After reading two stories, Jax finally drifts off to sleep. His breathing is steady, his face calm and serene-exactly how it should be. I lean down and press a gentle kiss to his forehead, savoring the quiet moment before slipping quietly out of the room. I ease the door closed behind me, careful not to disturb his rest. From downstairs, faint voices murmur-low and serious, the kind that twists my stomach into uneasy knots before I even catch the words.
As I reach the bottom of the stairs, Ryder is already there, standing with his arms crossed. His expression is tense, the kind that says he’s been waiting for me.
“Hey,” he greets softly. “Did he settle okay?”
I nod, stepping down the last stair. “Yeah, out cold. What’s going on?”
Ryder glances toward the front door. “Ronnie’s coming over, with Jake, Leo, and Poppy. They’ve got the DNA test results.”
His tone makes my heart sink. “Results?” I repeat slowly, dread creeping in. “So… they found something?”
There’s a brief hesitation before he nods. “Yeah, they did.”
Before I can ask any more questions, footsteps sound on the porch. My pulse quickens. Ryder reaches for my hand, a grounding touch that only partly soothes the storm inside me.
The door swings open and Poppy steps in first. Her face is soft but strained, a mix of emotions I can’t quite place. She doesn’t say a word-just moves straight toward me and wraps me in a hug so tight it almost steals my breath.
“Hey,” I whisper, returning the embrace. “What’s this for?”
She holds on a moment longer than usual, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. A cold knot tightens in my stomach.
Leo follows quietly behind her, always watchful, and Jake comes next, clutching his tablet under one arm. Ronnie brings up the rear, his face unreadable but his jaw clenched tight.
Ryder gestures toward the kitchen. “Let’s talk in there.”
Once we’re all gathered around the kitchen island, the space feels smaller, more cramped than usual. Poppy sits beside me, slipping her hand into mine. On my other side, Parker takes a stool, his knee brushing mine-a steady, reassuring presence.
Ryder leans against the counter opposite us, arms folded, his eyes locked on me. Ronnie and Jake stand side by side across from us.
The room falls silent for a moment before Ronnie clears his throat. “We’ve finished the tests. We also compared your DNA with Poppy’s.”
I squeeze Poppy’s hand tighter. “And?”
Jake looks at Ronnie, then back to me. “You and Poppy share about a quarter of your genetic markers,” he explains carefully. “That means you’re related-definitely sisters-but you don’t share both biological parents. You’re half-sisters.”
My breath catches. “Half-sisters,” I whisper, the word hanging heavy in the air.
Poppy’s fingers tremble in mine.
Jake nods. “Your DNA carries both lunar and solar energy patterns. Poppy’s only carries lunar. The results are clear.”
For a moment, the room seems to blur around me. I stare down at the marbled surface of the island, tracing the veins with my eyes.
Half-sisters… It stings more than I expected. But what does it really change? Nothing. If I had a child with any of my other mates, I wouldn’t call that child a half-sibling to Jax. They’d be siblings, pure and simple. It’s the same with Poppy. Even if we weren’t genetically related at all, she would still be my sister.
Poppy shifts beside me, her voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know how to tell you,” she admits, her thumb brushing over my hand. “Jake thought I should be here when you found out.”
I lift my gaze to her-my sister, my constant through everything-and the fear in her eyes breaks something open inside me.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Look at me.”
Reluctantly, she meets my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell her, my voice steady now. “You’re my sister. You always have been. I don’t care what a test says or what some file might show. You’re still you, and I’m still me. That will never change.”
Tears fill her eyes, and before I can blink, she pulls me into another hug-this time even tighter.
“I was so worried,” she whispers against my shoulder. “I didn’t want you to feel…”
“Different?” I pull back just enough to catch her gaze. “Pops, you could have three heads and blue skin, and I’d still claim you. We’ve been through too much for a word like ‘half’ to mean anything.”
A shaky laugh breaks through her tears, genuine and warm, loosening the tight knot in my chest.
Ronnie exhales softly, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Good to hear. Because there’s more we need to go over.”
I nod, still holding Poppy’s hand. “Okay. What’s next?”
Ronnie pulls a piece of paper from his bag. “I managed to translate part of an old manuscript that might explain what you are. It should be impossible, but I think we have enough evidence to prove it’s not just a myth.”
He slides the paper toward me. Leaning in, I see a printed image of an ancient book. The writing is handwritten, faded in places, and in a language I don’t recognize. Beneath some of the words, someone-Ronnie, I assume-has written English translations.
My mates gather close as my eyes scan the page.
“Light, child, sun, moon, balance, creation,” Ryder reads aloud as I follow the words.
Below that is a short passage. I read it aloud, frowning: “When sun and moon find harmony within one vessel, the veil shall tremble and be remade.”
“Lunarae,” Parker whispers, pointing to the double-underlined word at the bottom. A shiver runs through me before something warm settles deep inside.
“What does it all mean?” Remy asks quietly.
Ronnie shrugs. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Some words I can translate, others I’ve guessed based on context. The main thing is, we have a name now. This isn’t unheard of-it’s just thought to be extinct.”
Callen scoffs with a half-laugh. “Well, not anymore.”
Poppy squeezes my hand again, but my focus stays glued to the text. The words blur, pressing against something inside me that doesn’t want to wake. Harmony within one vessel. The veil shall tremble. It feels too vast, too ancient, too final.
I’m not part of any prophecy. I’m just me-Paige. A mother, a mate, a woman who still forgets to take the laundry out of the dryer more often than she should. Whatever this Lunarae is, it’s too much for me to bear.
I push the paper aside and rise, the air suddenly thick and hard to breathe.
Stepping outside, the cool night air hits me, damp and sharp. It cuts through the heaviness in my chest, if only slightly.
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