Chapter 3

Luna Kate POV:

"I located the Weeping Wolf on the outskirts of a pack to the north. I hope you packed a good coat, and it is going to be cold," Jason says, laughing. He is kidding, but Belle looks at me strangely. She does not realize he is joking.

"We do not need a coat, silly; I have my puppy fur," Belle says.

I take Belle's hand. She has no idea that Jason is kidding. Everything to her is a serious moment. I often wonder, does she have a sense of humor? "He was kidding," I say softly to Belle.

“It was not funny at all,” Belle says.

Her face turns away from me, and she looks out the window. She watches the trees and the scenery, calling out the different things she sees as we drive along the highway. She prefers everyone to be authentic, and well, there I have it, the kid has no sense of humor.

We ride along for about seven hours when Jason stops. He pulls over at a rest stop and gets out of the car to stretch his legs. I get out checking on him. I stand beside the car with the door open. I do not trust Argon. Hell, I barely trust Jason. "Do you want to drive for a while?" Jason asks me.

"No, let Argon drive," I say. I can tell he does not trust Argon either. He nods his head and I cross my arms. One thing we both agree on is that Argon is a mistake for this journey. I am not sure why Alpha Erick sent him with us.

"I will sit with him in the front seat so you can rest in the back and so I can keep both eyes on him," I say to Jason. He nods his head again, his long hair waving around beautifully. He must have his father's hair. He goes to the door where Argon is sitting and tells him he will drive for a while. I walk around to the other side and tell Belle. She is getting sleepy and does not even care what is going on with the drive. She just wants to get to the Weeping Wolf.

"The GPS is set. We should be there in four more hours," Argon says as I get into the front seat to keep an eye on him while Jason rests.

"Well, I am ready. I am anxious about what she will tell us about Belle and my other children," I say. I do not want to go into a lot of details with Argon. I do not trust him one bit, but he takes this opportunity to start telling me his life story. I do not want to hear it, but I listen anyway.

"I was born an Imperial to the same wolf pack Jason comes from under Alpha JaXXon. I was turned out just like your brother and had to live as rouge," Argon says. He looks pained as he tells me this, but I have a hard time trusting anyone these days. Every wolf that I thought was in my corner has either tried to kill me or worse.

"I had no idea you and Jason came from the same pack. How did you end up with the Imperials that came to us?" I ask. I am genuinely curious how an outcast wolf became a rogue and then an imperial that just happened to end up with my pack and me unless it was decided and planned by someone else to sabotage me or my life or get to my children.

"I was taken in by a family. I was only twelve when I was turned out into the woods as a rogue. When the pack realized several children were special, the wolf council released us into the woods as rogues to die or find another pack. I was lucky, and I found Jamie and Atlas; they raised me. They were both very kind wolves," Argon says.

I listen to him tell his unusual story. I know the council killed the Alpha King JaXXon over my mother, Rainwater, but I did not know how far everything went for the children that she and the vampires helped create. "That all sounds so sad. How many children did the wolf council send out to die?" I ask him.

Argon swallows hard and looks away from the road for a moment. I asked him something he did not want to answer. Jason leans forward between the front seats of the SUV. "There were over one hundred children that the wolf council released into the woods to die. Not all of them were the creations of Alexander and Rainwater. It was a witch hunt, and many of them could not live as a rogue. There were children as young as six left to die in the woods. Their parents walked away from them, but someone looked out for them. That is what she does. She cares for the ones that need her, especially the pups abandoned," Jason says.

I realize that Argon and Jason are closer than they let me know. I look back at Belle, who is now asleep. I am uncomfortable with the two of us not sitting next to one another all of a sudden. I look at Jason and then Argon. I cannot trust either of them, not for one second. Why did Alpha Erick want me to bring Argon? Why did he trust him? Maybe it is Jason I should be worried about; I mean, all of my siblings have turned out to be crazy.

"Who saved the children?" I ask. I do not know why I am asking. I already know the answer. It was the Weeping Wolf, which is why I need to see her. She has to tell me how to save Belle and what she is capable of, so I can be the best mother to her possible. That is the only explanation for the realm directing me to the Weeping Wolf. It also explains why the spiritual domain calls her the Weeping Wolf—one heartbroken wolf caring for the discarded and abandoned. Now I know she can help me.

"You already know the answer, do you not, Luna Kate?" Jason says, then he leans back in the seat, closing his eyes. I watch him and Belle. If he gets near my daughter, I will kill him. That goes for Argon too. I do not care if Jason is my half-brother; he is dead if he messes with my child.

"The Weeping Wolf saved them and me. She was all we had. She was the only wolf that cared for us," Argon says. Funny, he never mentioned knowing where she was before, and now, all of a sudden, he knows her personally. Everything about this is the story of my life, but not when it involves my daughter. I will not let these two or anyone else cause her harm.

"I can tell you more about her if you like," Argon says. I have a feeling he is trying to get on my good side. I look over and notice Argon and Jason exchanging glances in the rearview mirror. At the next stop, I am getting as close to my child as possible, and neither will be close to her for anything. After seeing the wolf, I will shift and run all the way home with Belle on my back if I have to before I get back in a truck with these two. I do not care if it takes me a week to get home; I will no longer trust these two with my daughter's life.

It is okay; I hear a small voice in my mind. It is Belle reaching out to me. Calm down, she says in our link. I take a deep breath and relax. I look back, and she has her eyes closed and sleeping, but I know she is not asleep. She is doing what Belle does best. She is observing the situation. If anything is about to go wrong, she will know it and act on it.