The Alpha's Stolen Luna - Chapter 136: Chapter 136

: Sutton
I decided to focus my attention on the garden venue until Soloman returned. I was already feeling guilty that I kept being pulled away from the project so much as it was. The least I could do was give it my full commitment when I was able to. Besides, we were getting close to finishing the fountain restoration and I really wanted to be a part of that. So did Lucas.
We were installing the new central basins today and Lucas offered to help. I wasn’t about to turn him down. This restoration meant as much to him as it did to me. Plus, this would be one of our biggest tasks so far. The stone basins weighed a ton and had to be installed precisely. Otherwise, we would have leaks and other issues that would cause problems down the line.
I was disappointed that we couldn’t salvage the original basins well enough to get the fountain functional again. But we were lucky to find an artisan in a town not far out of Thorncrest who did an amazing job replicating them. The foundation structure and base were authentic at least and that was enough. We would incorporate the pieces into the landscape wherever we could.
With the fountain now surrounded by scaffolding, I watched as a crane lifted the heavy stone bowl over the central point. Lucas was in the empty fountain with two other crew members to help guide it down onto the new plumbing that had already been added. It was a slow and nerve-wracking experience, but exciting as well.
I watched as Lucas helped stabilize the piece as Tanjie and her assistant secured the base with a cementing compound. After a few minutes, they moved back. Lucas and the others released their hold. When the structure didn’t move, they removed the straps that were attached to the crane arm. Once the last one was removed, the crowd of workers surrounding the scene burst into cheers and applause.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. We still had one more piece to put on, but I still felt so much pride seeing what we had already accomplished.
“Congratulations, Luna.”
I jumped in surprise at hearing a voice come up right beside me suddenly. I turned to see Soloman standing right next me, joining in on the applause.
“Soloman,” I said in surprise. “It’s good to see you. We weren’t sure when you were going to make it back.”
“I managed to slip away sooner than I had expected,” he said with a grin. “The fountain is going to be spectacular, Luna. You’ve really done the pack a service.”
“Thank you, Soloman,” I replied, noticing him looking at the structure with a surprising fondness.
“It’s good to see this place come back to life.” he stated. “This means more to me then you probably realize, as well.”
“How so?” I asked.
“The Alpha Baron is my ancestor.”
My head snapped to him in shock. “I had no idea… I thought you weren’t an actual member of the pack. Does that mean you and Alpha Morgan were…”
Soloman sighed. “No, we aren’t related,” he confirmed. “The Alpha Baron that founded the Ironpaw Pack — the same one that built your fountain there — and his mate had many pups. I believe twelve was the final count agreed upon in the records.”
“Twelve children?” I choked.
Soloman chuckled. “Yes, multiple births were far more common in those days,” he said. “But only one can be Alpha. The family ruled the Ironpaws for several generations until the packs called for the formation of the Royal Council. When the king finally conceded it was under the stipulation that all current Alphas relinquish their power in order to sit on the Council. Whichever descendant of the Alpha Baron — Alpha Godrick, I believe — at that time gave the role to his Beta rather than keeping the title in the family. It’s unclear why.”
“I see,” I replied. “Is that how you ended up on the Royal Council?”
“Indirectly, yes,” he stated. “My family has a bit of a convoluted story.”
“I wish I could say that same,” I said. “Unfortunately, I still have no idea if that’s true or not.”
Soloman pursed his lips, his demeanor becoming serious. He turned to me.
“Would you take a walk with me, Luna?” he asked politely.
“Of course,” I obliged. “They can get on without me for a little while.”
We started to walk toward the footpath along the edge of the garden site. We walked in silence for a few moments. I was wondering if he was waiting until we were out of earshot before he started to speak. That seemed to be the case as he didn’t say anything until we had followed the path into the trees.
“I’m sure Alpha Lucas has told you about the Alpha’s Summit coming up,” he stated.
“Yes, but we still haven’t gotten the formal summons,” I said.
“Yes, well, that was sent back with me,” he said. “But we’ll address that later with Lucas present. I want to know how you’re feeling about the situation.”
I paused for a moment as I tried to formulate an answer for him. I quickly decided that bringing up having to suppress my heat because of the summit wouldn’t be appropriate or necessary. But I was still trying to work out my feelings outside of that.
“Frustrated,” I finally said. “Concerned. Curios. I know things are being done quit a bit differently and I understand it has to do with what is going on between the Ironpaws and the Dawn Stalkers. Hence, because of me in some way. That’s a bit unnerving.”
“Yes, you’ll need to be careful,” Soloman said. “I’m not the only one who will find you familiar. It would be best to try not to attract too much attention to yourself.”
“I’m not exactly comfortable with that much attention as it is,” I said with a light laugh. “So I think I can get on board with that. The only problem is whether Anders and Mason will do that for me.”
“Yes, that my concern as well,” Soloman said.
I was already trying to formulate a plan that would help prevent that from happening but I just didn’t know enough to feel confident about any of the current options. Lucas said Soloman would be the key in helping us but I wanted to have more control of the situation. I needed information for that.
“Soloman, I need your help.”