Emerald Eyed Luna novel Nina (by Mrs.Smith) novel Chapter 54

Walking out of the bedroom, I was met with a warm, homey feeling hallway. Kelly led the way down a hallway and to the stairs. The carpet was a cream fluffy kind that your toes sunk into and made you want to squish it down like mud. The walls were a darker tan with pictures of who I assume are pack members and family. Different events and parties also found their way across the walls. The stairway was grand but still had a homey feel to it. The kind of feeling that you get when you go into your grandma’s house, and you don’t have to worry about what you touched or if you accidently broke something. You could put your feet on the couch or curl up with a blanket and fall asleep and you wouldn’t get in trouble for it. I loved this feeling. This is how I want my house to feel. Warm and inviting. It took us 2 flights of stairs to get to the main floor and over to the kitchen, which was across the living room. The wooden double doors opened to a huge area. One side was a kitchen and on the other was a larger dining room table. I am guessing this is for informal eating. The wooden table had close to twenty chairs and elegant carved masterpieces that you rested your back on. They were all of trees and different animals. The base of the table was also carved to look like a tree.

Lined up perfectly in the middle with a runner were different foods. Since it was technically almost lunch, there was a spread of sandwiches, salads, pasta, fruit and veggies. They all looked so mouthwatering. I was too busy admiring the spread to notice someone had come into the room with us.

“Feel free to help yourselves!” I heard a woman say

I let out a pretty girly scream, “I am so sorry! You startled me! I was admiring the food!” I laughed.

“Oh goodness child!” She laughed “My name is Rose, I am the packhouse cook. Please let me know if you need anything at all!”

Rose was a plump and petite woman; her hair was probably just as large as her. The grey curl she had going on was impressive. She looked to be in her 70s but still had a lot of life in her. She gave off the impression that you still didn’t want to mess around with her, or you would get it. She reminded me of my grandma.

“Yes ma’am. It all looks amazing!” I said.

“Thank you!” Kelly said and we took our seats and began to eat. I chose a chicken caesar salad and a glass of water. Kelly had a turkey on wheat with a cup of strawberries and water. We ate in silence. Not much we could say out in the open, but we needed to get our head around the council that is coming. I have heard about them but not much really, since I was not considered to be ‘in the need to know’ area.

I finished first and waited till Kelly was done. I ate a smaller portion, but it was still more than yesterday. I do feel pretty proud of myself for that though. Once Kelly got done, we stood and took our plates to the sink.

“Just leave them there, girls, I will get them.” Rose said, without even looking at us. We exchanged looks and shrugged.

“Thank you for lunch, Miss Rose.” I said politely.

“Yes, it was delicious!” Kelly said too. We left the kitchen and began to go up the stairs.

“3rd floor, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think it is somewhere to the north…” Kelly said, letting her voice trail off. I just nodded and we began searching once we hit the third floor. We found two bedrooms and a bathroom before we finally got to the library.

The library was huge! Floor to ceiling with books, ladders on wheels to reach it all. Two separate sitting areas, each with matching cream couches and love seats. The dark carpet matched the walnut wood that framed the books.

“We honestly need books on everything. Your family, the council, the laws, and what it means to be king and queen.” Kelly said, looking grimly. “I have done some research, but I want to see what we can find here also.”

I let my cheeks puff out as I took a deep breath in and breathed it out. “Okay…” She went to the right, and I went to the left. We each skimmed outside and when we found a book that could possibly be something, we placed it on the couch and went back to keep looking. Eventually, we found a dozen books or so each.

“Okay, I am done walking. I am going to start reading.” I said to Kelly. She looked out of breath after climbing the ladder and agreed to start reading.

‘Understanding the Council’ was the first book I opened. I skimmed the words. Basic information like; there are five council members. Each voted on to get their spots. Cannot be removed unless death. Four other council members agree, they step down or commit a heinous crime. Any violations to the laws are submitted through a form and processed. There is a court date and then they judge the person based on any evidence provided. Similar to a human court process, but our punishments are death, imprisonment or being stripped of title if found guilty. The council does not deal in petty crimes. It has to be pretty heinous to get their attention otherwise they will say, deal with it as you see fit. Apparently, each pack has an Alpha, they decide how it is running and punishment to keep people in line. If it is too much, the Alpha can call upon the council to decide or the people can report the alpha if found not following the laws.

Interestingly though, at the end of the book, it said the council was formed when there was nobody to enforce alphas to obey the laws. It was created to have balance and keep the peace. That got my attention. So, after the original family was wiped out, I bet some alphas decided to do whatever they pleased. I do know enough about how packs work that intimidation is a key component.

“Kelly, are the council members from the most powerful packs in the U.S.A?”

Kelly got a very grim look on her face and Reed looked instantly alert. “Well, we were researching like you asked. This book is all on the council. Basic stuff like how it is run and whatnot, but the bad part is how it was formed. After my ancestors were killed, there wasn’t anyone to uphold the laws. The most powerful packs fought who would lead to they decided to create a council and they, together would be in charge of upholding the laws since there was no king and queen left. Assuming a king and queen would come back into power, the council would be demolished, and their power would be stripped…”

Wyatt and Reed were looking at each other like they could read their minds.

“I didn’t even put that together” Reed said.

“I bet someone from the council is behind this” Kelly said.

“Maybe someone from the council is part of the sex trafficking that is going on with the woman,” I said quietly. All three sets of eyes met me. I felt like I said something stupid. “What?”

“You think this is all connected?” Wyatt asked.

“I mean, the council is here to uphold the laws. Packs have been demolished all over the U.S. You mean to tell me that they haven’t investigated or are clueless about this? No, I bet they either know or can’t find any evidence to take the ring down because one of them or more has a hand in the profit. They are the most powerful packs, right? So, who would be able to take them on? Especially since all the smaller packs are being wiped out, no one to gang up on you with.”

“fffuuuuccckkk” Wyatt said. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. I curled up against him and let me comfort me.

“This war got a whole lot bigger. This isn’t about the trafficking of women; this is about taking down the council so we can claim my rightful spot as queen and then end the trafficking. I hope you boys have a lot of friends. We will need them. I have a feeling, after this meeting, the war will not be far off.” I was quiet for a few minutes to let that sink in.

“What else are you not saying?” Wyatt asked.