Gemini of the Shifter Realm

Chapter 40 This Too Shall Pass

Lorraine Tepes P.O.V

"Are you even listening?" I asked, my tone edged with frustration as I tried to pierce through his nonchalance.

"I know about the Red Moon," Oz replied, his indifference amplifying the mystique of the topic. His response felt like a stone cast into a quiet pond, sending ripples of unease through me. Before I could react, Merlin appeared, as if summoned by the very moonlight itself, his presence heavy with ancient knowledge.

"Bloodlust," Merlin intoned, his voice rich with the weight of centuries. His sudden appearance did nothing to unsettle Oz, who greeted him with a sarcastic warmth.

"Ah, hello Dad. Welcome. Come right in," Oz quipped, the banter between them light and jarring against the backdrop of our somber conversation.

"Let me remind you, this is my home," Merlin responded with a regal air, his authority momentarily cutting through the light-hearted exchange.

"A heads-up would've been nice," Oz shot back, the playful sparring continuing as though it were a well-rehearsed script in the grand theater of cosmic drama.

"Anyway," Merlin said, shifting his focus back to me, the room now tinged with a palpable mystique as if the very air was charged with ancient secrets. "Do you know how the United Nations even came to be?"

Oz seized the chance for another jest. "Are we finally going to hear the story of Arthur Pendragon? The man people shipped you with before you met Mom?" His tone was laced with mischief, but Merlin's face remained impassive.

"If memory serves me right, you never bothered to ask," Merlin replied, his voice carrying a mix of ancient lore and unspoken sorrows. The levity of Oz's jests seemed to clash with the gravity of Merlin's unspoken history.

"And no," Merlin continued, his voice growing solemn, "it's a painful tale of a failed attempt at unity." The weight of his words settled heavily in the room, a silent promise of the gravity behind his failures.

"However," Merlin's tone shifted, resonating with the weight of eons, "the nations are more than mere geopolitical entities; they are factions bound by otherworldly forces. A treaty ensures our coexistence, keeping the cosmic balance in check."

"The Red Moon," he went on, his words weaving a dark tapestry, "grants wolves unparalleled power, their strength magnified tenfold, matched only by an insatiable hunger for blood. During this period, the other factions must unite to quell their rampage."

"Stop them, as in... kill them until it ends," Oz clarified, his words a harsh reminder of the grim reality that accompanies this surge of wolfish power.

"This has happened before?" I asked, my voice trembling as the weight of the revelation sunk in. Merlin nodded solemnly. "Centuries ago."

The realization settled over me like a shroud. "This is a massacre," I murmured, the cyclical nature of the bloodshed reverberating through my thoughts.

Merlin, the timeless sage, revealed a hidden truth. "The representative of the wolf faction, who sits at the diplomatic table, is aware of this cycle," he disclosed.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice tinged with urgency as I sought more pieces of the cryptic puzzle before me.

"The descendant of King Lycaon, Nyctimus," Merlin answered, his words resonating with the echo of ancient legends.

Zoe Lawson P.O.V

"Theodore texted me," Francesca announced out of nowhere, her voice breaking the quiet.

"What?" I blinked, trying to catch up.

"He claims I've been stalking his TikTok profile," she continued, her tone bewildered.

"Did you?" I asked, a bit incredulous.

"Obviously not! I didn't even know he had a profile," she admitted, shaking her head. "What's his username?"

"I'm not sure," I replied, wracking my brain. "Last I remember, it was something like a fruit name."

"He says I looked at his profile a month ago," she muttered, scrolling through her activity feed.

"How do you have that feature?" I asked, glancing over at her screen. "I don't see it on mine."

"He must have changed his username," she speculated. But before I could warn her not to click on his profile, she did.

"Crap! Why did you do that? Now it's going to show that you viewed his profile!" I exclaimed.

"Really?" she gasped, eyes wide with shock.

"He just sent a screenshot," she said, her voice flat with disbelief. Sure enough, it showed her name under 'Profile Views.'

"He's asking why I did it and if I have something to say to him," she added, reading the message aloud.

"Why does he even care?" I wondered aloud, frustration bubbling up. "People check profiles all the time. It's not like I'm interrogating everyone who views mine."

Francesca quickly typed back, explaining she didn't even know about his profile and had to ask me for his username.

"Why did you drag me into this?" I screeched, panic rising in my chest.

"I'm sorry! I just—I panicked. If my boyfriend sees that I viewed Theo's profile, it's going to look bad," she confessed, looking genuinely distressed.

"But you didn't!" I argued, exasperated.

"I know that, but you know how my boyfriend is," she sighed. "He's asking if you put me up to stalking his profile."

"Oh god, just tell him no!" I groaned, rubbing my temples.

"I already told him you don't have my login. How could you stalk him?" she replied, trying to defuse the situation.

"Just tell him, if it makes him feel better, he can block you," I suggested, feeling drained by the drama.

"Alright," she nodded, typing away.

"He still thinks you might have done it," she informed me, her voice tinged with frustration.

"The fact that I didn't do anything and still get accused—this is so frustrating," I muttered.

"He said you texted him a week ago," she said, looking at me with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

"Why is he telling you all of this?" I sighed, feeling the weight of everything press down on me. "Yeah, I did. On Telegram, right before I deleted my account. I apologized for everything, wished him a good life... and told him I'd always wait for him, that I'd love him forever," I stammered, knowing Francesca wouldn't approve of my lingering attachment.

"He says he just wants you out of his life," she said softly, her words like a punch to my gut.

"Yeah?" I managed to ask, my voice barely a whisper. "Can I see?"

She handed me her phone, and there it was, his words staring back at me. I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"Tell him he doesn't need to worry. I won't ever come back into his life," I said quietly, feeling a strange mix of resolve and heartbreak.

With that, I deleted his number, our text messages, WhatsApp conversations, Instagram chats—everything. Everything except the photos and videos. I just couldn't bring myself to erase those yet. I needed more time to gather the strength to let go completely.

If there's one piece of advice Theodore always used to repeat, it was, "This too shall pass." Maybe it's time I finally listen, to cling to those words he once offered like a lifeline. It's the only thing I can hope is true right now—the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.