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Fate truly is a tricky bitch.
I look over at Alex, who doesn’t even react, but he told me how they donate regularly to my mum’s charity. Was that because of Morgan’s involvement?
Why didn’t they mention Morgan’s involvement? Well, what difference would it make?
“Not really,” Topher says, shaking his head. His feelings are unclear, but he seems to be telling the truth. “I don’t keep track of what she used to be involved in. She did a lot of community work, and it was a decade ago that she passed away.”
“Barely,” Julie hisses, and I flinch at her tone.
Morgan died a decade ago, around the same time that Ryan left home, and it’s obvious the two events are related. She would’ve only been twenty when she lost her life. I blink back the tears and avoid looking at any of the people opposite me on the table.
The timings are murky, but from what they’ve admitted, they plotted to kill their nephew when he was barely a year older than their niece was when she died.
What on Earth is wrong with these people? They’re out here attacking people who are barely past being children.
My heart physically hurts at the level of disregard for life, but even more so, the fact that it’s Ryan’s life that they targeted. The man who would fill up hot water bottles every single day of my period, who would make sure my fridge was always stocked with my favourite snacks, every night during exam weeks, the man who would walk women to their homes late at night so they’d be safe.
The man they wanted to kill was not the child they knew, and I don’t understand how nobody can see that.
“She did do a lot of charity work,” Julie says softly, and the fast change in her personality is startling. Her lips are down-turned, her shoulders hunched in, but her eyes don’t portray the same level of sadness. “She was the best of that family. Strong, kind, and beautiful. She would’ve had some truly powerful baby wolves, if her life wasn’t viciously snatched away.”
I eye Seb, but he’s not looking my way, and nobody else really reacts to her words and the problematic tone of them. I wrap my arms around Phoebe in the carrier, breathing in the soft new baby smell, and I purse my lips together.
I’m not sure if Julie is thinking about the words she’s saying right now, before she says them or if she’s just speaking whatever comes to her in her distraught state… but she’s not coming across very well right now.
They’re acting as if Morgan’s only worth was the fact that she was a female wolf. They only seem to care that she’s got potential as a woman to continue the line.
I know that they’re all concerned about the lack of female-born wolves, about them losing their power, and about the survival of their species. I understand their concerns, even if they’re not my own.
But that doesn’t mean their behaviour is acceptable. It doesn’t mean that female-born wolves are just meant to be breeders.
“So what does Howling Hope have to do with any of this?” Alex asks, and even though his tone sounds bored, his feelings display the complete opposite. He’s nervous and intrigued and is trying to hide it from his parents.
There’s no way he forgot our conversation about my parents. No way he forgot the connection that I have to Howling Hope. Yet, his tone sounds so disinterested, his face showing nothing but boredom.
He’d be a good poker player.
Topher is as tense as he has been for this entire conversation but just as unbothered by the current topic as Alex sounds. He’s less intrigued.
In comparison, Ben is very curious about what is being shared. He’s writing something down on a piece of paper, as he has been for most of this conversation. He’s taking notes and keeping track of what’s been said.
“A large portion of the startup costs for Fresh Fur Creations were invested by Howling Hope, and they share numerous stock holders. They still partner together on quite a few projects, as shared in the media and in our world, and Fresh Fur Creations donate numerous free products to Howling Hope every year for their own use,” Edward explains.
My heart drops, and I can feel Alexander’s eyes dart my way. I was the one to facilitate the funding, as I’m sure he’s guessed. Ryan had amazing ideas, and I knew that he could do so much good if he just had the funds. My main trust fund wouldn’t be released until I was twenty-one, and I didn’t want to pull out of the family businesses, but I was the one to facilitate the meetings and to organise for Howling Hope to help him.
He needed it, and thanks to their support, he thrived.
Ryan had nobody. Barely any friends, no family, no support system. He was a consistent First student across the board, never failing an exam or not giving his studies his all.
He was dedicated and smart. Sure, at the time, he never told me the full truth of what he was doing… but even now, I can’t tell if it’s truly such a bad thing.
Just because bad people could take advantage of these scent neutralisers, it doesn’t outweigh all of the good that can be done. So many good and endangered people could benefit from them, too. The tool itself isn’t bad, it’s how people use it.
Ryan’s ideas were beyond my understanding, even now, but the passion he had, the vision… I knew it was something that my mum would’ve been interested in. Something she would’ve supported.
Her foundation focused on endangered animals, and Ryan’s research, his vision… it could’ve really, really helped them, too.
So, of course, I organised it. I don’t regret it. Not even now.
