"Kieran, thanks for being so caring toward me," Leia said softly, finishing the last of her hot chocolate.

He reached out to take the mug from her, but she gently stopped him. "I’ll take it. I also need to see Grandma. She must be wanting an explanation from my side."

"Sure," Kieran replied, rising to his feet. "I’ll continue reading the book you gave me." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Hmm."

Leia watched him leave the room, his footsteps quiet against the floor. She placed the mug carefully on the tray, lingering in thought. ’He’s desperately searching for a cure... I wonder if Father or Uncle know anything about this. I’ll ask them later.’

Lost in her thoughts, she picked up the tray and walked out of the room.

Placing the tray carefully in the kitchen, Leia walked toward Azalea’s room. She knocked lightly before pushing the door open.

"Grandma, may I come in?" she asked softly.

Azalea paused mid-motion, lowering the watering can from the pot plant. She turned her head with a tired smile. "Of course, come in." Setting the can gently on the wooden table, she motioned for Leia to approach.

Stopping right in front of her, Leia asked, "How are you feeling? I’m sorry for earlier... I lost my temper when I saw my father." Her voice dropped to a whisper.

Azalea reached for her hands, holding them with her weary ones and giving them a gentle pat. "It’s fine. Such an outburst was natural. The person you believed dead suddenly appearing before you... losing your temper was only natural."

Leia hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did you find out the truth?"

"Yes, dear," Azalea replied softly. "But I sense your heart is heavy."

Leia’s eyes flickered with a shadow of sorrow. "I miss my mother... every day. But now... after knowing everything, I miss her even more. It feels like she never truly lived her own life. All she wanted was to protect me, and she succeeded... until I ruined it for her. I told my identity to Delia and..."

A sudden thought crossed her mind, and her frown deepened.

"What happened? Why did you stop speaking?" Azalea’s grip tightened gently around Leia’s hands.

"Grandma... I think I made a mistake," Leia murmured. "How could I have ignored such an important detail?"

"What detail?" Azalea frowned in concern.

Leia took a deep breath. "Grandma... I’ll return shortly." Without another word, she dashed out of the room.

She rushed upstairs to her own room and pulled out her phone, dialing Lucien’s number with urgency.

"Yes, Leia?" he answered after a few seconds.

"Where’s Delia? Did you send her—"

"Yes, she’s already near the border," Lucien replied calmly.

"Please... stop her," Leia’s voice cracked slightly.

"What? Why?" Lucien’s tone shifted to confusion. Ronan, sitting beside him in the car, glanced toward him with a curious frown.

"Lucien, Delia’s grandmother never told her we were wolves. She only learned it when I revealed my identity. And... I never used my father’s surname. How did her grandmother find out who my father was? Something is missing. Please... stop her," Leia pleaded.

"Alright. Calm yourself. I’ll call Caleb right now," Lucien said firmly.

"Okay... thanks." The call disconnected, and Leia licked her dry lips, a knot of anxiety tightening in her chest.

"Delia’s grandmother didn’t feed poison to my mother. But how she found out who was my father." Her brows furrowed deeply again.

~~~~

Meanwhile, Lucien ended the call after speaking with Caleb. He placed his phone down with a faint sigh.

"You missed that important detail too," Ronan chuckled at Lucien’s carelessness.

"I didn’t know exactly when Leia revealed her identity to Delia," Lucien replied, leaning back in his seat. "It seems it happened after her mother fell ill."

Ronan’s brow furrowed. "Still... How did her mother die? There’s no clear explanation. Unless, Delia’s grandmother somehow discovered the truth about them."

Lucien remained silent for a moment.

"Well, Leia has her own explanation for it," Lucien murmured.

"Maybe they already knew," Ronan countered sharply. "You think Delia is trustworthy? Lucien, of all people, you should know how witches betray the trust of those closest to them."

"Yes, but I’m doing this for Leia’s sake," Lucien replied firmly. "I can’t give her half-truths. And Delia is key to uncovering exactly what her grandmother was. That’s why we need to help Leia and let Delia come here."

"Of course," Ronan agreed. "But we can’t let ourselves get clouded by emotion. We need to stay pragmatic while chasing the truth for her."

Lucien agreed on that.

"By the way, there’s one more thing you need to know," Ronan said.

"Hmm? What is it?" Lucien asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Renzo told us the Alpha King intends to use you," Ronan revealed.

Lucien frowned, suspicion flashing across his face. "What do you mean by that?"

"You possess certain abilities that are extremely rare in packs like ours," Ronan explained.

"The Moon Descendant wolves were different. They could teleport but others don’t possess such abilities, except for you. That’s what Renzo told me and Kieran. He said a lot more. So, when we get home, you should speak to him yourself. It seems the Alpha King was working with witches and hunters to annihilate ’The Moon Descendants’. Both Kieran and I were shocked to hear all of that, but Renzo claimed he was a skilled spy. I don’t think he was lying."

Lucien sank into deep contemplation. King Francis was not the man Renzo had described to his brothers. Yet, there was no reason for Renzo to fabricate something like this.

"Cesar has been my friend, and I’ve only known his father through him. Maybe Renzo misunderstood something," Lucien reasoned, though doubt flickered in his tone.

Ronan shook his head. "I don’t think so. The way Renzo spoke... It didn’t sound like gossip or speculation. It felt like he’d uncovered something serious about the Alpha King. Who knows, maybe he really was the culprit?"

Lucien hummed and looked straight ahead at the road. The mansion’s gates appeared in their view. They had arrived home. As Ronan parked the car on the foray, they saw Leia waiting for them.