Loving A Stranger
img img Loving A Stranger img Chapter 5 Secrets in the Shadows
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Chapter 6 The Price of Silence img
Chapter 7 Suspicion & Secrets img
Chapter 8 The Unseen Stirring img
Chapter 9 The Awakening Begins img
Chapter 10 The Unravelling Thread img
Chapter 11 Whispers Before the Storm img
Chapter 12 Under The Moon's Grip img
Chapter 13 Dawn of Transformation img
Chapter 14 The Veil Unraveled img
Chapter 15 Ripples in the Dark img
Chapter 16 Reckoning of Destiny img
Chapter 17 The Legacy of Frigg img
Chapter 18 A Legacy in Exile img
Chapter 19 Gathering of Shadows img
Chapter 20 On the Edge of War img
Chapter 21 A New World Unveiled img
Chapter 22 The Rift of Destiny img
Chapter 23 The Warning Order img
Chapter 24 In the Heart of the Pack img
Chapter 25 The Burden of Restraint img
Chapter 26 A Game of Indifference img
Chapter 27 Embracing the Chaos img
Chapter 28 Silent Agony img
Chapter 29 Fractured Boundaries img
Chapter 30 Fractured Boundaries II img
Chapter 31 Breaking Point img
Chapter 32 The Reckoning img
Chapter 33 Echoes of Destiny img
Chapter 34 Convergence of Fate img
Chapter 35 Unveiling the Storm img
Chapter 36 The Shattered Veil img
Chapter 37 The Storm Unleashed img
Chapter 38 Convergence of Fates II img
Chapter 39 Shattered Reflections img
Chapter 40 The Gathering Storm img
Chapter 41 The Inevitable Pull img
Chapter 42 Fully Awakened img
Chapter 43 Secrets and Struggles img
Chapter 44 The Omen of War img
Chapter 45 The Calm Before the Storm img
Chapter 46 A Gathering of Threads img
Chapter 47 The Mating Ceremony img
Chapter 48 Sparks of War img
Chapter 49 The War Erupts img
Chapter 50 The Human Vanguard img
Chapter 51 No More Loss img
Chapter 52 A Father's Lament and Hope img
Chapter 53 The Bonds of Brothers img
Chapter 54 Shadows Unbound img
Chapter 55 Rising Voices img
Chapter 56 The First Clash img
Chapter 57 Fractures and Shadows img
Chapter 58 Echoes in the Void img
Chapter 59 The Binding Oath img
Chapter 60 The Chosen Void img
Chapter 61 Shadows Among Us img
Chapter 62 The Spark Before the Storm img
Chapter 63 Whispers in the Shadow img
Chapter 64 Below the Surface img
Chapter 65 Eclipse of Wills img
Chapter 66 The March to Nocturnis img
Chapter 67 The Gate of Nocturnis img
Chapter 68 The Battle of Nocturnis img
Chapter 69 The Harbinger's Fall img
Chapter 70 After the Storm and the Shadows that Remained img
Chapter 71 Shadows that Remained img
Chapter 72 First Light, Thin Ice img
Chapter 73 The Broker and the Ring img
Chapter 74 The Ledger's Teeth img
Chapter 75 A Body by the Bend img
Chapter 76 The Council Divides img
Chapter 77 Teeth in the Light img
Chapter 78 Day of Markets img
Chapter 79 The Broker's Bend img
Chapter 80 The Southern Sweep img
Chapter 81 Ink and Knot img
Chapter 82 Ash and Secrets img
Chapter 83 The Weaver's Hollow img
Chapter 84 Banners at Dusk img
Chapter 85 Embers in the Grain img
Chapter 86 The Public Ledger img
Chapter 87 The Hollow's Door img
Chapter 88 The Steward's Passage img
Chapter 89 Causeway of Smoke img
Chapter 90 Threads and Confessions img
Chapter 91 Lose Threads img
Chapter 92 Inside Ears img
Chapter 93 The Broker's Net img
Chapter 94 Ledger in Light img
Chapter 95 Margin of Blood img
Chapter 96 False Lullaby img
Chapter 97 Word and Bone img
Chapter 98 Three Bridges img
Chapter 99 Ink Unbound img
Chapter 100 Exchange at the Quay img
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Chapter 5 Secrets in the Shadows

The house had fallen silent.

The distant clinking of dishes from dinner had faded, and the echoes of laughter and conversation were now nothing more than memories lingering in the air. Upstairs, Mina and Tasha had long since retreated to Mina's room, their muffled whispers drifting into quiet as sleep finally claimed them.

Downstairs, however, the night was far from over.

Dr. Aaron Hayes sat at the dining table, his fingers absently drumming against the rim of his whiskey glass. The amber liquid inside barely rippled, but his mind was anything but still. Across from him, Olivia, Tasha's mother, sat stiffly, arms crossed over her chest, her expression unreadable.

She wasn't here for small talk.

"What exactly did you mean by what you said to Tasha earlier?" Olivia's voice was low, controlled, but laced with something sharp. "You told her that 'some dreams aren't just dreams.' Why would you say that?"

Aaron let out a slow breath before taking a sip of his drink. "Because it's true," he said simply. "And you know it."

Olivia's jaw tightened. "You shouldn't have said that to her. She doesn't know anything, about what she is, about what any of this means."

Aaron studied her carefully, his gaze steady. "Maybe she should."

"No." Olivia's response was immediate, firm. "Not yet."

Aaron leaned back, exhaling through his nose. "They're turning eighteen in four months," he reminded her. "Mina's birthday is just three days before Tasha's. We don't have much time left before we find out the truth, whether or not they'll shift."

Olivia turned away, gripping the edge of the table as if grounding herself. "You don't know if Mina will shift," she murmured. "She's half-human, Aaron. There's a chance she won't."

"And if she does?" His voice was calm but weighted. "Then what?"

She had no answer.

He leaned forward, his expression serious. "That's exactly why I need to tell her. She deserves to know what she is before she finds out the hard way. You and I both know how dangerous an unexpected first shift can be, especially if she has no idea what's happening to her."

Olivia swallowed hard. She had seen it before. Young wolves who had never been prepared, who had no idea they carried the gene, suddenly thrust into a violent transformation with no control. It was rare, but it happened.

And it was deadly.

"If Mina is going to shift, she has to be ready," Aaron continued. "And so does Tasha."

A chill ran through Olivia at his words. "What if Tasha doesn't shift?" she asked, her voice quieter now. "If she's fully human, do we still tell her? Or do we let her live her life without ever knowing the truth?"

Aaron hesitated. That was the one question neither of them could answer.

They both knew the prophecy.

A Luna, born in human form, was hidden from the supernatural world until she came of age. The one destined to stand beside the most powerful Lycan Alpha, the one who would unite the supernatural world.

The prophecy had never named her outright.

But now, they had two girls.

Two who fit the description. Two who had been raised in secrecy. Two who had werewolf blood in their veins, even if one of them didn't know it.

But only one of them could be her.

Olivia let out a slow, shaky breath. "If we tell Mina the truth, and Tasha never shifts..." She looked up, her expression unreadable. "What happens then?"

Aaron's fingers tightened around his glass. "Then we protect her," he said simply. "From everything."

A heavy silence settled between them.

They both knew what that meant. If Tasha never shifted, then telling her the truth could put her in danger, knowledge alone could be a death sentence in their world. But if she did shift... everything would change.

Aaron's gaze flickered toward the staircase, listening carefully to the stillness above. "Mina has always been skeptical," he murmured. "She doesn't believe in myths or legends. She doesn't even think supernatural creatures exist."

Olivia let out a dry laugh. "Irony at its finest."

A ghost of a smirk crossed Aaron's face before he shook his head. "She'll fight me on this," he admitted. "She won't believe me at first. But I'd rather have that argument with her now than watch her fall apart when her body changes, and she doesn't understand why."

Olivia understood that. She didn't blame him for wanting to prepare Mina.

She only wished she had the same choice as Tasha.

The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

Then Olivia broke it.

"You were close to the last Alpha, weren't you?" Her voice was quiet, hesitant. "The Lycan."

Aaron stiffened.

He hadn't heard that name in years.

The Lycan Alpha.

The boy born of war, raised in exile. The last of his kind. The one prophesied to return and change the supernatural world forever.

Aaron had only met him once, years ago, when he was still a child. But even then, he had felt it. The unnatural power that radiated from him. The weight of something ancient rested on his shoulders.

"I knew of him," Aaron finally said, his tone careful. "But no one has seen him in years."

Olivia studied him. "Do you think the prophecy is real?" she asked.

Aaron's gaze met hers, unblinking.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But if it is, then the girl he's meant to find is sleeping upstairs."

A chill ran through Olivia's spine.

They sat in silence after that, neither of them knowing what would come next.

Neither of them knew if they were truly ready for what was coming.

                         

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