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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