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• Luna •

"Wait," Luna said, glancing over at Colin. "If Adnan's partner has not been born, could it be possible he is paired with a relative? Could he be paired with our unborn child?"

"You're pregnant?" Both Elizabeth and Maryam asked in unison.

"No, I'm not." Luna laughed, shaking her head. "We haven't been together in that way." And now she wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there. "I was just thinking about possibilities and our genes."

"Well . . . Colin," Nasir said, a dark brow lifted.

"Probably not. It's rare if tethered pairs are in the same family. If Adnan is tethered, his paired partner will be born soon, and they'll reach out first when they are adults."

"I hate this not-knowing stuff," Adnan grumbled, flopping in a lounge chair. "So, the only thing I can do is wait."

"Just live your life normally, man," Colin encouraged him.

"What if . . ." Luna said, scared to ask her question. "What if he is paired with someone defective and they reach out to him when they're a child?"

"That's highly unlikely. The defectives become active from age one to age fourteen, and they are mostly paired for souls around their age," Colin explained.

"I'm curious about something," Cassie said. "We know that the Khan's are Tethered Souls, but how do we know, for sure, that these two are paired together? Could the invalid result indicate something else?"

"Like what, Cassie?" Faisal asked her.

"Could Adnan be paired for Colin or Sue or the Carlyles if they show positive, or invalid?"

"Excellent question, Cass," Faisal said, straightening his device in his hands. "Who's my next patient?"

Cami and Luna snickered at his joke.

"That's a possibility, yes," Colin mentioned. "None of the facilities I've ever infiltrated have tested that theory out."

"I'm just suggesting that maybe the gene didn't skip Adnan, since he came from Pure Souls, and he could be linked to someone in the room. Or maybe in this community."

"Well, Irfan Bhatti is still somewhere in the house," Amir said, gazing at everyone. "And the pastor is outside reading scriptures. He was in here for a bit, but then he said he needed to go outside for fresh air."

"Are we going to ask Mr. Bhatti about doing a test?" Cami asked.

Luna watched as Sue sat down to get prepared for her test. "No. I don't think we should say anything," she suggested.

"But he should have the right to know," Cami countered Luna.

"True, but that will put us at risk. It would expose us. How would we go about asking him to do a blood test?" Luna remarked, anxiety sky-rocketing through her skin.

The room fell silent, and Faisal finished Sue's test.

The machine beeped, and all eyes darted to the machine, and Darren looked shocked. "It's positive."

"Well, then, that settles the theory," Colin said, standing against the wall. "Adnan is paired for Sue."

Sue and Adnan glanced at one another, confused.

"How do you know?" Adnan asked him.

"Because she is positive, and you're an invalid. At St. Matthews, this has occurred when a positive result was paired with an invalid result. If neither of you had the gene in your blood system, that result will be negative. Another thing to consider is how sick Sue has been the last few days. She had never been like this before meeting Amir. Sure, she was tired the first few nights, but being in the same room as him had an effect on her. His blood is the same as Adnan's."

"Wow," Sue said quietly. "Wouldn't we be immune by now? We only met today, and we haven't gotten sick. My powers haven't become active."

"You and Adnan are immune, which means you were meant to meet physically. Your illness had been softening for a few days, while Adnan felt nothing." Colin moved to the front of the room and continued to speak while making hand gestures. "What I believe is happening is that your abilities are gradually adjusting. And Adnan is a bit of a late bloomer."

"Like us?" Nasir asked, looking over at his wife.

"No, but I do have a question for the two of you?" Colin said, an eyebrow raised.

"Go ahead," Nasir said, nodding.

"How did you two meet?"

"We were arranged in marriage," Nasir answered, kissing Maryam's hand.

Luna noticed Amir and Adnan smiling at their father's admission.

"Okay, so that's what's happening," Colin murmured.

"What is?" Luna said, starting to feel antsy in her seat.

"Whatever path Maryam and Nasir chose, their lives would always be intertwined. Even if their powers had never been enhanced." Colin took a deep breath and stared them down, then continued. "It's similar to the first time Luna met Amir. Sam was the conduit to make it happen, so to speak."

"That's . . . baffling." Maryam sighed and adjusted her headscarf. "If my parents and in-laws hadn't insisted on our arrangement, we wouldn't be immune when our abilities activated."

Colin nodded. "That's correct. They also served as a conduit. Many pairs meet each other before their powers awaken, ensuring their immunity to Tethered Soul conflicts. It was your destiny to be physically close to your partner."

"Like our son and new daughter," Nasir said, holding his wife's hand.

Luna smiled at him, despite the fact that her mind was fried from the night's events. Her in-laws aura cast a bright glow between them, almost resembling two beautiful angels settling on a cloud.

She took a deep breath and slipped off her lead ring, nodding for Amir to do the same so they could communicate telepathically.

'Husband . . .'

'Wifey . . .' She bit her lip when he said that.

'They're talking amongst themselves right now. Let's go upstairs.'

He gazed into her eyes and kissed her cheek. "Is that what you want to do, my gorgeous wife?"

She nodded and whispered, "Has your family made arrangements for somewhere to stay? There's plenty of room here."

"I don't know." He gazed around and noticed Faisal's eyes were on him. So he went back into "telly mode".

'I'm going to ask Mera about it. Then if she says yes, which I'm sure she will, I will say goodnight to Reverend McDaniels and Bhatti Sahib. It's almost nine, and I'm sure everyone is tired.'

'I am kind of tired myself.'

A dark brow raised. 'You aren't now, love.'

Luna giggled. 'Let's wrap this up and enjoy our night. I want to lazy around in the huge hot tub.'

Both eyebrows raised this time.

'My freaky, kinky wife. I'm glad our lives were destined to cross.'

'Yep, because no matter how hard we're pulled apart, we'll always be linked.'

'Damn right, Moon. We'll go to our room once the others get tested. You should be here for your parents,' Amir told her.

'I do want to speak with my father. He knew about our connection, Amir.'

'I know. It's all you can think about. How he knows about Tethered Souls.'

Luna nodded and looked around the room. Amir hopped into her mind whenever he felt like it. She didn't mind. She had an erotic love poem roaming in her head for later.

'I wish Liberty was here to get tested,' she said, thinking about her and how this test was important.

'Oh, about that, Faisal said he did it with her privately, and she came back negative. Sorry.'

'Oh.'

Amir held Luna's hand in his as they watched the others take their test. Lawrence and Elizabeth were both negative, and Colin's was invalid. So there was a good chance that he or Adnan had a connection to Sue.

Vikram emerged from the hallway after checking on Liberty and Sarah and asked what had been going on. Luna then explained her newly discovered ability.

"You're a huntress?"

Luna nodded, looking away. "I didn't want to be if that helps."

"No, Luna. Your abilities will become more active, and you will feel a surge of energy that will drive you to seek out other souls," he explained, his eyes fluttering. "You can't help it. You have to control your dark side."

Luna shook her head, even though that was a lie. She couldn't tell anyone what was going on inside her body. It felt like hot coils were pouring all over her skin, and she wanted to find pairs and connect them.

But she also wanted to bring them to a hospital, so they could know more about their biology. It was an internal demon battling an angel inside her soul. Her emotions were all over the place, but as long as she wore her lead ring, she felt at ease. The urge was no longer within reach.

Luna and Amir finished their conversation, and both of their families stayed in a room on the first floor, next to one another. Her mother wasn't sleeping in the same room as her father because they were separated, and she was relieved that they hadn't argued.

Adnan took a room across from his parents and looked miserable; almost lonely. As Amir handed each of them a large cash sum for their services, she said goodbye to the reverend and Irfan Bhatti. The men assured them they'll take care of their paperwork.

After saying goodnight to everyone and checking on Liberty and Sarah, Luna dashed up the stairs with Amir, three steps at a time. He paused about halfway down the corridor before swooping her into his arms. They approached her door, and she looked around the room, surprised at how well he had decorated it.

Rose petals were scattered across the bed, candles were lit, and various types of chocolate were scattered across the floor. What made this display even more special were their initials. A. K. and L. C. K., lying in the middle of a candy-shaped heart at the foot of the bed. There was a photo of them holding hands on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower.

"I had Colin's help with merging two different pictures. I wanted my wife to get a sense of what it could be like if we were there physically," Amir said, gazing into her eyes. "I'll take both of you once things calm down. I want to enjoy Paris with my family."

Luna's heart fluttered inside her chest, and then she felt his lips on her neck as he put her down.

"Sounds like a plan, A," she replied. "A wonderful plan."

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Now, it is time for 'Aluna' to enjoy the rest of their evening as a happily married couple. They can finally be . . . one.