Epilogue

Anne sat quietly on the sofa in her suite days later, staring at the bags she had packed. Raven was running about behind her, trying to get everything in order and moved out before they left. Jake would be pissed at him if he forgot something, especially if the Alpha thought it was important.

“Raven?” She called, hoping he heard her. Something had been bothering her ever since Raven had told her Charly was different now.

Raven stopped in front of her moments later. “Yes?”

“What happened to Charly? Why is he so different now?”

He sighed deeply and began to pace. “Col was a member of the Foster Care, Anne. Which meant when he captured Charly; he took him directly to the Care. They have always wanted a full grown Lupus to experiment on.”

Her brow creased. “How do you know this?”

Raven didn’t stop his pacing, as he stared over at her. “Two nights ago, I led a raid into Col’s apartment. I am unsure why everyone keeps important and incriminating information on their computers. You would think they would be smart enough to hide it somewhere where no one else could find it. Anyways, it was all there, everything he has ever taken a part in for the Foster Care was in the files on his computer. He had even helped them when they dealt with Astra.”

Anne’s eyes went wide at mention of the Solarius Matriarch and the fact that the Foster Care had captured her. “What happened to Astra?”

Raven took a deep breath, before stating quite clearly: “They killed Astra three years ago, on the same night they had killed Stacy.”

Her eyes closed in sorrow. “Then the Clans are doomed.”

Raven stopped pacing in front of her. “No, they’re not. We still have you, Anne.”

Anne’s eyes opened and she stared up at him. “What do you mean? Why am I so important to the Solarius Clan?”

Raven started pacing again and he ignored her question. “The Foster Care had to kill either you or Astra, to gain control over the other. They chose Astra simply because she was stronger than you, though you were always more defiant.”

Her brow creased in confusion. “I’m so confused.”

Raven nodded as he sat beside her on the blood stained couch they were leaving in the room. “This is why I did not want to tell you the truth before the right time, which, still, is not now. However in lieu of recent events, I am forced to tell you it now.”

He stopped for a moment and took both of Anne’s hands in his. His green gaze held hers as he said quite sincerely; “Anne, you and Astra were once the same being, the same person. The Care, however, changed that with their experimentation, just as they had done to Charly days ago.”

Anne’s eyes went wide and she started stuttering. “Hush Anne, I’m not finished yet.” It took her a few moments, but she finally fell silent again. “From what we gathered when we broke into the Care searching for Astra, there was an experiment done to you when you were six. This experiment somehow extracted your soul from your body and placed it into a different entity. The entity immediately changed into an almost exact duplicate of the being they stole the soul from. That is why Jake had stated he believed you and Astra were relatives.”

Anne was quiet for several more minutes, before asking: “So it, sort of, is like cloning?”

Raven grew thoughtful for a moment, before nodding slowly. “I guess you can say the Care derived this experiment from the humans’ cloning of beings long ago, yes.”

Anne was quiet again. “Why did they have to kill one of us off to gain control of the other? And are we going to have to do the same to Charly to get him back to normal?” She asked after a few minutes.

“Yes, once we locate the other half of Charly, we will have to kill one off to return him to his true being. The reason why one of the entities must die is because the moment one of them is killed, the soul drifts back into the other. Since Astra was the stronger of the two of you, the Care killed her which allowed your soul to come back to you. Even after that you still remained the weaker of the two, but grew more defiant.”

Sadness entered Anne’s eyes. “So Astra was the original being and I the duplicate?”

Raven shook his head. “No, Anne. You have always been the original entity. That was why you were so defiant and always found ways for you and Stacy to escape from the Foster Care. Something happened to their original data from the experimentation and that is why you were named Anne and Astra was named Astra. They had believed Astra was the original being and that was also why they had killed her instead of you.”

Confusion filled her again. “Why would I be weaker then, if I am supposed to be the true Astra?”

Raven smiled grimly. “Wouldn’t anything become weaker when their soul was stripped from them?”

Anne conceded to that. “If I am Astra, than Stacy was Starla?”

Raven nodded sadly. Anne knew how much it hurt him whenever someone spoke of her sister. A horrible thought flowed through her, but before she could ask, he said: “Yes, they did the same experiment to Stacy. And yes, I also knew and loved both Stacy and Starla. Even though it was only Stacy I had bonded with. I am grateful that Jake did not have to suffer through both your deaths. I would not wish that pain onto even my enemies.”

Anne leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I am so sorry for your losses, Raven. No one should have to deal with as much as that which has been dealt to you.”

He wrapped his arms around her, tightly returning the hug. “It’s ok, Anne. Really it is. I still have you and that was both of their wishes.”

She didn’t release her hold on him, as she asked: “For you to watch over me?”

Raven nodded. “Yes. They both asked me to watch over and protect you until my dying breath.” He finally backed away from her and a slight smile appeared on his face. “I must say however, that you have made that promise extremely difficult for me to keep. How can one little girl get into so much trouble in such a short time?”

Anne chuckled slightly, before her mood turned dire again. “It’s not over is it, Raven?”

He shook his head. “No Anne, its not. Col wasn’t a member of the Care itself, he was but an experiment.”

Her eyes darkened in sadness. “Why would a Solarius kill their own kind? Or even those of the Lupus Clan?”

Raven shook his head again. “No, Col was not a true member of the Solarius Clan. I do not know how it was done, but he was given the ability to call upon the elements, not born as one of them.”

Standing he held his hand out to her. “Come, Anne. It’s time we return to the Desert of Death and Tears. The rest of the Clans must be warned of what has happened here this week. Jake and Coby also will need time to recover. I just hope the other Clans will be on our side when we wage war on the Foster Care.”

Anne took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. Grabbing her bags, she quietly followed him through the Dormitory’s halls. She also desperately hoped the other Clans would believe them and lend their aid in the war to come.