Chapter 47: Willa

I stood dumbfounded for a moment, not exactly sure how to react. I figured he might be a little nervous meeting me since we both knew he would have to keep certain details from me. But this seemed a bit excessive. I glanced up at Ferrin, who seemed equally as confused.

“Really, Detective, that’s completely unnecessary,” I said kindly.

“Forgive me, my Luna. I didn’t realize you were Melanie Carmine’s daughter. I know you want to know everything about your mother’s case,” he said as he looked up at me with a pained expression, “but I want you to know that I agree with the king that this is the safest thing right now. I only wish to protect you.”

“Please, Dante, stand,” I said, moving toward him as I motioned for him to get back on his feet. “I understand the situation is complicated. But I trust Ferrin when he says it’s necessary. So, unless you’re not telling me he was involved, you have nothing to worry about.”

I had meant it as a bit of a joke to lighten the strange mood, but my words just made his eyes go wide again.

“No, Luna, it’s nothing like that at all. I would never keep that information from you,” he said almost desperately.

I looked at Ferrin, who still looked confused by the man’s behavior, which confirmed my suspicions that he wasn’t normally like this.

“Dante,” Ferrin said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder, “are you okay? Really, there isn’t anything to be nervous about.”

“You should have told me who she was, sir,” he said sternly to Ferrin, bordering on disrespect.

“What are you talking about, Dante?” Ferrin asked. “I told you my mate was Melanie’s daughter last week.”

“But didn’t tell me who Melanie’s daughter was,” he practically snapped.

“Dante, what do you mean?” Ferrin asked, panic and confusion traveling through the bond. “Who do you think she is?”

‘What is going on, Ferrin?’ I asked through the mind-link. He shook his head at me, saying he had no idea either.

“Dante, my friend, look at me,” Ferrin urged, but Dante didn’t respond.

I reached out and grabbed his hand, forcing him to meet my eye. A calm seemed to wash over him at my touch.

“I need you to answer the king, Dante,” I said calmly and kindly.

“Who is she, Dante?” Ferrin asked again gently.

“She is holy,” he whispered, holding my gaze.

“What do you mean?” I asked, still not understanding what on earth was going on.

He shook his head vigorously. As if he was trying to clear out some kind of fog. “I… I don’t know.”

“Willa, can you give us a moment?” Ferrin asked, the emotion in his eyes mirroring my own. “Maybe get him a drink from the bar?”

I nodded. Dante squeezed my hand as if he didn’t want me to let go for a moment but released it quickly. I went to the game room to find something strong for Dante and maybe myself. I was so confused about what was still happening, and I wasn’t sure if Ferrin’s reaction made me feel better or worse about the situation.

‘Wait in there for a minute, babe,’ Ferrin said in my head. ‘I’ll let you know when you can come back.”

‘Okay,” I replied, not knowing what else to do.

I paced the room for a little while before the door opened, and Ferrin came in.

“I sent Dante home,” he said, coming to stand in front of me. “Once you left, he seemed to go back to normal. He didn’t understand his own reaction. I called Damen up. I’m hoping he may have some idea what just happened.”

“So that was as weird as I thought it was, right?”

“Yeah, that was weird. Dante is usually very professional. I’ve never seen him act like that.” He wrapped his arms around me.

I leaned into his chest, wondering if maybe we should take another day before going back to the real world.

“And you’re sure you told him who I was?” I asked.

“Yes,” Ferrin insisted. “I told him last week when we went over the lead. You can ask Damen. He made me.”

“I made you do what?” Damen’s voice said from the doorway.

“Tell Dante that Willa was Melanie’s daughter,” Ferrin said as he turned to him.

We took a few minutes to review what had just happened and the bizarre way Dante acted. Damen seemed as surprised as we were.

“And this was as soon as he saw you?” Damen asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I know she presents as an alpha again, but this was way more than that,” Ferrin said.

“I can definitely feel her aura again, but it’s not affecting me like it did. Although that could just be because her emotions are stable at the moment,” Damen said, taking a moment to think. “He’s the first werewolf you’ve met while at full strength, right?”

“I suppose so,” I said. “Dad told me about the silver when I was there, so I don’t really know if I was ever at full strength since shifting for the first time. But it wasn’t that suppressed back then. I mean, you guys could still tell I was an alpha the night we met.”

“Maybe it's a mix of your natural aura and Ferrin’s influence through his mark,” Damen speculated. “We could test it out. Maybe have one of her friends come out and see if there is a change in their reaction.”

I wrinkled my nose. “As much as I would love to see them, if something like that is going on, it might freak them out. I don’t want them to be worried.”

“Plus, it may take a few days to get any of them here. I don’t want to wait that long if there’s a risk we could experience this reaction randomly.”

Damen grimaced. “Yeah, especially if she goes to the barracks as planned.”

I was equally not looking forward to being locked away again. I was finally clear of all that.

“What about Haley?” I said.

“Who?”

“The stylist who got us ready for the dinner. She’s a werewolf,” I informed them. “She’s local. We could get her up here later today.”

“It’s definitely worth a shot. I’ll ask Rebekah for her contact info,” Damen said. “In the meantime, I want to look into something that may help explain what’s happening. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thank you,” I said before he left us.