Talia's POV

Back at the hotel, while Vance was getting busy with his bloodbath, I saw a masked wolf creep on the wall.


The fur was way too familiar, but the mask hid every other clue I was looking for.

Locked away in Vance's basement, I was only too eager to fish out who it was.

Then it suddenly struck me. The mask too was familiar. I saw it the night I lost my dad and mom.


Tears started to roll down my eyes.

I was still really young. I remember Landon doing his best to blind me from the gory sight.


The killed dad first. And just as soon as mom let out her cry, she was gone too

Then they took Landon. I never saw him till the next day.

I was just a little over seven years old, left to mourn the death of my mother and father on my own.

Nothing could compare to the grief I faced that day.

Landon came back the following day and took charge.

He was responsible for me up till the day Vance and I married and I moved into the palace.

'Fuck!" He exclaimed. I had begun to cry and did not notice when he re-entered the basement.

'Can I trust you?" He asked.

That was so weird and uncalled for. I wasn't expecting it either.

'I don't think I understand that enough to answer." I replied to him.

'What's so difficult about that? Can I trust you?!" He asked again. I noticed he was beginning to get edgy and pissy.

'What do you need?" I asked him. Cutting the case and getting straight to the point.

He was walking funny already and there was no way that even if I had told him I wasn't trustworthy, he still wouldn't have burdened me with whatever responsibility he was about to burden me with.

'I need to rest for a bit. And I need to do it somewhere no one will see. Somewhere I won't be quizzed." Vance said. It sounded really sketchy to me. The state I met Vance was definitely not what it was almost a year ago when he ordered my death. This Vance was weak, penetrated, hurt, broken, I wished I had more adjectives to describe him.

'Why all those? Is something wrong?" I asked.

I was barely able to wrap my head around my own life.

Here I was, fooling away, far away from my Ken and our daughter. Caught up in what wouldn't have concerned me if I had stayed put in Silverhaven.

'I'm not entertaining those questions." He replied, curtly.

'Doesn't anyone else know you're here?" I asked. I wondered whatever foolproof truck he had to keep everyone else out of here.

'No other person knows this place exists." He replied. I could believe that. It's the first time I had been there. And it really did look like it had been in place for a long time.

'Is there any other thing I'm supposed to know?" I asked him. I really didn't want to be caught up in a more stupid situation, with the Alpha of Moonstone in his hidden, stash away basement. The news would not readily clear the air.

'If I bother you too much, just tap me." He said.

'Alright." I replied. I saw that he was growing progressively weaker with every answer he gave.

It hurt to see that the Vance I met was not the Vance I left.

I began to question if there was really any point fighting anymore.

Things were obviously much different.

He obviously doesn't even like Nadia as much, after having me pay for their conspiracy.

The one person who I still loved to see go down was Landon.

I hadn't seen him since I got to Moonstone, and it was well over a day. He wasn't even at the pack meeting.

I had to stay for him. Nadia and Vance were already miserable enough as it was. But I wanted to see Landon fall flat. I couldn't be fulfilled if that didn't happen.

I started contemplating if it was wise to share my observations with Vance, but I thought against it. I didn't know what it was like, I also did not know if Vance would be on my side. He still thought I was some sort of whore.

I knew what was next to do. It really needed no telling.

Whoever the masked man was, attacked Moonstone and killed my parents. And he was back. This time, no one can say for certain, till I hear from Landon. Vance too looked like a very obvious target.

It was at that point I realized that I really lacked a solid game plan. It wasn't like if I even had one, things wouldn't have changed, with the presence of the masked crusader.

'You can do this." I said to myself. It was a horrible habit I had picked up.

When things got too complicated, and my head was too foggy, I blurted stuff out loud to bring myself back, reconnect all the broken pieces.

I thought of the best way to go about things.

I couldn't leave Moonstone unfulfilled. If I ever made up with Ken after this, there was no going back.

I had to find Landon. I had to figure out what was up with Vance and Nadia's life, then with Vance.

And, oh, the silly maid too. I also had to figure out what was up with her.

Firstly, Landon! I had to find out what he was up to. Since Vance had Nadia, he definitely would be very open to the idea of having a whore or two around.

Immediately Vance let me loose, I planned to head there.

I looked over to where he lay, quiet and gentle. His face still had creases from when he was awake. Even in sleep, he did not look too restful.

It struck me how very different our lives had been since what happened.

Instinctively, I went over to Vance and straightened out his brows, like I did when we were together.

I wasn't thinking at all. And as soon as he stared, I chickened out.

'You remind me of someone I used to love." He said. I definitely wasn't expecting him to wake up. But it sounded like a conversation I was willing to engage in. 'She was so pretty."

'What happened?" I asked, seeming a little disinterested, so he does not sense anything foul and discontinues the story.

'I did stupid things. Made stupid mistakes." He replied.

'I'm sorry to intrude your sleep." I apologized. It seemed like a sensible thing to do. In the basement of his palace, or in his palace, he was still Alpha Vance!

'It's okay. It's something I've always wanted to talk about for the longest time. But I don't trust anyone that much to go all touchy feely. It's a cruel world out there, girl." I felt really insulted that he called me 'girl", but my ego could wait for later.

'Tell me more." I said, taking a leap of faith.