THE FORGOTTEN LUNA novel Chapter 21

KAEL.

“Do you want to see Adessa, Alpha Kael?” Corrine’s question made me stop walking forward.

“Yes,” I answered a little too fast, and I could see Landon suppressing a chuckle to come out of his throat. I scowled at him, then turned around to face the woman at the counter. “Do you know where she is?”

“I took her home with me because she didn’t have a place to stay. Give me thirty minutes, and I will just leave instructions to Philip, then we can go home. But, Alpha, only if you promise not to force her to come home with you if she doesn’t want to.”

I raised my palms up and nodded my head. “You have my word. My Delta will stay outside the house, so you won’t feel like we’re overpowering you and Adessa. I just want to speak with her.”

She smiled, and we agreed to go with it. Thirty minutes wasn’t that long, but it felt like it was. I was eager to see her again.

Landon and I went outside the shop to wait for Corrine. My Delta pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and asked if I minded if he smoked. I shrugged my shoulders in response. I waited for him to offer one to me, but he didn’t.

“Give me one.” I finally told him.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

My forehead creased as I scoffed. “When did I ever become unsure about smoking?” I reached for the pack of cigarettes he was holding but stopped taking one when he spoke again.

“You quit smoking completely a couple of months after you married Luna Adessa.” He said, puffing his cigarette in the opposite direction. “She hates it. She never told you, but you heard her tell a housemaid it was the one smell she couldn’t tolerate. You even asked me not to smoke around her and make sure I don’t smoke in her car when I drive her around.”

I handed him back the cigarettes. “No wonder I haven’t craved it since I woke up,” I told him.

It was the truth. I never even thought about it and just got curious when I saw him smoking. Dexter didn’t smoke, so I didn’t remember it when I was with him.

If Landon wasn’t lying, it seemed I cared for Adessa a little too much to completely give up something I’d been doing since puberty. Especially since I knew myself—no one could dictate me on what to do if I didn’t want to.

After what felt like an eternity, Corrine was finally ready to leave, and it took a lot of me not to show my excitement.

I was so good at showing a poker face, but deep inside, I couldn’t deny I wanted to see her again and was glad that she was not alone. No wonder Corrine asked about proposals and marriages. She checked if I had someone else or was planning to marry someone.

It seemed Adessa didn’t tell her about Desiree, or she would not be this pleasant with me.

But all the excitement died when we entered her apartment, and no one was around.

Corrine panicked as she searched for her, so I checked, too. Her place was tiny, so there was no room to hide. She was really nowhere.

My heart clenched when we found a note pinned in a small fridge.

*****

Dearest Corrine,

Thank you for taking me in. I will forever be grateful, but it’s time for me to go. I’m fine, and you don’t have to worry about me. Please take care and send my love to Gracie. I will visit you one of these days.

Love, Adessa

*****

“I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t know she would leave. We didn’t talk about it.”

“Maybe she wanted to stay until she could get the ring back, but since she couldn’t, she left,” I spoke, not hiding the animosity in my tone.