MIA

It had been over a week since Lorenzo and I had finally done 'it' and marked each other, and I hadn't stopped thinking about it, missing the sensation of his skin on mine, both of us far too busy to repeat the action.

Lorenzo was getting home late most nights and leaving very early in the morning, attempting to try and locate Ophelia and her witches with Caspian, as well as trying to find my father. However, so far, he was coming up blank.

I had been keeping busy with Lily, renovating the school, feeling upset because it was practically done, meaning that my time helping would soon be over.

I had asked Miss Aldridge if I could visit and help out in the classroom during lessons though, and of course, she accepted my offer with a beaming smile, the kids cheering as well, which warmed my heart. I wanted to spend every day with them, but things were far too hectic at the moment, so that wish had to take a backseat.

When Lily and I would return home, I was reminded of the death of my mother, actually having time to think. I was putting off organising her funeral, Lily having to do most of the work, which I felt awful about.

Lorenzo had offered to plan it, but I knew that he already had his plate full with everything that was going on. He didn't need any more unnecessary stress.

Of course, I had asked if I could be of any help to them with tracking Ophelia, but Lorenzo and Caspian only ushered me away, and I suspected that they thought what they were doing was something I couldn't handle, which frustrated me.

I was a Luna now, and I needed to do Luna things, and that meant keeping the pack safe. I wanted to be just as involved as Lorenzo was, but I knew that was never going to happen.

He wanted to keep me as safe as possible, and dealing with Ophelia was extremely dangerous. He would always put my safety first, and I wondered if he was actually keeping me in the dark about their progress in the Ophelia situation.

I had heard through the grapevine that Lorenzo had been in contact with a few witches, offering them perks in exchange for any information they had on Ophelia's whereabouts, but none of them had much.

It was well known that witches would cut their ties with others that used dark magic, the practise more than just frowned upon in the community. Apparently, Ophelia had left after realising she had no one remaining but her little minions she was teaching.

We were sure she was nearby though, having planted visions in my head, however, it still confused us how she was able to do so when I had never visited the cavern, the location acting as a tether between a wolf and Ophelia. It made no sense as to how she was able to hurt me in the way she did.

Caspian had tried to lighten the mood, joking about how maybe I had witch blood within my bloodline, but that only got him a harsh glare from Lorenzo, and that theory was immediately thrown out of the window.

"Which colour flowers do you think your mother would prefer?" asked Lily as I sighed, shrugging.

"Either," I replied. My mother was dead, and she wasn't going to see the flowers, so why did it even matter?

Lily cleared her throat, setting down the sample bouquets she was holding, shuffling along the couch so she was nearer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you," she said, her voice morose, and I felt guilty that she had to do the majority of the planning just because I was unable to bring myself to do so.

My mind was elsewhere, focusing on finding the witches. I wanted to avenge the death of my mother and keep the pack safe. A funeral could wait.

"She liked yellow," I stated, pointing to the gardenias, wanting to do my best to help Lily get this all done as quickly as possible. Once the funeral was vaguely planned, then we could turn all of our attention to the most important matter at hand.

"Perfect, yellow it is," Lily said, smiling, jotting the information down on her notepad.

I was aware that Lorenzo had told Lily to purchase whatever she deemed necessary for the funeral, money being no issue, but I didn't like how extravagant this was all starting to look, the list of things Lily needed to order becoming multiple pages long, stressing me out.

"Lily, you're the Beta of this pack. Why aren't you helping find Ophelia with Lorenzo and Caspian? Surely that's way more important than this?" I said, shrugging, and Lily frowned.

"I offered because I didn't want you doing this alone, and I'm spending my evenings helping the boys. I can do both," she responded, acting as if all of this work was no big deal, but I could tell by the dark bags under her eyes that she was exhausted.

"As much as I appreciate it, you need to rest," I said, gently taking her notepad from her and setting it down on the coffee table in front of us, causing Lily to scowl. She reached around me in an attempt to grab the notepad back, causing me to shake my head at her.

"Mia, I'm fine."

"Go upstairs and sleep. I'll be fine by myself for a few hours," I said, my tone serious. "I can do the rest for today."

"I really don't-"

"That's an order," I said, and Lily raised her brows at me, surprised by my use of authority, something I had never done before, but, it was for her own good. She was burning herself out and that was going to help nobody. She needed to rest, even if it was just for a little bit.

Lily offered me a small smile, gathering up her things, shaking her head as she laughed. "Yes Luna, but only for a few hours. I have lots to do."

"A few hours is all I'm asking."

I smiled as Lily exited the living room, dragging herself up the stairs towards her bedroom, and I knew that as soon as her head hit the pillow, she would fall straight into a coma-like state. Her body was being pushed to its limit as she survived on practically no sleep, probably extremely grateful for the break.

I wondered if Lorenzo was feeling the same, only really seeing him briefly, and I made a mental note to myself to remind him to get some rest next time I saw him.

Usually, Caspian and him worked in Lorenzo's office upstairs, but they had taken a more hands-on approach, venturing out in an attempt to speak to any witches they could find face to face. They were hoping that their presence would get them the information they were after.

But they weren't having much luck.

I tried to remain as quiet as possible as I crept around the house. I was worried I would drop or bump into something and wake Lily. I knew she was a light sleeper.

Making my way into the kitchen, I pulled out some ingredients from the cupboards, realising that I hadn't actually eaten anything today, my stomach rumbling ferociously because of it.

Lorenzo always ensured I ate, and when he wasn't around and I was stuck with my own negative thoughts, I tended to forget, only remembering once my body practically begged me for food.

I sighed, chopping up some broccoli on the chopping board, a vegetable I had only tried since meeting Lorenzo.

It had quickly become one of my favourites, having always been left to make my own dinners when living with my parents, my cooking abilities dire since I was so young. I always leaned towards tinned food that would take me mere minutes to cook.

I poured oil into a pan, cooking now having become something I really enjoyed, Caspian having taught me a few quick and simple recipes when he had a chance. I enjoyed testing them out, adding my own odd ingredients to make them a little more personal to me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as the front door burst open, and I gasped, spinning around to see Caspian barrelling through the door, sweat dripping from his body, wearing nothing but a pair of blue sport shorts.

"Caspian?" I questioned, noticing how panicked his eyes looked. "What's wrong?"

"It's Lorenzo," he panted, shaking his head, attempting to catch his breath. "He went over the cavern boundary line."

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