*Zara*
“Is it a wise idea to work right now?” Noah asked in a skeptical tone.
“That would be up to Zara!” Harriet said. “The job is there if you want it, dear.”
I thought this over and muttered, “It won’t be a captive situation, right?” I knew the answer to that, of course, and so kept my tone light. If it had been, I wouldn’t be there and given the choice.
Harriet chuckled. “No, dear. Not at all. That I can promise.”
“Good,” I said with a half-smile. My mate bond with Noah wasn’t working out at all and the Luna Lilies were a bust, but maybe I still had a career.
I’d lose the Luna Lily cultivation soon, after all. It was so much work down the drain, but it couldn’t be helped. The effects of the lilies were likely causing this ss. The priestess’s warnings rang out in my mind.
Since that was the case, the only thing I could do was work on my career. I still wanted to make a life for myself and help make people happy with my powers.
Therefore, I nodded. “I’m well enough now to see what I can do,” I said softly. I felt a bit of nausea from ti to ti, but the Midnight Sun healer had provided herbs to help with that.
I could at least work on my reputation so before heading ho.
With that, Noah reluctantly stopped trying to question whether I should go or not.
***
So Midnight Sun warriors accompanied to the pack. The drive was only ten minutes, which was a relief... not long at all.
I arrived at the Moonlit Song pack, escorted to the pack house to et with Luna Vivian herself, who’d requested to see .
I made my way down so simple hallways and to an office. When I t Luna Vivian, she gave a smile. “Thank you so much for coming here,” she said with relief.
I nodded. Next to her stood a nervous-looking woman. She had ordinary features with straight brown hair and light greyish-blue eyes.
As we went to sit down, her mother said, “Now, Bridgette, maybe we can get sowhere. You don’t have anything going for you in the looks departnt, so this will hopefully help us.”
“I-I hope so, Mother,” the young woman said.
“Your chances of finding a mate are low not only because you’re not twenty-one, but because of that unfortunate detail. If you were more attractive, well, this would be easier. Maybe this matchmaker can make up for that.”
Bridgette winced, and my jaw dropped. Anger surged through at how rude this Luna was toward her daughter. My wolf jolted in protest as well. This was horrible.
No mother should treat her daughter that way.
Fuming, I said, “Excuse , Luna Vivian? I think I should speak to Bridgette alone.”
“What? Why in the world would you want to do that?”
“Because beauty isn’t a prerequisite for finding love,” I explained. “Does Bridgette have confidence issues?”
“Well, yes, she does, which is probably hurting her even further when it cos to finding her a mate.”
My frown deepened, and my disdain toward this Luna was growing. Regardless, I kept my composure and remained very professional.
“A mother should help build her child up rather than tear her down,” I said. “That is likely a huge part of the problem.”
“Are you chastising ?!”
I shook my head. “I am only speaking logically, ma’am. But a large part of why she may be struggling could be because of you.”
“We’re playing the bla ga? But look at her! Just look at her! She’s such an ordinary girl that no heads will turn. It’s why we’re struggling to find her a mate!”
I furrowed my brow and said softly, “I can get more done here with her if I get to know her myself. I suggest thinking this over, though, because it isn’t Bridgette’s fault. I want to help her.”
We locked eyes with one another, and eventually, the Luna conceded. “Fine,” she said bitterly. “I hope your help is worth it. I know what I’m talking about.”
With that, she stood up and stord off, leaving and Bridgette alone. I let out a sigh of relief and shot a sympathetic look over to the poor woman sitting at the table across from .
“I am so sorry your mother treats you that way,” I said softly. I gave her a smile. “Your grey-blue eyes are really striking, and your aura is warm and inviting.”
“Really?” she said in a hesitant tone. Clearly, she hadn’t ever been complinted much before. She rubbed her arm, and said, “Thank you for sticking up for , by the way.”
“You are very welco. But really, I think your hairstyle also sticks out. It’s beautiful how your wavy brown hair falls over your shoulders. Please don’t let her words tear you down.”
“I’ll try,” she said softly, the faintest of smiles touching her lips.
I smiled back and dipped my head. “Now, do you have anyone out there special that you currently have feelings for, or soone you’d like to match you with?”
“I think so... but how does this work?”
“The best way to do this is to get to know you and the person you have your eyes on. My magic has a buildup period. The connection needs to blossom for to see it.”
“Oh, okay. That is fascinating. Well, there is this one guy. His na is Sawyer. I’ve always really admired him from afar.”
I smiled, feeling hope swell within for her. That was a good start.
Plus, things were already going so much better than my experience with the horrible Gray or even Noah. Maybe this could work out.
“Why is that?” I asked.
She chuckled slightly. “He’s a bit plain in the looks departnt, but that doesn’t matter. It’s not sothing I care about. He makes laugh and is very kind.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“Yeah. He’s a chef at a restaurant. He makes really good food.”
“What’s your favorite thing he’s made that you’ve tried?”
“Hmm... I would say he can bake so fruit pastries to perfection.” She licked her lips. “I could go for so of those right now.”
“That sounds delicious. I could too,” I said honestly, grinning from ear to ear.
The woman gave a delighted smile and nodded.
This was going well already, but I couldn’t count on it working out at all just yet. Still, even just the initial progress was sothing rather than nothing.
“You should start getting to know Sawyer better as a friend,” I said, “and see if any mutual attraction develops. Ask him if you can help him cook one day, find out so of his favorite recipes.”
“Alright. That’s a good idea,” she said, though sounded a bit hesitant.
“A bit shy?”
“Yeah, just a bit.”
“I’m confident you can do it,” I said. “I’ll be checking in often, alright?”
She nodded, thanking in a grateful tone. My ti was up for now, and I needed to go back to Midnight Sun to think this over and get so more rest.
Since Moonlit Song was only ten minutes away, I reasoned I could co back tomorrow for lunch and see this Sawyer for myself.
When I returned, I was approached by Noah, who gave a tentative but warm smile. My heart leaped upon seeing him, conflicting emotions bombarding .
I felt so happy to see soone I was truly in love with, yet sad because of this horrible mate bond situation we were going through.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“It went okay. The Luna there is a piece of work.” I rolled my eyes.
“Not the best person there, huh?”
“Nope. She berated her daughter for her looks, saying that was why she didn’t get a mate.”
Noah scowled. “That is a horrible thing to say to one’s daughter.”
I was glad he agreed with there, and it made imagine how good of a father he could be.
Stupid mate bond situation and mory problems.
“What was the okay part, then?”
“Once I sent Luna Vivian away, I was able to talk to the woman. Her na is Bridgette. She has her eye on a gentleman nad Sawyer. She admires him for his personality.”
I smiled warmly at that thought, letting out a soft sigh. I really did hope it worked out for them. Noah nodded, lost in thought on the matter, no doubt.
I wondered if he was trying to piece together his love for my personality, too. He did ntion all the traits he loved about when speaking about how I’d make a wonderful Luna.
It’d touched so much at the ti.
I shoved that thought away. “Tomorrow I’m going to see him for myself.”
“I see. Well, I’d like to go along with you, beautiful.”
I raised a brow, now frowning deeply. Then, I shook my head. “Would you want tagging along on your business trips, Noah?”
His expression told that the answer was most definitely no. I put my arms on my hips, not budging from my stance on this subject.
I didn’t want him to co with . He would be too distracting, not only for , but for everyone involved.
“I don’t see it the sa way, Zara,” he replied. “Not only are we away from my pack and your ho, but you were just kidnapped. You’re also carrying my child.”
“So, it’s being defenseless that’s the problem?”
“Well....”
“Because I can’t work with the young lady if an oversized Alpha is breathing down my neck.”
“I won’t be in the way or doing any such thing.”
“I have my doubts about that,” I replied, shaking my head. I stared him down, not open to his argunt on this one at all.
Eventually, he caved, giving an exasperated sigh and glaring at the ground. “Fine,” he mumbled. “But I’m sending an escort with you and the driver to the pack.”
“That’s reasonable, and I can agree to that.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded, and with that, turned in for the night.
The next day, as promised, there were a few Drogomor warriors with when I arrived at Moonlit Song. I was scowled at by Luna Vivian before being sent to the pack’s healer.
I wondered what was going on.
“Bridgette needed to go lay down,” the healer said. “She currently isn’t feeling well, but you can go check on her if you’d like.”
“Yes, please.”
“Her room is here, then. You can go see if she’s willing to speak with you.”
I wandered down the halls until I got to her room, knocking on the door politely and saying, “Bridgette? It’s Zara. I wanted to co check on you.”
I told the warriors to wait outside as I walked in to speak with her. She was lying there on her bed and gave a faint smile.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Bridgette,” I said. “What’s wrong? You seed alright when we spoke yesterday.”
“Oh... well. I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m just, er, very anxious about trying to figure out if Sawyer is right for . I’m... not feeling that great. What if he doesn’t.... I don’t know if I can put myself out there. Do you know what I an?”
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