At the Silver Mansion, Pia was extremely busy with the preparations. She was too excited. It was her chance to become the Luna of the most powerful pack. Calling Sedora was the best thing she had done. She had called the designer to recreate the same dress that Dawn had worn in Ulfric for the Rede'vota, and had ordered the same one for Caleb that Daryn had worn. That was how she had decided to show her authority to all. She had called a makeup artist to do her makeup to look perfect. She couldn't help but grin at her reflection in the mirror.

"I look much more beautiful than Dawn. That neotide is no comparison to me," she said with an air of superiority. "I am a pure blood."

The makeup artist said, "Yes Ms. Pia, you look beautiful."

---

Daryn smiled at the siblings and then walked to the bathroom.

Cole was scandalous when he saw him walking half-naked from her sister's bed. But he didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and hugged Dawn. If she was happy, so was he.

Daryn called his father but he didn't answer the call. So he sent him a text message. He received the reply within two minutes and his eyes became wide. The message was:

[Sedora is here to see your brother's succession to become the Alpha of the Silver Clan. The ceremony will take place at 1PM. You are cordially invited.]

A smirk tugged his lips.

Much to Cole's resistance, Daryn insisted that Dawn go with him to the Silver Mansion for a ceremony.

"What ceremony?" she asked but he didn't tell her.

He adjusted his tie in between his collars and said, "Something important."

"But I want to be with my brother. It's been long. I have to catch up," she resisted.

He went to her, tousled her hair and said with affection mixed with urgency, "I am sorry darling, but you have to come with me. It is a function that we can't avoid. Plus my mother is there and I would like you to meet her." With what his father had texted, he wasn't sure whether he would remain the Prince of the Silver Clan. He didn't want to fight for it and spill bad blood. Caleb was his older brother and his morals didn't allow him to fight his brother. At the end of the day, he wanted to be harmonious with everyone.

"Your mother," she asked, spinning with a jerk. That was a surprise. "Where was she all these days?"

"Yes dear, my mother," he replied and Dawn noticed how tense his shoulders became at her mention. He looked at her with his deep raven eyes and goaded, "Please hurry up darling."

There was so much seriousness in his demeanor that Dawn didn't argue and went to the bathroom to get ready. She was intrigued by the sudden presence of his mother in their life. What kind of a person would she be?

It was 11:30AM.

When they were on their way to the Silver Mansion, Dawn asked out of curiosity, "What is your mother like?"

Daryn leaned back in the car's seat, his shoulders tensed again. He said, "My mother is not the type who would smile. And if she does smile, it means that she has evil schemes running at the back of her mind." He paused to look out and continued, "You have to be careful what knife would she wield in the darkness behind that smile."

Dawn's mouth opened wide. The way he characterized his mother in such a quiet, casual voice, it was as if she was a cold assassin. He sounded as if his mother's character was akin to her obsession with buying handbags. "What are you saying?" she asked in a slightly raised voice.

"I am pretty serious," he replied in the same flat tone. "My father has always been on guard whenever she is around."

Dawn shivered on the inside and wished that she wasn't going to meet her mother-in-law. Helena was someone she had always thought was someone she could never take down easily. Vicious, self-absorbed and extremely devious, Helena had been the evil behind Cole and her. She manipulated her way into the Wyatt family and had thrown out the siblings, the right heirs out of the house. But if what Daryn said was true, then she wasn't comparable to Sedora.

"I really am in no hurry to meet your mother!" Dawn declared.

Daryn chortled. "Don't worry, I am going to protect you and I don't think she would harm you. One thing that Sedora loves is watching other people's miseries. She already knows that you are a neotide and my mate. If there's one thing she loves more than plotting in the shadows, it's making others who do not measure good in her eyes, miserable to the extent that they start feeling wretched about themselves. And she is going to do that with you."

Dawn gulped saliva down her already dry throat. How was she going to face a woman like her? And how was it possible that a woman like Sedora gave birth to a man like Daryn? But to think of it, Daryn was a cold man, ruthless to the extent that he would gouge a werewolf to his death with bare hands. That part of genes was definitely inherited from Sedora. She gathered the dress in her lap in bunches as she tightened her fist around them. She had worn a light purple silk gown that she had matched with a pearl necklace and pearl earrings in order to give a subtle statement of peace.

Daryn closed his large hands over hers. They had just come back from the Ulfric after recovering the Stone of Solaris. All he wanted was to spend a lazy day with her in the Silver Arcade and then take her to the Silver Mansion as his father had wished earlier. But this wasn't something he had thought of. This wasn't the way he wanted to bring his bride to their ancestral home. "Don't worry, Dawn. You will come to know more about her when you reach there. I highly doubt that she welcome you with open arms. You can expect a lot of nasty things. But like I said, I am there with you. Stay low, don't talk much. If she belittles you, ignore her. She isn't someone you would want to be enemy with. Pia holds a higher position in Sedora's eyes because not only is she the wife of her elder son, she is a pure blood. Most of the sons and daughters of the Chiefs of the clans are married to strengthen their positions. It's kind of a business alliance. That's what happened with Caleb and Pia too."

To say that Dawn was nervous was an understatement. She was terrified. She clutched her dress and twisted it until it became a crinkly mess. Her mother-in-law sounded like a bloodhound, but she sat up straight in the car and decided not to get bullied by her. It wasn't her choice to become a neotide. Had she not been a neotide, she would have been a human, which she would have loved. But fate had other things in mind.

She nodded.

Daryn wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He looked at his watch.