26. A Word of Warning or I Am The Luna Chapter 104 By Moonlight Muse ZAIA.
âMy patience is gone, and I donât want to resort to any harsh methods, but I will if I have to,â I warn dangerously, my eyes flashing as I look over at Annalise. âWho was the person you talked to back in Atticusâs pack on New Yearâs Eve?â
Itâs the following day and although I did not get any sleep, it didnât stop me from doing whatâs needed. I hate that I had to make Jai work so soon, but I had sent him to Dadâs pack to question the guards and staff around Momâs home.
A postmortem would be carried out to see what injuries she had been dealt and hope we get an idea of when they snuck into Momâs home.
Our homeâ¦
By her final words, it was clear they wanted to know about the Moon Dust. That would be my second goal of the day after this visit to Annalise.
âI donât remember!â She says in an extremely stressed-out voice. âYou do!â I growl, slamming my fist onto the table. She flinches, her heart thumping as she stares at me fearfully.
I know my eyes are as orange as my hair and I know Iâm being harsher than normal, but I have no option. Kindness did not get me far.
âI⦠I donât⦠it⦠Gaspard! It was Gaspard!â
Sheâs still lyingâ¦
I can tell from the way her eyes are darting around the room that she just said his name on impulse.
I sit back. âI know you canât mention the name of the person behind it all as it can affect you and the baby⦠So how about this? I will ask a few questions, Annalise. A yes and no can work⦠Iâm sure that can get us past the magic.â I say thoughtfully, hoping it did.
âThe man you spoke to is the same man you could not mention when you said you were told to pretend you were kidnapped, correct?â
She purses her lips before she looks down, then back at me.
Thatâs a yesâ¦
âDo I know this person? I ask.
Her lips tremble, and her heartbeat races, but she doesnât reply.
âOk, you canât sayâ¦â
She stares stubbornly to the side, stroking her stomach, and I stand up. The moment the baby is born, it will be taken from you and you will serve a proper sentence,â I say coldly as I stand up.
She simply stares off to the side, and I turn about to leave the room when I look back at her. âI met Zade, my brother⦠he killed mother. As for our father⦠heâs missing.â my Iâm terrified⦠terrified that what if Zade has forced him to give him the Alpha title. Maybe something has happened to Dad, and I wonât know because heâs done the same ritual with Zade and that would override the first one-
Stop Zaia.
My heart is thumping and even sheâs tensed at my words, and I know although she is not his biological daughter, she is still his daughter.
âWait, what happened to Dad? Is Mom ok?!â she asks, panicking.
âShe is for now, but the way things are going, everyone is in danger.â I remind her. âWe need the answers, and you need to reevaluate whose side you are on because they will kill anyone who is of no use to them or those who defy them.â
âThey wonât kill me! Iâm carrying a baby! Gaspard wonât let them!â.
âAnd what power does Gaspard hold?â
Her heart skips a beat, and I look at her suspiciously.
âGaspardâ¦â He is from Dadâs pack, and Mom mentioned a boyâ¦
Could it be?
The puzzle contains a thousand pieces and I keep finding more that do not fit. âWhat power does Gaspard hold, Annalise?â I ask, now turning to face her fully.
She remains silent, and my eyes flash.â Answer me if you are not bound by magic!â I say, my alpha command rippling through me.
âHe is important to them!â she shouts, her eyes flashing and her heart thumps as she realises sheâs answered me. So that at least rules out the fact Gaspard was definitely not the one in Atticusâs pack.
âImportant⦠everyone has a purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, everyone becomes collateral.
Just like the Rogue Alpha was.â
âWhat do you mean?â she asks.
âI killed Olivan, and none of his so- called allies came to protect him, and when I find Gaspard⦠he too will suffer the same fate as Olivan, I am done playing nice.â
âYouâve changed⦠What happened to you?â she asks, curiosity and fear in her eyes.
I raise an eyebrow. âI lost my patience. I trusted far too many⦠now itâs time for the Alpha within me to end this. I will give you one final warning, Annalise⦠choose your side carefully because the Sublime will win this.â
With those words I shut the door, not waiting for a reply as I make my way out of her new room in the prison facility. Sheâll be given everything she needs here, but I canât risk not having her in prison.
Iâve already reset the security and call it extreme, but I am the only one who can now access the prison and security. Without my permission, no one leaves.
A move that I know will only put me at further risk, but I canât trust anyone anymoreâ¦
I can still trust my friendsâ¦
But can I?
I hate that Iâm beginning to doubt everyone, but I canât help it.
I go over to my awaiting car and open the driverâs seat.
âPlease get out,â I say.
âMaâam, is everything ok?â
âYes,â I say. âIâm taking the car, and you will not tell anyone.â Once again, the alpha command rolls off my tongue with ease.
âYes, Alpha.â He bows his head and I get in, placing my bag down on the passenger seat and starting the car. I zoom off.
I need to get to Momâs old house, but I need to make sure no one follows. If Zade was in the house that day, there was a high chance he heard what Mom said⦠maybe, maybe notâ¦.
I drive away from pack grounds and when I reach one of the narrow roads I park my car, and quickly pull on a black coat and a blond wig. I step out of the car, continuing the rest of the way on foot. Iâm carrying a large tote bag which holds a gun and a few other supplies.
Under the stairsâ¦
I reach Momâs home, remembering after the rejection how I came here, and she supported me.
I messed upâ¦
With a heavy heart, I look at the windows. The net curtains still hang in the windows and a part of me feels that perhaps I could walk up to that door and knockâ¦
And maybe, maybe sheâll open it and hug me, telling me itâll be okâ¦
I was angry at you Mom⦠but I didnât want you to leaveâ¦
Brushing away a tear, I remain in the shadows. The neighbours around here have always been nosyâ¦
I make my way around the back of the house, keeping hidden as I inch closer to the house.
Once I cross the patio, I know the neighbours canât see me and I quickly get to work on the back door. I manage to break the lock quickly and slip inside, shutting the door quietly behind me.
The sound echoes in the silence despite how quietly I shut it and I look around the dark kitchen. The dust particles that were disturbed by my entry waft through the air and I glance around the kitchen.
It looks the same, just Momâs homely touch is missing.
Sheâs gone.
Sheâll never make me another meal⦠never give me another hug⦠despite her flaws, she was a good mother⦠I just wish I realised that sooner. How many people live with grudges and only when that person is gone do we realise itâs too lateâ¦
Too late to say I love you one final time ⦠too late to hold them for another momentâ¦
The pain of losing her hits me like a freight train and I drop into one of her chairs, resting my elbows on the table. I take a moment to reminisce on the time weâve spent together.
Itâs peacefulâ¦.
After several minutes, I stand up with a heavy heart, shouldering my bag and leave the kitchen, walking over to the closet under the stairs.
Pulling back the lock, I pull open the door. It creaks loudly, and I glance around the hall before I step into the closet. Taking my gun out, I cock the trigger, placing it down gently beside me. No, I donât think anyone is here, but you can never be too carefulâ¦
There are a few boxes and an old raincoat in here. I move the stuff aside. From the layer of dust that covers them, itâs clear they havenât been touched. I then pull up the lino flooring and feel around for the floorboards, hoping one might be looser.
She did say at the back⦠none seem to be loose, and I reach into my bag, taking out one of the screwdrivers I had brought with me and begin prying it loose.
Once I get the first one up, I manage to loosen two more, much easier. Taking out my phone, I shine the light underneath.
Where is it?
I scrabble around, feeling under the floorboards as I begin ripping more up. I cough, trying not to inhale too much dust. Iâve taken apart all the floorboards under the stairs butâ¦
Did I misunderstand her?
I feel and check every corner and niche.
My heart sinks as I realise thereâs nothing here.
A dead endâ¦
Once again, another failure.