"You can't stay here," Alpha Magnus growled. "Moon Wolf or not, you belong with the other omegas."
Aria's hands shook as Luna Seraphina helped her out of bed. The pain had faded, but her whole body still tingled oddly.
"The rogues—" Luna Seraphina began. "Will be handled,"
Magnus cut her off. "Tonight is the Moon Ceremony. We can't change custom because of one omega girl."
Caden stepped forward. "Father, if she's in danger—"
"Enough!" Magnus roared. "She returns to her rooms. Extra guards will watch the omega area. End of discussion."
The triplets traded worried glances but didn't argue. Even they knew better than to challenge their father before the holy Moon Ceremony.
"I'll escort her," Luna Seraphina said firmly, her tone leaving no room for debate.
As they left, Aria felt the triplets' eyes burning into her back. The strange pull between them stretched like invisible strings, pulling painfully as the distance grew.
"You'll be safer if no one knows what you are," Luna Seraphina whispered as they hurried through empty hallways. "Act normal during the ceremony tonight."
"Normal?" Aria laughed shakily. "I don't even know what I am anymore."
Luna Seraphina stopped, holding Aria's shoulders. "You're a Moon Wolf. We're rare, powerful, and feared. Some would kill you for it, others would use you. Trust no one. Not even my sons."
"Not even—" Aria's question died as yelling erupted outside. They ran to a window. Down in the courtyard, guards dragged in a bloody, fighting figure. "Dorian!" Aria gasped, recognizing her friend.
Luna Seraphina's face hardened. "The rogues have made contact already."
"No, he wouldn't—"
"He was caught at the border talking to outsiders," Luna Seraphina said. "Your friend has betrayed the pack."
Back in her tiny room, Aria paced uncomfortably. The ceremony would begin at sundown, and all pack members had to attend—even omegas, though they served rather than participated.
A knock surprised her. "Hurry up!" Liana Voss's sharp voice called. "Beta Klaus needs servers for the Alpha family table."
Aria's heart stopped. The Alpha family table. Where the triplets would be sitting.
She opened the door to find Liana sneering at her. "There you are. Heard you had some kind of fit in the backyard. Pathetic."
Aria bit her tongue. Liana didn't know about the Moon Wolf or the mate bond. No one did, except the Alpha family. "I'm fine now," Aria said quietly.
Liana tossed a white service dress at her. "You're serving the main table tonight. Don't embarrass me."
Aria caught the dress, stunned. "But I never serve the—"
"You were specifically requested," Liana said, her honey-colored eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Though why anyone would want a silver-haired freak like you is beyond me."
As Liana flounced away, Aria clutched the dress to her chest. Who had asked her? And why?
The Moon Ceremony was held in the Great Clearing, where stone benches circled an old altar. Torches blazed, creating dancing shadows as pack members filled the seats according to rank. Alphas in the front, betas in the middle, omegas standing at the back. Except for the servers, who moved quietly among the elite.
Aria's hands trembled as she brought a tray of ceremonial wine toward the main table. Every step closer to the triplets made her wolf stir restlessly.
Alpha Magnus sat at the center with Luna Seraphina beside him. Caleb, looking stiff and royal, sat on his father's right. Cyrus lounged on Seraphina's left, while Caden sat at the end, seemingly lost in thought. Until Aria approached.
All three brothers tensed at once, their heads snapping up as if pulled by the same string. Aria nearly dropped her tray as the link between them flared to life.
"Serve the wine, girl," Alpha Magnus demanded coldly, watching her with suspicious eyes.
Aria moved around the table, pouring the deep red liquid into silver goblets. When she reached Caden, their fingers brushed. A jolt shot through her body, and wine sloshed over the rim. "Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed.
Caden looked at her with those ice-blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. "No harm done," he said softly. From across the table, Caleb glared at them while Cyrus watched with curious attention.
As Alpha Magnus stood to begin the ceremony, a hush fell over the crowd. Aria fled to the shadows but kept her eyes on the triplets. "Under this moon, we renew our pack bonds," Magnus intoned. "We respect the sacred hierarchy that keeps us strong. Alphas to lead, betas to help, omegas to work."
Aria noticed Luna Seraphina's slight wince at these words.
"Tonight, we also celebrate the appointment of Beta Voss's daughter, Liana, to the youth council."
Cheers erupted as Liana stood, bowing gracefully. Her golden-brown hair gleamed in the torchlight as she smiled at the crowd. When her gaze landed on the triplets, her smile turned hungry. Aria felt a spike of surprising jealousy.
"And now," Alpha Magnus continued, "the drinking of the sacred wine, passed down through generations of Draven Alphas."
The family raised their goblets. As they drank, Luna Seraphina's eyes locked with Aria's, sending a silent warning.
Suddenly, Caden choked, spitting out his wine. Caleb and Cyrus followed, gasping and holding their throats. Chaos occurred. Guards ran forward as the triplets doubled over in pain.
"Poison!" someone screamed.
Luna Seraphina knelt beside her boys, her face pale with terror.
"Seize the servers!" Alpha Magnus roared, his finger pointing straight at Aria. "Starting with her!"
Rough hands grabbed Aria's arms. The crowd parted as guards dragged her forward.
"I didn't do anything!" she cried.
"The wine was poisoned, and you poured it," Beta Voss growled.
Through the chaos, Aria spotted Liana's smug smile.
"Check all the goblets!" Luna Seraphina ordered. "Only my sons are affected."
As guards studied the cups, Aria noticed something odd. The triplets weren't showing signs of poison—no foam at the mouth, no seizures. Instead, they gripped their hearts in the exact same way they had when her Moon Wolf awakened. Their eyes met hers across the clearing, glowing with strange light. Golden, green, and blue—all fixed on her violet ones.
"It's not poison," Luna Seraphina whispered, understanding dawning. "It's the link. It's getting stronger."
Alpha Magnus heard her. "Impossible! Not here, not now!"
But the evidence was clear. As the triplets stumbled to their feet, the crowd gasped. Their dogs were pushing forward, eyes glowing, muscles shifting.
"Get her out of here!" Magnus ordered. "Lock her away until we figure this out!"
As guards pulled Aria toward Moonhold's dungeon, she heard a terrible sound—three simultaneous howls of rage and loss. The brothers were calling to her, their mate.
From the dark beyond the torchlight, another howl answered—wild and dangerous. Rogues. The guards froze. "They're inside the territory," one whispered in fear.
A dark figure jumped from the trees, landing in the center of the clearing. Blood-red eyes scanned the stunned pack. "We've come for the Moon Wolf," the rogue stated, his voice eerily calm. "Give her to us, or watch your precious Alphas burn from the inside out."
Aria's heart stopped as the rogue turned, looking directly at her with a chilling smile.
"Hello, little sister," he said. "It's time you learned who you really are."