Six

Martha

I held onto the knife tightly, slicing the apple and putting the pieces in a small container.

Then, I made a sandwich with wheat bread, adding bologna, cheese, tomato, cabbage, and onion, and topped it with an olive on a toothpick. Despite keeping busy with breakfast, I still felt restless. I couldn't distract myself from the Pack's problems, but I didn't want to overwhelm myself with them either.

“Mm…mom, breakfast smells good,” I whipped my head to the side, smiling when I saw my daughter, Star, beaming up at me. “It’s a…lot,” she chuckled and I stared down at the table filled with food. In my effort of productivity, I might have gone overboard and cooked a whole truckload of food for breakfast.

I just shrugged. “It’s fine. If we can’t finish it up, we’ll pack it up, alright? I made your lunch as well,” I assured her and she smiled even wider, before walking up to me and kissing me on the cheek whilst standing on her tiptoes. “You’re the best,”

My heart warmed up at her compliment and I smiled back at her. “Let’s eat, I’ll be dropping you off at school today,”

She frowned. “What about dad? I haven’t seen him lately,” she had a sad look on her face that made my chest clench up. “He’s alright sweetie, he has been really busy with work,” she nodded, giving me a look that said that she wasn’t quite convinced, but thankfully she didn’t say anything, nor did she press further.

It's been a few days since my clash with Lucian, and my deal with Alex has also been fixed.

I've been busier than usual because Delconia, a prestigious high school in the Red Moon Pack, started a new session and my daughter needed to resume her studies.

I could have let the servants take care of her, but that's not my style. She's my only child, and her well-being is my priority.

We continued eating in silence when my phone rang loudly, shattering the peace. I put my fork down on the plate and nearly choked when I saw the caller ID. It was Alex.

Trying to remain calm, I answered the call, not wanting to raise any suspicions from Star about our conversation. "Hello?"

“Martha," his voice rumbled through the phone, sending shivers down my spine. I swallowed hard. "Did I interrupt something?”

“Oh no, no, not at all," I reassured him casually, discreetly glancing at Star, who was watching me curiously. I nonchalantly got up and stepped into the kitchen, leaning against the countertop.

"What's going on?”

“Well, I have some information... about the case you entrusted me with," he said, his voice low as if he didn't want anyone to overhear. Just hearing those words made my heart leap out of my chest.

Finally, after weeks of waiting, I was going to get some answers about what Lucian has been up to.

So why was my heart beating so loudly? Why were my palms sweaty? Why did I feel nauseous all of a sudden?

“Yeah?” I managed to say, my throat dry, yet flooding with bile.

“Yes. But I can’t say it over the phone, for obvious reasons. Plus, I think it’s best for us to talk about it face-to-face. Can we meet up?”

I swallowed back all the bitterness from my throat. “Yeah, sure. I’ll have to drop my daughter at school though, in about thirty minutes. We can meet up after that, right? Same place?” I asked, referring to the café where we seal the deal. It was private enough and better there than here.

“Okay, no problem,” with that, he ended the call and I stood there for a while, with my thumbnail in between my teeth.

Mustering up a fake smile, I stepped back to the dining area, where Star was seated, nibbling on her bacon bits. I ignored the inquisitive stares she was burning into my skull and dug into my egg.

Soon after, she stopped staring and focused on her food.

After we finished eating, a servant came in and helped pack up our plates. “Can you get me my car keys,” I told Star, whilst wiping up my lips with a napkin and she happily skipped away, coming back with a set of keys that jingled at every movement she made.

We soon found ourselves outside, inside my sleek, black Audi. It was one of my favorites out of my collection, even though Lucian was the one who bought it.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel and my feet pressed against the accelerator harder than I had intended, just at the thought of Lucian.

Ever since our little spat a couple of days ago, he made sure to leave the house for a whole week, before coming back home yesterday, and still pulling on a disappearing act before we woke up this morning.

I didn’t have the emotional energy, nor strength to question him on his vanishing habits, frankly because I was just too tired to bring myself to care anymore and also because I had Alex, acting as a PI on his case.

I had my suspicions already, but I needed true facts. Hard, cold evidence to back me up, so that it wouldn’t be as if I was jumping to conclusions.

I also needed closure as well, to know where I stand, which was why I’m banking on Alex to do the job.

Still, that’s what worried me. I didn’t know what to expect from him, I wasn’t sure if he would do such a great job without getting caught or implicating us. It was like I was teetering on the edge of a tightrope. One wrong move and everything crumbles.

The anger in me faded, leaving anxiety and fear left. I was left tense in anticipation, not knowing what to expect as well and it was nerve wracking. I think Star sensed my agitation, judging from the side glances she was giving me all through the ride.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” She finally had the courage to ask me and honestly, I felt conflicted. What do I tell her? That, “Oh, it’s nothing, I just think your father’s cheating on me and I sent someone to go stalk him?”

“It’s nothing, sweetie,” I replied, forcing my lips up, even though it looked strained.

We were finally at the academy though, I was grateful for that. I didn’t want any more interrogation.

“We’re here, darling. Have a good day at school,” leaning in, kissed her cheek, expecting her to take off her seatbelt and hurry off into class, but she didn’t.

“Is it dad? Is that the reason that you’re sad, that he’s not coming home often?” She asked and even though the question was rightfully directed at me, I knew that she was also affected severely by her father’s absence.

They weren’t the closest, however, now she feels a little lonely that he wasn’t around much either.

I sighed, turning off the engine.

There was no way to escape this, so I just had to face it head-on. “Yeah, little miss. It’s your dad. He has been so busy…I’m worried about him, you know? It doesn’t help that he doesn’t tell me much either, but hey, it is what it is,” I smiled slightly, telling her the abridged version of the truth.

She knew just how closed off Lucian could be. There was no need to explain things further.

Luckily she nodded, her eyes shining with sympathy and understanding.

She placed a hand on top of mine. “I get it, mom. Dad must be going through a lot of things right now that he doesn’t want to share with you yet. But don’t worry, he’ll come around soon, okay?” Inhaling in a shaky breath, I pulled my daughter to my chest and hugged her tightly, glad to know that she cares about me deeply, even though what I was telling her was far from the truth.

Blinking back tears, I pulled away from her, undoing her seatbelt on the way. “Alright sweetie, you need to go to class, okay? No skipping. I love you,” I kissed her forehead and waved her off as she stepped out of my car with her school bag on her back.

I watched her till she got into the building, before exhaling and turning the engine on again.

Then I drove out, straight to the café to meet Alex and get rid of these raging thoughts and questions that have been plaguing my mind.

I felt a wave of anticipation and warmth over the initial worry I had as I swerved my car away from the school.

I couldn’t help but notice the silent buzz thrumming under my fingers at the thought of meeting Alex. I know that I should be worried about what Lucian was up to and I should be more focused on that, but could you blame me?

Engaged and married to my husband at 18, I never felt this giddy with sensation; like a teenager about to lose her virginity. It seems like there's this invincible magnet that draws me to Alex, or it could just be his intense eyes.

When I remembered the way he looked at me, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to sleep with me and I couldn’t help but reciprocate the need as well.

After a few minutes, I got to the café that we made the deal in and my body started throbbing with expectation all over again. I couldn’t wait to be pinned down by those piercing blue gaze of his, trapped under his yearning, whether or not we’re going to be talking about Lucian.

I stepped out of the car and locked it, taking long strides inside the restaurant. I didn’t want many people to see me around, I wasn’t in the mood for any pleasantries or company.

The scent of coffee and pastries filled up my nose as soon as I got in and I shivered slightly at the homey feeling I got from the coffee shop.

Instead of just going straight to the familiar booth, I decided to order some coffee. “Good morning, what would you like today— Luna Martha? My apologies, what would you like today, Luna?” The lady, Harriet, from her name tag said, frantically trying to compose herself when she realized that it was me.

I smiled tightly, I didn’t like the sudden formality and stiffness that came with people addressing me.

Most of them are like this, they don’t know me personally and were just assuming qualities about me because of the person Lucian is. Well, it was a small price to pay for having such a self-centered egomaniac alpha as a husband.

I kept a polite smile on my face. I didn’t want to give her any more reason to be scared of me more than she already is. “I would like an espresso, please,”

“Of course! We also serve hot cross buns, croissants and cheesecake as well! Would you like to have something with your drink?” The woman continued on, with her eager to please attitude.

Though I longed to taste a slice of the cheesecake, I declined and went to wait for my coffee. I had taken enough breakfast this morning and Alex was coming here with some heavy news I doubt I would be able to stomach.

A few minutes later, Harriet came to my booth, with my hot, steaming cup of espresso and I thanked her gratefully. I watched her leave and soon I was lost in my thoughts, the ones about Lucian resurfacing back up in my mind, leaving me depressed as I waited for Alex to arrive.