The Moon Goddess brought Paige to us for a reason, but now I’m not so sure why. We are a perfect match-I don’t doubt that, and I would protect her with everything I have. I’d die for her in a heartbeat.
But what if it’s not her who needs protection?
What if she’s the one here to protect us?
The sterile scent of antiseptic filled Jake’s lab, now mingled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee I had just prepared. The soft hum of machines created a steady background noise, while monitors flickered with streams of data. From the far wall, I could hear the gentle rush of water flowing through the filtration tanks. Somewhere behind me, Jake muttered quietly to himself as he ran repeated tests on the samples collected from the creek.
I had been here for over three hours, eyes fixed on data that seemed impossible to interpret. The creek’s readings defied everything I knew-pure, perfectly balanced, almost as if the water was healing itself. Water simply didn’t behave like that, not even when influenced by Moon Child energy.
“Paige’s DNA sample would really help,” Jake said at last, not lifting his gaze from the machine.
I rubbed my face tiredly. “I know. But she’s been through so much already. I wanted to give her time to adjust before asking for anything more.”
Jake straightened, his tone firm. “If what you’re saying about her powers is true, then we can’t afford to wait much longer. I need a baseline to compare these readings against.”
He was right. Every instinct screamed that time was slipping away faster than we realized. I reached out through the mind-link to Ryder.
“I need a favor,” I said.
There was a brief pause before Ryder’s voice responded, steady but cautious. “What kind of favor?”
“I need you to ask Paige if she’d be willing to provide a DNA sample-just a swab or a hair. Nothing invasive.”
“Is it safe?”
“Completely. I just need to eliminate some possibilities. The sample won’t leave this lab, and we’ll label it under a different name.”
Another pause. “I’ll ask her,” Ryder said, sounding hesitant.
About half an hour later, the lab door opened. Paige entered, accompanied by Remy. The sterile atmosphere seemed to soften around her presence. She looked tired, but there was a quiet strength in her posture, a resilience that never demanded attention but was impossible to overlook.
She was smaller than most of the women in our group, delicate in build, which often led others to underestimate her. They saw her size and assumed fragility. But standing there, watching her, I knew better. Paige was anything but fragile. The power she carried hummed just beneath her skin-subtle, yet undeniable. It felt almost too vast for the body that contained it.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked softly.
I nodded, motioning toward the workstation. “Yes. We want to analyze your DNA to see if we can identify anything unusual and to confirm some of the readings we’ve been getting.”
She hesitated briefly before nodding. “If it helps you understand what’s happening to me, take whatever you need.”
Jake handed her a sterile swab and a small vial, explaining the procedure in his calm, reassuring doctor’s voice. Paige followed the instructions without protest, then returned the sample, her expression unreadable.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
She gave a small nod and glanced at the machines. “Will you let me know if you find anything?”
“Absolutely.”
A faint smile touched her lips before she turned and left. Remy gave us a brief nod and followed her out, the door clicking softly behind him.
As soon as they were gone, Jake inserted the vial into the machine. “We should have preliminary results within an hour,” he said, tapping commands into the system.
“Good. In the meantime, I’m going to review the old records that were sent over.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You really think something in those ancient texts will explain this?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. But I have to try.”
Jake pressed a few buttons on the monitor. “Let me know if anything starts beeping or bursts into flames. I need to check on Poppy-she’s covering the clinic alone because my assistant decided to abandon me.”
I looked up, surprised. “Nina? I thought she was doing well here. A promising young healer, if I remember correctly.”
Jake rubbed the back of his neck, his expression tightening. “She was. Smart, focused, great with patients. But things changed after Paige was officially named Luna and mated to both Alphas and Betas.” His voice grew sharper. “It stirred up a lot of emotions in the pack, and not all of them were positive.”
“Jealousy?” I guessed.
He chuckled quietly. “That, and misplaced ambition. At first, Nina just developed a bit of an attitude-nothing too serious. Then she started directing her attention toward me. Flirting, hanging around late after shifts. It wasn’t overt, but I could feel it.”
“And then Poppy entered the picture,” I finished for him.
He grimaced. “Yeah. You can imagine how well that went. Nina’s been skipping shifts ever since. Watching me and Poppy work side by side was more than her pride could handle.”
I leaned back, considering. “She’ll come around. She’s talented, and it would be a shame to waste that over something she can’t control. Her pride is probably bruised, but she knows the Moon Goddess is the one who decides these things.”
Jake gave a half-hearted smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re probably right. Still, it’s hard to mend a broken ego.”
“True,” I murmured. “But time has a way of reminding people what really matters.”
He nodded, gathering his things. “Let’s hope so. For now, try not to blow up my lab while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” I replied dryly, and his laughter followed him out the door.
I moved to the other desk where my laptop was already open. The screen displayed a series of digital images-scans sent by one of Josh’s archivists from his pack’s private library. The Book of First Light. The oldest surviving text about celestial beings. I couldn’t believe I was even considering it, but at this point, I had no other leads.
The pages were ancient, yellowed and cracked, the ink faded to a near-invisible brown. The lighting on the scans was poor, making it even harder to decipher. But it was all I had.
Zooming in on one section, I squinted at the looping script. It was written in a mixture of Latin and an even older dialect, predating the Moon Goddess era. I recognized a few Latin words and jotted them down, hoping to piece together enough meaning: light, dawn, balance, creation-the list went on.
Jake returned after what felt like hours, leaning over my shoulder. “You’re sure that’s the right section?”
“As sure as I can be,” I sighed. “It’s the only place that mentions dual-energy signatures.”
He hummed thoughtfully. “And what does it say, exactly?”
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