The Hidden Luna

Chapter Twenty-Two

Scarlett hardly slept that night. She was too angry. Eventually, she did fade into somewhat of a slumber, however, it didn't last long.

Accepting the fact she wasn't going to sleep, she got dressed while Asher slept in. She supposed she could wake him up but she thought he could use the sleep.

She didn't go to the pack library often, she loved to read plays, yes, but books weren't really her thing. However, maybe she could find something useful. She opened the door and saw Carter sitting at the center table, his brows tightly knitted together as he read his book. Lilith sat next to him, she looked bored, clearly not interested in what she was reading. Carter looked up from his book and adjusted his glasses that were slipping off his nose and told Lilith some sort of fact he had been reading. "Apparently Polish soldiers adopted a bear and named him Wojtek. He help handle the ammunition."

Lilith looked at him with disbelief, when she realized he wasn't kidding as she read the passage he pointed to, she shook her head as she laughed. "Humans are nuts."

Carter let out an amused breath but slammed the book shut when he noticed Scarlett standing at the entrance. Lilith straightened her back, any trace of a laugh gone.

Scarlett pointed to the books. "Is there any books in here about the packs in North America?"

Carter nodded his head eagerly, scrambling from his spot and led Scarlett through the library. When they reached a small section in the south corner, he opened his arms wide. "This is what we have. Most of them are just records of packs ours have worked with or interacted with. Most packs stick to their own, so it's likely we don't have every one on record." He turned to Scarlett, a blond curl falling onto his forehead. "Why?"

"It's seems--" Scarlett licked her lips. "--that my father was a member of a pack and my mother changed both of our names so he couldn't find us."

Carter, although he seemed to not understand social ques from time to time, understood this really upset Scarlett. However, instead of comforting her, he continued to explain the contents of the books. "Well, if he is a member of the packs we've encountered, we will find him. Do you have a name?"

Scarlett shook her head. "All I know is they were married and my mother's name was Delilah and mine was originally Daisy."

Carter nodded, a look of determination settled on his features. "If your parents had a marking ceremony or if your mother had you in their pack house, there should be a record of it. Every pack takes meticulous notes of each member and their family." He looked at Scarlett and nodded once again. "Rest assured, we will find him."

###

An hour later, Scarlett, Carter, and Lilith sat together at the table, stacks of pack records surrounding them. Lilith shook her head as she discarded another journal. "No Daisy or Delilah's in this journal. Maybe the pack didn't include your mother because she was human. Some packs don't count humans as members."

Carter took his chin in his hand, deep in thought. "I suppose that's possible but they would have mention Scarlett--" he stopped himself. "--Daisy. They would have considered her a member until at least fourteen, keeping that status depending on whether she would shift or not."

Scarlett leaned on the table, her hands holding either side of her forehead. "Even if my father does have something to do with what is going on, why would he kill everyone I was close to? What's his motive?"

"He likely sees you as a possession," Carter said simply, with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lilith patted his hand and shot Scarlett a sympathic look. "What he means is, some werewolves feel an intense loyalty, borderline maddening, loyalty toward their family. If your mother left him with you, he may feel the need to get you back, whether you like it or not."

Scarlett cringed inwardly. The thought of anyone, not just her father, being that extreme in their loyalty to the point of murder, sickened her. The thought of Asher possibly being like that made her even more sick.

Lilith must have picked up on Scarlett's weariness because she continued. "This type of thing is very rare. Most of the time where the rare cases of these type of werewolves arise, it's because they are from one the less... progressive packs. Seeing their mate as property, their children as property. Male werewolves can really be pieces of work."

Scarlett looked down at the book in front of her, which was essentially a guest book, really. It possessed names of werewolves who crossed paths with the Argent pack, staying with them while they were traveling. Scarlett doubted there would be a record of her mother. Not only was she human, but she didn't actually stay at the pack house, she only went to Mr. Argent for help and she was sent on her way.

Pulling her from her doubt and frustration, Asher entered the library. He looked at the group of them buried by ledgers, journals, and other books. He cocked an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

Carter pushed up his glasses with the tip of his index finger. Scarlett noticed he did that often when he would lose focus. "Trying to see if there is any record of Scarlett's mother in the pack books."

"I take it it's not going well?" He asked, though it was said more as a statement. His lips in a thin line as he sat beside Scarlett, peering over her shoulder to see what she was reading.

Lilith pushed a pile over to Asher. "You can take over this pile," she pointed to the carelessly discarded books on the floor. "That is the useless pile."

Asher looked at the mountain of books, looking quite intimidated. When he noticed the rest of them had their own piles just as large, he nodded his head, picking up the leather bound book on the top of pile and began to read.