The somber tone of Billy Holiday singing from the radio played lightly in the background tonight. I was huddled in a blanket in front of the tent; the chilly air made me snuggle deeper into the warmth of the covering. Had I been in my wolf form, the cold wouldn't have bothered me as much, but since I wasn't, I had to make due with the thick blanket I was given.

Sitting across from me was Vicky. She was in the middle of chastising Emory to stop horsing around and finish his dinner.

The eight year old chuckled, paying no mind to his Caretaker, and was still bouncing around in a circle while nodding his head from side-to-side. He'd been doing this for the past ten minutes with the songs that were playing.

Vicky's narrowed-eyed stare unfazed him. Emory wasn't looking at her whatsoever.

The she-wolf growled, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was grumbling under her breath about there being a reason she never wanted kids. Vicky frowned at Emory again, snapping for him to sit down.

The boy giggled, still hyperactive dancing and now singing "La, la, la, la-la!" over and over again to ignore Vicky.

I could see the frustration on the she-wolf; her eyebrows pinching together, her jaw slanting, and her left eye even twitched.

It made me wonder how she managed to put up with Emory this long when clearly she wasn't very patient. Especially around children. But I suppose it had a lot to do mainly with the boy's other Caretaker; having to remind Vicky to take deep breaths.

Looking away from the struggle between Vicky and Emory, I settled my gaze on Iota.

Her long platinum hair looked almost silver in the moonlight. It was resting over one shoulder as the woman's eyes lifted to peer over at the squabbling pair. The corner of her lip curled upward then she lowered her gaze back to what she was doing.

I looked down to the rolled out leather pouch with thin straps holding each of the knives tucked into each slot. Iota was using a small gray cloth to rub slowly at the blade of the knife she held in her hand. With every knife, she'd take at least five minutes rubbing at it before placing it back into its slot and moving on to the next one.

You could tell she was very attached to her knives with the way she took care of them.

"What's on your mind, Gigi Dear?"

I found out that Iota was actually only six years older than Vicky who was only a year older than I was. Vicky says the reason her sister talks like an 'old lady' was because Iota had to grow up a lot faster than she should have.

Vicky teased while Iota stared with a soft frown that Iota grew up too fast and that's why the Iota talked so old.

Iota was still cleaning away at her knives when I looked at her. She had picked up my daydreaming without looking. She really creeps me out when she does that.

Her gray eyes lifted a second to catch mine before looking down again. She placed the knife back in its slot, removing a larger knife out of the next slot.

When I seemed to be taking longer than expected to answer, Iota's grin appeared. She assured me, "It's alright to speak your mind. There's no judgment here."

Chewing my bottom lip, I was searching through my mind wondering what I'd like to ask her first. There was so much I needed to know, but wasn't sure how much of my questions Iota would be able to answer.

"Well... I guess... I guess I'm just wondering how you came to know so much about Quail Wolves."

The woman never stopped cleaning her knife, almost expecting that question. She continued cleaning the blade, pausing to lift it up to the lantern light to admire her work. She glanced at me before placing the knife into its proper slot.

Iota took a deep breath through her nose and sighed out through her mouth, reaching for the last knife in the leather pouch, "Not many people know but there is actually a book on your species of wolf. A book written a long time ago when the existence of the third Quail Wolf came to be."

I could feel my eyebrows furrow, my curiosity peaked.

Iota, seeing that she had my attention, went on.

"It just so happened to be written by that third Quail Wolf, with the help of their Caretaker, of course. It seemed to come natural for some Weres to automatically protect these Quail Wolves once they are discovered."

Iota looked at me with a small smile.

"I assume you had one or two people protecting you growing up, right?"

I nodded, replying that only my family knew about me as I was growing up and then my friend, Eden.

"My mate found out about me the same time my pack did," I added.

Iota nodded, letting her eyes return to the knife in her hand. She focused on it, her tone calm and soft as usual.

"Quail Wolves are delicate, Gigi. They are very powerful, sure, but easily persuaded too. That's why every single Quail has given into the Darkness. I guess, after thinking on it, your species is just like anyone else really. They have a human side that thinks just like a human. It's in their nature to be tempted by things but with a wolf side that has an instinct to defend themselves from danger, it becomes an internal battle for that Quail."

Iota paused, lowering a brow, glancing up at me.

"For a Quail Wolf, the human and wolf side usually have personalities that differ from the other."

"Usually?" I repeated, curious to what she meant.

The she-wolf raised a hand gently in the air for me to be patient. So I settled back in my spot on the ground.

After a moment, Iota continued her explanation.

"In the book, written by the Quail Wolf and its Caretaker, it was described how much harder it was getting for the Quail to keep control of themselves. That with the Quail's wolf doing everything in its power to stay in the light, its human was becoming more and more tempted by the Dark. And with the war that was nearing in that time, the Quail Wolf was losing its control and leaning towards those who wanted to abuse the wolf's power. Which begs the question, how do you turn down the opportunity of a role in power?"

I scowled, scoffing a bit as I interrupted again that it was wrong! That wavering to a side that wanted nothing but to hurt others and look down on them was inhumane!

Iota nodded once, a smile on her lips again, "Precisely. Which is why the Caretaker had figured out-after watching the Quail Wolf start to succumb to the Dark-that it takes two goods to overcome a bad."

Though I was confused, Iota gave a silent nod for me to be patient as she explained further.

"With a human side and a wolf side equally balanced in personality, wouldn't you say it would be so much harder to let the Darkness in?"

I blinked, my neck craning back.

That did make sense. With personalities that were both kind, it would make it harder to allow something completely opposite to provoke that kindness.

I frowned then, shaking my head that was a guess my family assumed because of me.

"But I nearly killed my mate, Iota! Hell, that's why I was banished from my home in the first place!"

The hollow feeling in my chest was felt again. The memory of seeing a bloodied Ridge on the floor behind his dad made me squeeze my eyes shut. I tightened my hold on the blanket, pulling it closer around me.

Without opening my eyes, I sighed, "And how would you explain Emory? He's a child. A perfect example of innocence and kindness, and even the Darkness was able to consume him long enough to commit an act of murder."

Looking up at the woman still staring at me, I could see something in her eyes unreadable. She was reading something off me though. But I remained silent, waiting for her to stop analyzing me.

Iota tilted her head, humming to herself and nodded as though whatever she was thinking she was agreeing with.

"There's a great deal to you, Gigi. You have a fight in you that has started at a very young age. I suppose you didn't even know it yourself, not until the right moment at least. But... but I do sense something about you that is different. I have a good feeling about you, Quail Wolf."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Iota craned her neck forward, raising a brow. "That I feel the same way about you as I feel about Emory. Though you didn't kill your mate, you were relishing in that moment of the Darkness-the peek show, so to speak, that it gave to you what you could feel if you succumbed completely. Just as Emory had when he killed his parents."

I shifted my gaze to the chattering boy talking off Vicky's ear. He was only pausing in his chatter to slurp the soup from his spoon, but even then he managed to sneak in a few muffled words.

"He's a child, Gigi," I heard Iota say with me still staring at Emory. "Though the Dark got to him, it was only a brief moment. It didn't stick because of his youthful heart. I know it doesn't make sense at first, but believe me when I say that Emory has no recollection of what he did."

I turned to her, frowning at this piece of information and Iota nodded.

"Young One was covered in blood when he broke out of his Dark Mode. Didn't even know what was happening, or why he was standing in the middle of his living room between his dead parents. The pack that we three came from were terrified of him! Right away they figured out what he was and they wanted him dead."

"I could relate to that," I mumbled, remembering how angry Mr. Beaumont was when he found out about me the first time, then after I almost killed his son.

Iota touched my head, brushing back my hair as she tilted her own head to the side.

"There has to be a balance for a Quail wolf, Gigi. It's up to both sides of the Quail to know what is right and wrong. Which explains why Emory had a brief moment of Darkness. He didn't know what he did was wrong, and he won't understand until he's a bit older after we explain to him what was done. And that will be his trigger, Gigi. Once he learns the truth of why his parents are dead... that will be the point where the Darkness will try again to take over and I fear it will succeed."

She was now looking over at Emory bubbling out a laugh when he was blowing bubbles into his juice pouch.

I became frustrated, shaking my head and asked her why she was telling me this like there was something I could do about it.

"Because you can."

My eyebrows shot up, blinking hard. "Excuse me?"

Iota narrowed her eyes at me, tilting her head. "A Quail wolf isn't born to just anyone. They are chosen based on the person they will grow up to be. They are typically kind, generous, put others before themselves..."

The she-wolf paused, raising a brow. "Sound familiar?"

I wrinkled my nose, lowering my gaze with a frown.

"But-but if the other Quail Wolves were that way too... then-then what makes you think I won't turn out the same way? How can you be so sure that I'm so different than the others?"

"Because you have one difference compared to the others." Iota grinned, a twinkle in her eye. "You're a woman."

My eyes widened, leaning back a little.

"The other Quail wolves were male?" I frowned.

Iota nodded, "Yes, they were. And do you know what is more innate in a woman than a man?"

I squinted my eyes, studying her amused look. She seemed to be enjoying that I was so intrigued.

"Compassion, Gigi Dear. It's an innate nature to a woman more so than to a man. Not to say that a man can't be compassionate, or that every woman acknowledges it, but a man's ego works at their pride. That, sometimes, gets in the way of showing an affectionate side. Which is why I find it so astounding that a Quail Wolf is female. Seems that the Spirit World finally knocked some sense into itself when they chose you."

"So you're saying..." I stopped, trying to fit together the bits and pieces of information. "That the reason you think I have a better chance of staying in the light... of fighting the Darkness... is... is because I have a natural ability to be more compassionate? I'm able to see what a man might overlook?"

Iota grinned, "You piece things together quite nicely."

"But how do you explain what got me banished? The fact I almost killed my alpha? I didn't even realize it until I could hear him suffering!"

"There!" Iota pointed at me, raising her brows. She startled me, making me lean back a bit.

"There it is!" Iota nodded again. "That's how you know you are so much stronger and have a will so much harder to bend. Because any other Quail Wolf would have kept going. They would have continued to attack the alpha despite hearing him suffer. It wouldn't have mattered to them because everyone believes-including Quails themselves-that their purpose is to kill."

The she-wolf shook her head, chuckling behind her lips.

"But not you. You are living proof that the love in your heart isn't a weakness. It's a strength that you never knew you had. Even in the darkest moments can you manage to pull back because your innate sensibility is to recognize the wrong from the right, and vice-versa, before putting a stop to it."

The woman's eyes twinkled when she teased, "Haven't you heard the saying 'don't send a man to do a woman's job'?"

She went back to cleaning her knife, allowing a few moments for me to let everything sink in.

I stared off into the barely visible treeline a few yards behind Vicky and Emory. So much of what Iota said was making sense.

Everything that's happened to me the moment I found out about Ridge being my True Mate should have made me snap completely. The Darkness had been seducing me from the moment I was rejected and it was at that point that I should have been at my weakest to let the Dark take over.

I should have been completely emotionless right now; heartless and inconsiderate of those around me. The exact replica of the Nightmare Gigi.

But if what Iota was saying of me being female could make a difference when the time comes... then I really have no choice, do I?

My eyes flicked over to Emory. His childish demeanor tugged at my heart to think that he can't have a normal childhood because of what he is... of what he's done. And as Iota had mentioned about Quail personalities, I wanted to do everything I could to protect that kid.

The boy's eyes flicked to me and he grinned his toothy smile, waving at me excitedly before looking back to Vicky who was sticking a straw into his new juice box.

Turning back to Iota, I found her watching me. Her lips pursed together in her stare.

I took a deep breath, letting it out slow as I nodded, "Alright... let's say that I believe you. And-and that I can make a difference than other Quail Wolves... What now? How can I prove to myself that I can do this?"

The silence between us was deafening; the only sound was Emory's chattering and Vicky's "Mm-hm" responses.

Iota lifted her chin, raising a brow that starting tomorrow she was going to teach me how to control myself. Or at least... the wolf side that would want out whenever I was pissed.

"And how are you going to do that?" I asked skeptically, scowling.

Iota grinned. She could see my doubt that she'd be successful in helping me. And her answer didn't help convince me any.

"Well, by pissing your human side off, of course. Controlling your human side is key to controlling your wolf. You must have felt the pull of your wolf trying to take over completely when you attacked your alpha, did you not? You had trouble to pull her back because your human side lost control. It didn't know how to balance between the two of you. There's a way to give your wolf full control while your human holds the reins, so to speak."

I sat there again watching the way she went back to rolling up the leather pouch and tying it closed. Iota tucked her hair behind her ear before setting the pouch aside and I licked my lips, swallowing hard.

"Iota...?"

"Yes, Gigi?"

"How-how do you know so much about the Quail Wolves? Like... Like I know you said there's a book... but how do you know it even exists? And that it was written by a Quail?"

She lifted her gray eyes to me, sitting still for a moment then smiled, "Because I have the book, Gigi. It was given to me by my great-grandfather for safe keeping some place other than here."

"And your great-grandfather... he was...?"

"The last Quail Wolf's Caretaker."

My eyes widened and she laughed lightly, shrugging with a sigh, "It was hard to believe at first but when he gave me the book for safe-keeping because he trusted me out of everyone in the family, he told me I was to read it and memorize the book in its entirety. He said it was important to remember everything by memory in order to help other Quail Wolves who needed me. He had told me that there would be those Quail Wolves who are a lost cause and have already made the decision to succumb to the Dark, but that there would be a few..."

She paused to give me a pointed look with a raised brow. "-who would need guidance."

Iota nodded in Emory's direction, "Just like the little one... and you." Her eyes glanced at me again.

When I asked Iota if Vicky knew about the book, she shook her head. She explained to me that her great-grandfather had given it to her in secret and had made her promise to not speak of it to anyone. But then added that their older sister, Madilynn, had confronted her about the book that same evening it was given to Iota. Madilynn had demanded to know about the Quail Wolves' secrets.

"When I refused to tell her, explaining my promise, my sister became angry. She accused me of being a traitor to my kind for wanting to help an abominable species. It was at this point of my life-I was only eighteen at the time-that I realized why my grandfather made me keep the book a secret. I realized that with the book, others who were against the idea of Quail Wolves, would use it to their advantage and either have a Quail under their control... or just kill them."

We sat there in silence again, nature's symphony of critters filling the night air, and the slow tune on the radio went along with our surroundings.

Turning to Iota who was staring off at the treeline, I asked, "May I ask what happened to your sister?"

The normally bright smile on her face I was getting used to dimmed to a grim one. Iota inhaled deeply, keeping her sight on the darkness of the park's trees. I tilted my head a little, eyeing how sad she looked and I wondered if maybe I made a personal intrusion.

"She disappeared," Iota suddenly answered, looking at me. "She went missing a few years after that day she confronted me. Being the elder sister, you'd think she wouldn't have run out on Vicky and me, but Madilynn... She..."

Iota shook her head, squinting at the fire then looked back to me.

"Something was off about her ever since we learned about what Quail Wolves were and the kind of power they had. To be honest, I could sense how jealous my sister was that she wasn't born a Quail. I think that's why she said she hated them so much."

Iota looked at me with a small smile, sighing, "But there's not a day that I don't think about her and wish for her to be my sister again. I miss her so much. And I know that eventually I'll run into her again. It just might not be on the terms that I want... but I'd just have to prepare myself for that circumstance."

With that, Iota pushed herself up to stand and sighed, "Well now! I think that's enough story time for us. We are due early tomorrow to begin helping you train, Gigi."

She looked at me, grinning that according to what she'd memorized in the book, it would require a lot of energy on my part and that I'd be a bit moody for the next few days-possibly weeks. Iota stressed that she would be pushing me to my breaking point again. Just like back in the arena.

I gulped, staring wide eyed at her.

Remembering that day I was banished and how I acted wasn't something I wanted to go through all over again, to be honest. At my breaking point, I was a danger that not even the strongest alpha could pin down.

Who's to say I won't do what I did to Ridge to Iota, Vicky or even Emory?

"I can see your panic, Gigi. It's all over your face," Iota laughed, holding out her hand for me to take.

I hesitated before reaching for it and allowing her to help me up. The she-wolf sighed again, placing a hand on top of my head and leaned her face close to mine.

With a grin, Iota promised, "Have no fear, Quail Wolf. For tomorrow, you begin to learn the balance between good and evil. So Carpe Diem!"

I scrunched my nose, raising a brow, "Carpe what?"

Iota laughed and interpreted, "Seize the day!" then she turned away, calling, "Young One! Time for bed!"

Iota winked at me before heading towards the tent and ushering in a groaning Emory who didn't want to go to bed yet.

The tall slim woman nodded, "Uh, huh. I'm sure. Now into your pjs you go! Come on!" and placed her hand behind his back to gently push the eight year old to the entrance of the tent.

I could hear Enory grumbling under his breath and Iota frowned, "What was that?"

"Nothing!" he chirped.

Pursing my mouth to the side, I wondered what tomorrow was going to be like, and even the long weeks I had ahead of me.

I heard footsteps to my left and turned to Vicky approaching. She stood beside me, crossing her arms and stared at the tent as I was. We watched Iota tap a giggling Emory on the nose and bid him goodnight before tucking him in.

"You're in good hands, you know?"

Vicky nodded when I glanced at her. She smiled softly (a first and only for me, I think).

"My sister is only so much older than I am, but she's wise beyond her years. But I know that if she sees something in you that will be for the common good..." Vicky paused, pursing her lips and nudged me a bit. "Then I guess you aren't so bad after all, Shorty. For a Quail Wolf."

I smirked, lowering a brow.

"Is this your way of welcoming me into your group?"

Vicky snorted, sticking her chin up and flipped her hair off her shoulder. "Don't push it, Shorty. Quail Wolf or not, I'll still kick your ass. No matter how attached Emory is to you."

"Is this jealousy I'm getting?" I teased, grinning a bit to see Vicky's cheeks flame as she shot a narrowed-eyed look at me.

"No," Vicky sneered. "The little termite can be as attached to you as he wants! I'm just warning you for the sake of both him and my sister. I'll tear your ass up, Newbie. Don't forget that."

I raised a brow, eyeing the she-wolf as I scrunched my nose.

"You're kinda violent. Makes me worry about you... And I barely know you."

Vicky's bored look was back in place. She scoffed, "It's not me you should be worried about since the safety of the Were world is not in my hands. Remember that!" then she walked off to the tent, climbing in and leaving me out in the open.

I frowned at the tent, narrowing my eyes a bit at what Vicky said. Whether she was being mean intentionally or not, I figured it was, again, because she wasn't so easily trusting as Emory or her sister were. It was understandable, of course, being that there were people after them because of the eight year old.

Sighing, I looked up at the dark sky that was illuminated by the moonlight. I felt homesick. A small wave of sadness filling me.

"Goodnight, Ridge," I whispered, still watching the dark sky. "I miss you."

Emory stuck his head out a few minutes later and called, "Hey, Gianna! Come inside! We're going to sleep now! But you can sleep with me! I don't mind!"

I could hear Vicky's grumbled mutter of, "Of course you don't, you perverted little weirdo! You already saw her naked!"

I sighed again, shaking my head and headed over. The two kept arguing until Iota played referee and made us all go to bed.