Chapter 4

Lucas's words hit me like a silver blade dipped in poison, right in the place where I was most vulnerable.

I turned to look at Edward.

He was only seven years old. A kid that age should be laughing and playing. But his eyes were hollow, like he'd already seen too much.

What I saw staring back at me was a pale, broken woman I barely even recognized.

That was the mother everyone called cold and heartless, the one who left her mate and her pup behind.

The pain crushed my chest until I could barely breathe, but I couldn't let them see it. Not a trace.

If Richard's wolves saw me crack for even a second, they'd never let me forget it.

I took a deep breath, shoved the pain down as hard as I could, and met Lucas's eyes.

My eyes went ice cold. "You've got the wrong woman."

I kept my voice low, but I made sure every word came out clear. "My name is Sarah Summers. I run a business.

"I don't know anything about any Yvonne or any heir."

Lucas let out a low laugh like I had said something hilarious. "Luna, seven years away and you're still the same actress. Too bad the Alpha always knew you wouldn't admit who you really are."

He let go of my wrist and pulled a rolled-up painting from inside his coat, and then slowly opened it in front of me.

The painting showed a woman sitting by a window with a ledger in her hands.

Her face and expression were exactly like mine, down to the tiny red mark on her earlobe.

It was me from a few days ago, sitting in my shop and going through my records.

My heart sank. It turned out they had already figured me out.

All this time, they had been watching from the shadows to make sure it was really me, and now they were finally moving in.

"The artist said you were too cautious, so he only dared to sketch you from a distance," Lucas said as he rolled the painting back up.

There was a mocking tone in his voice when he added, "But the Alpha took one look and knew it was you. He said even if you turned to ash, he would still recognize you because a wolf never forgets his mate."

I dug my nails into my palm so hard that it stung.

Richard still wouldn't let me go.

Edward stayed quiet the whole time. He stared at me with those calm, empty eyes.

There was no hate in his eyes, no love either. Only emptiness, like I meant nothing to him.

That hurt worse than if he'd screamed at me or blamed me for everything.

May heard all the noise and came running out from the back, her wolf already on edge.

When she saw Lucas and the other wolves, her face went white. "M-Miss, what happened?" she stammered, her wolf shrinking back inside her.

She jumped in front of me without thinking, like a wolf protecting her own pup.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she shouted.

Lucas gave May a cold look. "So you're still alive too. Good. The Alpha said everyone who supposedly died with the Luna back then needs to come back. Not a single one of you stays behind."

His words sent a chill through me. They were cleaning house, leaving no one behind.

"Lucas, I'm the one you want," I said, moving May aside and stepping forward. "She has nothing to do with it. Let her go. Please."

"Let her go?" Lucas laughed coldly. "Luna, you don't get to make demands anymore. Not after what you did."

He looked at his wolves and gave the order. "Take them."

Two wolves grabbed my arms from both sides, holding tight. I knew right then I wasn't getting away.

May let out a scream and tried to rush at them, but two wolves grabbed her and pinned her down so she couldn't move.

The shop workers and customers all backed into the corner, too afraid to make a sound.

I didn't bother putting up a fight because I knew it wouldn't get me anywhere.

Lucas had brought Richard's finest shadow warriors, and there was no way I could slip past them.

I turned my eyes to Edward instead.

He stood there the whole time like it had nothing to do with him, watching his own mother get dragged away like a criminal.

His face still showed nothing at all.

They pulled me out of the shop.

Outside sat a massive iron carriage, thick and strong like a cage on wheels.

It was a prison wagon, built for transporting the most dangerous wolves, and I could smell the fear of past prisoners still clinging to it.

Richard was treating me like some kind of criminal.

Just as they were about to shove me inside, Edward, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke up. "Wait."

His voice had the clear, light tone of a young pup, but there was no warmth in it at all.

Everyone went still.

Lucas was caught off guard too. He turned and asked respectfully, "Edward, what would you have us do?"

Edward didn't look at Lucas. He walked over to me, slow and steady, and then raised his head and met my eyes.

Seven years had passed since the last time we stood this close, mother and pup, just staring at each other.

I could see every one of his long lashes, and way down deep in his eyes, something flickered for a second, something I couldn't read.

"You..." He looked like he wanted to ask something, but the words died in his throat.

Instead, he reached out his little hand and pointed at the small pouch tied to my waist.

I'd stitched that pouch myself and stuffed it with calming herbs.

"That one's mine," he said, and the way he said it wasn't a question. It was an order, pure Alpha instinct even at his age.

I stood there, frozen. I hadn't followed any special pattern when I made that pouch, and it wasn't anything unique. I couldn't understand why he was so sure it belonged to him.

Lucas furrowed his brow too, clearly not following what Edward was getting at. "Edward, that's a regular pouch..."

"I said it's mine, so it's mine," Edward said, cutting him off, his voice stubborn and final.

The way he dug in like that, refusing to budge, reminded me so much of Richard.

He locked his eyes on mine and demanded, "Give it back."

I stared into his clear eyes, and then a crazy idea hit me out of nowhere.

So I slowly untied the leather pouch from my belt.

Right as I handed it over, I used my nail to scratch the back of the pouch where no one would see it.

I scratched out a tiny word that said "Wait," hoping he would understand what I couldn't say out loud.

Edward took the pouch and held it tightly in his little hand.

He didn't look back at me before he turned and walked away.

"Let's go," he said to Lucas.

Lucas gave me a long look, his face hard to read, but in the end, he simply flicked his hand toward his wolves.

They shoved me into the prison wagon.

As the door slammed shut, I looked through the tiny window and saw Edward climbing into another carriage.

He sat by the window with his head down, his little hand still holding tight to that pouch.

The convoy slowly rolled out, leaving Willowcreek behind.

Edward's strange behavior left my head spinning.

What was the deal with that pouch anyway? Why did he have to take it right in front of everyone, and what was that look he gave me at the end supposed to mean?

My head was a complete mess, but I knew there was more going on here than what I was seeing.

Edward, my little pup, what were you really trying to do?