"What?" Emma screamed and stood up. She was not her mother but she didn’t know why she felt so sad. Probably because Allison was anticipating seeing her next full moon. Penny looked up at her, frowned, and looked away.

She sat down again and was heartbroken as if the deceased wolf was related to her. However, Penny did not care.

"She had high blood pressure since I knew her. We lived and managed her ailment on what wolves gave us. When I came of age, I stopped following her around, begging for alms because it made me so ashamed. I took up a job and was able to pay her medical bills without assistance. I...tried my best," she said and drew in more smoke.

Emma noticed she was nothing like her father. She has her mother’s kind heart but, unfortunately, she had no formal education.

Everywhere became calm again as they tried to digest the horrible news they had just heard. Emma lowered her head and couldn’t imagine what she went through.

"You are nothing like your wicked father," Emma said, the words slipping from her lips before she could stop them. Emily met her gaze, holding it steadily.

"My father? Do you know him?" She tossed the cigarette she was holding. Emma felt like picking up the cigar and inhaling more, but she managed to mask her craving.

"Penny, have you moved your grandmother’s things out of the house?"

"Wait a minute!" She said, holding up a finger. " Do you know who my father is?" She asked, looking at Emma. She saw anger in her eyes.

"Talk to her first," Emma said, and she faced Emily again.

"I’m planning to move her things this Saturday," she responded and faced Emma as if she was telling her that she had done what she asked her to do."

"Penny, I’m your mother’s moonally."

"She is dead," she said, without looking at Emily.

"She is not! Your mother is alive."

"I don’t know who you are referring to. The only mother I had died last full moon."

"Allison did not kill your sibling, " Emily said and she smirked. "Your father did. He compelled your naive mother and she accepted a crime she did not commit."

"Please, stop talking," she waved at Emily and continued staring at Emma.

"Do you know my father?"

She hesitated, her voice low, as though the name itself carried weight she wasn’t ready to release. Her wolf stirred uneasily beneath her control, sensing the direction of her question.

"Yes."

Her heart tightened instantly. That single word felt heavier than she expected, like it opened a door she had been standing in front of for too long.

"Who is he?"

Silence followed. A charged, uneasy silence. She looked at her for a long moment, torn between truth and restraint, knowing that whatever she said next would change the way she saw everything.

"Daniel... Greens," Emma said quietly, her gaze dropping as if the name itself weighed her down.

"You think he’s my father just because we look alike, right?" Penny let out a short, bitter laugh. "Everyone says I look like Lunara Greens’ father. That doesn’t make it true. He’s not my father... please."

She shook her head quickly, reaching for her cigarette packet again. "I even checked his pictures on Lunara Greens’ page. We don’t even look alike."

"Penny... he is your father," Emma said firmly.

A pause.

"And he killed your sibling." Emily added.

The cigarette packet slipped from Penny’s hand and hit the floor. She rose slowly, as if her body had forgotten how to move.

"I want to go," she said calmly—too calmly.

But Emma caught it immediately. The calm was fake. She was obviously going after Daniel.

"Penny, please sit," Emily said.

"No!"

"My driver will take you home when we are done."

"No, I want to go!" She shouted at Emily. One of the guards rushed in and held her. She struggled to free herself from his grip but couldn’t. After a few minutes of crying, she became calm again and was led to her seat.

"I vowed I would kill the wolves who brought me into this packland," she cried, voice breaking. "Especially my father—if I ever found out who he was..."

Her breath shook. "I never asked to be brought here... so why did they?"

Emily stood up and sat beside her, gently patting her back. She reached out to wipe her tears, but Penny pulled her hand away and instead wiped them herself with the back of her palm.

"Your mother is innocent," Emily said softly, but firmly. "And we need to work together to get her out of that dungeon." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Her case is difficult. It involves murder, and she pleaded guilty. I mean, she was sentenced to life in the dungeon," she whimpered.

"We can get her out next week."

"We can’t."

"She has footage of what happened the day Jason was killed."

"Where is it?" Penny asked.

"In her box but she has forgotten the code."

"I haven’t"

"You know the unlock code?"

"She told me when I was twelve."

"What’s the code?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll open the box and give you what you want. But I’ll have to see her first."

"Alright, when will you go and see her?"

"Tomorrow"

"Please, I want you to stay away from the howlclub for now."

"Why?"

"My driver will be at your disposal throughout this period and I don’t want..."

"I understand. I’ll go back home."

"Thank you! I’ll send one of the drivers to your house tomorrow. He will take you to Central She-wolves’s Correctional Dungeon to see Allison. I also expect him to bring you back here with the footage. If possible, come with the box."

"I’ll come with the box. Thank you, Emily." She breathed in. "I live on what I made at the club every moonfall. I’m not sure I can survive without dancing."

"I’ll place you on a weekly salary from now onwards. "I’ll write you a cheque before you leave."

"Thank you," she muffled and continued wiping tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

Emma stood up when she saw her mate, Ken, and Brooklyn walking towards them. Penny looked pathetically at Emma, probably wishing she had been born with a silver spoon just like her. If only she knew what she went through in the hands of her father, Daniel Greens. What she wrote in her story was just ten percent of what Penny went through in his hands.

"Mother, you are going to continue with this. I’m going home," she whispered into her mother’s ear.

"Go and talk to your father before you go."

"Alright."

"Hi, Ken," she said with a smile. Ken pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. Brandon’s face squeezed unconsciously. He couldn’t conceal his jealousy.

"Are you jealous?" Ken smirked, tightening his grip.

"Of course. How can you hug my mate like that?" he said with an unsmiling face. He couldn’t even hide his feelings. "But she is also my sibling." Ken smiled and set her free.

"Brooklyn, we are going ..."

"No way, she is not going anywhere with you," Ken interrupted Emma.

"Yes, she is gonna stay with us for a while," Emily supported Ken.

"She has agreed to be my moonmate," Ken whispered into her ear and they giggled.

"Alright, I want to talk to my father before I go."

"You know where to find him, right?" Ken asked and she nodded and left. She used the elevator and soon was in her father’s exclusive lounge. His eyes were glued to a newspaper he was reading. He tossed the paper aside and took off his reading glasses as soon as she walked closer to him. He asked her to join him on his lounger and she climbed the chair.

"Your mother has told me everything."

His voice was steady, but there was weight beneath it... as if every word had already been measured before it left his mouth.

"Is the wolf’s pup cooperating?"

Her fingers tightened slightly at her side. The question felt simple, but it carried judgment she wasn’t fully ready to face.

"Yes," she replied carefully. "She is cooperating."

A brief silence followed.

Relief tried to rise in her chest—but something in his expression crushed it before it could settle.

"Alright."

He said it calmly, but his thoughts lingered elsewhere, as if measuring risks he hadn’t voiced.

"Brandon is here," she said softly. "I’d like to go with him."

Her heart pulled slightly at the words. The choice felt small, yet it carried an unspoken distance she wasn’t fully ready for.

"Alright," he said after a pause. "But you will visit us often."

His response softened, but a quiet fear crept in...fear of losing time, of watching her drift further into a life he couldn’t fully control.

"Sure!

"Father..." her voice lowered slightly. "The High Luna wants me to boycott the next meeting."

Her tone dropped slightly. Saying it aloud made the situation feel heavier, more real than she had expected.

"Do you want to?"

The question came slower this time. Behind it was concern...and a silent hope that she wouldn’t be forced into something dangerous alone.

"No."

Her answer was immediate, but inside, doubt flickered...because even certainty sometimes trembles when the stakes are too high.

"Then don’t boycott the meeting. As for the King... I’ll speak to him after the verdict."

"Father,do you think the verdict will be in my favor?"

"No..."

A pause.

"But he wouldn’t want a murderer as an in-law," he said, and they both laughed softly.

Then the smile on his face faded—slowly, deliberately.

"He won’t have a choice but to do the needful..." his voice dropped lower.

"And I have my own terms... and conditions."