<h4>Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Shadows of Truth</h4>


    ra’s heart pounded against her ribs as she stared at Kael. "What do you mean? Which brother isn’t a brother?"


    Before Kael could answer, a howl pierced the night—the pack’s rm signal.


    "Border breach," Kael growled, his eyes shing gold. "We’ll finish thister." He rushed out, leaving ra alone with her questions.


    She grabbed her mother’s diary and the pendant, then slipped out the window. Everyone would be racing toward the border. No one would notice her heading into the woods.


    The full moon lit her path as she ran, her feet carrying her to the small clearing where she’d first met Tobias. If anyone had answers, it would be him.


    "I knew you’de," said a voice behind her.


    ra spun around. Tobias stood there, looking tired but unharmed despite being dragged away by guards earlier.


    "How did you escape?" she asked.


    "I have friends in unexpected ces," he said with a small smile. "But we don’t have much time. Did you read the diary?"


    ra nodded, clutching the book tighter. "It says one brother isn’t a brother at all. Kael just told me he knows which one."


    Tobias’s eyes widened. "He told you that? Then it’s worse than I thought. The prophecy is elerating."


    "Why won’t anyone tell me what’s happening?" ra cried, frustration bubbling over. "Everyone keeps talking about choices and prophecies, but nobody exins anything!"


    "Because they’re afraid," Tobias said gently. "Sit down, silver eyes. It’s time you learned the truth."


    They sat on a fallen log. In the moonlight, Tobias looked older, weary.


    "Eighteen years ago," he began, "a silver-eyed baby was born to the Luna of the Moonstone Pack. That same night, the pack was attacked and destroyed. Only a handful escaped."


    "My mother was from another pack?" ra whispered.


    "She was the Luna of that pack," Tobias corrected. "And you were never an omega, ra. Your powers were bound at birth to hide you."


    ra stared at her hands. "From what?"


    "From who," Tobias said darkly. "From the one who ordered the attack—the one who feared the prophecy more than anything."


    "Alpha Marcus," she guessed.


    "No," said Tobias. "Someone closer to you than you realize."


    A twig snapped nearby. Tobias jumped to his feet, instantly alert.


    "We’re not alone," he whispered. "Listen carefully—your pendant is the key. It doesn’t just protect you; it contains your true power. When the timees, break it."


    "Break it? But—"


    "Someone’sing. I have to go." Tobias gripped her shoulders. "Trust your instincts, not what you’ve been told. And remember—one of them loves you truly, one desires your power, and one isn’t who he seems."


    Before she could ask more, he vanished into the shadows.


    Heart racing, ra hid behind a thick oak tree. Footsteps approached, then stopped in the clearing.


    "I know you’re here, ra," called Ronan’s voice. "I followed your scent."


    She stepped out cautiously. Ronan stood alone, his dark hair wild from running.


    "What are you doing out here?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "There’s been an attack at the border."


    "I needed space to think," she said, hiding the diary behind her back.


    Ronan moved closer, his gaze intense. "It’s not safe. You shouldn’t be alone."


    "Why? Because someone might kill me like they killed Beta Rivers?"


    "Because someone is definitely trying to kill you," he said bluntly. "And I’m not sure my brothers can protect you anymore."


    ra stepped back. "What do you know about the prophecy, Ronan? About one brother not being a brother?"


    Something shed in his eyes—surprise or fear, she couldn’t tell.


    "Where did you hear that?" he demanded.


    She held up the diary. "My mother wrote it down before she died."


    Ronan reached for the book, but ra pulled it away.


    "No more secrets," she said firmly. "Tell me what you know."


    He ran a hand through his hair, looking torn. "It’splicated."


    "Then make it simple."


    Ronan sighed. "The triplets... we aren’t what everyone thinks."


    A howl cut through the night—closer this time.


    "That’s Darian," Ronan said, suddenly tense. "He’s tracking you too."


    "Why would he—"


    "Listen to me," Ronan cut in, his voice urgent. "Don’t trust anyone—not Kael, not Darian, not even me—until you know the truth."


    "How am I supposed to know what’s true anymore?" she asked, frustration making her voice shake.


    Ronan touched her cheek gently. "Your heart knows. It always has."


    His touch felt warm, familiar. For a moment, ra leaned into it, drawn by the bond between them.


    Then she remembered Tobias’s warning.


    She pulled away. "I need to get back."


    As they walked through the woods, a strange sensation prickled at her neck. ra nced over her shoulder and froze.


    A pair of red eyes watched from the darkness.


    "Ronan," she whispered, grabbing his arm.


    He turned, saw the eyes, and immediately pushed her behind him.


    "Run back to the house," he ordered. "Now!"


    "I’m not leaving you—"


    "That’s not a pack wolf," he growled. "Go!"


    The red-eyed creature stepped into the moonlight. It looked like a wolf, but wrong—toorge, its fur patchy, its face twisted.


    "What is that?" ra gasped.


    "A cursed one," Ronan said grimly. "They onlye when the prophecy nearspletion."


    The creature snarled, saliva dripping from its jaws.


    "Go!" Ronan shouted, pushing her away as he began to shift.


    ra ran, heart hammering. Behind her, growls and snarls erupted as Ronan fought the monster.


    She tore through the trees, the pendant burning hot against her skin. Break it, Tobias had said. But how could she destroy her only link to her mother?


    Suddenly, a figure stepped into her path. ra skidded to a stop.


    Darian stood there, watching her with unreadable eyes.


    "Where’s Ronan?" he asked calmly.


    "Fighting... some kind of monster," she panted. "We have to help him!"


    "I’ll handle it," Darian said, not moving. "But first, I need to know what Tobias told you."


    ra stared at him. How did he know about Tobias?


    "Nothing important," she lied.


    "Don’t protect him," Darian said, his voice hardening. "He’s been feeding you lies."


    From the woods came a pained howl—Ronan.


    "He needs help!" ra cried, trying to push past Darian.


    He caught her arm, his grip surprisingly strong. "What did he tell you about the brothers?"


    Something in his tone made her blood run cold.


    "Let go of me," she demanded.


    Darian’s eyes changed, a flicker of something inhuman crossing his face. "You have no idea what you’re part of, do you? No idea what your choice will unleash."


    The howling stopped. The forest fell silent.


    "Ronan?" ra called, terror rising in her throat.


    Darian’s grip tightened. "He can’t help you now. No one can."


    He reached for her pendant with his free hand. "It’s time to end this prophecy my way."


    As his fingers touched the moon-shaped stone, it red with blinding light. Darian cried out, releasing her as if burned.


    ra stumbled backward, clutching the glowing pendant.


    "Who are you?" she whispered. "What are you?"


    Darian’s face twisted into something not quite human. "The one who’s been waiting eighteen years for you, silver eyes."


    From behind him emerged the red-eyed creature, muzzle stained with blood.


    "Where’s Ronan?" ra demanded, voice shaking.


    Darian smiled coldly. "He served his purpose."


    In that moment, ra knew what she had to do. She ripped the pendant from her neck and threw it to the ground.


    "You want it? Take it!"


    As Darian lunged for the pendant, ra brought her heel down hard on the moon stone.


    It shattered with a sound like thunder.


    Light exploded outward, knocking them both off their feet. Power surged through ra’s veins, electric and wild.


    When she stood, silver mes danced along her fingertips.


    Darian stared at her, his face a mixture of rage and fear. "What have you done?"


    "Exactly what my mother wanted," ra said, her voice stronger than it had ever been. "I’ve made my choice."


    Behind her came a rustling. She turned, ready to fight.


    But it wasn’t the monster.


    It was Kael, clothes torn, eyes wide with shock as he took in the scene—ra wreathed in silver fire, Darian backing away, the shattered pendant.


    "It’s true," Kael whispered. "You’re the one from the prophecy."


    "Yes," said ra, the truth finally clear. "And now I know which brother isn’t a brother at all."


    Darian’s form began to waver, like heat rising from hot pavement. His handsome face flickered, revealing something ancient and terrible beneath.


    "This isn’t over," he hissed in a voice no longer human. "You’ve only hastened your destruction."


    Then he vanished—not running away, but simply ceasing to be there.


    The red-eyed creature howled once, then followed, melting into shadow.


    Kael moved toward her cautiously. "ra, your eyes..."


    "Are silver," she finished. "I know. Where’s Ronan? Is he—"


    "Alive, but hurt," Kael said. "We need to get back to the pack."


    ra stared at the spot where Darian had vanished. "But what about—"


    "That wasn’t Darian," Kael said grimly. "It never was."


    "Then where is the real Darian?" ra asked, dread filling her stomach.


    Kael’s face darkened. "That’s what we need to find out. Because if that thing has been pretending to be my brother all this time..."


    He left the thought unfinished, but ra understood.


    The real Darian could be anywhere.


    Or nowhere at all.