The Hidden Enemy

Rachel sat on the stone bench, her mind racing as she attempted to figure out everything: the pull towards Luka, the darkness in her powers, and now Gideon's reappearance.

She hadn't seen him since that terrible night, but he was still in her mind all the time. Footsteps behind her disturbed the silence and made her shiver. She didn't have to look back to know who it was.

"Rachel," his words slid into her ear like poison. She shut her eyes and tried to ignore how it made her skin crawl.

She rose up swiftly and faced him. "What do you want, Gideon?"

He smirked, and his dark eyes narrowed with a menacing glimmer. "You know what I want." Rachel, it's not simply your power anymore. It's your fate. The cult will do whatever to make sure you do your job as Luna. He moved closer to her, towering above her, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I'm the one who will show you the way."

Rachel squeezed her fists together to try to hide the shaking in her palms. "You don't have power over me."

He smiled, showing all of his teeth and hatred. "You can say you don't know, but deep down, you do." You are one of us. He moved closer, and his breath was hot against her skin. Rachel, you will regret it if you don't accept your fate. The results will be quite bad.

Rachel gulped hard, and her heart raced as the weight of what he said hit her. There was no way for her to get away from this. Not any longer.

The next day, Rachel strolled to class, trying to get over the apprehension that was still there after her meeting with Gideon. She thought that if she just kept going and kept her head down, she could find some serenity. But tranquilly always felt just out of reach.

She could feel it as she got closer to the door to her next class: two sets of eyes on her. She paused and glanced around. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Luka and Mika beside the door.

Luka grinned, and his face was pleasant, but his eyes had a menacing look in them. He stepped closer to her and said, "I've been looking for you." "We need to talk."

Rachel made herself smile back, even though she was quite nervous. "About what?"

Mika came next to Luka before he could speak. His face was unreadable, but his eyes were sharp. Mika remarked, "You've been avoiding us," his voice full of anger.

Rachel moved around between them, feeling the tension in the air. Luka's smile faded and was replaced by a look of resolve. "Rachel, you don't understand. It's not just about the cult or power. It's about us. We need you. This link... it's not simply luck. "It's the Packs' future."

Mika narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "And I don't trust him to take care of this... to take care of you."

Rachel stepped back, her heart beating as she saw the tension between the two brothers develop. Yes, they were competitors, but it was more than that. It felt like they were both pulling her in opposite directions, testing her, and pushing her.

Luka's voice was soft but strong. He hissed beneath his breath, "You're mine, whether you admit it or not." His body brushed against hers in a way that made her shudder.

Mika quickly followed, making him seem even more powerful. "Rachel, stay away from him." You don't know what you're getting into.

Rachel's head hurt as she struggled to understand what they were saying. She wasn't prepared for this. They weren't ready for her.

Rachel attempted to forget about the fight between the brothers and focus on her next lesson, but the tension stayed with her like a shadow. The more she thought about the prophecy, Luka, and Mika, the more it all felt like it was too much for her to handle.

And then there was the group.

She couldn't put them off any longer. They were constantly there, hiding in the shadows, waiting for the proper time to attack. She had seen their signs and heard their words. They had been monitoring her for a long time, even before she understood who she was.

Later that afternoon, as she went across campus, her mind was racing with all that had happened. She felt a shudder run down her spine. Her gut told her that something was awry.

Rachel turned fast and saw a figure in the darkness of the woods. She saw them earlier, and they were wearing cloaks and hoods. As the figure got closer to her, her breath hitched in her chest.

The figure put something in her palm without saying a word and then vanished just as fast as it had come. Rachel's hands shook as she opened the folded paper.

It was a letter with neat, planned handwriting that said, "You can't run forever, Luna." Your time is almost up.

Rachel's heart stopped for a second. She crumpled the paper in her hand and her heart raced. They were getting closer to her, and she had nowhere to go.

Rachel sat on her bed, and the dim light from the desk lamp made the crumpled paper in her hands look soft. As she opened the letter from Ymir's family, her heart raced and her breath became shallow. At first, the words looked innocent enough, but as she read on, the reality began to pound heavy on her chest.

When she got to the last line, she stopped and read it out loud in a whisper, her hands shaking as if saying the words would make them more real. "Rachel, you were never supposed to be called Ymir. You may think you know what the Luna bloodline is really for, but it's much worse than you think.

Her blood turned chilly.

She looked at the page for a minute, and the room seemed to whirl as her thoughts became jumbled. How could this be real? Ymir's family had always lied to her about her life, building a carefully planned veneer. In an instance, her whole life, the name she had carried with her for so long, was gone.

Rachel mumbled to herself, "Ymir... wasn't even my name," and her heart raced.

All of a sudden, she heard footsteps outside her door. Someone was coming. Rachel put the note back in the envelope and put it under her pillow. Her mind was racing. She had to find out what was going on, but the fear in her heart kept her from moving freely. The truth was dangerous, and it seemed like the more she found out, the closer the darkness got.

Rachel hurried quickly across campus, the letter's weight heavy in her pocket. Every stride seemed like it was carrying the weight of a thousand new ideas. She touched the envelope with her fingers, and the words from the letter came back to her.

She tried to ignore the feeling of dread that was eating away at her, but it was impossible. The cult, Ymir's family, and everything else she believed she knew about her life were now in doubt.

She got to the courtyard and stopped to take a deep breath. Luka and Mika were standing across the street from each other, and it appeared like they were having a tense talk. She could feel the tension between the twins in her heart when she saw them.

Luka saw her right away. His eyes were acute, and his face was hard to read. "Ymir," he called, his voice deep and welcoming. He moved closer, and she had to pay attention to him. "Are you okay? You've been distant.

Rachel hesitated because she wasn't sure how much to say. How could she describe the pandemonium that was about to take over her?

Mika moved in before she could say anything, his eyes hard and concentrated. He continued softly, "We both know there's more to this than you're letting on," but his words had a lot of meaning.

Rachel's throat was dry, and she had to swallow hard. She was stuck between the truth she couldn't get away from and the guys who had a hold on her heart.

She saw something moving across the courtyard, which broke her train of thought. A shadow.

Someone in a cloak was watching them from a distance. Rachel's stomach turned as fear took hold of her again. Was it someone else from the cult?