The Mates of Monsters
Chapter 32

I lay on the grand bed as I hear the water turn on in the bathroom. David is taking a shower, so I try to busy myself. All of my dresses and other clothes that must be hung up-as Jeremy instilled in my head and left on a note in one of the suitcases have been hung up, and all of my dinner has been eaten. I roll onto my stomach and stare at the door. My eyes shift between the bedroom doors and the bathroom door. Surely this place is safe or else David wouldn't have brought me here, so I step into my shoes and slip out of the suite like Alice adventuring into Wonderland. I walk down the large hall, looking into the beyond as the space seems to open up. There is only one other pair of doors until the branch of the hall is connected to the body of the building; a vast space with elegant, stone stairs whose railings are carved and detailed like ones from Ancient Rome. It's cool to the touch, and I dare travel down them, hearing the satisfying click of my shoes with each step. On the opposite side of the room are identical staircases leading off to other leadership suits, but in the center, at the bottom, there is a fountain. And when I peer up, there is a grand skylight, making me feel as if I am a small rodent scurrying around in a barren greenhouse.

"Brigette?" A voice calls from behind. "Is that you?"

I turn around on the stairs and see Aurora standing at the top, gazing down then quickly meeting me on the midway landing. She promptly gives me a hug. "It's nice to see you again," I say behind her back.

"I wasn't sure if you would be here," she says and pulls away. "But here you are. So, what do you think? The first time I came here, I was well, I wasn't expecting all of this."

"Oh, it's pretty amazing. I mean, everything looks like it's been here since the beginning of time."

"I was told a northern Alpha from long ago had it built, but halfway through its construction, the project was abandoned. A little later, once some of us found the willpower to get along, they completed it and used it as neutral ground-a place to negotiate. I suppose it's still that. Neutral. All leadership here has time and time again agreed to keep it that way."

"So some Alphas here don't get along with others?" I ask.

Aurora smiles. "There's at least one close call each time everyone gathers, especially if both Leloup and Lovegreen are here. Those two can't stand each other."

"Leloup? From France?"

"Of course. Everyone comes here. I supposed we're lucky not having to cross an ocean."

I nod slowly, my eyes following her as she moves around me. "Well, I should get back to—"

"I was just about to meet a fellow Luna who arrived yesterday from Argentina. Would you like to come? It's always good to make friends in a place like this."

I glance back up the steps, thinking about David in the shower, unaware of my wandering. "I-I didn't tell David where—"

"He'll be able to find you," she assures me. "Now come on. There's so much more to see."

Aurora takes my hand and hurries me down the rest of the steps. She guides me and influences me like a Luna mentor, and a part of me doesn't want to lose her friendship. She is my connection to a network of Lunas just like myself, and such relationships would be useful if this is my life now.

We make our way out of the main building, across the dark courtyard, and into the adjacent building. "This where all the food is," she tells me. "Usually I come here for lunch with some other Lunas after the morning meetings. Alpha Nicodra likes to spend a lot of time in the boys club," she says with a sour taste in her mouth.

"The boys club?"

"It's this archaic lounge where the Lunas aren't allowed. Well, the Alphas will tell you that you are welcome to go in, but none of us do. You can see it on their faces that they really want their own special place to smoke cigars and sip whiskey like modern-age developments don't apply here."

"Oh. It doesn't seem like we're missing out on much anyway."

Aurora agrees. "We have our own little place too, you know. No men allowed."

"Really? What do you do there?"

"Smoke cigars and sip whiskey," she jokes, "and we talk, kick up our feet and argue about how much better everything would be if females could hold the Alpha position. Luna's have both boys and girls of Alpha blood, so why is only the male capable of running things? Those sort of things. I think you would enjoy it."

Aurora lights up, and I follow her over to a lone woman sitting at one of the tables in the dining hall. No one else is around except for the three of us. The chairs are heavy and wooden, and I mimic Aurora as she drags out a chair and has a seat. "You're looking well. This is my dear friend Brigette. And Brigette, this is Alpha Godoy's Luna, Bonny."

Bonny's full, dark brows lift. "I see. It's nice to meet you, Brigette. I hope you take no offense in my asking, but which Alpha is yours? I'm always curious."

"Alpha Amin," I answer, nearly blanking on his respectable title. I've grown so used to calling him David, and the only times I ever hear his surname is when people from other packs are around. I'll have to get used to that here.

Bonny looks to Aurora. "You two must make a beautiful pairing," she says, her eyes not lingering for too long.

"Us Luna's get along well here," Aurora says, "but there is a difference between talking to us younger ones and talking to the older Lunas. Most of the older Luna's have their life-long friends in each other, and they aren't very interested in us." "Introduce yourself. Be polite. That's all you really have to do," Bonny takes over, picking up the lesson. "And don't take their coldness too harshly. I'm sure they merely miss the days when they were young and all of this was still exciting." "How many leaderships will be here this time?" I ask.

Aurora shrugs. "Usually there are around twenty, give or take two or three. Mind you, not all Alphas are into the whole cooperation thing. I'm sure there are plenty who refuse to take part."

"We never really know how many packs are out there," I think out loud.

"Bloodlines end more frequently than new packs are found."

The sound of the main doors pushing open grabs Bonny's attention, and she looks across the room. "Someone has come looking for his love," she sighs.

I straighten up and twist my body, peeking over the back of the chair to find David walking over. I turn back to the girls and say, "It was really nice meeting you, Bonny."

"See you tomorrow," Aurora says, showing a faint smirk.

I stand up from my chair and meet David as he waits halfway. I notice his hair is still damp, and I hope I didn't panic him. When I reach him, I'm the first to speak. "I found Aurora," I explain, "and she wanted me to meet Bonny."

He nods to the door, only responding once we're in the privacy of the night. We walk across the courtyard as he says, "You left the room without telling me."

"I know, but I didn't think I was going to go this far or be out this long. I just wanted to see what the rest of the building looked like. I didn't know Aurora was going to show up."

"You know that is not a good excuse."

I grab his arm, hardly using any force. "But we're safe here. It's neutral."

David looks down at me. "Nowhere is truly safe. Nowhere is truly neutral. I need to you listen to what I tell you and not what Aurora or anyone else feeds you, alright?"

"You don't tell me anything. You only tell me what to do."

His shoulders relax. "Okay. You're right. I'll tell you how things work here, and the first thing I'm going to say is that we don't go out alone at night. Nicodra might not care where his Luna is or what she's up to, but I'm not taking that risk. We both stay in past dark." "What about the boys club?"

"Did she tell you about that?" He asks and we begin walking again.

"Do you go there?"

"I used to. Not anymore."

I question, "Because I'm here now? They say women are actually allowed inside, you know."

"You're not going in there," he says. "You don't want to, believe me."

"You know there's a girls club."

He glances at me. "I have been here many times, Brigette, in case you've forgotten."

"I just think it's interesting. There must be so many secrets kept here; this place has seen so many generations."

David's attention is suddenly swiped from me by two figures moving toward us. He pulls me closer as they shape out. An older man and woman-undoubtedly an Alpha and Luna. David and the Alpha walk on opposite sides of the path as each other, and the moment we pass, they exchange nods, the brief and silent hello, with their mates safely held to the outside.

The second we pass, I look back. "Who are they?" I whisper.

"Alpha Papadopoulos and his Luna. They're from Greece."

"Papadopoulos-that's an old pack isn't it?"

David nods. "It is. As is ours. They don't come to many of these gatherings. The Luna has told me before that she would much rather be home with her twelve children." "Twelve? That many?"

"They say it's how the old packs have survived for so long. The Luna's have many children so they never fear the bloodline dying."

I swallow. "How come it is only you, then?"

"My mother had trouble getting pregnant. After she had me, she was told the risk for complications was too high if she tried to have another. My father urged her not to."

"She got lucky with you, then. I'm sure she was scared. That's a lot of pressure to ensure that one of the oldest packs there is doesn't die because of you."

"Is that something you're worried about?" He asks.

I blink out of my thought and breathe in the frigid air. "Me? I guess I haven't really considered it until now."

"I don't want you to feel pressured by anything, especially not now."

With this idea now engraved in my mind, until we reach the doors of our suit, all I can think about is pregnancy and sex and the bed that sits in the center of our room like a stone slab for my own sacrificial ceremony. There is no other option, no other room for me to find refuge; there is one bed and one space where we both must learn to live in each other's lives.

Jeremy was right, this is my ultimate Luna test but in more ways than I originally considered.