The Hidden Luna

Chapter Twenty-Three

They had been at the books for hours. None of them found anything that would be a possible reference to Scarlett or her mother.

Scarlett let out a tired sigh as she glanced at the clock. It was nearly dinner time and they had been reading since before breakfast. She leaned back in her seat, messaging her temples. "It would be so much easier if my mother would have bothered to tell me the truth."

"Or if my father actually helped her instead of handing her off to a random pack member," Asher added bitterly.

Carter's head snapped upwards, so sudden, Scarlett thought he gave himself whiplash. "What did you say?"

Asher narrowed his eyes. "My father told another pack member to handle Scarlett's mother, that's why he doesn't know anything."

Carter slammed the book shut. "Why would we be looking at books of other packs when she had come here?"

Asher arched a brow. "Because she was running from a member of another pack?"

"Unless Alpha Argent dealt with Delilah directly, any record of assisting her wouldn't be in the library, it would be in the records in the pack office," Carter snapped, uncharacteristically. When he realized his tone, he quickly added, "If the pack member followed protocol, sir."

Asher looked embarrassed he didn't know the protocol outside of being alpha. Scarlett didn't blame him for not knowing, she understood that he was raised with very different expectations than the other members of the pack, plus he didn't want anything to do with the pack until everything with Scarlett started happening, but she could tell it bothered him that he wasn't as in the know as Carter.

Silently, Carter led the group of them to the pack office, which looked significantly different than Mr. Argent's. Instead of lavish leather seats and hearty wooden bookshelves, it consisted of a basic long rectangular table and a few filing cabinets. It reminded Scarlett of the teacher's lounge at her old high school.

Soon, the group of them got to work, reading every file the cabinets possessed. They were organized by last name so they had to read every thing, as Mr. Argent nor the man he had killed knew Scarlett's original last name. She doubted it would be under her seemingly fake one, Thomas. Nonetheless, Scarlett had Asher check just in case with no luck.

Scarlett returned back to her cabinet where she read through the letters A to K. Her eyes felt heavy and her stomach was empty but she was determined to solve this mystery of her parentage.

After a couple of more hours of reading through each file, Lilith was the first to call it a day, her eyes barely able to focus as she said her goodbye. Carter was second, stating he would have a snack, check to make sure everyone was in their place on the perimeter and then he'd return. But Scarlett kept going. Asher came up behind her, his hand resting on the small of her back. "You need some sleep, you might miss something if you're tired."

Scarlett shook her head, her brain feeling like it was moving around in her head as she did so. "I need to know for certain if there is any hint of my mother or father in these files."

Asher began to speak once again but Scarlett tuned him out, her focus landing on a name in front of her.

Hilda Joseph. 

Scarlett looked up at Asher, pointing to the paper. "My grandmother is in this file. It says she's the one who wrote it."

Asher peered over her shoulder, reading over what the file stated. His eyes went wide. "Scarlett, she didn't just write the file about your mother. She's the one who helped her."

Scarlett read the paper over.

Member: Hilda Joseph

Date: October 21, 1999

Assignment: Providing protection to a mother, Heather [original name redacted] and her daughter Scarlett [original name redacted], from her mate, Alpha [redacted] as he proved to be a threat to both Heather and Scarlett.

Course of Action: I provided Ms. Thomas and her child, under the orders of Alpha Argent, full protection of the Argent Pack. New identities, housing, and childcare was provided to Ms. Thomas so she may find a new job as a means to support her and her child. As a precaution, I will be making frequent check-ins to Ms. Thomas's new residence to ensure her and her child's safety.

Cautionary Plan: If Ms. Thomas's mate finds her and her child, the Argent pack will protect the family in question by any means necessary.

The perpetrator is hostile and extremely dangerous.

Scarlett read the paper over and over but did not look up until Asher let out a curse. She faced him, noting the worry in his eyes. "My father is an alpha."

"This just got so much worse, Scar," he said, shaking his head. "If you're the daughter of an alpha, that means he has a whole pack at his disposal to get you back." He glanced down at her, his hazel eyes uncharacteristically dark. "If you're the daughter of an alpha and you're his only child, that means you're an alpha too."

Scarlett, out of instinct, laughed. "I can't be an alpha. I never shifted until I was bit. I wasn't born into this, I'm having a hard enough time adjusting to being the wolfy version of me! How does he expect me to become alpha?"

"I don't know," Asher sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes those with one human parent and one werewolf parent purposely get bit so they can shift. Maybe he was planning on doing that to you so you could become alpha one day and your mother didn't agree with it."

Scarlett wanted to bang her head against the table, wishing she could knock herself into a coma and wouldn't have to deal with this.

Asher kneeled down so he could look Scarlett in the eyes and took her face in his hands. "Your father may have his pack but we have ours. You're not alone, Scar. We will stop this."

Asher said his piece with so much conviction, that Scarlett almost believed him.