Or maybe she just wanted to sleep and forget her worries for a while. Either way, she remained in my arms as I continued stroking her hair.

Making sure that she was in a deep sleep, I gently lifted her and headed upstairs to tuck her into her bed. 

Brushing the hair on her face aside, I sat down next to her and watched her face glow as the moonlight escaped through one of the shades and fell on her. 

After a while, I sighed and got up as my thoughts started eating me from within. Why was she affecting me like this? Everything about her and her pack was just so out of place.

Through all the twenty-two years of my life, I had never heard of the Laneri pack. And if they were just three hundred and fifty miles from here, the elders should have mentioned them to me at least once.

I had travelled a lot farther than this to make alliances with other packs, and if they were really just here all this while how did we not know? 

And what did Lyla mean by everything she said during her outburst? If she was in a pack why did she face all that?

I shook my head as I headed downstairs slowly. And the last thought that haunted me the most was, how was I supposed to leave her and this pack and go when I had so many questions? Especially after what just happened... How was just supposed to leave Lyla and go?

Breathing deeply, I opened the door to get some fresh air. I stepped outside to clear my head and noticed Daen sitting there to the side. " Daen... " I said. 

" How is she? " She asked her eyes not leaving mine. I sat down with a sigh and said, " You heard everything? " 

With a nod, she said, " I was close by at the moment and I heard her. " 

" She's okay now. She's sleeping. " I replied as I looked over to the dark sprawling forest before us. I felt her nod next to me as she turned her gaze to the forest too. 

" I know I'm leaving tomorrow. And I know that I have nothing to do with all of you but, I can't help but ask. How is Lyla related to you? " I questioned, hoping that this would give me some answers. 

After a moment of silence, she said, " Ninya... Is our alpha. The younger sister that I never had. " 

Slowly she frowned as she contemplated whether or not she should tell me more.

" She found our pack two years ago. Herm who was our pack alpha suddenly passed away. And apart from him, our pack had no other alphas. It was like a miracle that she arrived just when we needed an alpha. " She said softly. " Wait. If she found all of you, what happened to her previous pack? Did she leave them? " I asked in surprise. 

Switching over to another pack was something that was almost unheard of. It would immediately cause a black mark on the previous pack's name if that happened and I wondered if that was why she had faced difficulties. 

Daen looked over to Pedro who was staring back at us from a distance and said, " That is something only she can tell you. " 

And just as she got up and walked away, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. 

I had been so caught up in my thoughts while talking to Daen that I didn't hear Lyla waking up. 

I slowly turned back to see her standing behind me, her eyes still tired as she pursed her lips with a frown.