Judy’s POV Irene and I were both still; etiquette lessons were forgotten for the time being, and all either of us could focus on was Irene Blackwell. She was as beautiful as ever in her sleek black dress and her midnight black hair. Irene was the first one out of her stupor; she blinked and then smiled up at Selene before taking a step in front of me like she was trying to shield Selene from me. “We were in the middle of our etiquette lessons,” Irene told her, trying hard not to sound rude, but a twinge of it escaped her tone anyway. “I don’t mean to interrupt,” Selene said softly. “Perhaps I could offer you some assistance.” “I think we have it handled,” Irene said sharply. “Is there something we can do for you, Mrs. Blackwell?” “I was actually hoping to speak with Judy,” Selene said again, her eyes shifting to meet mine. “If you’ll just give me a few minutes of your time.” “Anything you have to say to Judy, you can say it in front of me, too,” Irene said, folding her arms across her chest. “Irene—” I start, but Selene beats me to it. “It concerns a dream that I had last night,” she said, her eyes leveling with mine, and a knowing glint was hidden in them. A dream. I felt frozen in my place as I stared back at her; could she mean that she’s been having the same dreams that I had? Or were they something different? “A dream?” Irene scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re interrupting our lessons because you had a dream?” “I assure you, I wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t important.” “Look, Mrs. Blackwell, that’s great and all. But Judy has limited time to prepare for her Luna ceremony. It’s only a couple of months away, along with her wedding. If we don’t get this down, some of the nasty she-wolves are going to make things very difficult for her and maybe even prevent her from becoming the Luna.” “Doesn’t your father get the final say?” Selene asked, raising her perfectly trimmed brows. “He does, of course,” Irene agreed. “But if the entirety of the pack protests their new Luna, it’ll be out of his hands at that point. There would be nothing for him to do in that case. He can’t force them to support her, or he’ll have nobody left. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.” I knew she was coming from a place of love, but I needed to speak to Selene about the dream she had. “How about this…” Selene started. “I’ll help you prepare her.” Irene frowned. “You’ll help us?” She asked. “Do you not think I’m capable? I’ve been training my whole life for etiquette…” “I find you more than capable, darling Irene. But I am older and I find myself to be wiser in the subject. I mean no disrespect. I’m sure you are plenty capable of teaching her etiquette, but I can teach her more.” “We are doing Luna training, and the last I checked, you are not a Luna.” I sucked in a sharp breath at Irene’s harsh words. I turned to her, my mouth hanging open. She sounded just like those mean girls earlier in the day… Liv and her friends. “Irene, you are being rude,” I said to her before I could stop myself. “There’s no need to be so disrespectful.” Irene scowled at me. “I don’t trust her,” she said through her teeth. “That doesn’t give you the right to be so rude,” I told her. “You are not my mother… You don’t get to reprimand me like this,” she said, pressing her lips together. Her words took me aback, but when I saw the swirl of emotions and pain in her eyes, it made me calm down a bit. She was taking out her frustrations and anger on her own situation, on me, and on Selene. This had nothing to do with either of us and everything to do with her heartbreak. She put a mask on earlier for my benefit, and maybe some of her own benefit as well, but in reality, she was just as broken as she had been these last few days. “How about you take a seat for a bit?” I told her, trying to keep my tone calm. “I’ll have one of the maids bring you some tea, and then we can continue our lessons. Okay?” She stared at me, her eyes narrowed. She looked like she wanted to protest, but something on my face must have convinced her not to. She let out a breath and then lowered herself into a nearby chair. “Fine,” she finally relented. I let my shoulders relax. I left the ballroom moments later and found a maid who was traveling to the kitchen. I politely introduced myself because I hadn’t met this one yet, and I asked if she could bring tea to Miss Irene in the ballroom. She happily did as she was told, and I went back to the ballroom to find Selene standing a distance away from Irene, both of them refusing to look at one another. Irene was still simmering in her own misery, and Selene looked as beautiful as ever. “Okay,” I said as I approached them. “I’m going to speak with Selene now, and we won’t be long,” I told Irene. “Will you be okay here?” “I’m not a child,” Irene muttered. “Then stop acting like one,” I said through my teeth, unable to help myself. She flinched at my words but said nothing more as I walked with Selene out of the ballroom. Once we were at a safe distance from Irene and other wandering ears, Selene turned to me. “Last night, I had a dream… and you were in it,” she started to say, making my heart stutter in my chest. “I knew I had to come see you right away. I’ve learned from my past that I cannot ignore dreams. I come from a line of Seers, and in my family, dreams usually mean truth.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You dreamt of me?” She nodded. “You were standing under the full moon,” she said, steadily. “You wore a pendant that I recognized. Something that had been taken from our family long ago. The Moon Gem. It glowed on your chest like it knew you. You lifted your hands and light moved with them—like a tide. It wasn’t wild but controlled. You were controlling it, and you weren’t afraid. You looked brave and knowing.” My mouth goes dry. I tried to make no facial expression as I listened to her speak, but I’m afraid I failed miserably. “In this dream,” she continued. “Someone tried to take it—a shadow of a sort. The gem burned them. But it never burned you.” I force out a laugh, but it just sounds awkward and unnatural. “That sounds cinematic. Did I at least look good?” I asked, giving my best attempt at humor. “Yes,” she replied, not taking the bait. “You looked like yourself.” We stand in silence for a moment longer; my mind a whirlwind of thoughts, and I wasn’t even sure what to make of all of this. I had no idea where she was going with this, and whether it was something I needed to follow. When Selene spoke again, her voice was soft and measured. “Have you ever had dreams similar to that?” I could lie… I probably should have, honestly. But something was telling me that she would be able to see through the lie as if it were a window. “I’ve had… strange dreams before… yes,” I admitted. “Esme…she’s usually in them and in these dreams…. She speaks.” Selene blinked. She stared at me for a long while before she spoke. “She used to speak all the time… that is…until my daughter was born. Right up until her birth… she spoke. Since leaving the hospital, she hadn’t spoken a word. We were never sure what happened that day…” I opened my mouth to tell her that my father had seen a glimpse of Esme before leaving the hospital with me and my mother that day. But something inside of me was telling me to keep quiet for right now. “I am glad I got the chance to speak with you, Judy,” she tells me, her smile growing in the soft light. “I should be leaving now, though.” “Leaving?” I asked, my heart racing in my chest. “I thought you were going to help us with my lessons.” “Something tells me that Miss Irene doesn’t want me to stick around,” she said, a glint of humor in her eyes. “But if you’d like to have some lessons with me, I’m more than happy to assist you. How about you come by the Blackwell Manor in the morning, and we can go from there.” “The Blackwell manor?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat. She nodded. “Yes, is that a problem?” Gavin would never allow me to go to the Blackwell Manor alone. But maybe it’s something I should do… I might be able to find out more information about these dreams and about why I’m having them. I let out a breath, and I nodded. “Okay, yeah,” I told her. “I would really like that. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Blackwell.” She smiled. “Please, call me Selene.”