Emma's Pov

　　Charlotte was sitting on the kitchen counter eating ice cream when I entered with Gaya and the grocery bags. Charlotte's short legs swung in the air; the height from the kitchen counter to the ground was quite high for her size. Steve was washing the dishes and telling Charlotte which ingredients are needed to make ice cream.

　　"What if we made a bean-flavored ice cream? Would it taste good?" Charlotte suggests before taking another spoonful of her ice cream. All of us in the kitchen furrow our brows at the flavor suggestion.

　　Gaya and I put the grocery bags on the table and started unpacking the products. Charlotte doesn't say anything about leaving me alone listening behind the door, and I don't mention that I was looking for her after my discovery.

　　It's a secret. I need to keep all my doubts and curiosity about Charlotte a secret.

　　"That's a rather peculiar flavor, Charlotte..." Steve responds humorously.

　　"Emma, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?" Charlotte asks eagerly and curiously.

　　I hand Gaya a can of tomato sauce before answering the little she-wolf's question. "Chocolate chip is my favorite!" I declare thoughtfully. It had been a long time since I had chocolate chip ice cream.

　　In my mind flashes the memory of when Ava and I went to the spring festival when we were younger, eating ice cream and playing around. The longing for my best friend makes even my wolf Accalia howl inside me, sharing the same feeling.

　　Charlotte asks Gaya and Steve about their favorite flavors.

　　"Strawberry is definitely the best flavor there is," Gaya proudly replies as I watch her start preparing some vegetables to chop.

　　"Chocolate is a classic, you can't go wrong with that," Steve justifies as he continues washing the last pieces of dishes.

　　"Mine is all of them!" Charlotte declares, lifting the now-empty small container with both hands and swinging her suspended legs even more. All of us laugh at her declaration. "Can I have a little more?"

　　"No, no, Charlotte. Dinner time will be soon, and Mattew will skin us alive if he finds out we gave you dessert before dinner," Steve replies, the head chef takes the small she-wolf's container from her hand and puts it in the sink.

　　Charlotte pouts at the refusal, and we all resist the charm she emits toward us.

　　"My brother won't know, I swear..." Charlotte tries to argue, but none of us give in to her, "You guys are so mean, denying ice cream to a kid."

　　Steve takes some dish soap foam and puts it on the tip of Charlotte's nose, "Yes, we're terrible!" Steve says with a laugh, and Charlotte shakes her head and wipes her nose.

　　My eyes are always attentive to what Charlotte does in the following hours. After the ban on more ice cream, Charlotte asked to be put on the floor because she wanted to do something more fun now. The little she-wolf's idea of fun for the next few hours was to paint coloring books. I help her with some colors and brushes.

　　I wish to ask her about what I heard in the meeting, if anyone else knew about her powers. However, Charlotte is a child; I don't want to burden her with something she won't be able to bear yet.

　　"Did you find the butterflies I mentioned?" Charlotte asks as she paints a tree, her voice coming out casually, as if it were something simple.

　　"Um... I think so," I respond uncertainly. "There weren't many butterflies there."

　　"So, the one million butterflies weren't reached? What a disappointment, huh, Emma?" Mattew's deep and seductive voice emerges behind me.

　　Alpha Mattew is leaning against the open door frame of Charlotte's room. His arms are crossed in front of his muscular chest. His eyes are focused on me. I gulp when I notice once again the alpha's physical presence; his black hair is now more aligned, combed back.

　　"Just let me open your head, and I'll find the rest that's missing... you can be sure," I reply sharply.

　　"I've already told you that if you do that, the butterflies will be on you, not on me," Mattew replies. I bite my lower lip and roll my eyes at him, unable to shake off the luxurious feeling that the alpha has been making me feel in the past few days. "Come on, dinner is ready," Mattew informs with a more serious tone.

　　Charlotte brightens the dinner table by telling everything we did during the day. Mattew asks about school, about homework; I notice his concern for his sister's education. Liam's words resurface in my mind, about Mattew's concern for his sister.

　　The girl Mattew chooses to be his mate needs to love Charlotte just like he does. It wasn't something impossible to do; it's easy to love Charlotte and want to protect her.

　　"Emma helped me with homework," Charlotte explains to Mattew, who arches an eyebrow at me.

　　"Helping is a strong word; you practically solved everything yourself," I reply honestly. Charlotte didn't actually need my help to finish her homework. "You have a very smart little she-wolf, Mattew."

　　"Yeah, I just got the looks. Charlotte has the whole package; smart and cute," Mattew replies with humor.

　　I let out a laugh at his joke and continued the teasing, "Your beauty is debatable, Mattew."