Iris


    I blink, surprised by Caleb''s presence. His expression is unreadable as he carefully dabs at my shirt, but there''s something in his eyes—a strange intensity that makes ine fortable. It''s the same look he gave me at the hospital when we first met.


    "Actually, I''ve been hoping to run into you," Caleb says, his voice low. "Would you mind if we talked for a moment?"


    Emi suddenly appears behind him. "Is there a problem here?" she asks.


    Caleb''s face pales slightly, but I shake my head and offer her a smile. "Everything''s fine. We know each other." I turn to Caleb. "What do you need to talk about?"


    He rubs the back of his neck. "I was actually hoping we could talk in private."


    Hesitantly, I nod and instruct Emi to remain with Miles, handing her the tray containing our food. I follow Caleb out onto the sunlit sidewalk, where our voices won''t be so easily overheard.


    "I saw your debut at the g," he says. "Quite the impression you made."


    My face heats. "Not exactly how I nned to introduce myself to Ordan society."


    "Few first impressions go as nned," he says with a small smile. "But you handled it admirably. Arthur must be proud."


    "Did you just want topliment me, or is there something else you intend to say?" I ask abruptly. Even if Selina isn''t his biological sister, I can''t imagine that the apple falls far from the tree, so it''s hard to trust him.


    "Actually, there is something else." He lowers his voice. "It''s about the DNA test. Iris, you''re a match. You''re my sister."


    I stare at him,pletely dumbfounded. I know I took the DNA test during a moment of weakness, but I never actually thought it woulde back positive. This has to be some kind of mistake, or maybe even a practical joke. "That''s impossible."


    "It''s true." He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a folded stack of papers. "These are the test results. I had them verified twice."


    My hands shake as I take the documents, scanning the paragraphs. As soon as I see the words-"DNA match: Positive"-I feel the world start spinning around me. “But.... This can''t be right," I whisper. "I''m human. I''ve always been human."


    "Is that so?" He tilts his head. "Would you have taken the DNA test if you hadn''t any reason to think you might... not be human?" When I don''t respond, he flips to thest page for me and taps the paper. "Read here."


    My throat bobs as I follow where his finger is pointing. "Possibility of Werewolf Gics: 99.9998%."


    "You''re not human," Caleb says gently. "You''re a werewolf, Iris. A dormant werewolf, but a werewolf nheless. My sister."


    "Dormant?" I choke out. My head is reeling so fast I can barely focus on the papers in my hand. "That''s not possible. I would know if I had a wolf inside me."


    "It''s rare, but not unheard of," Caleb exins. "Your wolf likely went dormant when you were swapped as a baby - either as a defense mechanism or as the result of something done to you by whoever switched you and Selina."


    I shake my head, eyes still fixed on the results. I think that I stare at the page for long enough, some kind of hidden clue that this is all fake might pop out. But nothing does. This is real, and...


    Dizzying.


    Without conscious thought, I sink down onto a bench behind me, still staring at the papers. Caleb takes a seat beside me.


    This exins so much. The Mindlink power I used at the g, the surge of energy


    I feltst night that made me want to bite my mate, the rapid healing...


    "I have to tell Arthur," I blurt out, reaching for my phone.


    But Caleb stops me, his hand curling around my wrist. I blink up at him, and his face is grim. "Don''t tell him yet, Iris.”


    "You want me to keep this a secret? From Arthur?"


    Caleb nods. "Just for a little while. Until we figure out what this means, and more importantly, who did this to us. Who separated us."


    "But Arthur is my mate," I protest. "I can''t keep something this huge from him."


    "Iris," Caleb says, his voice softening, "I know this is a lot to process. I want to help you understand who you are, where youe from. There''s so much about being a werewolf, about our family, that you need to learn." He pauses. "Come to my home tomorrow night. I can exin everything better there."


    I bite my lip, unsure. "I don''t know..."


    "Please," he says, moving his grip from my wrist to my hand. His touch is warm, familiar somehow, in a way I can''t exin, and strangelyforting. "Let me be the big brother I was meant to be. Just for a few days, until we sort this out."


    The thought of keeping such a massive secret from Arthur makes my stomach twist. But I''m also desperate for answers. This could all be a trap of some kind, and yet I see nothing but sincerity in his eyes.


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