Chapter 9 - THE DAUGHTER OF THE MOONWARDEN
The next discovery came from a council archive.
Nathaniel's legal team obtained access to records concerning the winter fire.
Among the documents was a list of witnesses.
Evelyn Whitmore's name appeared.
So did another.
Helena Cross.
Madeline's grandmother.
Emma stared.
“Helena Cross?”
Nathaniel nodded.
“She was present at the lodge.”
“Is she still alive?”
“Yes.”
Helena lived on a large estate outside Jackson.
She was eighty-seven.
Sharp-eyed.
Proud.
And not particularly pleased to see them.
When Emma introduced herself, Helena went still.
“Evelyn's daughter?”
Emma nodded.
Helena looked at Nathaniel.
Then sighed.
“I wondered when this day would come.”
They sat in a sunroom overlooking the mountains.
Helena told them that the winter fire had begun during a meeting about ending forced mating arrangements.
Several influential families opposed the reforms.
The meeting was disrupted.
A fire broke out.
“Who started it?” Emma asked.
Helena looked away.
“I never saw.”
“But you know something.”
Helena closed her eyes.
“The council buried the investigation because exposing the truth would have destroyed several powerful families.”
Emma felt anger rise.
“My mother spent her life hiding.”
Helena nodded.
“I know.”
“Why didn't you help her?”
The old woman's eyes filled.
“Because I was afraid.”
Emma stared.
Helena continued.
“Your mother carried the Moonwarden gift. She could sense when a bond was genuine.”
Emma swallowed.
“She knew some arranged bonds were false.”
Nathaniel's jaw tightened.
Helena looked at Emma.
“And she knew the council had been using ceremonial claims to control wolves who had never truly chosen one another.”
Emma felt cold.
“So Daniel and Madeline?”
Helena shook her head.
“Their bracelet ceremony may be valid as a public choice. But that doesn't prove a true bond.”
Emma looked down.
For months, she'd believed she was less valuable because Daniel hadn't chosen her.
Now she understood.
May you like
The ceremony had never measured her worth.
It had only measured his decision.
