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"More than a vampire? Are you a hybrid or a scientific experiment of some kind?" Greta persisted impatiently, her hand tightening around the girl's arm.

The anguished noises kept erupting from the girl, but she nodded her head even in the midst of it. August found herself moving closer to Graeme, seeking the security of his warmth as she watched this unfold.

"Is your maker a vampire, Zoe?" Graeme's sonorous voice was calm. He was the ground here, he was the solid place for all to rely on—that was his role, his birthright, and he felt the steady stream of that reliability coursing through him now in the midst of this threat and uncertainty that could unsettle his pack. It was the leadership of the Alpha emerging. His wolf was poised, ready for the danger that might be lingering in the shadows.

August shuffled closer to him as Zoe strained against the invisible chains that were painfully cutting into her.

"He is," August whispered as if to herself, but Graeme heard her.

He looked down at his mate who had unconsciously snuggled into his side where the physical connection between them was a natural balm to the fear and anxiety he felt welling up inside of her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist to secure her to him. She nodded and looked up at him, eyebrows arched with the fear of this knowledge. There was a vampire responsible for creating whatever hybrid or experiment that Zoe was, and that vampire would be coming.

"I think we know enough for now," Graeme turned to the others. "Lucas, you are to stay here with her at all times, and if you need something, let me know directly. You have my number. If you learn of anything else, let me know as well."

Lucas gave an obedient nod, his back straightening hearing the responsibility given to him by the Alpha. It was thrilling. Their Alpha was back. With his true Luna. And he was serving them in an especially sensitive matter. It electrified the pulse of purpose within his innermost being. This was what he was created for.

"Zoe, if you think of anything else that would help us, you are to tell Lucas. Is that understood?" Zoe nodded silently, her bottom lip quivering in the aftermath of the turbulence within her.

Lucas took Zoe and began leading her up the steps back to the treehouse, leaving the others to figure out the rest of the details for the coming days.

"Sam, I need a tux for the festival and I haven't had time to get it yet. Can you arrange that? Greta, I'll need you to find something for Zoe to wear since she will be accompanying us. It is convenient that this will be masquerade, as she can remain obscured from Andreas' notice until the appropriate moment."

"Do you already have an idea of how you would like this to be unveiled?" Greta asked.

"There is a point in the night when everyone gathers to receive a flame for their hearth."

"The end of the night?" Greta scoffed. "You would wait until then?"

"It will give our pack members a chance to enjoy what they have come for. The traditions, the food, the fellowship. They will have seen their radiant Luna who is expecting with the future heir. Rather than just a revelation of what truth Zoe holds, the night also needs to be a celebration of us, of what this pack is truly meant to be. We are a family, and there are many who need to remember that. It has been too long."

Graeme's face was lined with a determined knowing, a wisdom that Greta hadn't ever seen there before. It made something swell within her—a hope and promise that was so raw in its beauty, it nearly stole her breath.

"Before we deliver this unexpected news that will shake the foundation of what they have believed to be true, I want them to remember what is most sacred about this place. What we mean to each other," the depth of his voice reached deliciously low as he tugged August closer against his side—his Luna, the pack's Luna, the hope for the future of them all.

August was the assurance they all needed to contrast against the darkness that would be revealed in the elders—the deceit that had been living amongst them all along. Her presence and the glow she had been gifted by the Goddess from their conception was the hope that would allow the pack to recover from this, he knew it. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

"That makes sense," Greta spoke softly, nodding in agreement. She could see the vision he had for it. "I have to pick up our dresses anyway. I'll find one for Zoe. Do you want to come with me, August?"

"No, she is not going to the market," Graeme answered first before August had the chance to herself.

"Why not?" August scowled up at him.

"We don't know when this threat is coming for you. You are staying with me at all times."

Her eyes broadened at the possessiveness that had found its way back home to him. He had kept her at a distance for days, barely even brushing against her while he obsessed over how to negate all that the elders were relaying—how to make this place safer for her. And now he wasn't going to let her out of his sight?

"B-but… what about the pups? They need to finish their masks…" she pouted. It was her first concern, which caused a crooked smile to slowly form on Graeme's face. His mate was adorable.

"They can come to the house, if it is that important to you."

"All of them?" she gaped.

"Of course," he shrugged. "Have them gather in the back garden or something. We will figure it out. But you aren't wandering around, Moon.. Not now."