Page 83 of Fated to the Rogue

“You could’ve knocked, you know!” my Luna yelled, still in shock.

“Sorry. Witches don’t tend to have that habit.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I have something very important to tell you.”

“I would hope so, as you’ve just interrupted something equally important.” I frowned at her before a thought crossed my mind. “Is this about the traps? Because we finished placing them yesterday, and-”

“I hope you’re not doubting the efficiency of my magic, little Alpha.” She too scrunched her brows. “They work fine. I’m here because I promised I’d come find you if I found more information on you and your mate’s wolves.”

Tina and I immediately looked at each other. She seemed a little worried, but the determination in her eyes proved that shewas just as eager as I was to understand what was going on. I was finally at peace with Dawn, and Valentina never seemed to have problems with Dusk. Still, we couldn’t deny that we both felt…incomplete. If there was anything Cass could tell us to help us make sense of our unusual situation, then we were ready to hear it.

“Go on,” I told her, pulling my mate closer as she sat on her chair next to mine.

“Last time I was here, Valentina told me her parents were Omegas. At first, I thought that maybe I was wrong. It’d been a long time since I’d heard of that prophecy, so I started looking into the details to try and sort out the discrepancies. Just like I’d thought, I was right; the prophecy involves two true Alphas.”

“So you’re here to tell us this prophecy isnotabout us?” I cocked my head to the side.

“Have a little more patience, little Alpha. I was getting there. You waited nine months to be born, didn’t you?”

“Four, actually,” I corrected her.

“Oh, right. Because you’re a wolf.” Cass was thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. “Anyway, you can wait another minute while I finish the story.” She took a deep breath. “At that point, I was ready to let it go,but…” she emphasized, “the bond I felt between you and your wolves was nothing like any other case I’ve ever studied. That’s why I decided to dig into your past.” She pointed at my mate, who was utterly confused. “And what I found was rather surprising. Valentina, your parents were indeed Alphas, as were your grandparents. You are a true Alpha, just like Zephyr.”

I widened my eyes in surprise, but Tina spoke before I could say anything. “That’s impossible. I don’t know what you think you’ve learned about my origins, but you’re clearly mistaken,” my mate’s tone was calm, but skeptical. “Though it’s true that I was young when my parents were executed, I was old enoughto remember them. They were Omegas, without a doubt. I even remember them plotting against Alpha Rhys of the former Silent Rivers Pack.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know the truth. Your parents hid you well, and so did Rhys, even if it wasn’t his intention.” Cass flashed my Luna a sympathetic smile. With a snap of her fingers, an open book magically appeared in her hands. She didn’t hesitate to hand it over to Tina, pointing at the picture of a couple. “Are these your parents?”

“Yes,” Tina answered without hesitation.

“These may be the people who took you in, but they’re not your parents. These are your aunt - your mom’s sister - and your uncle.” The witch flipped a few pages, pointing at a different couple. I held my breath; the resemblance between them and my mate was striking. “Theseare your birth parents. They’re also the former Alpha and Luna of Diamond Stream Pack. Rhys challenged your father for his pack and killed him in combat. I believe your mother left you under your aunt’s care before trying to avenge her mate. Unfortunately, she also died. Your aunt must have raised you as her own to protect you; it would explain how you never found out about it, and why she was plotting to take her Alpha down. I couldn’t find what pack Rhys previously belonged to in any books, nor why he changed your pack’s original name, but that’s not important.”

By the time Cass was done explaining, Valentina’s eyes were wide open, just like her mouth, yet she was speechless. Feeling my mate’s despair, I wrapped her in a side hug. I could only imagine what she was going through. It was already a lot for me to take in, but it was definitely ten times worse for her. Understanding that her whole life had been a lie had to be a hard pill to swallow.

“It’s… That’s not possible… It can’t be true.” Valentina was distraught. Her face was pale as if she’d just seen a ghost. It killed me to see her that way.

“It’s okay, sunrise. You’re here with me; you’re safe. None of that matters now,” I reassured her, running my hands carefully up and down her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“It kind of matters, actually,” Cass interrupted us again, approaching my mate. “Valentina, I know it’s a lot of information, but this proves you’re a true Alpha. That means the two of you are the Switched Pair mentioned in the prophecy!” she concluded excitedly. I had no idea why she was so happy about it, but my mate was upset, and her behavior was starting to make me angry.

“Why should we even believe any of that shit is real?” I frowned. “Who even wrote about that stupid prophecy?”

“All prophecies are real,” Cass said simply. “Prophecies are magically created by the Gods, usually to maintain balance. If a dark force becomes too strong in an unnatural way, a new light force is created to match it, and vice-versa. This is how the higher powers ensure that there is never too much good, nor too much evil in the world.”

“So we’re supposed to be the good ones?” I scoffed. “And what kind of greater evil have we been created to balance?”

“The Fallen,” Valentina stated decisively. Her usually vivid green eyes were darker and colder.

“Precisely,” Cass agreed before continuing. “The Switched Pair is supposed to be the strongest wolf couple to ever exist. If anyone can defeat the Fallen army, restoring life’s balance, it’s the two of you.”

Goddess, I felt like my head was about to explode. As if me ending up with someone else’s wolf wasn’t bizarre enough, I had just been told that my mate was actually an Alpha by blood, andwe were destined to...fight the bad guys? It sounded too crazy to be true.

“Say we believe it…” I started, still frowning. “How exactly do we defeat the Fallen? No one’s been able to stop them so far.”

“Well, you were the first to catch one of them. And now you know they have a few singularities that make them stronger, but so do you.” Cass smiled again and I braced myself for whatever craziness she still had in store for us. “The Switched Pair is composed of the Darkbringer and the Lightbringer. You have your own special abilities.”

“Like seeing through each other’s eyes?” Valentina’s voice was filled with disbelief, but when she turned to me, her expression was a mix of horror and realization. “Zephyr… It makes sense! The dreams we used to have and...the rogue! You said that when Dawn was blinded, you saw him coming at you through Dusk’s eyes!”

“Yeah...but that’s probably only happening because our wolves have been switched.” I shrugged.

“In the cases I studied, no other shifter with a switched wolf could do that. That’s gotta be one of the special abilities mentioned in the prophecy,” the witch concluded.

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