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The morning was different, though Tasha couldn't quite put her finger on how. It wasn't anything concrete, like a radical shift in temperature or the hush that comes before a storm.

It was less obvious—something in the way the air sat, the way her thoughts were denser, the way the trailing fringes of a dream she couldn't quite remember clung to her mind like a dying whisper.

She sat up in bed, her hands burrowing into her temples as a dull ache pulsed there.

The dream had been strange.

She could recall flashes of golden eyes looking at her out of the darkness, the feeling of running—no, fleeing—through a dense forest, though she had no memory of what she had been running from.

And there had been a voice.

A low, gravelly voice that had made her skin crawl, though she couldn't recall what it had said. Brushing aside the sense of discomfort, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stretched, looking at the clock. Crap. She was running late. Again.

She got dressed in a hurry and made her way downstairs, where the aroma of newly brewed coffee filled the air. Her mother was already seated at the kitchen counter, her hands wrapped around a mug as she stared out the window.

"Morning," Tasha muttered, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the counter and biting into it.

Her mother turned at the sound of her voice, smiling slightly, but something was off. Her face was too carefully composed, her hands clutched a bit too tightly around the mug.

"Morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?"

Tasha chewed thoughtfully before answering. "Yeah... I guess. Had weird dreams, though."

Her mother's eyes flickered with something—concern? Anxiety? Tasha couldn't quite tell.

"Weird how?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Just... strange."

Her mom nodded slowly, but her face remained guarded.

Tasha frowned. "Are you okay? You seem... I don't know, kind of distracted."

Her mom issued a small, fake laugh and shook her head. "Just thinking about work. Deadlines, designs, the same old stress."

Tasha wasn't entirely convinced by her. She had seen her mom stressed before this, but this was different. Her mother was hiding something.

She wanted to push, to ask more, but before she could, her mom changed the subject.

"I almost forgot—Mina's father called this morning. He invited us to dinner tonight."

Tasha raised an eyebrow. "Really? He never does that."

"I know," her mom replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "Mina asked me if I could drop you off at their house on my way to work, so you'll be hanging out with her today."

Tasha paused. Something was definitely going on. Her mom's strange behavior, now Mina's dad inviting them out of the blue for a family dinner? She got the sense this wasn't going to be a friendly get-together.

But she didn't complain. Maybe spending the day with Mina would make her lose this odd feeling.

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**At Mina's House**

The moment Tasha was in, Mina was already dragging her upstairs.

"Okay," Mina said, shutting the door behind them. "Something weird is going on."

Tasha plopped down on the bed, an eyebrow rising. "No kidding."

My dad called me into his office last night," Mina continued, pacing. "He gave this whole speech about 'changes' and 'embracing who I am'—I'm not even kidding, it was like some weird coming-of-age ritual."

Tasha frowned. "Changes? What kind of changes?

"That's the thing! He never came right out and said," Mina grieved, falling onto the bed next to her. "He just kept saying that things would be 'different' soon, that my feelings would be stronger, that I would start to see things that I couldn't understand."

Tasha's stomach twisted. "That's. weird."

"Let me guess," Mina groaned. "And what's even weirder? My dad's a doctor, right? Man of science. He doesn't do mysterious mumbo-jumbo. So why's he all of a sudden talking like some occult guru?"

Tasha nibbled on her lip. "My mom's been acting weird too."

Mina turned to her. "How?"

"She was being so weird this morning. She just kept staring out the window like she was in some deep contemplation. And when I mentioned my dream, she stiffened up."

Mina sat up. "Wait. What dream?"

Tasha hesitated. "I don't remember most of it, but there were golden eyes... and I was running through the woods."

Mina snorted. "Well, you do read too much supernatural crap. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you."

Tasha pretended to laugh. "Yeah. Maybe."

But inside, she wasn't so sure.

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**Elsewhere—Mina's Dad's Office**

Dr. Aaron Hayes sat in his office, his fingers steepled in front of him as he stared at the papers on his desk. He had barely slept a wink last night, his thoughts racing with images of Mina.

Her eighteenth birthday was just months away. And three days later, Tasha would also be turning eighteen.

Which one of them was the destined Luna?

Mina was half-human, half-werewolf. He had no idea if she would transform at all. She could be fully human, like her mother. But if she did transform...

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. He had no clue how to prepare her for something she had never believed in.

And then there was Tasha.

If she was not the one who was meant to transform, then she had no idea she had been living a falsehood her whole life.

And if she was the fated Luna...

Everything would be different.

He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. He had to decide how to handle this situation delicately. The last thing he wanted was for Mina to think she was anything less than what she was—changed or not, she was still his daughter.

But if she was going to be part of this supernatural world, then she had to be ready.

And if she wasn't... she needed to be as far from it as possible.

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**Tasha's Mom's Dilemma**

Tasha's mom pulled out the small vial from her drawer in the quiet of her room.

The potion shimmered in the dim light, swirling in hypnotic patterns.

She knew what she needed to do.

The witch provided it to her for exactly that purpose—to keep Tasha unaware, to ensure she didn't grasp the truth too soon. If Mina changed, Tasha would witness it. The potion would cloud her mind enough that she wouldn't correctly process what was happening.

Yet utilizing it made her nervous.

Lying to Tasha had never sat well with her, even if it had been a necessity. She had kept so much from her already.

Would she ever forgive her?

She exhaled, her hand tightening around the vial. There was no room for doubt. If the prophecy existed, if Tasha truly was the one...

Keeping her in the dark for a little while longer might be the only thing that will keep her safe.

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**Back at Mina's House**

The day continued with a sense of forced normalcy.

The girls watched films, played computer games, and pretended like nothing felt wrong.

But there were moments—tiny, almost imperceptible—when they both sensed the presence of unspoken words.

Mina noticed her dad staring at her with an expression she couldn't decipher.

Tasha noticed how her mom had stood in the doorway for a moment before leaving, as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it.

And both of them felt, in the deepest recesses of their heart, that things would never be the same again.

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