By the time I got home, thanks to a ride from Mya, half of the confidence had worn off, I was still riding the high of the day's events. I knew that exposing Sophia wouldn't force Liam to acknowledge me, but whoever said you shouldn't take an eye for an eye, forgot to mention how great it felt. My grandparents weren't home yet. They were out doing errands or something based on the note they left me on the kitchen counter. I sighed and shrugged my jacket off before going to find something to snack on.

"Looks like your return went well," Aria said as she appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the kitchen stool. It made me jump and I damn near dropped the bowl I was holding. I found some leftover vegetable soup to warm up and popped it in the microwave.

"You could say that," I said as I finally turned to face her as I leaned against the counter. I couldn't help the wide smile on my face.

"What did you do to me yesterday?" I asked. She smirked.

"I told you, it was just a bit of a confidence boost. We're connected, Daniella," she said.

"You never really elaborated the how," I noted. She sighed and rested her chin on the palm of her hand as I pulled my soup from the microwave carefully.

"You're like... my Earthly being. You are your own person and all, and you live like every other wolf, but there are perks. You have a direct line to my powers... all of them; seeing the future, sensing danger future and current, strength with your wolf, seeing people's true intentions and memories, healing people and things, blah, blah, blah, and you're nearly invisible. You can still be killed, but it's more difficult. You have a direct line to me. If you call me, I'll hear you first and come if you really need it. I'm an extra power source for you, which you might need during a full moon because that's when you're most vulnerable. Try not to do too much during new moons. It'll drain the shit out of you. It's when you're the weakest. It's the whole reason you passed out last time. Great timing with that, by the way," she said sarcastically as I grabbed a spoon and began eating as I listened.

"Why does a new moon weaken me?" I asked, before testing the next spoonful I had raised to my lips.

"Well, the moon is your main source of energy. I'm not actually a human or wolf so I'm not bound by the Earth. I get the moon's full powers all the time, but you have to be more careful. A new moon has the power to make you as weak as any other wolf for that day, and only a day. You have other sources to pull energy from, but you have to make more of an effort to do so. On the other hand, a full moon can triple your strength and power," she explained as I slurped on my soup.

"So how do I turn the... 'lunar thingy' off like you did for me today?" I asked. She shrugged.

"The lunar effect can easily be blocked by setting up a blocker. You're basically blocking your receivers, per say. If you can shield your thoughts, you can block everyone else out. Practice, now," she said, pulling my bowl away from me. I sighed and swallowed the last spoonful I took before I did as she asked. I concentrated on blocking her. She studied my face for a moment before she chuckled.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" she asked. I shook my head. "You're focusing on me, focus on yourself. Try to put up an invisible wall around your mind brick by brick for the time being. The more you practice, the easier it'll get over time until you don't even have to think about it anymore. You'll still be able to vibe people's feelings with the blocker, but their thoughts won't intrude upon yours," she instructed. I imagines bricks being set up around my mind in a dome form brick by brick. It was hard to hold on to the image, but I tried to focus on it and put everything else out of my mind. It took a lot of effort and I was mentally exhausted after the ordeal. But Aria just smiled.

"Good. Took you longer than I thought it would, but you did it," she said. "Now keep practicing, tearing the wall down and building it back up," she instructed. Taking the wall down was a lot easier.

"What about the confidence I had today? How did you do that?" I asked, getting sidetracked. She rolled her eyes as her hand dropped from underneath her chin.

"You're barely through the first lesson. And I didn't do anything. I just brought forward the confidence that was already inside of- great, you're making me sound like a damn Hallmark card," she said as she hopped off the stool. I chuckled at how right she was. It was like listening to the end of a Christmas movie.

"Seriously, what was it?" I asked.

"I just blew off some of the timid crumbs to expose your connection to the badass Moon Goddess inside of you," she explained. I still didn't get it.

"How do I do that on my own?" I asked. She smirked.

"This is an easy one. Just pull my essence towards you. Think of how much of a badass I am and channel it to use it to your advantage. You're connected to the Moon Goddess. Be humbled, but don't be a wimp," she instructed. I tried to think of what she was saying but it was harder than simply building a wall. This was about changing the way I felt about myself. I had to chant a mantra, but eventually I felt a tiny bit of the confidence I had this morning.

"I think I'll just have to keep working on that one," I said unsurely. Aria groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?! You are literally connected to the creator of your species. That alone should give you the confidence of a thousand suns," she said in irritation. She took a breath as she tried to calm down.

"Okay, okay... every time you feel less than confident, just think, you're the only person who has these powers in the whole world. I haven't done anything like this in a very long time, but I did with you," she said.

"How did that play out anyway? What made you save me?' I asked as I slid my soup back near me and started eating again. She slid her hand down her face.

"Okay, this will be the last question for today from you because I'm getting irritated," she said, giving her disclaimer. She sighed before she sat back down. "I hear the prayers of wolves. I heard the prayers of your mother and father loudest that night, so I took a look at what would have my creatures in such... duress. Your father was praying for me to save his mate, while his mother was praying for you. After your mother ripped her stomach open to get you out, I only had enough time and energy to save one of you. I answered your mother's wish. She had already lived her life and you were just a newborn. Plus, I saw a chance to have a legacy of my own. I can bring wolves away from the brink of death, but bringing a wolf back from the dead leaves a piece of me inside of them; a portion of everything that I am because I essentially become your life force. It's something I cannot play around with. I have to be careful. If my powers go to the wrong person, things could be disastrous.

"You hadn't even taken your first breath yet. Laying there on the table as the nurses frantically tried to decide who to save... I chose you. Then after your mother died, I knew your father wouldn't be able to handle it; he wasn't created to. Seeing his face as he looked from your screaming face to your mother's slumped body, I knew he was ready to end himself, despite the fact that he now had a child to take care of. It was gruesome, that hospital room. I stuck around and kept him alive long enough to raise you. It wasn't easy, hiding all of his pain and suffering from you all of those years. Your father wanted to keep you away from this life forever. I think he thought if he never came back, it would be like none of it ever happened, but you needed to come back. I gave him until your senior year of high school to get you here. You were allowed to know about your wolf lineage, but he chose not to tell you. You're connection to me was to be suppressed until you were surrounded by other wolves who could protect you.... here, with your family and your pack. It was my fail safe to make sure you weren't too cocky about what you can do," she explained. I looked at her confused.

"But you are literally the cockiest person I know," I said slowly, not understanding. If I was supposed to be just like her, shouldn't I be cocky, too?

"Well duh, but you're a wolf, and I'm immortal. You have to be humbled because you can be killed. I don't want the power getting to your head too much," she explained. I heard the door to the house open and a rattling of keys.

"Dani?" my grandma called for me from across the house. I looked at Aria, curious as to what she planned on doing. Would she let my grandparents see her? She perked an eyebrow at me before hopping off of the stool gracefully and placing a kiss on my head.

"You don't need your mate to live like normal wolves. You can actually choose your mate if you wanted, but I'll teach you about that later. Luna Addie is trustworthy enough to confide in, if you wanted to talk to someone other than me. I trust her. I'll be back tomorrow, my child," she said softly before she vanished into thin air with just a trace of white dust.