Blackshadow (Kingdom of Wolves #2)

“Thank you, Nessie, that will be splendid. Can you arrange for anyone that is interested to meet in the office that was Zoella’s around three this afternoon?”

“Yes, I’ll do that, Luna Hope.”

Walking away, I turn when Nessie speaks again. “You could hold the meetings in the Luna’s House.”

“Luna’s House?” I question.

“Yes. The last Luna had her own house, as she didn’t want to be around her mate. She lived there and had her friends visit her there. It’s not been used in a long time, but we could clean it and use it for meetings, and the like. Unless you’d rather use the office next to Alpha Connell’s office?”

“Leave it with me and I’ll think about it.” I need to speak to Connell about this Luna House, and what’s going to happen to it.

Standing at the edge of the kitchen garden, I watch Silas and Chester discuss the vegetable planting area and see a woman I’ve not met before, and boy, does she look sour.

Antica is singing under her breath and pulling weeds in the area where she is working. She looks happy and I can’t help but feel warmth at the sight. We all needed to belong, feel safe and loved.

“Luna Hope.” I turn and smile at Silas who is walking towards me, covered in dirt, but has a sense of peace around him. “We have everything ready to plant out the herbs tomorrow. This area,” pointing where I’d told him would be a suitable position for the herb garden, “will be planted first thing. I’ve seeds sown in the potting shed, so we hope they all will grow without too many failures. Oh, there’s also a cabin on pack land that has a lovely established herb garden. It’s not being used as residence anymore so I’ve sent Chester to dig it up and transfer all those lovely plants into here, as well.”

Any gardener knows not every seed will grow, but these seeds have been carefully saved by me and I’ve never had many failures, so I am excited to see what Silas’ success rate will be. Transplanting some established plants will be beneficial too, I’m sure.

“That is good, Silas. Thank you for placing the herb garden here. It’s perfect and close for the kitchen staff to come out and pick what they need.”

“We have the area in the orchard dug over, and what you have brought, we have planted. Now we just have to wait and see if they like the earth and will grow fruitfully.” Silas frowns a little, but it’s one you always see on a gardener’s face when they want things to flourish but know they may not.

“Are Chester and Antica settled in helping you, Silas?” I ask and give him my full attention.

“They are both settled well, and quickly. They take instruction well, and will learn, and do whatever is needed. I’m thrilled to have them here with me. I retired for a while and missed the garden and the work, but it was too much for me on my own. Now I have helpers. It’s again a joy.” He looks at the sour faced woman, then mumbles, “well, it would be if she wasn’t in the garden.”

“What’s that?” I ask, but Silas shakes his head quickly, responding to my question.

“Nothing Luna Hope. Do you want to come and see the medicinal area?”

That is how I spend the next hour, walking around the garden and orchard. I discuss plants, herbs, bushes and the fruit trees with Silas. He’s a great male to speak with, and he is very knowledgeable.

“So, tell me, Silas, why is that woman so sour looking?” I can’t help but ask as I’m about to take my leave of the garden.

“That is Dahlia. She used to oversee the kitchen and housekeeping staff. But she was born with a sour face, and she’ll more than likely die with it. She was, and would be, quick to order everyone else around but do nothing herself. Now she’s got to work, and I make sure she does her share. Nobody in the garden will do less than others. They all do what they are told, but she does it with a sour face. The rest of us do it because we love doing it and being outside in the fresh air.”

I’m sure there is a story about why Dahlia is no longer in the kitchen, but I’m not going to ask. It seems as Luna I have a lot of things to do and monitor, so her miserable self is not going to be important to me.

I walk around to the front of the packhouse and notice the signs that once there used to be something growing up the walls but it has been removed. That is a good move by whoever chose to do that, because it would have been easy to climb and enter the packhouse through any window.

Stepping over to what looks like a circle, something used to be here but has been removed. It had to have been here a long time as the grooves around whatever it was needed to be filled in completely, and maybe place grass seeds on, see if it will grow over.

Hearing a bellow, I look up and see Swift and Noah. They are fighting on the lawn, and Swift is kicking his butt by the looks of it. Walking closer, I take them by surprise when I speak.

“Swift. Stop kicking his butt. If you are helping him improve his fighting style, then do it in a training type of way. Stop being a bully.” I scowl at her, because I’ve seen her teaching some rogues to learn to fight, and she wasn’t teaching them how she is supposed to be teaching Noah.

“Noah, I’m going to speak to Chief Oscar. If you need your fighting style improved, then as the chief trainer he needs to be doing it, or overseeing it. Swift, I will speak to him about you being trialed for a warrior position, and in the meantime, you leave Noah alone. No more fighting at all, for any reason.” I say this as firmly as I can, and I’ve said all this quickly so neither of them can speak before me.

“Yes, Luna Hope,” Noah respectfully replies and tips his head to the side, showing me his neck.

“Okay, Hope,” Swift starts to speak but is interrupted when we hear a snarl.

“You will speak to your Luna with the utmost respect or you will answer to Alpha Connell.” Walim stares hard at Swift. Now he is the second Beta of the pack, he has a beta aura flowing from him.

“Yes, Beta Walim. I apologize Luna Hope,” Swift says, tipping her head. But gives me a wink when her back is turned to Walim and Noah.

“Swift, you will report to the Luna office at three this afternoon as you are helping arrange the mating ball,” I hold my palm out to quieten her before she blusters, “No excuses. You will report at three, or you will be reprimanded and refused training.”