Chapter 182


    Chapter 182: Mood Swings


    Edrick


    When Moana told me that she was going out to have coffee with a friend, I was happy for her. In fact,


    so long as she stayed safe, I encouraged it. I knew how much stress she had been under over the past


    few months, so it would have been good for her to see a friend for a couple of hours.


    However, when my driver called me and asked what was taking Moana so long toe down, I started


    to feel confused.


    “What do you mean?” I asked. “She left half an hour ago.”


    “I haven’t seen her,” the driver replied. “I’ve been sitting right out front the whole time.”


    I furrowed my brow and stood. Before I jumped to any conclusions, I decided to check both bedrooms


    to see if she wasn’t feeling well and decided not to leave, and maybe I just didn’t notice hering


    back in. However, she wasn’t there.


    By then, I was pretty certain that I knew what she had done. She had gone without the driver.


    Cursing under my breath, I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs. Since the driver hadn’t seen her at all


    due to her hiding herself for some reason, I had no way of knowing which direction she even went in.


    But if she had left on foot, then I was certain that she couldn’t have gone too far. So, climbing into my


    car, I sped off to check all of the nearby coffee shops for her.


    I searched for her for about an hour, running into all of the local coffee shops to see if she was there;


    unfortunately, she wasn’t in any of them. By now, I was starting to feel panicked. This was too soon


    after what Kelly had done to her by having her get kidnapped by Rogues, and I became worried that


    something else had happened to her. As I drove, I eventually pulled out my phone and debated calling


    the police to look for her. But thankfully, I spotted a head of red hair walking down the street before I


    made the phone call.


    I came to a screeching halt and told her to get in the car. Moana seemed to be in a bit of a mood, and


    almost immediately snapped at me when I told her that she had done something very dangerous by


    going out by herself with no protection, especially on foot. Why couldn’t she understand that it wasn’t


    safe for her to be walking around by herself when she had only just gotten over the incident with Kelly,


    and the paparazzi were still on the lookout for her? Part of me almost wanted to tell her that she was


    the Golden Wolf, and that she needed to be kept safe or else there was a chance that she could be


    kidnapped or hunted. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it; if she knew too soon, then it could speed up


    her progress with her wolf emerging, and I needed her to wait to shift until the baby was born for a


    multitude of reasons. Although, I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer I could let this go on


    without telling her. Especially when she climbed out of the car and mmed the door behind her, I


    thought to myself that she would grow more and more impatient with me over time.


    With a sigh, I watched Moana disappear into the building before I parked the car and headed inside.


    She didn’t wait for me, not that I expected her to, and by the time I made my way back up to the


    penthouse she was nowhere to be seen.


    “Did Moanae through here?” I asked Selina, who was baking a pie while the two maids were deep


    cleaning the kitchen.


    “She ran past just a minute ago,” Amy blurted out as she scrubbed the inside of a cupboard. “She


    seemed mad.”


    “Yeah,” Lily chimed in before I could respond. “She mmed her bedroom door. Did you two have a


    fight?”


    “Lily!” Selina hissed. “It’s none of your business.”


    I sighed and shook my head, then walked over to one of the stools at the counter ind and sat down.


    “It’s alright,” I said, passing my hand over my face. “I think she’s just dealing with some hormones.”


    The maids fell silent. I realized then that I had revealed more than I really meant to;tely, I had been


    bing noticeably more open with the servants. I had always been a bit closer with Selina since I


    had known her for a long time, but I rarely chatted with Amy and Lily. However, ever since Moana


    moved in, I had found myself talking with them more often. It was a stark enough difference that even I


    noticed, and sometimes surprised myself with my candidness. Even just thinking about it made me


    smirk; Moana had had such a positive impact on me that I was even beginning to change my opinions


    on how servants should be treated. I just wished that she could see that, instead of always getting so


    aggravated with me. Although, after the way that I snapped at her the other night, I supposed that I


    deserved it.


    Selina pushed a fresh, steaming cup of tea across the counter toward me and gave me a knowing look.


    I could tell that she didn’t believe that it was hormones one bit, and she was right.


    “I’ll talk to herter,” she said, returning to decorating the top of the pie. “Just give her some space


    today. Not just today, but every day. She is an adult, and she’s capable of taking care of herself.”


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    I felt myself tense up a bit at Selina’s words. Of course she was right, but at the same time, I just felt


    too protective over Moana. Maybe that protectiveness would only push her away, though.


    I did wind up leaving Moana alone for the rest of the day. She didn’te out of her room very much


    except to check on E, and didn’t even look at me when I passed by. Even though I wanted to ask her


    what her problem was, and part of me even wanted to grill her on who she had coffee with as though


    something about whoever she saw would exin her secretiveness and poor attitude, I decided to take


    Selina’s advice and just gave Moana her space.


    However, Moana didn’t wind uping to my room that night. I waited for a few hours, but she never


    came. Finally, unable to sleep without her, I decided to go over to her room and see if she was still


    awake; but when I went to open the door to climb into bed with her, the door was firmly locked and she


    didn’t answer my knocks. With a sigh, I resigned myself to staying up all night in my study. I wouldn’t be


    able to sleep without my pills, and I had already made a personal decision to not fall back into the pit of


    drinking copious amounts of alcohol to make myself sleep.


    After all, sleep wouldn’te for me without Moana by my side.c