***
"Ah, I can't wait to meet, Leland!" Eloise was giddy as she saw the great bonfire in the distance. She was aware of the Lunar Gathering and came here with some selected and trusted witches.
There was a bright smile on her face and she was in a wonderful mood.
When Eloise checked the crystal shard that remained from her mother's crystal ball a few hours ago, she only saw Leland standing alone in the gathering and without the sight of his Luna.
"She's finally dead!" Eloise laughed and threw the crystal into the air. "After so much time of waiting, she's finally dead. Even poor Leland couldn't stop it himself. I feel so bad for him."
The witch finally stopped laughing and cleared her throat. Eloise took a deep breath and sighed deeply as she passed the crystal to her witch friend. "Even though he attended the gathering, he looks so sad. I need to comfort him."
At long last, Eloise and the five witches she brought with her finally arrived at the gathering and saw a great number of different lycan packs still conversing. However, Leland was nowhere to be found which made her frown deeply.
"Witches?" a few curious Alpha gazed at her and the crowd. A lot of people, even lycans and humans liked to barter with witches so Eloise sent her people to mingle and interact with them.
"Do some good deeds, I guess," Eloise ordered. "Minor spells and charms."
After all, when Eloise became the true mate of Leland and he became the Lycan King, she was going to help these poor and helpless lycans anyway. Eloise gazed around and saw a lone Alpha.
She recognized him as an Alpha because of the beautiful tribal patterns on his back. Eloise approached him and tapped his shoulder with her staff. "Excuse me, you, Alpha lycan, have you seen, Leland?"
Elias, who was still upset with how the meeting ended, gruffly turned around and knew that this woman was mocking him. However, when he gazed back at Eloise, his eyes widened.
Eloise was a stunningly beautiful witch with charming red hair and colorful golden eyes. Since she wasn't in her crazy mode and was actually putting in effort to converse properly, she managed to bewitch Elias with just one smile.
"W-Who?" Elias lost the ability to form coherent sentences. He had been content to uphold Alpha Zaros and become mates with his daughter, but for the first time, Elias was stunned and mesmerized. The Alpha was tall and burly, and he was towering over the petite witch, however, people could see the witch easily had him wrapped around her fingers.
The smile on Eloise's face vanished and she walked past him. She met an idiot and didn't want to deal with him. The newly elected Grand Witch finally saw the Great Shaman and approached him.
"Hello there, Great Shaman." Eloise smiled. "Do you know where Leland, Alpha of the Blood River Pack is?"
The Great Shaman who was burdened with newfound revelations about the Lycan King's granddaughter looked at Eloise and realized she held onto Grand Witch Elaine's former staff.
It meant that another person had come to power.
The Grand Shaman spoke warily, but truthfully.
"The person that you seek, has left the Lunar Gathering half an hour ago." The Great Shaman pointed in a certain direction. "He had some important business to attend to."
Eloise's smile evaporated from her lips. Important business? What other business did Leland have besides her? One of her eyes twitched for a moment. "Really? Then it means that he must still be here, right?"
"I do not know, Grand Witch. Perhaps he is still there and you must look for him yourself." the Great Shaman replied politely. "Right now, I am looking for my grandson…"
Witch Eloise only listened to his first words and was incredulous. She couldn't believe it and immediately rushed past the Great Shaman after she excused herself to look for him.
While Eloise assumed that Leland left grieving, he should have waited! She was feeling very annoyed and tried to look around to find anyone she could talk to and get information about Leland.
Unfortunately for the Witch, all that was left was one person standing by herself in the sands. Despite the Lunar Gathering where all lycans were all together in a community, this female lycan was alone.
Isla's long dark hair swayed in the wind as she stared out in the distance with a mournful expression. Her back was turned to Witch Eloise and she looked like a hauntingly beautiful ghost.
"Excuse me, Luna." Witch Eloise frowned as her patience had already worn thin. She eyed the tribal marks painted and dotted across Isla's skin and asked. "Where is Leland Salazar of the Blood River Pack."
Isla sighed and shook her head. She kept her eyes on the lonely moon and prayed to the Moon Goddess with a sad smile.
"He has already left a while ago and you have missed him."
This was the fourth time that someone asked Isla about the whereabouts of the Alpha of the Blood River Pack. Some of them were upset over her cousin, others wanted to speak to the Luna, and yet not one of them was Elias.
Isla's mate did not search for her despite the end of the meeting.
Isla didn't want to go look for him.
It seemed like Isla and Elias being mates truly meant nothing and it filled Isla with immense grief. At best, it seemed like she needed to remain with Elias in order to be strong for the Obsidian Sand Pack.
She didn't realize that behind her, Witch Eloise was seething with rage and wanted to break the staff she got from her mother. She wanted to believe that Leland was still around but the reality was disappointing.
"Turn around and look me in the face, Luna. I cannot believe you if you do not look me in the eyes." Eloise hissed at Isla's back. "It is quite disrespectful of you to speak to someone this way."
Isla took a deep breath and spun around.
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