Chapter 5 Uncovering Hidden Truth

The journal lay heavy in Aria's hands, as though it were more than just an old relic. The leather had a faint smell of something ancient, like the earth itself had soaked it in over the years. She traced her fingers over the worn pages, careful not to tear the fragile sheets. Her heart hammered as she read the first few lines, written in her mother's delicate, familiar handwriting. But this,this was different. There was something in her mother's words that Aria had never heard before.

"The prophecy has chosen her."

She read the line over and over, as if waiting for it to change. It didn't. Each word sank deeper into her chest, and her breath caught. Her mother had always kept their lineage a secret, her past wrapped in layers of half-truths. Aria had accepted the silence, the gaps in her story, and the sharp turns in her mother's eyes whenever she asked questions about their ancestors. But now... this,the prophecy? It was something new, something she couldn't ignore.

The crackling firelight in the study made the shadows stretch like dark fingers across the room. Aria could feel the weight of those shadows pressing in, suffocating her. The reality of her past was unraveling, and she wasn't sure she could handle it. Her eyes scanned the page again, her pulse rising.

"Her blood runs deep. It is the blood of the first. The blood of the Silver Moon."

Her fingers trembled, and the journal slipped slightly from her grasp. What did it mean? The Silver Moon? Her mother had never spoken of such a thing. Slowly, carefully, Aria turned the next page.

The words blurred before her eyes. She forced herself to focus, each sentence pulling her further into the abyss. Her heritage wasn't just tied to a pack,it was tied to something far older, far more dangerous. And then, buried under more scribbled notes and fading ink, was something that made her stomach churn:

"Do not let her inherit the title of Luna until the night of her full awakening. The Silver Moon will rise again, and with it, she will either be the salvation or the destruction of us all."

Aria closed her eyes, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Her head spun, the room seemed to tilt. She wanted to believe it was some sort of cruel joke, a riddle she couldn't understand, but there was no denying the weight of the words. The more she read, the more she realized just how little she truly knew about herself, about her mother, and about the world she thought she understood.

Her mind raced. Was this why she couldn't shift? Was this the reason the pack rejected her, even Kael?

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the flood of thoughts threatening to drown her. She wanted to scream, to cry, to give in to the terror gnawing at her insides. But instead, she took a steadying breath. She couldn't fall apart now. Not when she was so close.

She had to know more.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her, pulling her from her thoughts. She quickly shoved the journal into her bag, heart racing. The door creaked open.

"Aria, you're up late," Lila's soft voice greeted her. The concern in her eyes was palpable as she stepped into the room, her presence a comforting contrast to the dark secrets Aria was carrying.

"I couldn't sleep," Aria muttered, forcing a smile that felt foreign on her lips. "Just... thinking."

Lila raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her expression softening as she closed the distance between them. "You've been spending a lot of time in here lately. Are you sure everything's okay?"

Aria swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to tell Lila everything, to confess the weight of the burden she now carried. But the words wouldn't come. Instead, she nodded, her lips curling into a strained smile.

"Just... a lot on my mind, you know?"

Lila seemed to buy it, though Aria could see the concern still clouding her friend's gaze. "Well, you know I'm here for you, right?"

Aria nodded again, grateful but unsure how to respond. How could she tell Lila that everything she thought she knew about her life was a lie?