Page 11 of The Alpha's Lunar Crown

I never thought it possible for a kid to pick mannerisms from a parent they've never met. I mean, everyone knows looks are passed through genes, but behavioral characteristics are often passed through presence and imitation.

The rules must've skipped my son because as he snatched his lunchbox from the table and headed for the door, his little legs somehow managed to move in a way that gave the left a slight kick, exactly how Lucien walks.

"Coming, Mummy?" he asks, holding the door. I snap out of my daze, masking my worry with a smile.

I steal a glance at him through the driver's mirror to find him swinging his legs and munching on a piece of carrot. "Snacking on your lunch already?" I ask, a smile playing on my lips.

"I like carrots." He pouts, and I let out a soft laugh. Another thing he picked from his father was an undying love for food.

"Be sure to have your fill. Remember, no eating in class." I recall his first day in school and his teacher asking if his lunch box wasn't a bit too big for a boy his age. I remember smiling and asking her to watch and see. When I returned, she couldn't stop talking about how she wished her daughter had an appetite as healthy as Ronan's.

A part of me knew it was the supernatural in him responsible for his strength and ability to consume so much food, but that is a topic I prefer to avoid till the time is right.

I'll keep him sheltered for as long as I can. I refuse to let him have the life I had.

"We're here." I pull into the school parking lot and hop out of my car to help Ronan out. I catch the glances of a few passers-by thrown our way, or, should I say, at my car.

The Mercedes is the latest model I snagged for myself as a congratulatory gift after being promoted to the level of COO for the Phoenix branch of the Pinnacle Group. It was a splurge, but when I consider the years that led to this moment, I consider it a worthy gift.

"So, what did we say about break time?" I ask Ronan as I walk him to his class.

He recites the set of rules without missing a beat. "Stay close to the teacher. Don't speak to strangers, and don't take anything from anyone."

"Good boy," I cheer as we walk into his class. I hand his things over to his teacher and turn back to Ronan, bringing myself to his height. "You be good, and Mommy will come get you after school, okay?"

"Okay," He replies, standing on his tippy toes to place a wet kiss on my nose. The little charmer.

We do our little handshake, and he runs off to meet his friends at the corner. I catch a glimpse of one of them pulling out a toy from his pocket and displaying how it works to rest before returning to the parking lot.

Finding a great school that happens to be less than a ten-minute ride from my office was definitely the needle in my haystack of worry when I was searching for a school for Ronan. I wasted no time enrolling him, and now, I enjoy the peace of not having to drive across the city every morning. I am at the office bright and early every day without having to deal with the hassle of the traffic.

"Good morning, Miss Veronica," Lily, my personal assistant, greets, taking my bag and handing me a file containing my itinerary and a cup of coffee as soon as I step into the reception of the humongous structure that is the Pinnacle Empire.

"You have a meeting with Mr. Adams at 10:00 a.m. He wants to discuss the safety of his funds and investment options. Lady Charlotte wants to expand her jewelry line and needs financial advice and suggestions. You also have lunch with Mr. Damon at 1:00 p.m.," she scrambles off, and my eyes follow her words on the file, soaking up the details of every activity she mentions.

"Seems like a packed day for me," I sigh, preparing my mind for the day ahead.

"I can always stand in for you if you want me to." Her voice is chirpy and too enthusiastic. I've never met a person so eager to help.

"Thank you, Lily, but this is, unfortunately, one of those days I have to handle alone." I take my right at the end of the hallway, bringing us to the door of my office. "We wouldn't want Lady Charlotte going off about our customer service, now would we?"

While running into Katherine almost three years ago at a networking event is obviously the best thing that has ever happened to me, and this job being my dream come true, my clients are a completely different topic.

Dealing with the creme d'coup of the society is not the easiest job in the book, and satisfying them is an entirely different story. It turned out to be the biggest challenge during my first year here. I was convinced on different occasions that Katherine would decide I wasn't good enough, but she merely said some of the best brains she'd ever known have the worst people skills and went ahead to hire Lily to help with managing our clients and conducting a quick background check before I meet with them.

I didn't think it possible for a stranger to have so much faith in you till I ran into Katherine Lockhart, and our less than twenty-minute interaction was all it took for her to hire me on the spot. Our work relationship eventually turned into a full-blown friendship, close enough for me to let her in on my past and on the story of me and Lucien. After she discovered she was mated to a wolf shifter, of course.

She was the most supportive friend for the most difficult period and an even more amazing boss for the longest time. She was my ever-present confidante till she had to move to Europe with her mate to rule his kingdom. The distance didn't affect our friendship very much, and we still do our best to keep in touch. Still, there are moments I wish she were physically here with me."She seems like a really sweet woman." Lily hands me her tablet, and on the screen is a woman who looks to be in her fifties. She lacked the haughty "I'm better than you" air my regular clients wear like a second skin, but she did have an awfully straight and aristocratic nose, almost like Lucien's.

I held back a sigh, handing the device back to Lily, who continued to fill my ears with unending information about Lady Charlotte. For some reason that I can't seem to wrap my head around, Lucien has been making unwarranted appearances in my thoughts lately. It's not like there is a day that goes by without me thinking of him at some point. I love his miniature clone, but the frequency has definitely gone up a notch.

I push back that wave of sadness his name always leaves in its wake, forcing myself to remain grounded in the present. It's probably my wolf expressing her displeasure at my upcoming date.

She has been restless since I agreed to go on a date with Damon after he asked for the fifth time.

Five years after he treated us like vermin, and we went on a self-imposed sabbatical from men, she still manages to find ways to give him grace despite the pain he put us through. The traitor.

"You can let Lady Charlotte and every other person on the list know that the details of our appointment have not changed," I reply, thanking Lily for her hard work and dismissing her for the day. Another thing I'm yet to understand is calling to confirm an already set appointment. Where I come from, people set appointments and honor them, but over here, you have to remind them.

---