Chapter 690: The Truth Told To Her Friends

Chapter 689: The Truth Told To Her Friends

The house grew quiet immediately after Sophia spoke.

Even Laia stopped smiling.

The playful atmosphere from earlier disappeared so quickly that it almost felt strange.

Sophia looked at all of them gathered in Orion’s home and suddenly became aware of just how loudly her heart was beating.

No one interrupted her though.

No one tried to rush her either.

Dren was the first to speak.

"Does this have something to do with the scream we heard that night?" he asked carefully.

Sophia nodded slowly.

"It does."

Dren’s expression shifted slightly at her answer but he did not interrupt again.

Sophia inhaled quietly before speaking.

"Even if I wanted to be the one to tell you all myself, I am certain you already have an idea about what happened," she admitted softly. "The whole pack already knows now."

The words felt bitter in her mouth.

Honestly, if she could have chosen another way for everyone to learn the truth, she would have.

But there was no point dwelling on that now.

"I still wanted you all to hear it from me directly," she continued. "Because aside from Orion and his friends, you all were some of the first people who supported me in this pack."

Her eyes drifted across each of them one after another.

"You fought with me, trusted me, stayed beside me and..." she swallowed softly. "I did not want you hearing the truth from rumors."

They remained silent.

Sophia lowered her gaze briefly toward her hands.

"I recovered my memories," she admitted quietly. "And it was not what I thought it would be at all."

A faint heaviness settled over them after that sentence.

She inhaled slowly.

"I am originally from the Blood Moon Pack," she said finally. "The pack Victoria leads."

No one moved.

No one even breathed too loudly.

Then Sophia forced herself to continue.

"And Victoria... is my mother."

The silence afterward felt deafening.

Joren blinked rapidly as though his brain had stopped working.

Micah leaned back slightly in his chair.

Cat stared openly.

Nia and Laia looked stunned.

Then after several long seconds, Joren finally spoke.

"Wait," he said slowly. "Victoria as in... the Victoria?"

Sophia nodded once.

"The leader of the Enclave?" he asked again, sounding like he desperately wanted the answer to somehow change.

Sophia nodded again.

"Yes."

The house fell quiet once more.

Sophia lowered her gaze to her hands.

She could feel the tension building inside her chest again.

The fear.

The dread.

The expectation of rejection.

It crawled slowly beneath her skin and for one dangerous moment, she almost started slipping back into the same spiral from earlier.

Then she remembered Orion’s words and how he had told her to stop blaming herself.

She inhaled quietly.

Then exhaled and lifted her head again.

"Victoria was the one who destroyed the Nightshade Pack," she said softly. "She is the reason the pack now lives in Nirvana."

The words sounded heavier every single time she said them aloud.

"And really..." Sophia continued after a moment. "If any of you are angry about it... I will understand."

No one answered immediately.

Instead, everyone exchanged glances with one another.

The silence stretched long enough for Sophia’s stomach to twist painfully.

Then Micah sighed.

He rested a hand over his face briefly before dragging it downward tiredly.

Finally, he looked at Sophia properly.

"I cannot speak for everyone here," he admitted. "But Sophia... you are not Victoria, right?"

Sophia blinked slightly.

"No."

"Then why would I hate you?" he asked simply.

Sophia stared at him.

The knot in her chest loosened just slightly.

Beside him, Joren nodded quickly.

"I like Sophia and Alpha Orion together," he declared immediately.

Sophia nearly laughed despite herself.

Joren continued before anyone could stop him.

"I like Alpha Orion a lot but I like Sophia too," he said honestly. "You are my friend. I do not understand why everyone is behaving like you are Victoria herself."

His expression twisted slightly in confusion.

"Even my mother tried explaining that to people earlier," he added. "She kept saying Sophia and Victoria are different people."

Sophia felt warmth sting faintly behind her eyes at that. Joren’s mother had injuries from that attack, and they were permanent, but she had defended her.

Sophia gave him a grateful smile and then turned slowly toward the others.

Dren shrugged first.

Honestly, he looked more relieved than upset.

"I am just glad you are okay," he admitted. "I do not care who your mother is."

Sophia stared at him quietly.

"As long as you are with us and for us, I could not care less," he finished simply.

Nia nodded beside him.

"Dren speaks the truth," she said calmly.

Laia lifted a shoulder.

"You are still Sophia."

Cat nodded too.

"I am curious about one thing though," she said. "Did you think we were going to get angry at you for being related to Victoria?"

Sophia hesitated for a moment before giving a small nod.

Cat looked genuinely offended.

"That is insulting actually."

Sophia blinked in shock.

"Especially after everything we have been through. It is because of you we were even able to pass the placement test. Because you encouraged us. You gave us hope. You made us keep pushing. There is no way we would have been angry at you or abandoned you for something that was clearly out of your control. You are a sister to us. And no one abandons family especially in times like this."

There was silence again and then Dren spoke.

"Oh goddess!" he said. "She has a functioning brain."

Cat rolled her eyes and the others chuckled.

"But I am serious. You have been there for all of us since arriving here," she told Sophia. "Why would we suddenly forget all of that because of Victoria?"

Sophia looked down quietly.

Honestly... she did not know.

Perhaps it was fear. It did have a way of making people expect the worst.

And maybe after recovering her memories, after seeing firsthand what Victoria had done, Sophia had unconsciously started fearing herself too.

Micah leaned forward slightly.

"Cat is right though. Do not think the worst of us."

Sophia smiled and then she nodded.

"I am sorry for that," she told them. "And I swear it would not happen again."

Then Nia tilted her head slightly.

"Is that all?" she asked.

Sophia’s expression shifted immediately.

The others noticed it too.

And slowly, they all quieted again.

Sophia swallowed once.

"No," she admitted softly. "There is something else."

Dren frowned slightly.

"What is it?"

Sophia hesitated.

Then she asked quietly,

"Do you all believe in the prophecy about the foretold Luna?"

Micah immediately frowned.

"That is a myth, right?"

Nia nodded in agreement.

"It has to be," she said. "Nothing has happened regarding that prophecy for over a hundred years. I am pretty sure everyone just treats it as folklore now."

Cat nodded too.

"My grandmother talks about it sometimes but even she says nobody truly expects it anymore."

Sophia looked down briefly.

Then back up again.

"It is not exactly a myth," she admitted quietly. "Ehn... I am the Luna foretold in that myth."

Wide eyes met hers from every direction.

"What?!" they asked.