The Beginning of the Puzzle
As Lux stepped onto the porch panting, he shifted into Pierce breathing heavily from the run. His best friend and Beta, Maxim, was waiting for him with clothes for him to put on. He nodded his thanks and quickly dressed. There weren’t many people that Maxim had to look up to, but Pierce was one of them. With him at 6’1” and Pierce at 6’3”, both stacked like tree trunks and dark brooding eyes, they were quite an intimidating pair.
“Alright Max. What is so important?”
“You found her, didn’t you?”
Pierce fixed his shirt and looked at Max suspiciously. “I found who, Max?”
He blinked and stayed silent for a moment. “Your mate, of course. You found her. Is that what happened?”
Pierce knew he was holding back something, but unfortunately, he knew this wasn’t the time to get into it. “What is so important?” He asked again.
“We received two messages this time.”
“Two?”
“Yes, one addressed to the Alpha, and one addressed to the Luna.”
“That’s crazy. I don’t have a Luna! What do they say?”
Maxim stayed quiet for a moment then responded, “I didn’t… well, I couldn’t… the letters won’t open.”
“Right. Magic and all. Where are they?”
Maxim nodded towards Pierces office.
“Where were they found?”
“Same place as always, Alpha. The table in the foyer.”
“And again, no one was seen coming in or out?”
“Nope. Not a soul. Even the guards on duty sniffed around and didn’t pick up anything unusual.”
“Just like the last four times.”
“Yes.” Maxim nodded.
“Well, fuck.”
“If only we still had the first letter…”
“Shut up, Max.” Pierce burned the first letter after skimming its contents. He thought it was an invitation and didn’t want to read any more of it. When the third letter came and he read the reference to the first letter, he regretted his actions. He definitely didn’t need Max reminding him of his stupidity.
Once they got into Pierce’s office, Max pointed to his desk and he went over to retrieve the letters. He tried to open his, but it wouldn’t budge. He looked at Max and he pointed to the letter. As he looked down, he saw gold letters forming on the back. They read: You must open them together.
“Well, this is ridiculous. I don’t even know if the lady in the forest is my mate, and I’m certainly not going to just spring this on her.” He sat in his chair and Max took a seat on a leather burgundy couch against the wall in front of Pierce’s desk.
“So, you did meet her.”
“I didn’t meet her. I found a woman, and I didn’t get to speak to her. This,” He slammed the letter down on his desk, “this could have waited.”
“You wanted to be alerted when another letter came.”
“I did.” None of the letters hinted at war, or backlash of any kind. They were simply eerie.
“Do you remember anything at all about the first letter?”
“It said something about a grandfather clock and the Great Purple Rose Ball…err hall rather. That’s all I remember.”
Maxim stood up and started pacing on the forest green Persian rug that hid the cherry wood floor. His entire office, that used to be his father’s, was entirely done in dark cherry wood with forest green accents. He smiled as he remembered how much she hated how dark the office was. Then remembering his company, stopped smiling. He looked at Pierce. Luckily, he didn’t notice. He wondered if these letters had anything to do with her.
“Pierce, where are the letters?”
“Here on my desk somewhere.” He started rummaging through the piles of letters and paperwork on his desk.
“I thought you put them somewhere for safekeeping so you wouldn't lose them.”
“Well, why don't you just tell me where that is so that I can find them.”
Just as Maxim was going to respond, an old gray-haired lady opened the door while knocking and announced that lunch was ready. The two gentlemen thanked her and got up to go to the dining hall. They knew that if they were late for lunch, Mrs. Periwinkle would give them a stern talking to. She was the only one in the pack who was allowed to speak to the alpha sternly.
“Do you think she is your Luna?”
“I barely saw her through a window. I have no idea.” But he knew. It was her. Both he and Lux knew the first moment he saw her.
The chatter coming from everyone was heard down the hall, but As Pierce and Maxim walked into the dining hall the loud chatter turned into hushed whispers. Pierce had gotten used to it by now. He nodded to everyone, letting them know to carry on with their conversations.
As lunch was served and everyone was eating, the conversations around them evened out. Max felt the pressure lift from the room and felt more at ease.
“Alpha, do you think it’s her?”
“I already told you I don’t know.”
“No Pierce, her.” He hushed his voice.
“Oh. The thought crossed my mind. I doubt it though. I feel two completely different things with them. My dreams… they haunt me. Seeing her face is painful and sad. But the girl I saw today… She was…”
“Hello boys.” A tall slinky blonde walked up to the table. “Mind if I sit?”
“Hey Rebekah, no, but we’re getting ready to leave.” Max stood up and grabbed his plate.
“Wait, what?” Pierce stayed sitting.
“Yeah, we need to go work on stuff in your office. We’ll take our plates.”
“Do you need any help?” Rebekah asked hopeful.
“No thanks. We’re good.”
“I still don’t understand why I need to stay away from her.” Pierce said as they walked down the hall to his office.
“Just stay away from her.”
“But she’s fun.”
“No, Pierce. As a friend. No.”
That night, Rebekah found her way to his bed, and he didn’t say no. And the beguiling woman in the cottage in the woods was in agonizing pain all night. But for Pierce, it was a temporary moment of pleasure and break from the mysterious woman’s haunting face.
