149
Lucy
A few days after the incident in class, I got into the car with Stacy, headed for the city council meeting. Since I was a supernatural person living in their territory I was required to come. We walked in to the large hall and took seats. As I sat in the Hecate Coven city council meeting, surrounded by supernaturals of all kinds, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness.
“Am I supposed to say anything?”
Stacy laughed. “Not unless you want to. Oh, look.”
She pointed to the lower levels where David was walking into the room. He was dressed in a full suit. His hair was styled nicely, and he was speaking with another, older man. He shook hands before taking his seat. Then, he turned and looked up at me. My face heated and I waved.
He waved back.
The atmosphere in the room was charged with anticipation as the council members took their seats. The chatter slowly died down, and the meeting officially commenced. The council members discussed various issues affecting our community, from magical safety protocols to trade agreements with neighboring territories.
“As always, we are happy to have Alpha David here with us,” the woman nodded in David’s direction. “It warms my heart to see you sitting where your father once sat.”
David seemed stunned for a moment before he nodded. “Happy to be invited.”
“The main thing on the agenda is the discussion of the barrier, specifically meant to keep werewolves from wandering into our territory and causing trouble.” She sighed. “While this may seem liked a drastic move, given the uptick in werewolf attacks with the intent to turn not only humans but witches and other shifters as well, we have a duty to do what we can to control their movement.”
She shook her head. “As the Council will not, or cannot, do anything about it, it is up to us to safeguard our borders. Hecate City is going to be where we will develop the pilot of this barrier with the plan to perfect it before installing it in other cities.”
Someone spoke up about the dangers of the barrier, how it would affect students that attend schools here.
“Or simple traveling through the city? Cutting off the city from werewolf travel could cut into the economy.”
“We are well aware of that, but a brief hit to the economy is not worth more than the lives and safety of our coven members and the humans that live in our city.” She shook her head. “It is a risk we have to take. Though we are developing a means to make the barrier more nuanced, safety is our main priority.”
I worried my lip, wondering if this had something to do with Tony and Matt, or Peter. As the hall started to clear out, I headed down stairs to try and catch David before he left.
“Looking for me?” I whirled around to see him grinning at me. “Since I found you, do I get a prize?”
I laughed. “I just wanted to ask about… what you thought about all of this.”
He shook his head. “It’ll be hard, but I understand why they’re going to try and make it happen.”
I frowned at his tone. “Is something going on?”
His lips twitched and nodded toward the exit. “Come on. We can talk and walk, yeah? Are you hungry? We could go get dinner?”
“Oh, but I came with Stacy.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me!” Stacy said, nudging me. “Just give me a ring when you’re ready to head home if you don’t want him to drive you home.”
“But—”
Stacy waved goodbye and left. David shook his head and offered me his arm.
He ushered me into his SUV and drove us to a restaurant nearby. It didn’t feel like I was underdressed or he was overdressed when we got there. The hostess didn’t blink twice but led us inside. David settled into the booth she’d brought us to.
We didn’t end up talking much about the barrier other than agreeing that we wouldn’t mind helping to test it when they put out the call for it, but that was okay. David ordered something with seafood, and when it came, I gasped.
“What?”
“I was going to ask you… about what happened at Shell Cove, and… well, Triton.”
He glanced away. He looked a little nervous, and I couldn’t understand why. He took a deep breath and met my gaze as the waiter set my steak in front of me.
I took a deep breath. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”
He shook his head. “It’s just… complicated, and maybe better served somewhere a little more isolated. How about an ice cream night cap?”
I blinked. “What does that mean?”
After dinner, we ended up at the pier with twin desserts of chocolate lava cake and ice cream. There was no one else around, so when David put up the barrier around us, we were completely alone.
He took a deep breath. “How much do you know about the Moon Goddess?”
My lips twitched. “Not enough.”
“I think a lot of people would say the same.”
A torch came on in the darkness. The warm glow of the fire danced around, casting warm shadows over us. His expression turned serious as I took another bite of my ice cream.
David sighed, and shook his head. "What happened at Shell Cove wasn't just some random attack. It was a pointed attack."
My heart skipped a beat as I absorbed his words. An attack? But why? I furrowed my brows, trying to make sense of it all.
"An attack? By who?" I asked, my voice trembling with worry. “Who would want to hurt me?”
“I’m almost certain it has something to do with the twin.” He paused. “Whether they know about it or not, I don’t know. But the witch I caught in the water is from a small coven that's associated with the Moon Goddess in a roundabout way. They’ve been on the Council’s list for a long time. This is the first time that they’ve been caught in any significant way though.”
“Well, why attack me?”
“White Moon might have been her seat of power, but Blue Moon is her favorite pack. This coven, the Crescent Moon Coven, holds a grudge against the supernatural community. Words has it that they’re trying to finish her work.”
He looked at me. “And for some reason, they see you as a threat."
I frowned, thinking back to my dreams. “A threat?”
“You know something?”
“It’s just that I’ve been having dreams of the Moon Goddess. She’s… been telling me I have a role to play.” I winced. “That my place is with t-them.”
David went still. His jaw set. “Is that so? Then, it’s likely that they didn’t intent to kill you.”
“Then, why pull me in the water. I-If you hadn’t been there, I would have drowned.”
He reached out to hold my hand reassuringly. "I don't fully understand their motives, but we’ll figure it out.”
He smiled. “I’ll keep you safe; however, I have to.”
My face heated, but I felt at ease. I trusted David.
“Is there anything you can think of that might help? Have you gotten any messages from them? Any other dreams?”
I shook my head. “What should I do?"
David's eyes met mine, his gaze unwavering. "First? Be vigilant. Don’t travel alone if you can help it outside of using a moving ring. You have a general one?”
I nodded.
“Good. Use it.”
I pouted. “I… really liked riding the bus with everyone.”
He smiled. “You still can, especially if you’re going with Duke. There’s always a detail with him.”
I bit my lip. “Duke has dreams too. She tells him basically the same thing.”
He sighed. “Duke is going to drive Blue up a wall at this rate.”
He eyed me. “Did you help him finish all that food?”
I looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. Blue’s already suspicious of him.”
“I’m glad that… people are caring about him.”
David finished his ice cream. “I’m glad I can care for him.”
Our gazes met and I could almost hear what he didn’t say.
I’m glad I can care for you too.
My face heated. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t manage it. His gaze felt so heavy, captivating me. He brushed his fingers across my cheek.
“I should get you home,” he said. “Will you call Stacy to come get you, or should I drive you?”
“I’ll call,” I said, still nervous about him knowing where I was staying. David nodded. He didn’t seem bothered at all. I sent a message to Stacy. She replied that she would send a car to me and we took a seat.
“Duke told me about what happened in your combat class,” he said. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’ll be okay. I’ll… get better.”
He let out a low whistle. “Evil doers beware, Officer Graves is on the case.”
I chuckled and bumped his shoulder before leaning against him and waiting until the car arrived to get me.
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