Chapter Seventy-three: Revolt

Lukas doesn’t look back and I can feel anger seething off of him. I wonder what’s got him so angry at me. I don’t think he’s as angry as he was when I first met Mandy but he’s sure acting like he is.

He takes me into the pack house and opens the door, allowing me to walk through first. At least his manners haven’t left him.

I step inside and he takes over again, leading me to the meeting room. This particular room is sound proof so I assume that he’s wanting to speak without listening ears.

We get into the room and he slams the door, although not enough to shatter it. He turns to me and I see his face soften slightly, still looking upset however.

“I thought we were going to speak to Emma together?” He asks, sounding more hurt than angry, which makes me flinch slightly. I didn’t think he’d be so upset by my actions.

“I had an opportunity, so I took it. I’ve been thinking on it all morning and couldn’t sleep, so I went and found her.”

He sighs deeply. “Do you know what’s happened since you’ve spoken to her?”

I think back to what I heard earlier and what Emma and I spoke about. But before I get a chance to respond, Lukas looks at me sternly.

“Emma has approached her Father and has said that you have harassed her because she tried to help someone. This is a serious accusation and Elder Irish will probably come and have words. I doubt anything will come off it, but if you go and do something like this alone, shit like this can happen.”

I stand there, dumbfounded. She said I was harassing her, when in reality all I did was ask her a few questions. Surely as Luna that is my right?

I see Lukas staring at me, probably wanting to hear my side of the story, so I tell it. I make sure to mention who I saw in the Café, and the few words exchanged, to which he raised an eyebrow at.

“Perhaps I was wrong to go without you, but I had to know. I’ll remember for next time to make sure to have someone with me, even if you’re unable to make it. But you know what? I’m glad I went. If I wasn’t suspicious before, I am now based on what was said.”

He looks at the floor before looking back at me, placing both of his hands on my face and bringing me forward to kiss my head. “Aliana, please don’t confront these people without me, or at the very least without one of the ranked members. We need witnesses when these things happen, otherwise if you go rouge when investigating it could lead to a revolt.”

I look at him confused. He notices it and answers my confusion. “You’re the packs Luna. You took a vow to keep the pack safe when you became Luna, including following our laws. You need to make sure when you do question someone it’s done the right way, not secretly. If chaos starts at the top, it’s only a downward slope from there. This happened a long time ago, nearly causing an overhaul of our whole system. In fact, it’s possible it’s the cause of the King to fall and instead instate an Alpha and Luna joined with an Elder council instead.”

I frown, not remembering reading about this in the book of pack laws, but I know he’s right about one thing, I should have taken a witness. I’m not able to prove what they said, and it would be their word against mine. I sigh, feeling defeated.

He takes pity on me and brings me in for a hug. “I’m sorry for the dramatics getting here as well. I needed everyone to be sure I was angry at you. I have no doubt something is going on, especially the way Hugo acted the other day. When I get a chance, I’ll direct some of our warriors to keep an eye on him and I’ll have them rotate and send me updates. I’ll also do the same for Emma. Valencia is usually at work so I doubt she’ll be an issue but I suspect they’ll continue to use the Café for their meeting place. I have a few friends who go there daily, so I shall ask they keep an ear out.”

I feel bad for not being patient and waiting for Lukas, as he already has a plan in motion by the time we’re done in the meeting room. I feel more absolute about the plans by the time we leave.

He walks me to the foyer and lifts my chin up and plants a sweet kiss on my lips. “I have to go now, Blaine and Albion are waiting for me. You should go back to training.”

I smile at him. “I will my love. I’ll see you later!” I say and turn whilst waving to him.

I head out the door and turn towards the training grounds, my mind running over everything he had said. Just before I reach the grounds however, I see Elder Irish from the corner of my eye.

I turn and smile at him, however I notice he has a slight sullen look on his face as he heads towards me.

“Hi Luna. I hope you’re well this morning?” He asks courteously, but I can tell he already wants to get this conversation out of the way.

“Hello Elder Irish, I am well thanking you. I hope the same to you?” I ask, feigning innocence.

I can see he’s a bit hesitant, so I decide to initiate the conversation he desperately wants out of the way. “I assume you want to discuss the conversation your daughter and I had this morning?”

He sighs. “Yes, Luna. I’ve heard Alpha Lukas has already….mentioned it but I should repeat that our pack laws state that you should only question those involved in a crime at an adequate time and place, but at the very least bring a witness with you. My daughter……Emma, she can be a handful, I understand. But she’s all I’ve got after my Lorie….my mate died.” I see the grief in his eyes but he straightens his resolve. “She’s told me what has happened and from what I can tell, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You are obviously more than welcome to investigate anything else…..the right way.”

I smile at him, feeling the sadness coming from him reminiscing about his lost mate, which I decide not to pry on. “Thank you Elder. Yes, the Alpha has already had words with me and I apologise I went about it in the wrong way, next time I will remember. I hope your daughter isn’t too traumatised about it.” I add.

He smiles, shaking his head. “No, don’t worry about it Luna. I’ve spoken to her and I suggested that it perhaps slipped your mind. There are a lot of pack laws and it’s a lot to take on if you’re new around here..l..just make sure it goes through the right channels next time.”

I nod my head. “Thank you Elder Irish. I shall head to the training grounds here to catch up with the other she-wolves. Apologies for the inconvenience caused. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!”

He bows slightly and heads back to where he came from. I start to slowly walk to my destination trying to understand the harassment accusation by Emma, and how easy it seemed to have got away with it. I take a mental note to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I also feel sadness when I think about how Elder Irish said Emma was all he had left of his mate, and that he knows she’s a handful. I hope that she’s not got herself into any trouble, for his sake. But I think that may be too late.

I make it to the training grounds and easily pick up with Nuria from where they were. Today was a push day, so I’m secretly glad I’ve missed some of it as today is a day about testing our strength.

We finish up after a few hours, and I pull Nuria to the side and tell her about what’s happened since Lukas pulled me away.

“Hmm….if I wasn’t suspicious before, I definitely am now.” Is the first thing she says when I tell her my earlier conversations. “I would also probably go on the defensive if someone came questioning.”

“What do you think of the revolt stuff Lukas was on about? Seems a bit irrational, don’t you think?”

She gives me a look that says she thinks otherwise. “I don’t doubt it, Wolfie. I’ve seen colonies break out in civil war because of kings and queens, tyrants, leaders, councils even, you name it, just because they took things into their own hands and this made their own people revolt based on their actions. It’s a savage system, but you’ve got to remember, you’re here to keep the peace. If you break that peace, then usually there will be a small amount of people who will go against you and your views. If it starts off small, it can die out, or it can grow, like a fungus. That’s what you don’t want.”

She says it true, and I don’t doubt her past encounters. I just hope that this revolt has not started as a small fire already, thinking about what’s happened and more importantly, changed since I arrived.