Moonlit Shadows

Wounds Can Be Healed By Truth

* * *

The castle dining room was lit with electric candelabras along the walls, placed at perfect intervals to produce the maximum amount of light yet keep the setting soft and warm. The long table was set for eight, evenly spread, so no one was crowded.

Aydan had just finished setting the various food dishes on the table when Zephyr entered the room.

The Alpha walked over to the large fireplace that was helping to take the chill off the room. He studied it with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black slacks. His black silk dress shirt reflected hints of light from the fire up onto his face.

Aydan approached him carefully and stood back a few steps. "Can you do this peacefully?"

Zephyr stared at the fire, and his eyebrows rose. "You mean eat dinner with people I think are hiding a horrible secret from me?"

Aydan cleared his throat quietly. "Yes."

"I indeed let my emotions get the best of me earlier, but I feel strangely better now. Just socking that cocky wolf in the nose gave my heart some reprieve from its grief. I know Ga-Eun is dead; I just don't understand why they're keeping it from me on purpose."

"Perhaps because of exactly what happened earlier?"

Zephyr slowly turned his eyes to Aydan and glared at him. "Whose side are you on, here?"

"Well, yours, of course, Master. I'm just throwing out suggestions as to why they wouldn't reveal the facts of her demise."

Zephyr pulled in a deep breath and turned his face back towards the fire. "It better not be that one of them killed her. I swear, Aydan, I will dismember and disembowel them all if that is the case."

"Dismembering and disemboweling sounds like an exhausting chore," said Taehyung, walking into the dining room with Sunny.

Zephyr and Aydan both turned quickly.

"We didn't hear you come in," said Aydan, rushing to show them to their seats.

"We vampires tend to move silently on purpose. You wolves just crash into everything. It's counterproductive to hunting, is it not?" Taehyung's eyes had a glimmer of challenge and mischief to them.

Aydan took no offense and stood back to allow the vampires to sit. "I can't argue with that."

Zephyr approached the head of the table and took his seat, slumping down a bit and leaning on the chair's arm. "It's good to see you up and about, Sunny."

Sunny smiled and nodded. "Thanks to you, I hear. I really appreciate all you did for me."

"No thanks needed. I wasn't confident in my methods. I'm just glad they worked."

The door opened, and the four werewolves from the Blood Mountain Pack filed in. Aydan gestured where they should sit, and the sounds of chairs scraping across stone floors filled the room for a few moments.

Finally, everyone was seated, and a tense silence fell on the group. Aydan took the opportunity provided by the quiet to explain the dishes and encouraged everyone to eat.

But despite his warm welcome and the encouragement to eat before the food grew cold, no one moved to do so. He took his seat at the right of Zephyr and woefully watched his hard work slowly lose its heat.

Finally, after a few more moments of tense silence, Hoseok sprung to his feet. He looked agitated, and his hands rested on the table, supporting his weight.

"I can't do this," he said with an exasperated sigh.

Jimin reached up and touched his arm, a worried expression on his face.