Silver Rain

Chapter 44

For the rest of the evening, they all sat around a table and allowed Sarah to spill all that she knew. It lapsed deep into the evening and the dim light of the room cast shadows across their faces, each person leaning in as Sarah spoke.

Felix eventually joined them after about ten minutes when Olivia walked away from him. If any of the others knew what was said, they didn't let on. Felix's mood dampened, and part of Olivia was disappointed that he didn't try to argue more with her or that he leaned away from Olivia as if she were repelling him.

The evening felt like a drawn-out breath, heavy and tense, as Sarah's voice filled the room with each piece of the story she had carefully kept hidden. She spoke of bloodlines, binding oaths, and the threads of fate that had tangled their lives together in ways none of them fully understood.

Felix sat apart, arms crossed, eyes cast downward, a distance between him and Olivia that hadn't been there before. She couldn't ignore it, even as she listened to Sarah, trying to absorb everything the woman revealed. She felt an ache of frustration and disappointment as Felix remained stubbornly quiet, keeping his thoughts sealed off. Every now and then, she caught him stealing glances at her, his expression unreadable, but he never tried to bridge the distance that was created.

"Every family has their own secrets, stories, that they pass down from generation to generation." Sarah looked at each person at the table. "The Vaughn's, Angevin's, and the Munsen's are all interconnected through the moon, stars, and sun."

"The Angevin's?" Calvin echoed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"They were a werewolf family, right here in Silverstrike." Sarah nodded, and Olivia caught the word were. "It's likely you heard your elders speak of them or maybe came across their name in some old records," Sarah continued, her gaze steady, as if she was watching for reactions. "The Angevins were a powerful family in their time, and their influence reached far beyond Silverstrike. They were one of the original families, with roots so deep they were practically woven into the land."

Calvin's brows knit together in concentration, and Olivia could see him turning over the pieces in his mind. "So the Angevins, the Vaughns, and the Munsens...they were all tied together by this... cosmic connection?"

Sarah nodded slowly. "They believed their fates were bound not only by blood but by celestial cycles—moon, stars, and sun. Each family carried a unique burden, a piece of a puzzle that's been passed down through generations."

Felix shifted in his chair, finally speaking up, his voice low and edged with something Olivia couldn't place. "So, this 'binding'—does it mean we're... cursed?"

Sarah hesitated, glancing at each of them before answering. "Some might call it a curse, others a blessing. It depends on who you ask." She looked down at her hands. "For centuries, each family took on their role willingly, but somewhere along the line, the Vaughns and Angevins resisted, and tried to break free. It's one reason your family distanced themselves from the others, Felix."

Felix's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing. "So my family decided to fight it, and now we're... paying the price?"

Sarah met his gaze evenly. "In a way, yes. But, it were the Munsens who wanted more power than the other two families.

Olivia's head snapped up at this, her stomach twisting. The Munsens, the family she was somehow connected to—the family that had taken a particular interest in her at the orphanage. Memories of their visits and the strange, lingering feeling of being watched drifted through her mind. She felt the weight of Sarah's words settle over her, and an uncomfortable chill ran down her spine.