Chapter 90

Sarah POV

The summer was nearing its end, and elementary school was on the horizon. Part of me wanted to ask if we could just keep having Dr. Hayes, but I knew that wouldn’t work. It was vital that the girls socialized. Their classmates would be the people they would network and partner with in the future as well as the people they would be leading in one capacity or another for the rest of their lives.

Thank the goddess Grace was making such strides. She smiled more, laughed more, spoke up more, and Chloe, Zane, and I encouraged her as much as possible. I knew they needed to be in the classroom making friends and learning how to interact with others.

But there was a bit of a specter in the shadows, one faced by all children their age but particularly alphas. The Preliminary Placement Exam would evaluate their skills, their talents, their temperaments, and many other qualities of their abilities as students, and the results of that exam would dictate the next several years of their schooling.

For Grace and Chloe, there was not only the pressure to succeed, but for both of them to succeed at the same level. Being separated by their academic paths at such a young age would be devastating for them now. I was deeply worried they would form some sort of secret pact to aim for a class level below their abilities just to ensure they would share that level.

“It’s a reasonable concern,” Dr. Hayes told me.

I had asked him to talk with me in the sitting room, which I found cozier than the main room but not as informal as the girl’s playroom. The girls were in the hedge maze, which they fortunately loved as much as ever despite the rogue’s attack.

“So, what’s our best strategy?” I asked.

He smiled. “You’re very kind to ask, considering I’m their tutor, but we both know we will face this best by preparing them for the top tank to the point where they are both confident in attaining that rank.”

I nodded, a little chagrined. I did try to leave him in charge and not interfere. But he was right. That was the only reasonable path forward.

I looked at my watch. “I have Luna Amelie coming in a few minutes.”

“Luna Amelie?” He looked impressed.

“Yes. She agreed some time ago to teach Chloe when she turns nine, and she called the other day and said she wanted to see Grace. I thought you might want to meet her to discuss the girls’ futures.”

“You thought right,” he said.

He reached into his briefcase and brought out a sheaf of papers on which he’d written what he knew about the Preliminary Placement Exam.

“The PPE is extremely comprehensive. They’ll be evaluating their reading, math, and logic skills along with their emotional intelligence, empathy levels, and mental discipline.

I nodded, thinking back to that painful six-hour meditation session at the temple last Saturday. I had managed to survive it, but Zane had been magnificent, breathing so shallowly he’d seemed not to move at all. The idea of Chloe’s having to endure something like when she was an adult left me deeply uneasy.

Hans entered the room, followed by a she-wolf I’d only met once before but would never forget.

“Luna Amelie to see you, Miss Sarah,” Hans said.

Dr. Hayes and I stood up to greet her. She walked to us with a broad smile, her flowing red robes sweeping the gray carpet and her hands stretched out before her. I braced myself, held out my own hands, and let her luminous alpha eyes look into mine.

“Your life has changed greatly since we first met,” she said, taking my hands. “And for the better.”

“Yes,” I said, feeling just as naked and exposed as the last time we had met.

“And what is the greatest of the changes?” she asked as the rest of the room seemed to fade into the black of her long hair to frame her starkly pale face.

“Not having to worry so much about Chloe,” I said. “To know she has a proper future with her family.”

Luna Amelie looked slightly amused, but she dropped my hands, and the room went back to normal. I felt slightly dizzy, and Dr. Hayes cupped my elbow.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“She’s fine.” She waved a pale hand with its blood-red nails in my direction. “Please bring the girls to me.”

“Luna Amelie,” Zane said from the doorway. We all turned to see him standing there with Chloe and Grace.

“Excellent.” She waved them in. “Do you remember me, Chloe?”

My daughter’s were round in her upturned face. “Yes, Luna.”

“Good.” She turned to look at Chloe’s sister. “I am Luna Amelie, Grace Cavendish. Will you allow me to look at you?”

Grace shot a worried look at Chloe, who nodded encouragingly, then stepped forward. “Yes.”

Luna Amelie lowered herself to the carpet, her red robes billowing out around her, and held out her hands. Grace swallowed and put her hands into them.

We waited in silence for a good thirty seconds, if not more. Then she spoke.

“There is a dark presence in your life that has made its way inside you, telling you you’re not good enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. I see the future before you is full of dark shadows whispering their poison.”

A tear spilled down Grace’s cheek. I could see Zane was forcibly holding himself from grabbing her away and keeping her safe.

“Shall I tell you what I see beyond those shadows?”

Grace nodded.

“I see greatness, strength, and a brilliance that shines like the sun. I see kindness and courage.”

More tears were on Grace’s face, but she was also smiling.

“I like what I see very much.” Luna Amelie smiled, let go of Grace’s hands, and stood. She turned to me.

“Bring them both for instruction when they are of age.”

“Their ninth birthday,” I said, nodding.

She looked back at the girls, then to their father, then to me again. “Seventh.”

She turned and bowed slightly to Zane. There was nothing subservient about it.

“Thank you for allowing me into your home, Alpha Zane.” Then she looked at Chloe. “Do not fear separation so much. You and your sister’s futures are entwined.”

Chloe looked awed and relieved at the same time.

Luna Amelie looked back at me. “Their seventh birthday.”

“I understand,” I said. My knees felt a little weak.

She nodded again, turned, and left. A moment after she was gone, everyone left in the room let out a breath.

“She was scary,” Grace said and turned to look up at her father, who picked her up and held her close.

“Excuse me,” Hans said from the doorway. “I’m afraid there is a solicitor at the door who insists on seeing you. He has a police officer with him.”

“What in the world?” I asked, moving with Zane out into the hallway and then following Hans to the door where, indeed, a beta male and a police officer in uniform were waiting for us.

“Zane Cavendish?” the man asked.

“Yes?” Zane asked back.

He handed over a large manila envelope, which Zane took while his other arm remained around his daughter.

“You’ve been served.” The man looked at me and then the officer. Then the two of them turned and left.

Obviously not wanting to let go of his daughter, Zane handed the envelope to me. I opened it, took out a thick sheaf of papers, and read the first page.

“What is it?” Zane asked.

“It’s a class action lawsuit filed against us.” I looked up at him. “They want to take custody of Grace and Chloe.”