Penelope's POV
My phone rings at 12:47 AM, jolting me out of restless sleep. Mom's name flashes on the screen, and my heart immediately goes into panic mode. She never calls this late unless something's wrong.
"Mom?" I answer quickly, my voice hoarse from sleep. "What's happened?"
The sound that comes through the phone makes my blood freeze. She's crying not just tears, but the kind of broken sobbing I haven't heard since the day i left Frostfang territory.
"Mom, you're scaring me," I say, sitting up in bed and gripping the phone tighter. "What's going on?"
"I should have told you years ago," she chokes out between ragged breaths. "I should have fought back, should have protected you from all of this."
"Told me what?" My heart pounds against my ribs. "Mom, please, just breathe and te
