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Julianne's POV

I sat on my bed, my head in my hands, trying to figure out everything that had happened back there at the pack festival. A woman had attacked me from the blues and if not for the timely intervention of a man, only goodness what my fate would have been.

And the fact that Arthur thinks I know about it and refuses to talk was the most annoying and heartbreaking part. I am as much as confused as she is on this matter, and the hell if I had an idea why the witches would attack me out of the blue, I would not wait before telling him.

And then the door burst open, and before I could sit up straight, Arthur walked in.

"Hmm..." I hurriedly wiped off the tears from my face and st up straight but avoided his eyes.

"I am sorry for yelling at you; I was pissed off that you won't answer my question, but then I just realized that you don't have an idea of what is going on." He sighed and fell leaning on the wall.

"I was shut off words when you asked me the question. It was as if I was telling a lie all this while, and you didn't believe everything I had been telling you. I just stood..." I trailed off, fighting back the tears that threatened to come down.

I didn’t know what to think. It didn’t make sense. How could I be a witch? I hadn’t felt any different, not until now. And now they were after me, and I didn’t even know why. Why would they want to hurt me? Why would they want to hurt Antonnia too? I felt overwhelmed by it all.

Arthur just stood there without moving, watching me with concern. I looked up at him, trying to make sense of everything. “Arthur,” I said quietly, “I don’t understand. If I tell you I know what is going on here, then I am loaded; I can't figure out why the witches would want to hurt me and Antonia.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand why you’re so unfocused on this. You are so confused with Jasmine and the pregnancy that you don't care about me anymore.” I complained bitterly.

Arthur looked at me for a long moment, his eyes serious. “Julianne, my future doesn’t matter without you in it. I’ll always be by your side. I promised you that, remember?”

He sat down beside me, his voice soft. “I don’t know why I behaved this way, Julianne. But I am here for you now, we need to figure it out. And we’ll do it together.”

Arthur reached over and cupped my face gently gently turning it to face him. His voice was quiet, but firm. “There’s something else I need to tell you. The man, the one who helped us at the festival, said you’re not only a werewolf but a witch, a powerful witch, for that matter. I know it’s hard to believe, but you have to listen. We need to figure out how to control our powers. You can’t keep running from it, Julianne.”

I pulled away from him slightly. “I don’t believe it. I can’t be a witch. I’ve never felt like one, Arthur. And I don’t even know what that means. I have been a werewolf since birth and will always be. You don't have to go telling people of our problems, and they give you wrong assumptions."

“It is no wrong assumption? I didn't tell anyone about this, but you were there yesterday when he said that there is a dark and light aura in that midst." I reminded her gently tossing her shoulder so she could look at me.

"Have you forgotten the light, remember the one that came out of your body when you tried to protect me from Nyx?” Arthur asked, his eyes softening. “When Nyx tried to attack us, that light came from you. It wasn’t just a flash of power. It was something more. You have powers, Julianne. You have to learn how to control them, or you’ll hurt someone.”

I thought about what he said. That light. I remembered it clearly. But it didn’t make sense. Could that be a part of me? How could I have powers I didn’t even know about?

Arthur leaned closer, his voice low but urgent. “We can’t let anyone know about this. The pack can’t find out that there’s a witch among them. You need to keep it a secret, at least for now.”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t like it, but I understood. It made sense. If the pack found out, they might turn on me. Or worse.

“He promised to help us; he said that the best way is for you to control your powers and learn them so that you won't end up harming yourself or even Antonnia,” Arthur said, his hand on my shoulder. “He said that one of his friends would teach you how to control your powers, but you have to consent to it first.”

I looked at him, still unsure. But in the end, I have to agree. “Okay,” I said quietly. “I’ll go. I’ll learn to control my powers. Just because I don't want to hurt you or anyone, and the fact that I am beginning to believe that I am a witch.”

Arthur smiled, relief in his eyes. “I’ll make the arrangements. I will tell him you accepted to be taught.”

Later that evening, I decided to talk to Loretta. She was one of the few people I trusted, and if anyone could help me make sense of what was happening, it was her.

I found her in the kitchen, sorting through some vegetables. When she saw me, she looked up and smiled. “Julianne, what’s on your mind?”

I hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Loretta, I need to talk to you about something... important.”

She set the knife down and motioned for me to sit at the table. “What’s going on?”

I sat down across from her, trying to find the right words. “Arthur told me something today. Something I don’t understand.”

Loretta raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. “What did he say?”

I took a deep breath. “He said I’m not just a werewolf. He said I’m also a witch. And although he does not know what I was attacked today by the other witches, he believed that I have some kind of powers which I must learn to control.”

Loretta didn’t look surprised. Instead, she just nodded. “I know that you are a witch and that you have powers.”

I blinked, surprised by her calm reaction. “You know? How could you know?”

Loretta didn’t answer immediately. She stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the yard. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. “I’ve seen it before. The way your eyes change, the way your emotions affect you. Your eyes turn back anytime you are angry, and it brightens anytime you are happy. You’re a witch, Julianne. Your powers are inside you, even if you didn’t realize it.”

I stood up from the table, feeling a mix of confusion and frustration. “How could you keep this from me? How could you know and never tell me?”

Loretta turned to face me, her expression unreadable. “I didn’t keep it from you because I wanted to. I kept it from you because I didn’t know if you were ready to hear it. And I didn’t know if you were ready to accept it. You’re not the only one with secrets, Julianne.”

I felt a surge of anger. “So you knew this whole time? And you never said anything?”

Loretta’s face softened, and she stepped closer. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you. I wanted you to figure it out on your own when the time was right.”

“But how could you let me live like this, thinking I was just a werewolf?” I demanded. “How could you watch me struggle without telling me the truth? Do you know how Arthur felt when I could not answer his questions? Do you know the pains I went through thinking he does not believe me?”

Loretta sighed and sat down, motioning for me to do the same. “Julianne, I’ve seen your power for a long time. Like I said earlier, every time you get angry, your eyes go dark. When you’re happy, they brighten up. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I’ve been waiting for you to notice, to realize what was inside you.”

I stared at her, feeling a wave of disbelief. “My eyes?” I whispered. “But I’ve never… I’ve never paid attention to that. How could you know all this and refuse to tell me about it?”