integration period can be difficult. But you seem to be adjusting well.”
  “I try.” Margaret laughed softly. “Though I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous. Following in the footsteps of our Luna here” She gestured toward me and I suddenly became more aware.
  Every eye at the table turned my direction and nervously, I forced myself to straighten up.
  “I’m sure you’ll do fine.” I voiced out.
  Margaret’s smile widened. “My mother speaks so highly of you, and even while coming over, all I could think of was meeting you again, of course after my mate-to-be Kaius.”
  The compliment should have lit up a smile in me, but all I felt was emptiness. Luna Margot had only met me once and it did not seem enough for her to speak ‘highly’ of me.
  I forced a smile still. “Thank you.”
  Zane sat at the head of the table, quiet as always in situations like this. 
  “Luna Tiana,” Margaret said, pulling my attention back. “I’d love to hear about your duties. How you organize your day, what responsibilities you prioritize. I want to learn from the best.”
  I looked around, unsure what to respond. 
  “It’s not that complicated,” I replied with a small smile. “Plus, I believe you would do great at handling it. See it as the responsibilities you are used to handling from leading in your pack.”
  “She’s being modest again,” Rowan spoke up from further down the table. “The Luna, despite choosing to be quiet had brought remarkable solutions to issues even amongst us warriors.”
  Margaret’s eyes lit up. “Really? That’s awesome. You must tell me how you did it.”
  “It wasn’t—” I started, but she’d already turned to the elder beside her.
  “Don’t you think that’s impressive? To find a balance in a short time even without being born into it?”
  The elder nodded. “It is quite impressive.”
  “I can see why everyone respects you so much.” Margaret looked back at me, her smile never wavering. “I hope we can be friends. I’d love to learn from you.”
  There it was again. That wrongness I couldn’t quite place.
  I shook the thought away and focused on my breakfast.
  The conversation flowed around me. Margaret charmed the elders with questions about pack history and laughed at jokes thrown over the table.
  She was good at this.
  “Tiana.”
  Zane’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I looked up to find him watching me with that blank expression.
  “Yes, Alpha?”
  “You have barely touched your food.”
  I glanced down at my plate. 
  Forcing a smile, I muttered. “I’m fine. Just not very hungry. Thank you!”
  His gaze held mine for a moment longer, then he spoke. “There is a council meeting next week, you will need to attend.”
  “Oh…” I stuttered. Before I could say more, the dining hall doors burst open.
  A male servant rushed in, his face flushed and his breathing hard like he’d been running. His eyes found Zane immediately.
  “Alpha, forgive my interruption, but Lady Elara is here. She said it’s urgent.”
  The change in Zane was instant.
  His entire body went rigid. The controlled expression he wore cracked just enough that I saw concern flash across his face.
  He was on his feet before anyone else could react.
  “Where?” The single word came out sharp.
  “The east entrance, Alpha.”
  Zane was already moving, his long strides eating up the distance to the door. He didn’t excuse himself or acknowledge anyone else in the room. He just made his way out.
  I sat frozen in my chair, watching him disappear through the doorway.
  Elara. It was honestly my first time hearing that name in the pack, and somehow it made me even more concerned.
  Around the table, conversation had stuttered to a halt. But it began soon enough, with Margaret pioneering the conversation.
  I stood slowly, my chair scraping against the floor.
  “Excuse me,” I murmured to no one in particular.
  I followed the path Zane had taken, moving quickly. The east entrance led to a small receiving area used mostly for private meetings or when pack members needed to speak with the Alpha without going through the main hall.
  I slowed as I approached, keeping to the shadows of the corridor.
  Through the open doorway, I could see them.
  A woman stood in the center of the room, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She was younger than I had imagined, maybe late twenties, with dark hair pulled back in a messy bun and her cheeks were tear-stained.
  Zane stood in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. He said some things which I did not hear clearly, but I noticed the way she collapsed against him, her face pressed into his chest as she cried harder. 
  Her arms wrapped around him, clinging.
  And he held her.
  My chest twisted painfully.
  I’d seen Zane with other women before. I knew clearly what my role in his life was currently. Yet why did it hurt this much?
  “Luna?”
  I turned to find one of the guards passing by. “Is there a problem?” He went on to ask.
  I shook my head. 
  Just when he was about to leave, I called back. “Who is she?” I asked, nodding toward the room.
  “Lady Elara?” He glanced through the doorway. “Her son is ill.”
  Her son. That explained the tears.
  But it didn’t explain why Zane had reacted like that. 
  I started to turn away, to leave before I was caught watching when footsteps approached.
  Margaret appeared beside me, her eyes fixed on the scene through the doorway.
  “Interesting,” she murmured.
  I glanced at her. “What?”
  “Nothing,” she shook her head. 
  Her tone made my shoulders tense and I turned fully to her. “Is there a problem?”
  Margaret’s gaze drifted back to Zane and Elara. The woman was still crying against him and holding on like he was the only solid thing in her world.
  “I think,” Margaret started, “that the Alpha might be involved with that woman.”
  She had just voiced out my exact inner thoughts.
  “I don’t think so.” I refused. “She’s just a pack member.”
  “Is she?” Margaret’s voice was soft. “Look at them, Luna.”
  I didn’t want to. But I did anyway like I was seeing them for the first time.
  Zane was still holding her. His hand had moved to the back of her head, and his fingers stayed tangled in her hair.
  “I’m just looking out for you,” Margaret continued. “Considering that soon we would share the same family ties.” She paused. “But you cannot deny that you noticed how the Alpha reacted when that servant came in?”
  “It’s nothing serious. It’s because of her sick son.”
  “There’s a son?” Margaret gasped. “The woman has a son. And somehow the Alpha reacted that way. 
  I’ve seen these kinds of things before.” Margaret added quietly. “The only way the Alpha would react that way and drop everything like that is because the son in question is…”
  She didn’t finish the sentence.
  But the way she lifted her eyebrows signaled to me that we shared the same thoughts. 
  “The Alpha’s son?”
  “Exactly!”