Cole chuckled with glee. "I am ready Quetz. I am ready… for you…" He placed his hands over his shoulder. "I will wait because if that's what is required, then I can wait. But you have to assure me one thing." Please.

"I told you I can't," Quetz maintained his stand.

​​

Cole leaned on his hand and said, "You must meet me once a month at least. Or give me your address, I will come to meet you once in a month."

Quetz removed his hands from Cole's shoulders and turned around to look at the river. Its water was flowing sharply over the boulders and small rocks on the corners making a gurgling sound wherever it met with them. The reflection of the moon rays sparkled its water and it looked as if stars had descended on it from the heaven above. He took in a deep breath. "Cole, I don't think that would be possible, but I am going to try."

Just hearing that he is going to try, Cole beamed. There was hope. "As long as you try, I am gonna be okay," he breathed. "And thank you for coming over for my birthday." He wanted to hug him from behind, but he restrained himself. He didn't know how Quetz would take it. He looked above at the stars and thanked heaven.

For the first time, Quetz smiled. He turned back to look at Cole and said, "Let's walk a little more and then go back to the cabin. I have to fire the logs."

Cole chuckled. This guy was too caring.

An hour later when they were in the cabin, Quetz fired the hearth and closed all the windows to stop the chilly winds from coming in. He fluffed up the bed and said, "Would you like to watch TV?" He gestured to him with a wave of his hand to come and sit on the bed.

Once settled in the bed, he waited for Quetz to join him, but Quetz preferred to lie on a small cushioned rug on the floor. Cole knew that he wanted to maintain distance and that was perfectly okay with him. No pushing.

Quetz switched on the favorite box and watched it intently while Cole watched him. It was the best birthday he had ever had in a long time. His eyes grew heavy with relaxation and he didn't know when he went off to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, Quetz had already left. The fire had died down and there were glowing red embers instead. He huffed and went to lie down on the rug where Quetz was the previous night. He inhaled his typical forest and blossom smell and his mood uplifted. An hour later he went back home to check on Dawn. He had to thank her for understanding him so well.

She was wearing her earrings when he opened her door. Daryn was already in the dining room having his breakfast. He didn't answer Daryn's question, which he didn't even pay attention to. Cole went to his sister and hugged her tightly from behind.

"Did you like your surprise?" she asked with a smile that reached her eyes.

"Hmm…" he hummed and closed his eyes. He had thought of so many things to tell her, but at the moment he was just quiet. There were no words for the gratitude he wanted to express.

"It's fine bro," she patted his hands. "Just don't keep your hopes high."

"I won't…"

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up. "Hello?"

Cole left the room in high spirits. He was getting late for the school.

"Ms. Wyatt, you have to appear at the court today. This will be your first hearing," said the lawyer. "You will have to come by 11AM."

Dawn clenched her jaws. "I will be there," she said and disconnected. She was determined to take Lily Wyatt down. Over the past three weeks Anne and Helena had been trying hard to contact her, but when she didn't meet them at all, they tried to threaten her someway or the other. At one time with Jason's help they almost succeeded in hacking Neo Software but her engineers had developed a fantastic web of security thereby preventing their efforts. With every nasty thing they did, Dawn's conviction to take them down increased.

She went down to have breakfast with Daryn. "Do you want me to join you in the court?"

She shook her head. "No dear, I will manage."

Daryn changed the subject. "How's my baby doing inside of you?" He pushed a plate of salad in front of her. His need to feed her, irritated Dawn. And when she ate, he admired and felt proud. His wolf wanted to run to the forest and hunt a little rabbit for her every now and down.

"I am sure the baby is fine. How is the father doing?" She asked as she picked up sliced cucumber.

He smiled as she chewed the salad. "Never happier."

---

The court was jam-packed. It was a high profile case and even though Dawn didn't want this to be dragged in the media, it was Helena and Anne who called all the press. They wanted to show everyone how their own relative, how daughter of Luke Wyatt was trying to put the industry down. They wanted to tell the world that she was shameless and wanted to trample her father's name in the mud. Luke Wyatt had built his business empire so painstakingly and his daughter was hell bent upon shredding it.

Dawn arrived with her lawyer and found Anne and Helena sitting there. They glared at her as she made her entry, but Dawn avoided their gaze royally. She went to sit in her place.

The court proceedings started. An hour later after the argument, the judge assigned three weeks later for the next hearing. There was too much evidence against the management of the Starfish Refineries, but the judge was aware of the media that was out there. He knew that a hasty decision on his part would cause trouble, so it was only right to do so.

When Dawn stepped out, she dashed to her car in order to avoid the press but Anne and Helena stopped her in the parking lot.

"You think that you are going to win the case?" said Anne in a heated voice.

"You will lose it!" Helena reiterated.

The ten men of security around Dawn reached for their weapons beneath their coats. Dawn put her hand up in the air to stop them. Her chilly gaze directed at them was like ice-shards. "I know I will win the case," she replied. "It's only a matter of a few days and you are going to go down. That company belonged to my father and after him, it belongs to my brother and me. All I am doing is plucking the outsiders like weeds just like my mother used to pluck them out of her garden."

"You—" Anne said.

"Don't Mrs. McDow," Dawn cut her. "In fact if you two give up fighting for it, I wonder if you will even see the next hearing, and trust me I have far worse evidence lying with me. It is like a ticking bomb. It is like my test of patience. And I would love to see Lily Wyatt's face after that evidence is out." Dawn poked the tongue in her cheek. "I am waiting for you to give up, else if I run out of patience, you are going to be in the most difficult situation," she said pointing at them, and started laughing.