Chapter 647: About Lila...

Lunaris Academy...

Standing in front of Principal Jameson’s office, Daisy Fairchild sucked in a deep breath.

"There’s nothing to be scared about. You did nothing wrong. We’ll just answer Mrs. Jameson and we’re good to go." She gave herself a pep talk before finally mustering the courage to knock on the door.

"Come on in," Jameson’s voice came from inside, and Daisy braced herself as she stepped in.

Of course, there was Principal Jameson looking primed and proper as always, not a single piece out of place. One would think that after the horrible scandal that had plagued Lunaris Academy, the woman would have been sent packing.

Unfortunately, the hard-to-kill cockroach had managed to wriggle her way back into position by riding on Violet’s purple glory, the human girl with three mates. She had the PR team push that story, feeding the garbage to the public until they practically forgot all the recent incidents.

In a way, it worked. Lunaris Academy was once again the top supernatural academy every human girl dreamed of being chosen for. Everyone wanted to be Violet Purple.

Even now, it had been revealed that Violet Purple wasn’t even human. But no one seemed to care. If anything, the academy’s popularity had exploded beyond control.

How did Violet Purple become a werewolf —or whatever people thought she was? Already, rumors were circulating that there was a secret lab in Lunaris Academy where humans were experimented on and turned into werewolves.

And yet, instead of deterring them, it only made everyone want to be part of Lunaris even more.

It was crazy out there.

When Daisy came in, she never expected Principal Jameson to have a visitor and certainly not a familiar, blue-eyed Luna.

"Luna Zara," Daisy bowed her head respectfully. "An honor to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Daisy Fairchild."

Daisy lifted a brow. How did the Luna of the North Pack know her name? And why was she summoned here? Of course, Daisy wasn’t stupid; she could sense something was off.

"Do have a seat, Daisy." Jameson gestured to the chair in front of her.

Daisy sat carefully, hyper-aware of the Luna’s presence beside her. Suddenly, it felt less like a meeting and more like she’d just stepped into an interrogation room.

"I’m sure you’re surprised by my presence," Zara said with a small, knowing smile.

"Yes, I am. By chance, Luna Zara, did anything happen to Violet?" Daisy asked, curiosity lacing her tone. The last she heard, her friend Violet was in the North with her son, Alaric, where their bond had finally snapped into place.

It was safe to conclude that communication with Violet had been downhill. With so many things happening in such a short time, keeping in touch was nearly impossible. Not to mention, Violet’s line hadn’t connected in days, and the only information she ever got came through the Alphas or their betas —whenever they were even reachable.

Luna Zara opened her mouth as if to lie her way out of it, but suddenly paused. Then she sighed, heavily. "To be honest, that’s why I’m here."

Daisy shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a prickle of unease crawling down her spine.

"Why? What happened?" she demanded, her voice tight with apprehension.

"Violet Purple suddenly vanished with my son."

"What?!" Daisy shouted, stunned. She shook her head in disbelief. "What do you mean vanished with your son?"

Zara Storm studied the young girl before her, satisfied to see she already had Daisy wrapped around her finger.

Leaning forward, she spoke with emotion.

"To be honest, I was a bit hard on Violet. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about us, but the North Pack isn’t used to inter-pack marriages. Still, the goddess mated them, and I realized my mistake. I should never have gone against them. And now... I think Violet is punishing me by taking my son away from me."

"No!" Daisy blurted out, louder than intended.

Zara blinked, feigning confusion. "No?"

"No. Violet would never do that. Sure, she’s hot-tempered and unpredictable, but she wouldn’t go that far unless..." Daisy’s voice trailed off mid-sentence.

"Unless what?" Zara pressed, her keen gaze pinning the girl.

Daisy swallowed.

Unless it was necessary.

But she didn’t say that out loud.

Instead, she forced a small smile and said, "All I’m trying to say is that Violet isn’t petty enough for that. Maybe they just went on a vacation or something, and didn’t want to be disturbed. I’ve heard some mates do that. You know, like a honeymoon."

"Is that so?" Zara’s tone was calm, but her eyes sharpened as she studied Daisy. The young girl’s breathing had shifted ever so slightly. The Luna could sense it. Daisy Fairchild was beginning to catch on, growing guarded. And more than that, she was hiding something.

Hence, Zara dropped the act a little, her polite mask slipping as she became more direct. "So you’re trying to tell me that Violet Purple did not contact you?"

"No," Daisy answered, straightening her shoulders. "We haven’t spoken in a while."

"Not in a while," Zara repeated, nodding slowly as she glanced at her phone. "Well, you’re telling the truth there. Your phone records prove that."

Daisy froze. "Excuse me?" Her voice rose, sharp with disbelief. "You went through my phone records?!"

She shot to her feet, anger flashing through her.

Mrs. Jameson quickly tried to diffuse the tension, hands raised slightly. "I’m sorry, Daisy, but this is a very serious situation—"

"It’s still not your right to go through my phone records!" Daisy cut in furiously. "That’s an invasion of privacy!"

As Daisy continued to rant, Luna Zara spoke a single name.

"Lila Meadows."

The name sliced through Daisy’s anger like a blade. She froze mid-sentence, every trace of heat vanishing from her voice.

Zara slowly lifted her gaze, her icy blue eyes locking onto Daisy’s scowl. The room went silent except for the soft ticking of the office clock.

"Did you know her identity is completely false?" Zara asked suddenly.

"What?" Daisy’s eyes widened, genuine shock on her face.

"The real Lila Meadows is dead," Zara said calmly. "She doesn’t exist. Not for years."

Daisy stammered, "T-that’s impossible... she-she was right there with us! I had no idea... "

Zara watched her closely, every flicker of emotion. "I’m sure you didn’t."

Mrs. Jameson stepped in, shaking her head, trying to make sense of it all. "I have no idea how that girl managed to manipulate her way into the academy’s system. Our vetting process is strict. But this matter will be looked into immediately."

Zara told her arrogantly. "She probably achieved that with magic. It’s the only explanation that makes sense."

Then she turned to Daisy again, her tone rising an octave. "And that’s where all this becomes suspicious. Of all the rooms in Lunaris Academy, why Violet Purple’s? Why choose that specific room?"

Daisy swallowed hard. "We were all friends, Lila and Violet got along. Maybe it was coincidence.... " She asked innocently, "... Or You think Lila approached Violet on purpose?"

Of course, Daisy knew Lila approached Violet on purpose because she was her guardian. But Daisy would not say any of that, not after she swore an oath. Even if Zara put a knife to her throat, not a word would leave her lips.

Zara looked at Daisy suspiciously. "Since your stay with the fake Lila, did you notice anything off about her?"

Daisy acted confused. "Like what?"

Zara sighed, the sound heavy with irritation, as if the entire process was exhausting. "I believe this Lila might have something to do with Violet and my son’s disappearance. Who knows? They might be in danger."

Daisy frowned. "But you told me Violet disappeared with your son."

Zara tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. "And you just told me Violet would never do such a thing, didn’t you?"

Daisy hesitated. "Yes, so why then would you suddenly think Lila might have a hand in the disappearance?"

Zara smiled, though there was no warmth in it. "It’s just the circumstances," she said smoothly. "Moreover, it’s reported that Lila took a supposed leave and no one’s seen her since. There’s enough circumstantial evidence to suggest she might be involved in whatever is going on."

The tension in the room thickened. Daisy could feel Zara’s gaze pressing down on her, like the woman was searching her soul for answers.

Then Zara leaned forward, lowering her voice to something almost gentle. "You’re a smart girl, Daisy, all I’m saying is, if you know anything about this girl, even the smallest details, it could help in the search for Violet..." She paused, her expression suddenly full of worry. "...and my son."

Silence fell for a moment.

Daisy’s voice was steady when she finally said, "No, ma. I don’t know a thing."

Zara straightened, the warmth vanishing from her face, "Thank you for your time, Daisy," she said crisply.

Daisy nodded quickly, her pulse racing. "Thank you, ma."

Without waiting for permission to leave, Daisy turned and practically bolted out of the office. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she pushed the door shut behind her, not daring to look back.

What the hell was going on?