An hour later, after she had taken a bath, she was resting in the bed having pomegranate juice and reading a magazine casually. Daryn was downstairs discussing things with his father and Caleb. Cole was in his room after being snubbed by Dawn for disturbing Quetz.

Pia entered her room. In an acerbic tone she said,

"An hour later elders from the council will be coming. They are going to make a decision about your pregnancy.

"

Tossing her magazine to the side, Dawn looked up at her.

"What can I do then?

" she shrugged. Even if the council would oppose her, she was going to go with her pregnancy. This was her only chance. How could she let others decide for her? The child would be Daryn's and he was one proud Alpha for becoming a father. He was counting the blessings of all the wolf spirits ever since he had heard that his wife was pregnant. He had gone to the depths of hell to retrieve her. There was no way she was going to abort her baby. And there was no way she was allowing Pia to trample her like a delicate flower.

"You should be prepared with your answer. What are you going to tell them? Your pregnancy is unnatural and if you don't abort it, you will be punished. And you wouldn't want to go to the jails of the Lykae. They are horrible. They are dungeons deep down the earth. You don't see the sun there, only darkness and dirt and stench.

" Pia let out an excited laughter. Either Dawn will have to wash her baby or if she doesn't agree, the elders will decide her future as the Luna of the tribe. And most likely they would disagree. Pia couldn't help being thrilled about the fact that both ways it was a win-win situation for her. She had so beautifully planned this. If Dawn aborted her baby, then her position as Luna will weaken in front of the elders, which was something no one wanted. If she didn't, then she would be prisoned for life. It only meant one thing—her accession to the position of Luna.

Dawn gave her a boring look.

"Are you done?

" Inside her stomach churned. She felt like puking but she had to give a bold face to this vicious creature.

Pia's excitement ebbed a little. She stared at her. Why wasn't she feeling nervous? She held her head high as if trying to scare her.

"Well, don't tell me I didn't warn you,

" she said and walked out of the house.

As soon as she walked out, Dawn rushed to the door and closed it. Then she darted to the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. She wiped her face and leaned on the counter. This was something new. Why didn't Daryn tell her about it? He always kept some things a secret and she hated it. What if the elders didn't allow her to keep the pregnancy?

'What's this thing about elders?' she asked him mentally.

He sighed. 'Pia is messing again. I can't help it because it is a grave matter. The elders of the council had to be informed about it sooner or later. However, I didn't know that Pia would inform them so soon.' He sounded very depressed.

'In that case you already know my decision, Daryn,' she said stubbornly.

'Do you think I will agree to what the council says?' he said. 'I want this child as much as you do baby. And why are you in the bathroom?' he asked. 'Oh wait!' He rushed upstairs.

"Dawn?

" he opened the bathroom's door.

"Shit!

" he found her crying.

"Please don't cry baby.

"

"I want your people to accept me Daryn. Why is it so hard for them?

" her shoulders quivered.

"Hush…

" he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I am in this with you.

"

She pressed her face against his chest.

"Christ! You people are so difficult…

"

He lifted her up in his arms and walked back to the bed.

"You stay here and I will call you when the elders are here.

"

"Hmm…

"

He stroked her hair to comfort her.

"What does this council consist of?

" she asked.

"The Lunar Council consists of five members. These are the oldest in our clan. They have lived for centuries. The Head of the council is a Shaman and he rarely comes out of his village because he is also… what do you call… Head Priest. These people have seen our clans for hundreds of years and they know what all is right or wrong. It is rare for all the members of the council to come, so I am expecting no more than three. And I am not expecting the Shaman at all,

" said Daryn.

"Father has his arguments ready. That is what we were discussing downstairs.

"

"Caleb was also there with you. I am sure he must have countered all your arguments,

" said Dawn.

"Yes he did. But that was good. Because both Father and me thought that we were facing the council. His questions let us prepare our case better,

" he said with a grin.

"Caleb thought that he was dampening our spirits but we were only getting better.

"

Dawn closed her eyes as she struggled to keep her wits in place. The two were a pain in the neck and at present there was no way to deal with them. She was just too exhausted.

An hour later, Dawn dressed in a brown silk shirt with white pants. Since it was chilly, she draped herself with a white faux fur shawl around her. Daryn was in his black shirt and blue jeans. They walked downstairs. When they reached the main living room, they saw that Gayle had received the elders and they were all seated. As against what Daryn had said, all five were there. To say that Daryn was stunned, was an understatement. He was shocked. And Dawn was panicky. Under their sharp gazes she could feel that she was about to get sentenced. She bowed to all of them and looked nervously at Gayle. She imagined herself in manacles and dark dungeons. She wanted to run away from there and hide forever.

Everyone became absolutely quiet. From the corner of her eyes she looked at Caleb and Pia who were sitting very confidently on the right, next to Gayle. They looked… triumphant.

'Don't worry Dawn,' Quetz communicated. 'If they as much lay a finger on you, I will take you with me to the Ensmoire Forests. That is my domain and these men can't enter there.'

She gulped.

"Please come and sit,

" Gayle said pointing with his chin to the couch next to him on the left.

They walked and sat there. Dawn looked at the council members. All of them were very old with wrinkles on their faces, which were more like souvenirs of what life had given them. Their sharp eyes were on her like a hawk. All of them were wearing white robes except one man - the Shaman. He was wearing a black robe. It was as if they had come prepared to give their decision about her.

The Shaman said,

"Dawn Wyatt, Luke Wyatt's daughter, we heard that you are bearing the baby of Daryn Silver, the king of Lykae.

" His voice was cold as ice shards.

She blinked.

"This is an unnatural pregnancy,

" he continued in the same icy tone.

"The consequences are severe.

"

Dawn heard Pia gasping with delight.