Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

A jolt that shot through me was sharp and sudden, like the shock of touching a live wire with wet hands. 

The eyes staring back at me looked familiar because they looked like mine. The same shade of gray, like a stormcloud. 

I broke eye contact to look at the other features and my breath hitched.

"What the hell?" I whispered to myself.

That finally got Mia's attention. She stopped bubbling about jewels and turned to look at me. 

"Are you o–" Her voice cut off and I'm sure she was looking at the same person. "What... "

The man standing a few feet away from me, looking intensely at me, was like a mirror I was standing in front of. Except the reflection in the mirror was male, six-foot-something tall, broad, and strikingly handsome.

We shared the same silver hair, though his was cropped short, skimming his jawline. Our eyes, noses, and the curves of our lips were identical molds. 

"God, it's like looking at the male version of you," Mia breathed, her eyes still fixed on the stranger. 

My doppelgänger took a step forward but the guards that had been following us all day were immediately on him, half forming a circle around us. The man didn't take his eyes off me. Not once. People were already gathered to watch what was going on but I couldn't pay them any mind. 

"Let him pass," I commanded softly.

One of the guards turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed. "Luna–"

"Please," I said, not thinking about the fact that he called me Luna. But the stranger seemed to be thinking about it because an eyebrow was raised in my direction. "Let him pass." 

The guards hesitated for a moment before they broke the circle around us and let the man through. But they stopped him when he reached a few feet from me. 

He said nothing and only just looked at me. Now that he was close I could see an emotion in his eyes. 

"Daliah," he whispered, his voice deep and smooth, a hint of an accent in them. 

That word sounded like a name.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"I am–" He closed his mouth and clenched his jaw, finally looking around us. "Can we go somewhere private to talk?"

I opened my mouth but that guard from earlier spoke first. "The Luna is not going anywhere with you," he stated, his eyes fixed on the man. 

The stranger raised his eyebrow at that term again but he didn't say anything about it. He looked back at me, something like a plea in his eyes. 

"We'll go to the packhouse," I declared, looking down at Mia and she nodded.

The guard stepped forward. "But Lun–"

"We'll go to the packhouse," I gritted out, my voice hard. 

The guard lowered his eyes and stepped back. "As you wish, Luna." 

I turned to the man and dipped my head. "After you."

He looked at me strangely, with something like pride shining in his eyes before he nodded and walked towards the exit. 

"I guess shopping will have to wait," Mia sighed and we followed.

"I guess."

We piled into one of the SUVs, the remaining guards taking the others. One car led the convoy, our vehicle and the stranger's in the middle, followed by the last car at the rear. 

And off we went.

***

In my stay here I didn't know there was a receiving room. Of course, I should have known. This was a fucking castle after all. 

We were in that said receiving room. Darius stayed glued to my side, oozing danger, while Mia and Lucian were at the other side.

The stranger stood in front of us, not looking at least intimidated by the power and danger coming out from Darius. No, from everyone in this room. 

When Darius had seen him he had a stunned look on his face but it immediately cleared and in Its place, the Alpha came out.

"State your business," he ordered, his voice cold. 

The stranger looked at him for a while before he looked at me and his eyes softened. 

"My name is Dalian," he introduced, his voice steady. "I am a Lupinarian."

"Bullshit," Darius growled, taking a step towards Dalian but stopped when I touched his arm. He looked down at me and I shook my head. 

He took a step back and his hand remained on mine, and pinned Dalian with a look. "How do I believe you're a Lupinarian?" he asked calmly.

"I could shift," Dalian replied coolly, meeting Darius' stare with one of his own. 

"Dalian," I called softly and his eyes met mine. "You're truly a Lupinarian?"

He nodded. "I am, Daliah," he replied, his voice soft.

I frowned. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because that is your name." 

I stared at him, confused. "My name is Ravenna." 

Dalian shook his head. "That's the name your adoptive family gave you. The name your own people gave you is Daliah."

"My own people," I breathed. "Who are you, Dalian?"

He took a step closer but stopped when Darius growled at him. "I'm your brother, Daliah," he whispered. "Your twin brother." 

The words echoed in my ears, setting my heart racing. "My twin…"

"With all due respect, Dalian," Mia said, stepping forward, "you can't just come here and claim something like that. We would need proof. For all we need you may be trying to trick Ravenna for whatever goal you have in mind."

Dalian nodded almost violently, his calm composure cracking. "Yes, yes. Yes, I know that." He pointed at his face. "Is this not proof enough?"

"There's at least a one percent chance, maybe even more," Lucian chimed in, his shoulders lifting in a careless shrug, "that somewhere out there, in the vast expanse of the world, there's someone who looks exactly like us, a mirror image, a doppelgänger. It's a chilling thought, isn't it? For all we know, our enemies have already found this one percent, this perfect replica, and are using them for their own nefarious deeds, their own twisted agenda." 

"Exactly," Mia added and Darius nodded grimly, his eyes burning holes into Dalian's face. 

"For fuck sake!" Dalian exploded, his chest heaving heavily. "For fuck sake, listen to yourselves!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again he was now calm and collected, but his eyes were still raging. "I am not a tool the enemy is using to draw Daliah out. She's my sister, goddammit! I am her blood, her flesh and blood. I am a Lupinarian!"

"Prove it then," Darius said calmly. "Shift." 

Dalian eyed him before he looked around the room. He looked back at Darius with a raised eyebrow. "Here?"

Darius nodded, his expression calm. "Here."