She walked back in to the house with a sense of purpose. Traven and his parents were still talking. She couldn't wait until they could all see each other again. She had to hold on to that hope. She knew in her heart that this was her home, but her soul belonged with Traven.
"Well, I should probably get off the phone, before it gets stuck to my ear. Remember when you were a pup and you heard me tell your mother the phone was going to get stuck to her ear? Yeah, I know. You wouldn't answer the phone for six months before you finally told us why! I know, it must have been very traumatic. Hey, if you need therapy we will pay for it! Okay. Bless that Alpha Jacob. I always did like that guy." William said.
Lucky was cracking up listening to their conversation on one side. She motioned for him to hand her the phone when they were done with goodbyes.
He handed her the phone, and she smiled, noticing the way immediately went to Sophie, holding her close, both of them overcome with emotion. They drew strength from one another. She could see why her mate was so amazing. He had good examples to follow.
"Hey darling," he said. "How is it going?"
"Honestly I'm pretty overwhelmed," Lucky told him. I think I might be able to talk some sense into my father if I can talk to him alone, without that Luna Gina around. Something is way off about her. Nyah hates her. Remember what the Moon Goddess said about trusting my wolf?"
"Be careful," he said. "If anyone finds out you are my mate I don't know what they would do, if they still believe I killed Neveah." Lucky had a feeling not many pack members here believed he had killed Neveah. She didn't want to arouse suspicion by asking too many questions, but if she did, she was almost certain her feeling would be proven true.
"Speaking of Neveah, I had a message from the Moon Goddess, and I need to go find her room. Do you know which room was hers?" She doubted he knew, but she was hoping to keep her investigation on the down low and avoid asking anyone.
"It should be on the top floor where the Alpha stays. Exactly which one I am not sure." Traven sounded concerned. "Be careful, Lucky. I don't want anything to happen to you. You are my everything."
"Nothing bad will happen to me, I'm not going to do anything wrong." She explained what the Moon Goddess had told her. "I will just ask my father if I can see my sister's room. I am curious about her since I never got to know her."
"Well, it's a start. I hate to bring this up now, but Alpha Jacob said he has spoken with agents all across the country, and has made some progress coordinating a takedown of human trafficking networks. They want to do it maybe a month from now. They are in the process of getting approval from the people who need to know about it, like the President. It sounds like this is going to be a top secret mission. I don't know how I feel about the whole thing." Actually he hated the idea of Lucky being abducted, even if it was all planned out. Too many things could go wrong. It was a brilliant strategy, and he would support whatever decision she made. That didn't mean he had to like it.
"Ugh. I almost forgot about that," Lucky groaned. After escaping that hell, the last thing she wanted to do was go back.
"I will be helping you and so will Alpha Jacob and a bunch of other really good people. I am learning that not all humans are Neanderthals." Traven hadn't met many humans before running away from the pack.
Midnight Moon stayed well hidden from the outside world. The mountain town was so remote that it had never been discovered and turned in to a tourist attraction like other quaint, picturesque towns in the area. He had heard that it was protected by some kind of magic, though he wasn't sure if that was true or just a story.
"Don't forget, I was raised by humans." Lucky reminded him.
"That explains so much," he said, like he had just had a "eureka" moment. She laughed, looking down at her foot to find a little black puppy sniffing her shoe.
"You are a goofball," she told Traven. "And obviously raised by wolves."
"I guess you got me there. I've been training with the warriors. It's going a lot better than I thought it would. " Traven sounded proud. Lucky was happy that her mate had left behind the lonely life he was forced to live for so long. They chattted for another minute before deciding to end the call.
"Goodnight, I love you," they
said at the same time. How could he be so perfect? She put her phone in her back pocket, ready to go find some answers.
"Sophie, do you think you could watch her while I go to the Pack House?" She asked, holding the puppy out towards Sophie, whose eyes lit up as she took her from Lucky.
Lucky worried that having a puppy with her might prevent her from being stealthy if the need arose, and she didn't want to leave her alone in her room, she would probably be scared and cry.
"Of course," she said, "I would love to." Lucky hugged them both. She felt more at home with them than she had in a long time.
On her walk to the Pack House, Lucky took in the scenery. This place looked like it belonged on the cover page of a travel blog fearuring cozy mountain getaways. The moonlight, even brighter because of her enhanced vision, surrounded everything in an ethereal glow. The pine trees towered above the log cabin style homes. The smoke rising out of the chimneys, escaping into the night, gave the town a surreal quality. She felt like she had stepped in to a painting. She loved this place. She was determined to find a way to make it home.
Her pace quickened. She was nearly to the Pack House when she heard a rustle of something and a twig snap behind her. She smelled something unpleasant, an acrid, pungent smell almost like cat urine. She didn't know what the smell was, but she instinctively knew it was trouble.
She spun around, her eyes scanning all directions for anything moving, and swore she heard someone curse. A minute later she heard the same rustling sound, only it seemed to be moving away. She couldn't smell whatever it was anymore, but the scent stuck to her memory like superglue.
She practically ran the rest of the way to the Pack House, where she threw the doors open and rushed inside. She ran right to the Alpha's office and banged on the door. A few seconds later, a confused Liam opened the door. "Lucky!" He exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"I am, but there was something outside following me. It smelled like cat pee and I think it ran away when it realized I had detected it." She followed her father into his office, taking the seat across from his desk.
"That would be a rogue," Liam explained, looking concerned. "A werewolf who is cast out of the pack for criminal behavior, although some choose to live on their own. Rogues are almost always bad news."
"Whatever it was, I don't think it had good intentions," she told him.
"I will set up extra patrols around the Pack House." He appeared to mind link with someone, nodding a moment later. "They are checking the area."
"Good. I would hate for anything to happen here. I really like it here and wish I could stay," she blurted out, feeling foolish.
"Of course you can stay, you are my daughter, Lucky," her father told her. "I'm sorry we didn't know about each other before. I want to make that up to you."
She wanted to believe it, to believe everything would just fall in to place so easily. But she couldn't forget that this was the same Alpha who had accused and convicted her mate of murder without any solid evidence. She felt torn in two, and it was driving her nuts.
"Can I see my sister's room?" She asked. "I would like to see what I can learn about her from it, since we never did get to meet." He didn't have to know she was on a mission.
Liam looked surprised by her request but he didn't object. "Of course. It is the one next to the Alpha suite, which is behind the double doors at the end of the hallway. The one on the right as you face the double doors."
Lucky blinked. She hadn't expected it to be that easy. She decided to press a little further. "What happened to her, Dad?" She almost whispered.
"Anymore I honestly don't know," he said, his voice full of remorse. "I was so sure I knew four years ago but since then I have realized I might have jumped to conclusions too quickly." He let out a heavy sigh. "That is my burden to bear."
"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, hope flooding her heart. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all. "You know, admitting you were wrong about something shows more strength than weakness, in my opinion." With that she turned and quickly left the room, hoping it would get him thinking.
She made her way to the floor where she would find her sister's room. She kept her footsteps light and moved with care, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. Her hand clasped the door knob and gently turned it, slowly pushing the door open. She slipped in to the room, carefully closing the door behind her. Her hands searched the nearby wall for a light switch, relieved to find it. The room filled with soft light, revealing a room similar to the one she was in, other than the clothes and towels strewn about and the personal belongings on the dresser. The room felt like it had been waiting for her sister to return, and an eerie feeling crept through her senses. She felt an overwhelming presence here, but she wasn't afraid. Her sister's spirit seemed to linger here, and the air around her seemed to caress her skin, welcoming, inviting.
She recalled the Moon Goddess's cryptic words. Beneath her feet where no feet have walked. She looked under the bed and found nothing. In the closet, she found a lot of nice clothes, admiring her sister's excellent taste. She must have loved shoes, she certainly had a lot of them! She couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. She was about to give up when she heard something like a whisper to her right.
The sound drew her eyes to the floor beneath the night stand. Her heart skipped a beat, and she tiptoed across the floor and bent down to look closer.
One of the rugs was pulled slightly off center, and the wood floor beneath one of the edges looked slightly different than the rest. Moving the rug aside, she saw a small trap door. She took a deep breath as she opened it.
Sitting there, looking like it had been untouched for years, was a leather bound book with the word "Diary" on the front cover.