There was a soft, quiet gasp that thundered in my ears, and I felt a spray of hot blood soak through my clothes. Some of it splattered on my face, the coppery scent fresh and unforgiving. I gingerly opened my eyes, only to witness Dahlia’s prone body lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

This time, her limbs did not twitch, even as blood continued to gush out through her wounds.

Her wounds that I had caused. My stomach turned and twisted when I caught sight of where my bullet went― straight through her heart.

This time, I knew there was no saving Dahlia. Judging by the dazed, yet panicked look in her eyes as she tried to focus on me, she must have known it too. I watched, helpless, as the light in her eyes slowly dimmed, and then faded out entirely.

Dahlia’s bright blue eyes were now staring unseeingly in my direction. Yet, even without life behind them, they seemed to be accusing me of killing her.

Oh god. I killed Dahlia. For all my hopes about letting the Moon Goddess deal with her, I was the one who effectively sent her straight to heaven. Or maybe hell. If Damon or Blaise were here, they would tell me that her soul deserved nothing better than the fiery pits of the devil’s backyard.

But they weren’t here. I was alone, save for the body of a dead werewolf in the room. The body I killed.

My arms trembled at the realization, my hands clammy with sweat. This wasn’t my first kill― that honor belonged to the wendigo, but it was different with Dahlia.

No matter what, foul as she was, this was someone I knew! Not a ravenous beast out to kidnap a pup! I wanted nothing more for her to get her just desserts, but now...

I sucked in a breath, and almost regretted it when the stench of her fresh blood flooded my nose. I gagged, trying hard not to retch.

But before I could step away from her body, I heard the sound of someone clapping behind me. I whirled around to catch the sight of my mother in her nightgown, her hands clasped together in rapturous glee.

"Mom?" I asked weakly, stricken by her presence and her fervent joy. I had been effectively sneaking out, and I had a feeling my mother was not someone to take that lying down. "What... what are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard a loud howl and ran here as fast as I could," my mother pointed out. "There’s only one living wolf in this whole tower that could make such a sound, so here I am."

Her eyes caught sight of my pale face and trembling hands and she let out a sympathetic sigh.

"Oh baby, the first kill is always the toughest, especially when you’re not prepared enough for it," she said, coming over to stroke my hair gently.

She cupped my cold cheek lovingly in her warm hands, and I clung onto her like a desperate sailor with a life raft.

"But you don’t have to worry about anything. It will come easy to you soon enough." Her pride was palpable through her words. "You’re my daughter after all."

"I..." I didn’t want murder to become my second nature! "Mom, I didn’t mean to kill her really," I tried to explain, but it seemed to be an explanation meant for my own ears.

My mother continued to smile at me indulgently.

"It was an accident! She tried to kill me! I did what I had to do in self-defense!"

"There there," my mother murmured, tucking me into her arms as though I was nothing more than a young child crying after a nightmare. "Nothing will hurt you when I’m here."

I clung onto her, but I did not feel much comfort. I desperately wanted Damon and Blaise with me instead.

"I would like to go back to bed now," I said faintly. "I need a bath. My clothes are ruined."

"I’ll get you new ones tomorrow," my mother promised, smiling serenely at me. "Come on, I’ll escort you back. Gus, clean up this mess."

My mother’s tone suddenly turned hard, as she glared at Gus from the corner of her eyes.

"We’ll have a talk later about your security. How is it that my daughter could have left her room in the middle of the night to visit this unhinged lunatic?"

Oh crap. I knew there was no way my little act of rebellion would have gone unnoticed by my mother’s sharp eyes.

"Mom, it’s fine. Everything is fine," I added hastily. It was time to distract her. "I was actually here to feed Dahlia dinner, but she didn’t deserve my kindness. She attacked me even when I tried to help her."

"You were right all along," I added, purposely making my voice sound as miserable — as defeated — as possible. "Werewolves are beasts."

"I knew you would see things my way eventually." My mother beamed, wiping a stray blood splatter from my face. "It’s better that you learn this now than later."

Gus chimed in from behind my mother, and he shot me a conspiring glance. Clearly, my little distraction did not work on him, but he was willing to help me pull the wool over my mother’s eyes just this once, especially since I was technically also saving his own skin.

"Yes, Madame, this is my fault. I’ll keep a closer eye on her in future," Gus said with lowered eyes, but even the threat of a future tongue-lashing could not keep his mood down for long. "Might I congratulate young Harper on a successful first kill? She truly has the makings of a prodigy."

"You have such a honeyed tongue," my mother said with exasperated fondness.

I could only marvel at the change in her moods.

"Mom, can we go now?"

"Yes, dear," my mother said, and she escorted me to my room. "Do you need anything else? Bath bombs? A glass of warm milk?" she asked, fussing over me worriedly.

"I’m fine," I said. All I wanted now was my privacy. "Sorry for disturbing you so late, Mom. Get a good night’s rest."

"Likewise. Love you, Harper. Good night."

Only after the door closed did I sink all the way to the floor, sucking in large breaths. I wanted to call Damon and Blaise, but there was no way to do so, not with my mother keeping such close tabs on me.

Unknown to me, my mother had stormed back to Gus with a new request.

"Gus."

"Yes, Madame?"

"Change the locks on her door. We must not repeat this incident."

"Yes, Madame."