"It''s


    my father. He''s depressed, and I don''t know what to do. He isn''t eating. Issy. He is taking this thing with mom so hard. I''ve never seen him like this." I could see the pain in Lyle''s eyes. He also looked tired. I was sure it had been a heavy burden on him, running the kingdom in a time of war.


    “I''m here to help. I''m not going anywhere. As you can see, the little pup is growing quickly. I think I''m a bit farther along. This happened before I went into heat, even though Darren used precaution. Unless, because we are both powerful lycans, things have sped up?"


    "All lycan pregnancies are different, but royal pregnancies have always been unpredictable. And you are the true royal ... I''m guessing that has a lot to do with this." I listened as he sighed. "How is Darren?"


    "Getting ready to head into Catata as we speak." I pursed my lips together. "I want to be by his side."


    "I do, too," Lyle admitted. "I''m d you''re here. I can use your help. There is also one more thing... and I hate this, but this is war, and it can''t be helped."


    "What is it?"


    "Tomorrow night, the full moon will touch the altar. It''s the night we''ve been waiting for. We predicted it wouldn''t be until


    next week, but we were wrong. We need to crown you as the


    queen even without Darren here."


    "But without Darren-"


    "His heir is growing inside of you. And if anything-" He stopped abruptly and I knew what he was going to say. I growled and narrowed my eyes at him.


    "Don''t you dare utter those words. Listen, I''m Darren''s queen. I will go through the ceremony even if he isn''t here. But he ising back! Any other talk is not wee in my presence." I watched as a big smile spread across his lips.


    "This is why you''re perfect, Issy." He patted my shoulder. "How was it out there? I''ve been getting reports, but themunication stopped right after Darren informed me you would being back. He said that messages wouldn''t be going out as often. Do they think there is a spy?"


    "I think they are erring on the side of caution. But in thest battle, we suffered a lot of casualties. I didn''t fight in that one. Darren didn''t wake me. It happened so fast, and he made a hasty decision." I looked at my feet. "I was told that I was blessed, but where is this blessing? I thought maybe I would have some amazing power that woulde out in battle. Something devastating."


    "Super soul-reaper powers." Lyleughed and I looked at him nkly. I didn''t understand the reference.


    "It''s an anime I watched." He cleared his throat, a bit


    embarrassed. "Anyway, the hero would go into god mode and win the battle."


    "Yeah, like that I guess." Iughed, looking out toward the distance. A blessing like that was exactly what I wanted. The strength to protect the ones I loved. Darren was doing his best, and I was going to do mine. I got lost in the fantasy for a bit. Wrapped in his cocoon of love, it was like the world didn''t exist.


    "Are you hungry? You want to rest? What do you need?"


    I looked away from the sky and back to Lyle. "Let''s go see Milo."


    "He''s still with my mother."


    "Then we will see them both."


    "Darren wouldn''t-"


    "Darren isn''t here, Lyle. I am. And Darren is overprotective."


    "Rightfully so. She admitted she would kill you." Lyle let out an airyugh, rubbing the back of his neck.


    "She did."


    He lowered his voice. "I''ve noticed something... off about the Waiting Ladies and Men. It''s like they''re..."


    "Brainwashed." I watched as he nodded his head slowly.


    "Everything for the kingdom. I think we should speak with some


    of them. I''ve been wondering the same thing, and maybe they''ve all been brainwashed to a certain degree. If so, they all need help."


    "Do you think their families are to me?"


    "That is the right question. But which one? Who is the one behind the Waiting? Someone organized and pitched this idea a long time ago. The nobles were behind it, right? I think the answer lies with them." Lyle looked rmed hearing this.


    "Are you saying they have be their own power? One higher than the royals?" "I don''t know, but-"


    "It makes sense. We have to figure out if it''s actual brainwashing or just drilling them with a sense of duty."


    "I don''t know. We could be wrong, but it''s just... your mother was extreme. If it is brainwashing, we''ll need help from the sorcerers to fix them."


    "Would they help us because of the alliance?"


    I grinned at him. "I am friends with their princess."


    "Atta girl, Issy! I''ll gather the most loyal we have here and put them on the case. We have excellent spies that we can trust. No matter what, this is a threat against our power structure. If there is someone pulling strings-"


    "Then the strings need cut and the puppet master needs dealt with." I slowly blinked as we began to walk down the path. I could see the istion keep in the distance and felt Lyle''s body be more tense. "Are you okay?


    "It''s just... hard to see him like this."


    I reached out for him and ced my hand on his arm. "Your father is going through a lot. He''ll work it out, just give him time. He has a lot to process and decide."


    "I think he''s lost. Does he continue to stand by my mother or should he move on? Hemitted himself to her and then found out-" Lyle squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw.


    "Lyle. LYLE!" I growled, forcing him to look at me. "If your mother has been brainwashed-really brainwashed-then you will have to let this go. Hold it in. It''s our job to find the truth and then figure out what to do with it."


    "And if she wasn''t brainwashed?"


    My eyes softened as I stared at his pained face. There was a lot of anger there, a tempest of emotion, wild and untamed, and it would consume him if he didn''t let it go. “Regardless, you can''t hold onto this anger. As a family, we will heal and move on. The same goes for Cleo. If she was brainwashed, then she''s a victim." I listened to Lyle''s frustrated growl. "I know, you don''t want to pity or like her, but if she is a victim, then there''s a lot that isn her fault."


    "The other Waiting Ladies didn''t do that shit!"


    "Maybe they would have, though. She was the one being told to. They weren''t. Isn''t that how brainwashing works?"


    "I guess we have our work cut out for us. This is going to be hard to prove. We''re going to have to really collect evidence, and victims don''t know they''ve been brainwashed. I''m out of my league here."


    "We could use help. Fairies and sorcerers can identify brainwashing, but with the war, I doubt they have people to spare. For now, the investigation of the families needs to be done for proof, using other means. Even if we discover brainwashing, we''ll need to prove who did it." I looked at the door in front of us. “But first, let''s see Milo."


    The guards moved to the side as we approached. Lyle reached out, slowly opening the door, and we stepped inside. Milo would need time to process his grief and emotions, but we still needed to check on him. He needed to know that we were here for him.


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