Glaring at the window, I thought about how Ivan dared to threaten me. His words didn't look a bit serious to me. He sounded so desperate and regretful. But guilty? No.

I left that on Keira to decide. It was her life and choice to feel if Ivan had felt the guilt and would improve or not. I needed to stay away from him and I wouldn't go to meet Stephen until he'd leave.

How could males be like that? Like he had all the fun with Eva in the name of helping her and then, push Keira to forgive him and be all happy again. But Keira would never feel the level of satisfaction she had dreamed about.

It was sad. Utterly sad.

"Misty?"

I looked at the door, feeling angry as how I couldn't even hear the door opening. Mom stood there with a smile on her face and plate in one hand. "Pastries for you," she said nervously.

"I said that you can give them to your mate-"

"These are for everyone in my family," she said while walking towards me.

I clenched my jaws and looked back at the Alpha Rucus' statue. "You need to leave."

"Misty-"

"Stop!" I yelled angrily, staggering away when she tried to touch my shoulder. She was shook and somehow controlled the plate which was close to fall. "Stop! Okay? You can't just talk like that to me. I am angry with you. I am upset!"

She gasped, looking at me in disbelief.

"I saw how quiet you were when he burnt my cards," I told her. "That meant nothing to you. Right? He burnt my hard work, my love but why would you interfere? It was none of your business to even care if I would be hurt or not!"

"Misty!" She whispered shockingly, her eyes widening. "Gilbert and I aren't talking."

"Mom, shut it. . . Wait. What?"

She nodded when I gave her a blank glance. "I couldn't stop him when he did that to you. I couldn't stop you when you infuriated him with those cards. But I can stop myself from talking to him."

"Stop talking to me too," I muttered. "Because instead of sorting out or giving me justice, you are left with just showing me your explanations."

Mom turned silent at my rude tone.

For a moment, I turned conscious and felt guilt. But then, I thought that she needed to hear my true feelings.

"What justice you are talking about?" She said quietly. "Cutting myself into two pieces and give them to him and you?"

I flared my nostrils, staring at the little houses.

But Mom started breathing heavily. "You and him! You both have ruined my days and nights-"

"I have ruined?" I stepped back in shock.

"I can't sleep in peace knowing he wants to kill you and you want to kill him!" She shouted, desperately.

"Yes! Because he killed my father!" I screamed in anger, looking wide-eyed at him. "And that man was your husband. Remember?"

Mom palmed her forehead and shakily wiped the sweat. "As if I don't know that. I am the one who loved and married him!" She gulped hard with glossy eyes. "It's easy for you to blame me every time. What are you even angry about? Because he burnt those cards of you?"

I stared at her in disbelief as her pupils dilated and whole eyes turned golden.

"Have you ever thought how hurtful it is for him to even remember the innocent person he had killed in vengeance?" She asked while breathing harshly. Her face had turned red as she looked at me fiercely. "Gilbert is not proud of killing your father and neither of burning your cards! These are all circumstances."

"These are all excuses!" I shouted angrily, my eyes filling with tears.

"What do you want me to do?" She yelled putting the plate on the table. "To fight him? Do you remember that he is the Alpha and Ceremony is about to arrive. Pete's life is completely dependent on this function and if I start getting upset with everyone, it will take us to our ruins!"

"I don't understand why you even care to keep me here," I said shakily, letting out a sob. "It's not like you even love me enough. You didn't leave the murderer of your husband, of my father. You love him enough to not let him go even when he dares to give me a death threat!"

"He was angry, Misty!" She growled, making me gasp.

"I am not scared of this shit anymore. You will have to fucking choose today!" I screamed, giving her a glare. "I don't want your pastries. I want you all to myself alone. You owe me reparations!"

She gasped while looking at me, stunned. "You want me to choose? Between you and my family here. You know that the pack has accepted you. You know that Pete and others take care of you. You know that-"

"Your mate wants me dead," I said through clenched jaws. "It is either him or me. I am not going to eat the food made by you. I am not going to talk to you. I have suffered an empty childhood that I didn't deserve," I sobbed. "It's unfair that he still gets your love and all I get is inferiority complex from him. You know why he has the upper hand because you are the mean one here!"

"Because you are at fault!" I screamed, wiping my cheeks. "You came to the city and lured my Dad into your trap. You married him despite knowing you were putting his life in danger. You went back with your mate knowing what my life would be like without you!" I sobbed. "I want my justice! I want him empty of you!"

Mom's eyes widened as tears leaked smoothly.

"You were the one who helped Keira last night. You gave her a voice. But you never gave me my voice. I am not being heard. I want to give him a death threat too. I want to burn his things too. I want him hurt too!" I choked out.

"This will bring justice to your heart?" She whispered in tears.

I nodded, looking at her. "This is now or never. I tried when you told me to cooperate. I tried to be civil. But no, I had to sneak in to his office to make a call to Gran. You know why I put those cards?"

She blinked and cried softly.

"There was a photo of me and him. I was little, unaware of the heartbreaking truth of my life. I am hugging him and has this big smile on my face. But him, he couldn't even smile. It's a photo of the reality. He couldn't even fake a smile, Mom?" I gritted my teeth. "Tell me was it my fault that he fucked someone else and your brother attacked him?"

"Tell me was it my fault that he killed your brother and you ran away? Tell me if I am at fault that you married another man. Tell me if it's my fault that I am your daughter!" I sobbed.

She kept quiet and listened to my words with those big eyes full of tears.

"He has killed my father! It's not a small thing!" I said desperately. "All I have suffered because of him, I hate him. You stayed away from me, your daughter and your mother-in-law. You lost your husband because of him."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, gulping hard.

My eyes turned blank as I wiped my cheeks and told her finally.

"I hate him and I want you to do the same. This whole bullshit about 'mate bond'. Fuck it! I want you to hate him!" I said loudly.

She clenched jaws and stared at me.

"And if you can't hate him, then hate me. I will be happy to leave you with him all alone," I whispered while closing my eyes and wiping the cheeks.

She released a long breathe and even choked out a sob. Walking towards me, she grabbed my hand and put it to her heart. Looking in my eyes, she said, "If this is what you want, then this is what will happen. I owe you reparations. You will get it all."

She sniffled softly and nodded. "I know what he did, Misty. I know how angry he could be. I know how hurt you have been. You have suffered enough. Not anymore. I love you enough to hate him. I hated him for killing my brother and Andrew. But the Moon Goddess didn't let me."

I blinked while breathing in anger.

"No one comes between me and my pups. I will do it," she whispered, crying softly. "Not for you but for me. Because I can't lose you again, Misty. I can't lose you again."

Finally, I was able to moan on each chunk of the pastries that she had made for me.

* * * *

I was angry.

But now, I was regretting bursting out on her. The anger on Ivan was spent on Mom. The half of the wrath was already instigated by her silence that day when Gilbert burnt all of my cards.

Now, I couldn't just go back apologising to her that I was angry that time. Because two days had passed with my ultimate victory.

Mom was really not paying any heed to Gilbert. She's ignoring him at a higher scale that I hadn't expected. During the dinner, she even fought with Uncle Robert about making a vegetarian dish always for me, whenever he wished to cook meat for everyone. Well, because thankfully she remembered that Gran and I were vegetarian.

Gilbert was quiet but made sure to glare at me whenever he could. Mom hadn't allowed Eva to sit at the dining table and it made the whole environment much more serious. Ivan was not showing up on his own will.

Everyone had felt the tension going on between their Alpha and Luna when Mom was sleeping with me these last two nights and not with her mate.

The regret of barking on her like a mean bitch, wasn't fair for my soul now when I was all calm after these two days. Ceremony was closer. While the common wolves looked happy to expect gatherings, food, joy, mates and what not. Gilbert and Mom looked more tensed day by day.

But what concerned me more was if deep in her heart, Mom was sacrificing her moments with Gilbert to keep me happy. I wasn't the one to snatch love forcefully. I liked to earn it naturally. I liked to respect it if it was coming naturally.

Despite, being a human, I couldn't judge Mom when I didn't even know what mate bond even felt like. Maybe, it was so strong that Mom couldn't even sleep without being close to him. She would literally keep tossing and turning whole night or holding my hand to caressing my hair, to pass her time or support her thoughts. She couldn't sleep peacefully with me, I had understood.

Now, I didn't want to torture her anymore. I decided that tonight, I would tell her to just forget what I told her to do. It was stupid and impulsive.

Seeing her happy with Gilbert would be a little more content than seeing her suffering with me forcefully.

There was a painful itch in my heart for sure while thinking all of this. But I had to do this to keep my true father happy above in the sky.

"Misty?"

I jumped up on my bed. Not again. "Why the fuck you guys don't knock? You scared the shit out of me," I said, looking at Natalie in confusion with a mix of faint anger.

"The door was open and you didn't hear my knock. Looks like you were way too focused on thinking about another way to keep my mother away from my father," she taunted while flaring her nostrils.

My mouth parted in shock. "Excuse me, what!" I got up from the bed and stood facing her.

"You aren't doing it right, Misty." Natalie turned to whispering from completely spatting out her taunt to me. "This is not how you spend time with my mother. By hurting my father. She isn't talking to him. Do you even know how the Ceremony affects the mated wolves? They need to be close and loving. While you made my parents fight-"

"Well, if he keeps giving me death threats-"

"He was angry! He didn't mean it." Natalie shouted while holding my arms and glaring up at me. "Don't you understand? He can't hurt you because mother loves you. He can't. Removing you means losing her. My father doesn't hurt innocent beings. Your father was an exception."

"I don't believe you," I choked out, looking at her. Just then I remembered Ivan words about her. "It's not like you speak the truth. You are a liar."

Natalie's eyes squinted in shock. "When did I lie-"

"You lied about Axel not being your mate!" I said, looking at her.

"Misty, I don't know who is my mate. He is not for sure. He can't be. This is not a point to fight when I am not a shifted wolf yet," she said nervously whole observing my eyes keenly.

I removed her hands from my arms and stepped ahead to give her the dead eye. "You were hypnotized that night? But you managed to put wolfsbane in those cookies you brought for Nina and I. But you had forgotten that I was a human. I was immune to what makes a werewolf weak. I woke up just by your mere noise on the window."

Her face paled.

"I followed you, Natalie. You were directly walking in the direction of the borders. You wanted to cross them? I don't know yet. If you were hypnotized, then maybe that would have been your intention. But then from nowhere, the deadly Axel came, ready to pounce on me. I don't even remember screaming. Even if I did, then it wasn't as strong enough to pull you out from your reverie. But you pushed me away and came directly in Axel's vision."

Natalie gulped hard.

My confidence rose with her response and I decided to elaborate more. "If it would have been me, Axel would have tore me down with his claws and canines. I would be dead. Because he was out of control in the full moon's light. Yet when you became the target, he instantly calmed down," I said while smirking at her wide eyes. "Enough that he shifted back to his human form. Because he didn't want to kill you. He wanted to make love to you, rape you-whatever you may call it according to your feelings."

Natalie gulped and blinked, her eyes turning glossy with my words.

"I was scared, Natalie. I was terrified. In my eyes, you were about to get raped. So, I screamed and cried for help. He was calm and readying himself slowly. But then, you put your hand on his cheek," I said, making her lower her eyes and look away in shock.

"No! That can't be possible," she whispered.

"Don't you fucking lie. You remember it! Even if you don't, you know you believe me," I said, looking at her with the faint anger on my nose. "Not just that. You got aroused by the close proximity. Eva smelled it. Ivan smelled it. Everyone one else-"

"Stop! Stop!" Natalie grabbed my hand with tears in her eyes. "He had once bullied our Thomas, Misty. Since then, I don't like him. He is a jerk. He is full of himself. I can't take it. I hate him to the core. It can't be possible," she said while starting to sob.

"Wait. What?" I was confused. "How can Axel bully Thomas, elder to him? Thomas shifted like a year or two ago?"

Natalie twitched her lips. "Axel is three years older than us, Misty. But Thomas is an Alpha's son. Shifting before a common wolf is a common thing to happen."

I nodded keeping my mouth round in fascination. "Okay," I sang absentmindedly. But the seriousness returned. "So, it's clear anyway. You were aroused. But it seems odd to me how you got ready to fuck him?"

Natalie clenched her jaws and glared at me hard that I had regretted my words immediately. "Would you have dared to ask me the same question, if I was raped for real? Sometimes our body betrays us. It happens at the most vulnerable times."

I closed my mouth and that's when, Ivan's conclusion came to my mind.

"But if Lycans are so strong that they can hypnotize you. If you can get hypnotized so strongly that you had jumped off a window, then how could you get distracted and come pushing me away to save me," I spat, giving her the confident look.

Natalie turned stunned and that was my sign for more.

"Maybe, you liked about being hypnotized. Everyone in the house knew who was placed in the hall near the grounds. Axel! You knew and you went for the grounds knowingly. You weren't aiming for the borders. You were aiming for Axel," I said, observing her straight face. She looked defeated. "You wanted him, Natalie. Admit it. He wasn't in his control. But you were warned to not leave home. You put his life in danger. You knew Pete or Gilbert would have killed him if Axel had done the deed."

Natalie's jaws clenched while thick tears slid down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and let out a sob.

"I was helpless, Misty."

My mouth opened in shock. Oh my God! Ivan was right. My mind starting dancing in suspense. What the actual fu.ck? But wait. This wasn't right. Wish to be with Axel was another thing. But being helpless?

My heart started drowning.

Natalie grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the bathroom in the room. Shutting the door, she put all the three taps on, along with the shower. Some of the drops started pouring on us while our pajamas had already started turning wet. But my focus was solely on her sobbing face.

"Misty, promise me you won't tell anyone anything about this," she cried.

I nodded immediately. Her tears had my poor heart exploded. I squeezed her hand. "What's wrong, Natalie?"

She gulped while letting out a sob. "They are all training us to become spies, Misty. To become their whores and spy underneath," she choked out.

My heart was shot with a bullet. A tensed and dark environment started moving around. "What?" I whispered.

She nodded desperately. "Lycans are caged, Misty. Not us. Then why do these all packs made a pact to send us she-wolves whoever turns out to be their mate and put our lives in danger. No one has returned, Misty. No one." She sobbed.

I gulped.

She took a breathe and told me slowly. "The mythology class is taught so we can be aware of the revenge we have to take. We have to follow on Alpha Rucus' footsteps and not let our sons accept any Lycans mate. But when for centuries, this kept happening. The Moon Goddess turned upset and Lycans' prayers were answered. Our strong, self-controlling males started dying of longing too. But then, the populations were declining."

Through the loud water falling on the floor and bucket, she dared to reveal it to me. "The Pact was made with understanding including the Alpha of Lycans too. That she-wolves will be given to their males and in return they won't pray bad for our males. But our packs are cheating. They are training she-wolves to spy on the whole area and complete the goal. Misty, I swear they have taught us how to temp our mate when we have to distract him-"

"Wait! Complete the goal? Which goal?" I asked, cutting her words off.

She blinked. "Alpha Rucus went to the heaven but Luna Severa killed herself. She can't reach the moon. Even after dying, they aren't together. All the six packs, especially our own wants them to meet. They want our Alpha Rucus' to meet his mate. It all happened when males started dying and my grandfather went to the elders. He was taught how a middle path was needed to walk on. Luna Severa needs to meet Alpha Rucus for the good of our werewolf world. Someone needs to bring the Lycans' territory sand, the land where she died and deposit at Alpha Rucus' heart. But no she-wolf has returned. Ever."

My mouth stayed parted as goosebumps straightened all over my body.

"Everyone talks about how Eva has Leo. He had officially admitted to it my father, Misty. Eva knows too but she denies so she could still be father's favorite. What she doesn't know that she is his mate," choked out Natalie. "From last two decades, a pattern is forming. Each year, two or three girls used to be mate of Lycan males. But the she-wolves are from different packs each year. One by one each pack has a turn. Sometimes, the chain breaks and even she-wolves from different packs are chosen within one year. But what I have noticed from last twelve years that the Alpha's daughters are chosen one by one over generations."

She sniffled while saying, "The last five generations have gotten their mates from the