Lily felt like cold water had been poured over her. The confession hung heavily in the air, freezing her in place as if time had slowed down. Her heart raced, pounding in her chest like a drumbeat of dread. The room seemed to spin around her, and she struggled to make sense of the emotions surging within her.
"No," Lily finally managed to utter, her voice trembling with disbelief and denial. She stumbled backward, her movements unsteady, and Tiffany quickly rose to her feet, reaching out instinctively to offer comfort. But as their hands touched, Lily jerked away as if burned. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, but one thing was clear-she couldn't accept this truth.
"No, this can't be true," she repeated, her voice growing increasingly desperate.
'But it is true. Remember she mocked us and said she knew our mother. This would make sense,' Dina said, 'Please calm down. Just breathe Lily.'
"No, NO! I can't believe this!" Lily said, her voice rising.
'Lily, give me control. Let me take it from here,' Dina's voice whispered within her mind. Lily, feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope, welcomed the reprieve with open arms. She relinquished control to her wolf, allowing Dina to step forward and bear the emotional weight.
As Dina took charge of Lily's body, her posture and demeanor shifted. She stood tall, her eyes were filled with shock was now filled with anger. "Lily, please calm down. I know this is hard to handle," Tiffany implored, noticing the change in her eyes. "Dina?"
Dina, her voice carrying an air of authority, responded firmly, "This is too much for Lily. To keep her from adding on to her trauma, I will be continuing the conversation."
Debra, her expression heavy with regret, offered a heartfelt apology. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have been so careless with revealing that information, but Lily needed to hear the truth."
"Lily and I always appreciate honesty and transparency, but Lily is feeling overwhelmed. As much as Lily tries to have a strong demeanor, she is still healing and so much has happened in such a short time," Dina responded, waving off her apology.
"Lily's upbringing was hell. Mandy was never kind to Lily. Knowing that this woman ultimately betrayed her mother, I cannot imagine what Lily is feeling right now," Tiffany added.
"When Kenneth realized that Lily was an omega, he wanted nothing to do with her. From Lily's memories, there were days when she didn't have food or water. If it wasn't for the pack doctor and Tiffany's parents, Lily would not have made it. Lily was lucky that I had awoken during puberty. She could rely on me and I took over when things got bad when Brandy would attack us for the littlest things," Dina continued.
Tiffany remembered seeing the bruises on Lily and her food-starved body like it was yesterday. She immediately brought Lily home to her parents to take care of her. "They really didn't care if she lived or died. They only forced her to be around them to keep up appearances, but they never loved Lily," Tiffany added.
"I wish I had known. I would have taken you two away. But Kenneth told me Abigail died in childbirth. He said Lily was Mandy's daughter. I didn't know," Debra cried.
"Stop crying. We don't need your pity. We survived and it made us stronger. You shouldn't cry over things that you had no control over, Luna. This is his fault and his fault alone," Dina growled at Debra.
"But it is. I should have done more. I should have taken Abigail away as soon as..."
"Enough! You cannot worry about the past. It is over and done. We focus on the present. Lily and I are in danger now. We need to figure out how to keep us safe," Dina snapped.
"The trial is in a few days. Have the members of the Elder Council changed from back then?" Tiffany asked, trying to refocus the conversation.
"Yes, two out of the six were replaced, but I do not know if one of the two was the one that favored Kenneth," Debra confirmed.
"I do not doubt that Kenneth will try something to get the Elder Council to force us to go back to his pack. What can we do to avoid that?" Dina said.
"There is nothing we can do. Kenneth is conniving and vicious. I won't underestimate him again, and neither should you. He already threatened me and your life if I didn't agree to convince you to return home," Debra admitted.
Dina, curious about their own safety, questioned Debra further. "Do you really think he would hurt us? We are his daughters, after all, even if he doesn't love us."
"And that is exactly why I think he would hurt you. He sees you as a tool to gain more power. Before the Hunters hunted down almost all of those with ancient bloodlines, those packs were formidable because the Moon Goddess blessed them. Kenneth isn't trying to get you back, make amends, and be the father that Lily deserves. This is a sociopath seeing power within arms reach. He probably will attempt to mate you to someone in your pack to produce children that could be easily manipulated and discard you when you have no more use," Debra stated.
Tiffany tried to reassure Lily and Dina by saying, "My pride will do everything in its power to keep her protected, and I know Garrett's pack will too." Debra only frowned at her declaration.
"That may not be enough, Tiffany. My pack was one of the strongest, if not the strongest in its prime and that wasn't enough for Abigail," Debra lamented.
"Things are different now. We know our adversary. You have more allies. We have the backing of Ethan, the Lycan King, as well. He already swore to protect us. We are already at an advantage," Dina argued.
"But, like Luna Debra said, what if that is not enough?" Tiffany countered.
"Then we have plan B. My original plan to send Abigail away would've worked if Mandy hadn't ratted us out." Debra suggested. "Are you okay with going rogue until we can gather evidence against Kenneth and ensure he can never harm you or anyone else again?"
Dina, in unity with Lily after confirming, said, "We will do whatever is necessary."
"What about Garrett? Will he be okay with this?" Tiffany asked.
"Garrett never wanted to be the Alpha of his father's pack. He's not tied down here. He would not let us do this alone," Dina responded.
"Then, that's the plan. I will only inform Garrett, and I will not tell you the full plan. The only way that this will work is if you know nothing. Let's pray that it doesn't come to this."