Emma's Pov

　　Gaya and I train until five in the morning. We talk about trivial things, like training, cute guys, and shopping. The hours fly by, and my tension from the dream dissipates with every punch I throw at the punching bag and every laugh Gaya makes me produce.

　　When breakfast time comes around, I'm already showered and ready to meet with Charlotte. The little she-wolf brightens my days.

　　"Emma! Today we're going butterfly hunting!" Charlotte declares as soon as I enter the room. Matthew raises his dark green eyes in my direction; his beauty makes my heart skip a few beats.

　　Matthew Anderson has messy black hair, some strands falling on his forehead. The blue V-neck shirt accentuates the muscles of his arms, which are holding the cutlery.

　　"After school, Lotte," Matthew retorts with a firmer voice. Charlotte's eyes lower with the responsibility of having to go to school. I sit next to Charlotte and stroke her hair.

　　"After your classes, we'll hunt millions of butterflies," I declare cheerfully.

　　A laugh escapes Mattew's lips, and I gaze at him with curious eyes.

　　"What's so funny?" I ask seriously.

　　"You." Mattew's response comes with mockery. "Where are you going to find millions of butterflies?"

　　I know the question is mocking, rhetorical. Matthew wants to get under my skin, provoke me with that cute smirk and the green eyes that make me sigh unconsciously.

　　"Maybe inside your head, since it's probably empty," I retort sarcastically. Mattew's eyes narrow in my direction, another laugh escaping his lips.

　　"You can find many things inside my head, Emma, that would give you butterflies in your stomach," Mattew teases.

　　I don't know how to respond, we both continue staring at each other for almost a full minute, until Charlotte grabs my attention.

　　"Can you help me with my homework later?" Charlotte asks before taking a sip of her orange juice.

　　I affirm that I can. The days with Charlotte are busy; I'm never without something to do with her. For an eight-year-old, Charlotte has a dynamic that surprises me.

　　After returning from school, I did what Charlotte asked me to do, help her with her homework. We're in the garden, a few meters from the main house of the pack. Charlotte's homework is to learn simple math.

　　"And how was school today?" I ask as I watch Charlotte calculate how many candies she'll have if she gives two to a classmate, as the question in her notebook says.

　　"Good. Every day is good. Even the days we have nightmares, the day is always good after a bad night," Charlotte says. Her voice is gentle and wise. It has so much wisdom that I blink, a little stunned at her.

　　"Did you have a nightmare last night?" I ask curiously. I try to recall if I told a very scary bedtime story last night, but the chosen story had been Cinderella.

　　Charlotte's bright green eyes focus on me before she responds, "No, but you did, didn't you?" The question is serious, but I can't quite process it.

　　"How do you know?"

　　Charlotte returns her attention to the notebook and writes down the correct answer to the math question.

　　"I had nightmares when I lost my mom," Charlotte murmurs softly, barely audible. "But I found out that bad dreams are just poorly remembered memories."

　　Her words make me reflect. My dream with Ava had started with a good memory of us together on vacation and ended with the worst night of my life.

　　"I'm done! Let's go hunt a million butterflies!" Charlotte declares excitedly, getting up quickly. My thoughts wandered for a moment from what she had just told me. I look admirably at the little she-wolf in front of me. "Come on, come on. Let's hunt for butterflies!"

　　Charlotte pulls me up, and I comply. Charlotte starts running through the vast garden we're in, and I follow her with hurried steps. The garden is full of flowers; there are indeed some butterflies fluttering over the petals. Charlotte chases after them, her body shaking with laughter exploding from her.

　　"Put me on your shoulders so I can get really high and catch the elusive butterflies?" Charlotte asks, her face already red from running. I pick her up in my arms and put her on my shoulders. Charlotte isn't very heavy, but I need to be more focused now on keeping my balance and not letting her fall. "Let's go that way," Charlotte requests. She points outside the garden to the cluster of rooms in the Night Howlers Pack's territory.

　　"Your wish is my command, little she-wolf," I replied playfully, Charlotte's cute hands messing with my short hair.

　　Until she lightly pokes my face, and I turn my head slightly to try to see her on top of me, "Can you put me down, Emma? Being tall is tiring," she asks, and I let out a laugh at her observation. Slowly, I take Charlotte off my shoulders and put her on the ground.

　　"There are butterflies in there, you should go get them," Charlotte points to a closed room a few meters away from the other rooms. I raise my eyebrow in confusion at her imagination. Charlotte pushes me gently towards the room, and I obey her will. However, the little she-wolf doesn't come along.

　　As I approach the room, I notice that it's slightly ajar, and voices come from inside.