Page 30 of Chasing Luna
“Ah! That reminds me, I have yet to hear your name. Do you remember it?”
At this moment, time seems to stop for me and Gregory. I peek at him, trying my best to keep calm and to be as stoic as possible. “It’s Gr—” He coughs and catches himself before he can say anything more. “Grayson.” He sneaks a glance at me and I fight the urge to laugh.
Nice save.
“Very well, Grayson.” She points a long, bony finger at me. “This is Isabela. But she’s not the one you should be worried about.” And then she points at my sister. “This is Katarina, she will be your new Mistress. You are to address her only as ‘Princess, Your Highness, or Mistress.’ You are to assist her in everything she does and do every single thing she says.” My grandmother pauses, taking a sip from her mug before continuing. “For example, if she asks you to bark, you bark, no questions asked. It’s either you agree to these terms or I’ll have my men beat you until it’s ingrained in your memory.” My grandmother folds her hands on her lap and stares at Gregory, daring him to speak up. “Am I understood?”
Both Katarina and I are dumbfounded at the scene unfolding in front of our very eyes. My grandmother appears unaware of the tension in the room, and Gregory doesn’t speak, but keeps his head down the whole time. “But I already have a personal assistant,” Katarina starts; however, one look from our reigning monarch and she’s instantly as quiet as a mouse.
“Then you’ll have two. Make use of this one, however way you want, in the meantime. As a chef, as a sparring partner, or as a maid, I don’t care.” The smile on my grandmother’s face is gentle, but her whole aura is nothing but menacing as she gives Gregory another death stare. “I have yet to hear a reply from you, boy.”
At this, Gregory nods. “Yes, my Queen.” Pleased with his response, my grandmother digs in her plate without another word. Katarina keeps sneaking glances at Gregory, looking cautious and doubtful of his very existence in the dining room. Her eyes flit to mine, pleading for an excuse to leave the room. I give her a small shrug.
Deal with it for now, sis. I can’t help you.
I keep to myself after breakfast, visiting the Omegas and ensuring their needs are met. They’re helping out with the laundry today, and they seem to be getting along well with the others. Tommy, a nine-year-old boy, grabs me by the hand and pulls me down to his level. “What’s up, little man?” I smile at him, ruffling his dark hair a bit.
“Someone wants to talk to you!” he whispers and discreetly hands me a small note. I take it from him and he skips away to join the other kids in separating the wash.
Meet me inside the Omega’s house.
“It must be Vera,” I softly say, tucking in the note in my jean pocket. I separate myself from the crowd and start walking to the small cabin that the Omegas share. I step into the windowless and dark room. “Vera?” I say into the void. I feel a hand creep behind me and grip my mouth shut. “Mph!” I start to protest, gearing into my fighting stance, when the owner of the hand starts talking.
“Shh! It’s me,” a deep voice states.
“Gregory?” My eyes start to adjust and I can slowly make out the silhouette of a man with a muscular body. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I half-yell.
“Not so loud!” He steps closer to me, and I back away on impulse, hitting the wall behind me. “I just wanted to talk to you.”
I wait for him to continue, but he stares at me. “Well? Talk.” I poke at his chest.Damn, he’s like a brick wall.
“Right. I wanted to let you know that what happened at breakfast earlier,” he leans down to my ear, sending shivers down my spine, “was all planned by your sister.”
Chapter Thirty
“We should be more careful from now on,” he declares, hot breath fanning the side of my face softly as he breathes in and out.
“What? How? She looked just as confused as I was…” I trail off, trying to recall the weird morning we all had.
“Well, your sister is quite the actress.” He sighs and pauses for a brief moment, as if trying to find the right words to say. “After you left last night, I woke up to someone… touching me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What did you do to my sister?”
He shakes his head violently. “I didn’t do anything! If anything, she was the one acting suspicious last night. She was beside me, treating my wounds. I asked her where’d she get the first-aid kit, and she said that another person was brought in to dress my injuries, but she told that person to go away so we could have some, uh, alone time.”
I shiver at the thought of my sister and Gregory together. “I’m assuming the person she sent away was… Eliza?” I nod.
He clears his throat and I motion for him to continue. “So, I asked her who she is and what she was doing, and she told me she’s the firstborn princess. And she wanted to ‘save’ me,” Gregory emphasizes the word with air quotes.
“Are you sure you weren’t imagining things? I’ve been told that there are ghosts inside the estate.” I chuckle, attempting to push him away from me, but he doesn’t budge.
“Isabela, I’m serious. Can you please listen?” He gently holds my face, forcing me to focus on nothing but him.
“I am listening, but so far your story sounds ridiculous,” I whisper back. There’s a pause as he tries to gather his thoughts. I inhale gently and get hit with a sweet, irresistible smell.His scent is driving me crazy right now. “Gregory, you need to—” I try to push him away, but his rough hands catch mine and pin them to the wall behind me.
“No, you need to listen.” His face is inches away, and I try to focus on anything else besides his lips. “After putting ointment on me, she said that there’s only one way to help me from getting tortured every single day, and that is if I had ties to the royal family. I asked her what she meant by that, but she ignored me. Instead, she told me to be ready and to trust her.” He visibly gulps. “And true enough, this morning I became her personal assistant. I want to think that maybe I was being delusional yesterday, but after you left, she pulled me into her room. You know what she said right after?” He sighs, letting go of my arms. I shake my head. “She said, ‘You’re welcome, by the way.’ After that, she gave me a list of things to do.” Gregory gulps again, visibly confused. “I need you to be careful, Isabela. I heard about what happened to your other sister, and I know you have no reason to doubt her. But something in me… just doesn’t trust her.” I stare at him incredulously.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Katarina is the only one I have left, and you’re telling me that I should stay away from her?” I almost screech at him. “You’re right, maybe you are delusional.” I try to get away from him, but he blocks my way. “Get out of my way,” I warn.