"Yeah, no one has suspected anything yet. Bernard is going to be here around eight so be back by then, all right? Everything else is covered up." I said on the call with my sister who probably had the greatest night of her life. I could already tell it through her excited voice.

"Yes, I'll be there. Thanks for covering up for me!" She exclaimed quickly, breathing hard as if she wanted to drop the call and do something else as soon as possible.

"Of course. No worries. I'll talk to you later. Bye." When I noticed her desperation, I ended the call quicker and then laughed for a whole minute before resting back down.

Luciano managed to sneak out of the house in broad daylight and he told he'd return later at evening when he'd be called by Dillion. I covered up for Anna, telling everyone that she was a little bit under the weather and sleeping since morning.

After locking up the door to my room, I left for the kitchen to quickly grab a bite. My legs felt wobbly but it wasn't anything new for me. I had been sore for days now and pain killers weren't doing much.

"I haven't seen your friend around in a couple days. Where is she?" Sonya asked as I stepped inside the kitchen. Apparently, I learned earlier that she wasn't working for Marissa, just keeping an eye on Brenda who did. She was still loyal to her Alpha and not a trouble for any of us.

I rolled the room key between my fingers and hid it behind my back while acting casual. "She's a little sick so she's sleeping. I will wake her up when needed." I replied, quickly moving away and opening the fridge to grab whatever was inside there.

"Your and your friend's stay here will be cut short. Alpha Dillion no longer requires you two as the evil here has been reversed." She continued, following my back. "You'll be paid for your part played in this and you two can return from wherever you came from."

I almost gasped. "What?" We were done here?

"Do I have to repeat?" Sonya cocked a brow at me.

"No," I shook my head. "So is that all?"

"Yes. Alpha Dillion no longer requires protection from witches for now. When needed, we will call you." Her posture tightened as she spoke.

I stared at her—dumfounded.

"So, we can't stay here anymore?"

"Well, you can definitely stay here for the night and you're welcome to rent out a place anywhere in the town but the mansion will be closed from tomorrow onwards." Sonya continued.

My eyes widened and my brows furrowed. What happened overnight? And why was the mansion being closed? "Why?"

"I wouldn't want to go on details but Alpha Dillion will be leaving for States early in the morning and at his departure, this mansion will be closed until his return which is not anticipated yet." She crossed her arms over her chest and shot me a smile.

I grew more confused. Why was Dillion leaving? And if he was, we needed to tell him the truth immediately, before he left and couldn't be found ever again.

My eyes squinted and I asked, "I'm sorry but why is he leaving again?"

"That is not your concern." She spat out, rudely.

Ouch.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I'll grab my things and we will leave. Thank you for letting me know." I fisted the apple between my hands tightly and scurried back to my room like a bear was chasing behind me.

As soon as I reached inside, I grabbed my phone and called Anna up. Several rings later, she still didn't pick and all my calls went to voicemail. Heat rose inside my chest as my heart began beating rapidly. We needed to stop Dillion from leaving. What was he even going to do in the States when his daughter's were here? And why was he even going?

A tear dropped down my face and I wiped it away. I shouldn't be scared of losing my Father again when he was right here but I still had to wait out for Anna to return before we could speak with him. I couldn't do it without her. What would I even tell him?

Hey Dad, I'm your long-lost daughter.

Neither Anna nor Ben picked up my calls. After a couple tries, I gave up. When my phone started ringing, I raced to it but rather found Cordelia calling me.

Shit.

—

"I have been informed Dillion's leaving. Is that so?" Cordelia questioned, turning her head at my direction while I struggled to walk through the rocks inside the nearby wood.

"Yes but we know everything now." I replied, easing her worries away.

My mind was consumed with a thousand questions and thoughts and I really needed to share them with someone. I sat down on one of the rocks and pushed my fists inside the pockets of my coat. Cordelia sat close to me but still far away.

She lifted her hand and used magic to twist the broken branches on the ground and turn them into little flowers that brightened up the cold, gray woods. I kept my mouth shut and noticed the way she did magic.

It was—it was just different.

I tore my eyes away from her when she snapped her head at me. "What do you know?"

"Would you be mad over the fact that Dillion has a couple of children's?" I asked, barring my teeth into a nervous smile.

"As long as they aren't babies and icky it's not a concern for me. I only want Dillion." Her eyes penetrated into my soul and my entire body tensed.

"Well, they aren't. Did Anna tell you who I was when we came to you for the first time?" I slowly went up to the truth, unsure whether or not Cordelia knew who I was.

People didn't knew about me as according to Luciano, I was never announced as the Queen due to my behavior in the past couple years, therefore, he wanted to remarry me in the public and announce who I was but then I was killed and we never got a chance.

"No. Only that you were killed by Gretel while you wore the Stone of Lycans—which is a quiet confusing as the Stone belongs to the royal family, unless you had stolen it."

"No, it was given to me by my husband and I know we shouldn't have lied to you but we were just protecting ourselves." I stopped for a second and watched the color of Cordelia's face fade away with surprise. "I am the King's mate and long story short, I was killed by Gretel seconds after I killed her. And, I've to return to Lunaris in a few days to claim the throne of Witches."

Cordelia was quiet for a minute. "That's all?"

I swallowed hard and raised my voice before continuing, "And we are Dillion's daughters—me and Anna. There is a body in the East Wing, and the woman he was deeply in love with was our late Mother who had passed away when I was three." My fingers twisted against each other and I imagined the absolute worst.

Would she just kill me and call it a day? No anger was found in her eyes. The wind danced around us and the flowers she planted on the ground died immediately. I took in a sharp breath and tapped my feet on the rock, waiting for something.

"Is it your Mother's body?"

"Yes. It's been there for almost two decades. As I promised, I will ask Dillion to bury her and move on. My Mother can't return but I want my Father to live and he can't when he has her deceased body by his side." I held my arms tightly and when I finished, I narrowed my head and closed my eyes to hold myself together.

It was difficult seeing my own Mother inside the room, dead for years, yet not given a burial or a funeral and all those baby things belonging to me.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Cordelia said.

When she placed her hand on me, I flinched and my eyes shot open. Death was so terrifying and I never wanted to die again. Fear turned my entire body cold. I blew out a smoky breath and turned my palms over to see my hands.

"Is there a reason I still can't shift?" I asked her as she was the one who turned me back to a human.

"You're probably still weak. Have you tried shifting?"

"I have, a couple times but it doesn't works and it hurts." I responded.

She gave me her hand and said, "Take my hand and try again. I'll take some of the pain away and we can see if you can still shift."

I glanced at her, "Really?"

"Yes."

I stripped off my clothes immediately, leaving only the undies on. Holding Cordelia's wrinkly hand, I closed my lids and breathed hard while imaging my wolf, imaging my limbs turning hairy and my body morphing.

As the pain surged into my body, I struggled to keep up with my imagination. Circles of red appeared in my vision and I let out a small scream before the painful shifting began. My bones started cracking and twisting beginning with my lower body before continuing to the rest.

My gums throbbed in agony and I clutched Cordelia's hand tighter. She took away a bit of my pain and I was able to go through the process.

I stumbled away from the rock and onto the ground, on all fours, in my wolf form, at last. I wanted to laugh but instead a purr spilled out of me in excitement. I felt the power of my wolf at my fingertips, I felt as if I had gotten all my strength back—the strength that was stolen from me when I died.

I turned my head away from Cordelia who was smiling and cheering for me. However, the second I tried to run in my wolf form and explore the woods, someone struck at me.

Another wolf.

A rogue.

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