Chapter 162: The Night the Hall Went Silent
The moon hung high above them, bright enough to wash the street in silver as they stepped out in front of Brooklyn’s new house.
Elara stopped at the gate and looked up slowly. "Emma..." Her eyes widened. "This place is huge."
Warm lights glowed through the tall windows. Farther down the road, Nightclaw Estate stood against the bright sky.
Emma slipped her hand into Elara’s and led her up the front steps.
The doors opened before they reached them. Voices and laughter drifted outside.
The moment they walked in, conversations softened. Heads turned.
About twenty she-wolves filled the living chamber, gathered around Brooklyn. She looked up from the center of the group, a smile spreading across her face as she rose to meet them.
"I was worried when your maids said you went to the palace." She leaned closer and lowered her voice near her ear. "Is everything okay?"
Emma smiled and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Everything’s fine."
The chatter around the hall slowly faded as Emma settled deeper into her seat, a playful smile tugging at her lips. She looked around at them.
"Alright, ladies. First game of the day."
Paige stepped forward and handed her the basket she’d brought earlier. Emma reached inside and started passing around pens and folded sheets of paper.
"This one’s called The One in My Memory," she said. "Write down your favorite memory with me, but don’t add your name. We’ll read them out loud and try to guess who wrote what."
A few excited laughs filled the hall.
"And yes," Brooklyn added, lifting a small wrapped box from the table, "there’s a prize for the winner."
That only made them move faster.
Chairs scraped lightly against the floor as every wolf bent over their papers. Soft laughter and whispers floated around the hall while they wrote. One by one, the folded notes dropped back into the basket Paige carried around.
Emma picked up the first paper and kept her face as expressionless as ever as she gave it to one of the she-wolves to read aloud. She read it.
"I was ashamed of my breasts when I was fourteen and Brooklyn could not tell her mother because I warned her not to. Do you know what she did? She reported me to a stranger! A young wolf for that matter!" Their moonallies screamed and laughed.
"Brooklyn, did you do that?" The she-wolves shouted at her. She grinned and rolled her eyes.
"Yes!" She affirmed.
"To who?"
"Guess wolves," she said.
They turned to each other, studying faces, searching for answers. No one even glanced at Emma twice. Their eyes drifted to Emily then to Nina, but she only shook her head.
After a few failed guesses, Emma let out a small laugh and admitted it. The hall broke instantly—laughter spilling everywhere.
"Who is the young he-wolf?" Emily asked, leaning in.
"The Moon Prince."
"Oh, my Goddess!" The moonallies burst out at once. Princess Elara laughed too, light and contagious.
The game faded right there. No one cared about guessing anymore—they just wanted her story.
Emma flipped to another memory. Before anyone could even try, the owner spoke up, claiming it without hesitation.
"Tell us your story! What happened after she reported you to him?"
"...He talked to her, gave her reasons to be proud of her beautiful self, and they became moonmates," Brooklyn cut in.
"We want all the details!" they chorused.
"Then wait for my novel!" She shouted and dragged Brooklyn into the middle to open the gifts. She was astonished by what she saw. She did not know wolves loved her so much until that day.
Final Round: First Shift Game
Emma announced as she picked up the last stack of papers and passed them around the circle.
Brooklyn leaned against the table, arms folded loosely across her chest. "Alright," she said. "Last memory. Try not to ruin our reputations."
Emma slid her dry look. "Too late for that."
A she-wolf stepped into the middle, unfolded the first slip, and cleared her throat.
"Hey... you’re safe. Just breathe. It won’t hurt more than you can handle."
A few wolves in the hall went quiet.
"I’ve been there. The fear’s worse than the shift itself. It passes."
The she-wolf glanced up briefly before reading the next line.
"You don’t have to fight it. Just let it happen."
A laugh slipped out from somewhere in the crowd.
"You’re talking like I’m about to sneeze and turn into a monster."
More laughter rolled through the hall.
"And if I shift and accidentally chase you..." the reader continued, already smiling, "...just know your speech caused it."
A wolf whistled.
Her voice softened at the last line.
"So yeah... I’ll survive this. And if I don’t, I’ll come back just to annoy you in wolf form."
The hall erupted instantly.
"That’s Brooklyn!"
"Only she would joke about death like that!"
Brooklyn pressed a hand to her chest like she was offended. "I was being emotional."
"You were threatening wolves," Emma shot back.
"That too."
Brooklyn lifted both hands in surrender, laughing under her breath. "What? I was motivated."
A few wolves snorted.
Emma barely reacted. She reached for the next paper and slid it toward another guest.
The guest unfolded it slowly. Her smile faded before she even finished reading.
"’Then don’t let me go alone.’"
The hall went still.
A wolf shifted in their chair. A glass touched the table with a soft clink.
Brooklyn’s grin eased into something smaller.
Across from her, Emma stayed quiet, eyes fixed on the paper in the guest’s hand.
A few guests looked between them, waiting.
"Wait..." a wolf murmured, lowering her drink.
"That sounds like Emma."
Brooklyn glanced sideways at her. "Is that your memory talking?"
Emma leaned back in her chair, fingers brushing the rim of her glass.
"Or yours," she said softly, "because you never planned to leave first."
The silence after that settled deeper than before.
The party ended with a dance. Emma never knew Brandon and Ken were in the garden waiting for them. Ken gave all the guest flowers as they walked out of the house. He gave Brooklyn a flower too and lifted her.
They sat on the garden chairs after the guests left and began to tell Brooklyn everything that happened at the palace. Emma noticed she was crying.
"What is it?"
"My travel documents were stamped today and we will travel to England on Monday."
"Oh, that’s good news!" She cried out.
"I miss you guys already!" Brooklyn wept and hid her face in Ken’s chest and they cracked up.
"I miss you too," Emma said, laughing when she caught the way Ken was already hovering around Brooklyn. "And please... don’t turn England into another Santorini marathon."
Brooklyn gasped. "That was one time."
"One time?" Emma repeated, raising a brow. "You two ran through half the estate like wolves in a romance movie."
Ken muttered something under his breath, and Brooklyn elbowed him without looking.
She pointed toward Ken. "See? Warn him now before he drags me across every street in England."
Ken finally leaned into view. "I heard that."
"Good," Emma shot back. "Because she shouldn’t have to sprint for your attention.
Save the dramatic chasing for emergencies."
Brooklyn burst out laughing while Ken groaned loud enough to make Emma grin wider.
"Well," Ken said, slipping his hand into hers, "I’ll try."
"Can I still be your maid of honor?" Brooklyn asked with her face still hidden on Ken’s chest.
"No, Brooklyn; you can’t be my maid of honor," she said with a lower tone. They had always wanted to be each other’s maid of honor, but unfortunately, that was their only wish that was never granted. As the Moon Prince’s mate, Emma couldn’t be her maid of honor. Since being some wolf’s maid of honor was actually considered a good way to attract a mate, she couldn’t be hers too. This was why she decided to be her matron of honor.
"I was hoping we could go on a seven-day vacation after the mating," Brandon said.
"We will," Ken replied calmly. "After the royal mating. We’ll start the new winter with a vacation."
A faint smile tugged at Emma’s lips. "New winter vacation. I’ll hold you to that... both of you."
His mouth curved slightly as he looked at her.
"Hold me to it then," Brandon said. "I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep."
His gaze held hers a beat longer. "That reminds me, Moonheart... you’re going to tell me everything." He added with a quick wink.
"Everything?" Emma blinked at him, brows lifting.
"The first shift," he said, smirking.
Ken let out a low laugh. "So you two had a whole pack drama on your first shift?"
Laughter rippled through the group.
"Since you’ve managed to eavesdrop on us, I think it’s only fair you tell us yours," Brooklyn teased.
Brandon’s mouth curved slightly. "Not sure you’re ready for that."
"Ready for what?" Emma leaned in.
Ken’s eyes flickered, a trace of mischief in them. "T
he Alpha’s shift."
Silence settled between them.
Brandon’s smile faded just a fraction. His fingers tightened around his glass.
"Don’t start that," he said quietly. "That’s not a story about moonfall."
