Chapter 23
Early in the morning…
As the cock crew, Claire woke up. She laid, asleep on a bed too soft for her liking. As she opened her eyes, she glanced at an unfamiliar room. She was uncomfortable and she knew why. Had she been kidnapped? Claire tried to remember what happened the previous day but nothing came to her memory. All she could remember was a strong smell. The smell seemed to be the scent of something very powerful. It had a bad smell. Apart from that, Claire couldn't remember something else.
Claire sat up now and looked around. The room had some paintings which she had never seen before. She was afraid and she didn't know what to do. Thinking about this made her want to pee. She looked around but she couldn't find a toilet. This made her more afraid.
At that moment, the door opened and a maidservant came in. She held a covered tray and moved closer to Claire.
"Good morning, Luna Rose…" the maid began to say. "I hope you had a great night?"
Claire didn't know what to say. The maid had just called her by the name 'Rose'. Claire didn't know much but she could tell that her name wasn't Rose and she also knew what a Luna meant.
"My name is Rose…" Claire began. "... And I am a Luna?"
The maid appeared confused. She looked at Claire tenderly before answering her question.
"Yes, milady," the maid replied gently. "Your name has always been Rose and you have always been the Luna of this pack."
Claire wondered in heart. How could she be named Rose and yet, she couldn't remember her name. This sounded so weird. Probably, she had lost her memory.
"Very well…" Claire began. "What is the name of this pack? Also, what is the name of the Alpha?"
The maid was more shocked by this question. Since Claire was the Luna, she should know all that. It was quite strange for the Luna of a pack not to know the name of thr pack. This sounded very strange and the maid didn't know what to say or do at first. At last, the maid decided to do her bidding but not without asking a question first.
"I'm very sorry, Luna, but this seems quite weird for me…" the maid began. "If you don't mind, may I know why you are asking all these questions that you know already? Are you asking this to confirm if I truly know it or are you asking because you really don't know it? I'm so sorry for asking this but it will go a long way in clearing my weird feelings."
"You can continue having your weird feelings!" Claire shouted at the maid. "I may not know anything but I know the power which a Luna has. You have no right whatsoever to question me! Go on and answer the question and stop complaining! You ain't a kid who cries over every little thing, are you?"
These words stung the maid. The 'Luna Rose' she knew wasn't so aggressive. She got angered at times but she was usually her best self in the morning. Rose usually allowed the maidservants have access to her in the morning. While they had access to her they were free to make complaints over all those things which they didn't like. The maid probably thought the coast was clear. That was the reason why she answered Claire's question with another question.
What the maid didn't know that a revolution had just happened. The person who held Rose's face wasn't Rose anymore. Right now, Claire's soul and spirit was in the body of Rose. Claire didn't believe in honoring maids so much and granting the so much access to royalties and other important people. However, Claire didn't believe in cheating the poor, less privileged and servants.
Now, the maid had learnt her lesson. Instead of asking some unnecessary questions again, she answered the real question which Claire had asked before.
"Alright milady…" the maid began. "The name of this pack is the Driftwood pack while the name of our Alpha is Alpha Marcus. The name of our Luna is…"
"Wait!" Claire interrupted urgently. "I thought I was the Luna here?"
"Yes, you are…" the maid replied.
"Since I am the Luna, why are you introducing myself to me again?" Claire wanted to know. Now, she was looking at the maid and scrutinizing her properly.
"Sorry about that…" the maid replied in apology. She didn't expect her Luna to reply something as trivial as that. "I thought you might have forgotten!"
Claire was willing to let everything go but that last statement which the maid made managed to shake things up once more.
"You thought I might have forgotten?" Claire asked again. "Does that mean I am a forgetful person? What are you insinuating?"
The maid wasn't expecting that. As she heard this, she bowed. The maid didn't know what to say. She was sure that her Luna was in a bad mood.
"No, milady…" the maid pointed out. "Forgive my stupidity in delivering that statement. You are the Luna and I will never term you as 'forgetful'. Please forgive me."
As the maid begged Claire, she began tenderhearted. Claire didn't mean to be harsh but a force in her had pushed her to say all these. She wanted to understand how things worked in the pack. Claire didn't know why but that place didn't feel like home to her. It looked so strange.
Or maybe, it wasn't really home?
"It's fine!" Claire told the maid. "What is your name?"
"Charlotte…" the maid answered. "My name is Charlotte."
"That's a nice name!" Claire replied. She chuckled as she said this.
Charlotte was confused. The Luna she had always served knew her name. Why was she now acting like she was meeting her for the first time?
But Charlotte had learnt her lesson. She didn't allow her inquisitiveness to lead her the wrong way. At that moment, a knock was heard on the door.