A MAZE OF GREED

"And what are the duties of a Luna?" Edwin asked Mr Welby, who was not sure that Ruth could be a capable Luna.

Mr Welby could not decipher if Edwin was angry or upset. But he answered truthfully. "A Luna should be the strongest woman in a pack- both physically and emotionally. She has to take care of every pack member like her children and banish one to turn them in a rouge if they break the rules and discipline of the pack.

She should have control over the pack activities and its administration.

She should be an ideal partner of the alpha both in bed and on-field."

Edwin suppressed a cough that arose due to the last part.

Maintaining a straight face, he asked, "and you think that she is not capapble of loving and taking care of the pack members?"

"You are forgetting about the physical strength part, My Lord. If the prophecy in the Black book comes true then she will need to be capable of fighting shoulder to shoulder with you while taking care of the pack. Is she competent of that?" Mr Welby asked in the same tone that he used at Edwin when he was learning under him.

"Not everyone is born learning everything in the mother's womb, Master Welby. People need to discover their weaknesses, learn them then only they can conquer them."

Mr Welby did not say anything for a minute after that.

"Do you love her, My Lord?" He then asked, catching Edwin by surprise.

Edwin did not know how to answer that. "I... I..." He struggled with the words.

"You should not, My Lord! You should not love her when you know what is written in her fate. That is how the O'Dell men had survived over the the last seven generation after the originator Lord George O'Dell Sr."

Edwin gulped his saliva down the throat while looking at Mr Welby's stoic face. One might think that he had no heart, but Edwin knew better than that. Mr Welby was the kind of person who never let anything come between him and his duties.

Edwin gave him a curt nod. A familiar scent caught his attention, and he paused.

"Mr Welby, Mr Berrycloth the food is served. Everybody is waiting for you." Ruth stepped out and told.

"Sure, Ruth. Lord Edwin and I were about to join you all." Saying that Mr Welby walked inside.

Of course, he knew who the blue-eyed monster was! Ruth rolled her eyes at her stupidness.

Ruth's hazel eyes were strained on Edwin as if searching through his soul. Did she hear their conversation?

"Nice to see you again Miss Moore!" He flashed his wide smile.

This time it did not annoy her. Instead, she looked puzzled. Was he the same man who avoided her like a plague in 'the great manor'?

"I wish I could say the same thing. But I do not know who is the person standing in front of me. Is he Edwin O'Dell or Edwin Berrycloth?"

Her gaze was making him feel so many things that he had not felt before.

"Who do you think he is?" Edwin asked, not breaking their eye contact.

"I do not know! You tell me."

He did not say anything for a couple of moments before walking her way. This time feeling confident outside 'the great manor', Ruth did not back away from him. She stood firmly on her spot till he was right in front of her.

Her shallow breaths were like music to his ears.

"I am the same man whom you once considered repulsive."

Oh, he had to remind her that!

"Do you... still feel the same?" He asked in a lower voice while staring deep into her eyes as if he was afraid of anyone hearing him.

Ruth's lips parted. Her body suddenly became hot, and her palms clammy. "I... I choose to not answer that." She said as lowly as he asked.

"I hope you will soon change your mind and speak your heart out."

His hands itched to palm her face. Looking at her from far away was torture for him that he had to go through every day. But tonight, away from the prying eyes in 'the great manor', he felt liberated with her around him.

The thought of taking her hand in his, to help her get on his wolf and, go on a run through the woods caressed his heart. He took another step towards her, and she held her breath in anticipation of his next move.

"Ruth? Are you coming or not?"

They both were broken from the trance by Thea's singing voice.

She came and saw how close Edwin and Ruth stood. Suppressing a victorious grin, she asked Ruth, "Do you need food or your stomach is already full by the small talk?"

Ruth stepped away from Edwin, realising how Thea might have seen them standing so close to each other. Her cheeks turned red, and she hurried inside without answering. Thea gave a thumbs up to Edwin before following her friend.

Smiling silently, Edwin racked his hand through his toffee brown hair. His wolf moving and complaining inside. This woman was his death! Literally!!!

At the dinner table, it was too chaotic for Edwin's liking. He was not used to people speaking with each other with such enthusiasm. His family life was as mundane as a bare rock in the desert.

The layers of it came to lose with passing time and the harshness of life. Beneath it lay his heart- vulnerable and lonely.

His eyes moved to the woman with hazel eyes, who was smiling ear to ear at something Mrs Green said.

Now that his solemn heart had felt the first drop of the rain after a scorching summer, it had rejoiced with hope- the hope of a new life. And it was clinging on to that hope with a fear of losing it... forever!

Ruth was still shaken from the moment of losing control over her mind and heart when she was with Edwin. She sneaked some glances at him. And every time, he looked so... normal! Like her or the people around her.

He did not look like the man she was getting used to seeing in the four walls of 'the great manor'. He looked different... a good kind of different.

And though the man in 'the great manor' intrigued her, the man in front of her made her feel like drowning in his world. And both the scenarios were equally wrong as per her mind.

And what about her heart?

She just realised that it had skipped a beat when their eyes met- accidentally or intentionally?- she did not know. But it felt so natural as if they were created only to get lost in each other.

A clinking sound broke her staring game with Edwin, and she moved her eyes away from his- unwillingly and with efforts.

Thea struck a spoon on the glass, followed by silence prevailed at the table. Every head turned towards her as she beamed happily, her face looked radiant.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have all of your attention please!"

"Thea, you can just open your mouth and your loud voice would have silenced everyone else." Mrs Green taunted her daughter playfully.

She was surprised, to not get any retortion. Thea ignored her mother's comment as she had something else on her mind.

She cleared her throat then began, "You all must be thinking that this was just a regular dinner plan. But no. This was I and Rees's plan that we were planning since a couple of days." She turned to Rees, who was smiling at her already.

Ruth was confused, and so were the elders.

"What are you talking about Thea?" Mrs Welby asked.

Suddenly Thea was nervous however, her excitement had not fallen from its peak. She felt the encouragement by Rees's hand that covered hers on the table. He gave her an approving nod. The smile on his face did not falter even for a fleeting moment.

"We... we have to share something with you all." Thea said slowly yet confidently.

For some reason, Ruth's eyes snapped to Edwin, who sat comfortably watching Thea and Rees. But the calmness that was present along with pride- she supposed- told her that he knew what was going on, or was he the one behind this conspiracy?

Ruth narrowed her eyes at him. As if sensing her stare, his eyes caught hers. The right corner of his lips lifted up in a smirk.

"We want to get married on the fourth Sunday of this month!" Thea announced in a single breath. Her heart beating excitedly in her chest.

Rees removed his hand to uncover hers to let everyone see the diamond ring that proudly sat on her long finger.

A couple of moments full of silence later, the room erupted again in the chaos that was louder than the previous one.

Mrs Green could not hold back her tears. Mrs Welby freaked over the news that Mr Welby thought her wolf might appear out in joy. Mrs Payne ran her hand over Mrs Green's back to calm her down, yet Thea did not miss how the brim of her eyes was also filled with tears of joy.

They all congratulated the couple. The fathers of the groom and the bride were happy, proud and relieved.

Ruth got emotional as the news came colliding with her heart. The sudden awareness that her best friend was getting married soon was overwhelming yet felt like a dream that was hard to believe.

She was the first one who could not sit back and rushed to her friend. Bending down, she hugged Thea with a bright smile.

"Oh my God, Thea! Congratulations! I... I am so happy for you, my dear friend!"

Edwin sensed how genuine her words were and how happy she was for her friends.

"Am I not getting any best wishes here?"

Ruth smiled hearing Rees's complaining voice.

"Of course, you idiot. Come here!" Ruth embraced Thea with one hand, and her other hand circled around Rees's shoulder. She was too busy congratulating them, to notice the tick of Edwin's jaw.

He always got uncomfortable when Rees and Ruth touched each other. It was not that he did not trust them. He respected their friendship and was happy that she had her back protected by someone whom he trusted.

But his wolf.... he was too possessive to let his mate get touched by another male.