"You are right, soft fang, but she’s gonna be nothing like her father. Remember, we promised her that we were gonna talk to her pup and she is already counting on us."

"I agreed because no one told me who she was! Penny is another Lunara. Inviting Lunara and her kin for dinner is the first and last mistake Brandon has ever made and I learned a lot from it. Mother, please, let’s find Allison’s mother and leave her pup."

Emily kept quiet and she tried to read her facial expression, but she couldn’t.

"Mother, if you had been with Lunara , I mean Scarlet or whatever you call her, you would have understood me," she said with a calm tone.

"Soft fang, I understand you, but I want to do it because of Allison. She took me in when I had nowhere to go. She fed us when we had no food to eat.

Daniel promised her he would give Penny the best education and make sure she doesn’t end up like her if she hides his involvement in the crime. He didn’t want his pack-kin to know he was seeing Allison. You can imagine how she felt after spending eighteen winters in a dungeon for a crime she did not commit, only to find out her pup ended up like her."

"Did they kill Jason collectively?" Emma asked, waiting for an answer.

She needs to know the truth... even if it changes everything she believes.

"I don’t know the exact thing that happened."

"Why did she hide Daniel’s involvement?"

There must be a reason... but will she even like it?

"If both of them had been sentenced, no one would have taken care of Penny and Daniel’s other pup."

"Who later took care of her pup?"

A child left behind in all this chaos... How did no one stop this?"

"Her sick mother," Emily responded and Emma sighed.

"So she carried responsibility even when she had nothing left?"

"Allison is so soft!"

"Too soft... maybe that’s what made everything harder for her."

"Her soft heart was the reason why she took me in."

Emily’s last sentence was followed by a short silence.

Silence again... like the truth is refusing to come out fully.

"Will you talk to her?"

The door of the car opened slowly when they got home. She got down and noticed Emily was still waiting for her response.

"Mother, you can talk to her and give me a call when you are done."

"Would you discuss it with your mate and give attention to his opinion?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"I will when he comes."

"He is here already," Emily said, and pointed at four exotic cars that were behind her. Emma’s heart leaped and sang with joy.

"I’ll talk to you later!" She screamed and began to dial Brandon’s number to know where he was.

"Emma!" Emily called.

"Call me as soon as she comes," she said happily and waved at her.

"Moonheart, where are you?" She asked. Her voice was involuntarily delicate.

"I’m in the woodpack," he whispered softly.

She walked swiftly out of the basement and headed in the direction of the woodpack. She saw him sitting on a three-seater sofa that was in the moonshine Cottage, staring at the mountains that were some feet away. Sketching paper and other materials was on a small table that was before him. His guards and some of her fathers surrounded the thicket.

Billy, one of her father’s guards, directed her to the wooden stairs and she began to climb the narrow stairs slowly and cautiously to avoid falling off.

She climbed onto the sofa, pushed him down, and settled firmly on his lap. He grinned and narrowed his eyes.

"You are going with me, moonheart. I can’t continue taking refuge in my drawing, acting all normal when I’m dying slowly. Last moonfall was the worst I have ever had. I was awake all through."

She leaned over and rested her forehead on his. He ran his right hand slowly on her cheek.

"Moonheart, you are not okay. Your eyes are dull."

"I’m fine," she breathed in as she parted his soft lips. The feeling of his soft lips against hers was infuriating and placating.

"You need to see Healer Ben," he said when she unlocked her lips. She took the 8B pencil and paintbrush he was holding and brought it close to her nose to be sure the offensive smell she was perceiving was coming from it. She frowned and dropped it back on the table. She didn’t know why she found the smell quite offensive. She used to like the woody scent of cedar and the sooty smell of lead and paint. She loved the nostalgic smell of his drawing materials, but she didn’t know why she suddenly found them offensive. Brandon tilted his brows and blinked twice.

"What’s that?"

"I don’t like the smell," she said, and she moved her lips close to his again.

"Hold on! When did you become sensitive to smells?"

"I noticed that this morning when my breakfast was served."

"We are going back to the estate now! You need to see Healer Ben," he said, and tried to stand up, but she pinned him down.

"No, not now."

"Why?"

"Emily sent her driver to fetch Penny, Daniel’s secret pup, and I would like to know the outcome of their discussion."

"What did you say?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Exactly what you heard."

"Oh my moon goddess! Why did she want to talk to her? To convince her to appear before the council?"

"No, her mother was a seductive dancer and wanted her pup to take another path but she ended up like her. She wants us to convince her pup to stop." Emma frowned, trying to make sense of it all.

"Who is her mother?" Brandon asked, searching her face for clarity.

"Allison, the she-wolf that accommodated Emily when she ran out of cash." Emma’s brows tightened as the name registered again.

"Can’t she talk to her pup?" Brandon asked, unsettled by how distant this all sounded.

"She is in a dungeon for a crime Daniel committed." Emma went still, trying to process the weight of it.

"Is it a murder case?" He asked slowly, bracing himself.

"Yes"

"What degree?" Brandon’s voice lowered, uneasy about the answer.

"I don’t know."

He licked his lips and fixed his eyes on Ken and Brooklyn who were sitting at the foot of the mountain that was a few feet away.

"Is that Ken and Brooklyn?" She asked, lifting her head to see them clearly. Brandon pulled her back and forced her to look at him.

"You are not embarking on this journey. My moonblessed one, I need your attention! I want you to shun them all! Lunara, Daniel, and the king."

"Why?"

"I don’t trust the process. I don’t want anything that will put you in trouble."

"You gave me thirty days, remember?" she asked, looking at him, trying to figure out whether he had changed his mind.

Brandon kept quiet and fixed his love eyes on her. She saw how badly he wanted her in his eyes. She slowly relaxed her head on his chest and he held her head firmly as they stared at Brooklyn and Ken. She wondered what they were discussing.

After about an hour and thirty minutes, Emma got a text from Emily that Penny was around. She showed the text to her mate and waited for his permission to meet her. He let go of her and she stood up slowly. She was quite weak, as if she had been working all day. Brandon noticed and became more worried.

Emma was heading to the grand foyer when her mother waved at her. She turned and began to walk towards the garden. She stared at the shabbily dressed young she-wolf that sat unrelaxed on one of the loungers. She was a certified copy of Daniel and that made her look a bit like Lunara.

"Hi," she waved at her. She looked up at Emma and threw her face away before waving back nonchalantly. She quietly sat down and fixed her gaze on her, wondering where to start.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, bringing a box of cigarettes from her bag. She lit the cigarette with a small lighter she also took out of her bag and drew in smoke. Emma took a deep breath and looked away. She never liked the smell of cigarettes and she wondered why she suddenly found it pleasant.

"I’m Emily..."

"I know who you are," she interrupted. Emily and Emma exchanged glances and returned their gazes.

"How is your grandmother?" Emily asked.

"She is fine, probably."

"When did you see her last?"

"Last full moon."

"We will be going to her house tomorrow, would you go with us?"

"Why do you want to go there?"

"To see her of course."

"You...can’t see her?"

"Why?"

"Why all these questions? Would you get to the point already?"

"I’m a moonally of your pack-kin."

"Well... let me spare you the trouble of going to her house," she said quietly, her gaze darkening.

"She died... on the last full moon."