At precisely eleven a.m. Luna opened the door to her flat, wondering what to expect when she stepped inside. Something about the way Silver had told her to stay at the hotel had made her think he was up to something.

Her greatest wish, of course, was to find Kirith standing in the centre of her living room. But Silver would never have kept such a thing secret, knowing how much it hurt her to know he’d left without so much as a good-bye.

As she pushed the door open, a strange smell wafted out to meet her nose. Paint, she thought.

Why the hell does my flat smell like paint?

Her jaw dropped when she saw the interior of the modest flat. The small shite-hole of a living room had been transformed. The walls were now a rich shade of deep green. A new couch, table and television set were arranged in such a way that the small space actually managed to look relatively large. A comfortable-looking armchair sat perpendicular to the couch, waiting for its first sitter.

Luna tiptoed through the flat, feeling as though she’d accidentally walked into someone else’s home, and slipped into her bedroom.

The new bed was beautiful. Brass-framed, queen-sized, with white, pristine bedding. Photographs hung on the wall of misty British fields that called out to her Wolf.

On one of the bed’s pillows sat a folded note, her name scrawled in tidy penmanship on its surface.

She reached over and picked it up, unfolding it.

“Dear Luna,

The Dragons’ Guild recognizes your service and would like to offer you a place among our ranks. We understand that you are without a Pack at the moment, but perhaps you would consider the position of Dragon-Wolf Liaison. Amara, of course, is a very good one, but she’s indisposed for the foreseeable future and sees great potential in you.

Please consider the offer,

Lumen et al”

Indisposed, thought Luna. What does that mean?

“Do you like it?”

She spun around to greet the speaker, her eyes welling with tears of joy.

“You did this,” she said quietly.

“The Dragons and I did, yes,” said Silver.

“It’s too much. I can’t accept it.”

Her brother laughed. “Yes, you can. They’re filthy stinking rich, Loon. You know they are.”

She leapt at her brother, throwing her arms around his neck for about the tenth time in the last twenty-four hours. It was so good to be able to hug him again. “I love it. Of course I do.”

“Good. Because it’s all yours.”

She backed away and looked up into his eyes. “What do you mean, all mine?What about you? Where are you going to live?”

“The Guild has claimed the club, and they’re putting it in my charge,” he said. “There are a few rooms there…”

“Wait, you’re telling me you’re going to live in an underground grotto? It’s so dark and cold down there, Silver.”

“I won’t live there permanently. I’m just planning to stay there for a little until the club’s on its feet. The Guild is going to help. Oh, and there’s another group called the Syndicate in town. Apparently they’re more of a human contingent. They’ve offered support as well.”

“Meanwhile, the Guild has asked me to join. So we’re all in this together then?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. But for now, I need to head over to the club and do some cleanup. We made a bit of a mess when Ripper and Kirith—” A look of regret passed over his face as he stopped himself from saying anything more about Luna’s Dragon.

“I can imagine that you broke a few tables,” Luna replied. “Anyhow, yes. Go. Do what you need to. I’m going to enjoy my splendid new flat.”

Silver put his hands on her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers. “Thank you, Sister, for everything you’ve done for me over the years.”

“It was nothing,” she said.

“It was everything. You don’t even know how you kept me going when I wanted to roll over and give up. You were always strong when I couldn’t be.”

He gave her a quick hug and then left her alone, closing the door behind him.

“I’m not feeling so strong anymore,” she said softly.

She was going to need her brother in the days to come.