"What?" The word spilled from my lips in a splutter as I blinked in shock.

They were saving her... for me?

The words blurted out before I had the mind to properly think through them. "What would I want her for?" I asked, quickly regretting the question as I watched my mother’s lips curl into a grin.

"Weren’t you lot desperately looking for her?" my mother said with a laugh, shaking her head as though she had heard something funny. "Now that I’ve found her, she will obviously be presented to you. If I were to send her back to Thunderstrike, who knows whether or not that brother of hers would just find an excuse to set her free."

She rolled her eyes, resting her weight on one leg as she observed the worn-out werewolf.

"He might have lost his wolf, but Darach Elrod was raised as one just the same. Even after everything his father and sister put him through, he still allowed them to stay under his roof. Quite a foolish young alpha, if you ask me," she muttered in distaste. "But folly is what’s keeping them out of every hunter’s radar right now."

"There’s also the possibility of the previous alpha of Thunderstrike breaking her out," Gus pointed out.

"Ah, right," my mother said. "Thorton Elrod. How could anyone forget?" She tapped a finger to her chin. "Perhaps I should bring him in as well. I heard that he has caused my daughter quite a lot of trouble during the council meeting that eventually lost him his title."

Suddenly, I wanted to puke.

There was no way my mother could’ve been present at the council meeting in the Forest of Selene, and yet, she seemed to know the details of that secret conference well enough. Or, perhaps, it could also be an educated guess, but I highly doubted that there were so many coincidences in this world.

How could she have known? Just how many connections did she have, all hidden in plain sight?

"The current Alpha of Thunderstrike seeks to punish her," I said, trying my best to allow myself to remain calm. I couldn’t have my voice shaking right now. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be convincing in any bit. "I am not a member of Thunderstrike. If they found out that I did anything to her on my own accord―"

"And how will they know?" my mother asked, cutting me off. "She isn’t going to tattle, that’s for sure. In fact, she isn’t even going to leave this tower alive. You have nothing to worry about."

"I don’t need the rumors floating around," I said evenly.

"That is if you even return to Fangborne," my mother replied.

"I didn’t realize I wasn’t going to, eventually," I said. My voice cracked a little at the end, and I felt as though someone had their hands over my lungs, squeezing them till the point where I was suffocated badly. "That’s my home."

Even though I had expected as much, hearing my mother admit it felt like the final nail in the coffin. I couldn’t stay here. Even if this was what I had always wanted, for years and years after my mother passed away, right now, I had made a new home for myself with Damon and Blaise.

This wasn’t my home, and with how my mother was acting, I doubt it could ever be.

"I still don’t approve of your... mates," she said, frowning. "And until I have witnessed for myself that they will not mistreat you like your father did, I will not let you return to Fangborne with them. You’re still young; it’s easy to get misguided by the whims of romance when your prefrontal cortex is yet to properly mature." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Mom, this is ridiculous," I said, taking in a deep breath to calm myself down. "I have survived till adulthood just fine on my own. They’re not going to hurt me. Or at least, not as much as my father did."

My mother’s smile dropped as she stared at me silently. There was a sliver of remorse that fluttered through her eyes, but she shook it away quickly. I bit down on my bottom lip, chewing on it as the room was bathed in silence.

"I wasn’t there for you as a child," my mother finally said. "It’s a little late, but I still wish to be a part of your life now. You’re still my little girl, after all."

I parted my lips, ready to speak, but I was cut off when my mom pressed her finger against my lips, effectively shushing me.

"If you so adamantly want to leave with them after they’ve come to visit, then so be it," she said, stunning me.

Even Gus, who stood a short distance away, had his eyes widened with surprise. He stayed quiet, however, but I could see a thousand thoughts running through his head despite how he had perfected the know-all look on an average day. It seemed like she had even surprised him.

That made me a little more interested in what she had to say.

"But?" I prompted. "You’re not going to let me just leave after going through all the trouble of bringing me here. So what’s the condition?"

"But," my mom said, not to my surprise. Here we go. "You will need to learn the ways of a hunter first."

Her words, however, weren’t exactly what I expected.

"You are still a human girl," my mother continued in my silence. "A grown werewolf can easily overpower you, much more an alpha or a beta. They’ll rip you into shreds before you can even think of defending yourself if they so wished."

My mother wasn’t wrong. When I had first joined Fangborne, the ritual combat between Damon and I only proved the differences in our strength. Much more, not that my mother knew, Damon and Blaise were capable of much more than superhuman strength and shifting into giant wolves.

She gestured at Gus, smiling with pride.

"I was informed that you carried a silver weapon with you at all times. It was quite unfortunate that it got left behind, but that is a good start. Silver is more effective against werewolves than wolfsbane, and a better method when it comes to a violent altercation. Since you’re used to it, we will train you with that."

Then, she pointed to the very weak Dahlia in chains. Dahlia seemed to stir faintly at our conversation.

"Starting with her."