Elara's feet moved forward as if pulled by unseen strings. The forest loomed ahead, dark and strange under the silver moon.
Her heart hammered against her chest as she approached the spot where she'd seen Kael Blackwood.
But when she reached the tree line, he was gone.
"Hello?" she called softly, her voice shaking.
"Is anyone there?"
Only cricket sounds answered her. Had she imagined him? Was she losing her mind? The strange tugging in her chest hadn't stopped, though. If anything, it grew stronger, pulling her deeper into the woods.
Elara paused. No sane wolf wandered the forest alone at night, especially not an omega with no way to protect herself. Yet something told her she had to follow this feeling.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped between the trees. Immediately, the trees closed around her like a living thing. Moonlight filtered through branches, forming patches of silver on the forest floor.
Elara kept moving, led by the strange pull in her chest.
"This is crazy," she whispered to herself. "I should go back." But she couldn't.
Not when every step forward made the feeling grow warmer, stronger—almost right.
As she walked, Elara noticed something odd. The forest seemed to be making a way for her. Branches moved away, roots flattened beneath her feet.
Even the normal forest sounds—hooting owls, rustling leaves—had fallen silent, as if the whole forest was holding its breath.
After ten minutes of walking, Elara heard voices ahead. Male sounds. She slowed down, suddenly afraid. What if this was a trap? What if Celeste had somehow tricked her into coming out here?
But the pull was too strong to refuse. She crept forward until she reached the edge of a clearing bathed in moonlight. What she saw there made her freeze.
Three shirtless men stood in a triangle formation, their strong bodies gleaming with sweat despite the cool night air.
Even from a distance, Elara recognized them instantly—the Blackwood triplets, the kids of Alpha Marcus. Kael, the eldest, stood tall and imposing, his dark hair cut short, his face a mask of focus as he circled his brothers. Ronan, the wild middle triplet, moved like a caged animal, his longer hair pulled back, a dangerous smile on his face. And Darian, the youngest by minutes, watched the others with calculating eyes, his motions smooth and controlled.
They were training—or fighting—Elara couldn't tell which. Their moves were too fast for her human eyes to follow, blurring together in a dance of power and grace that left her breathless.
Then, as if feeling her presence, all three brothers stopped at exactly the same moment. Their heads turned toward her hidden spot in perfect unison.
"Who's there?" Kael ordered, his voice deep and commanding.
Elara tried to back away, but her foot caught on a root. She tumbled forward with a yelp, falling hard on her hands and knees at the edge of the clearing.
"S-sorry," she stammered, scrambling to her feet. "I didn't mean to watch. I was just—" The words died in her throat as all three brothers stared at her.
Their eyes, which should have glowed golden like normal wolves, shone with the same strange silver light she'd caught in Kael's eyes earlier.
And something inside her responded. Heat flashed through Elara's body, making her gasp. The pulling feeling in her chest exploded outward, and for a moment, she could have sworn silver threads of light stretched between her and each of the triplets.
The brothers seemed to feel it too. Kael stepped back as if hit. Ronan let out a sound that was half growl, half groan. Darian's eyes widened in shock.
"What is this?" Kael ordered, pressing a hand to his chest.
"What are you doing, omega?"
"I'm not doing anything," Elara said, backing away.
"I don't know what's happening." Ronan moved forward suddenly, his nostrils flaring as he smelled the air.
"It's her," he said, his voice rough. "She's the one."
"Impossible," Kael snapped.
"She's an omega."
"Look at her eyes," Darian said quietly.
"They're silver." Elara's hand flew to her face, as if she could somehow feel the color of her own eyes.
"My eyes are hazel," she insisted.
"Not anymore," Ronan said, moving closer. His movements reminded Elara of a predator stalking prey, but his face held more fascination than hunger.
"Stay back," Kael told his brother. Then to Elara:
"Who are you?"
"Elara Moon. I work at the pack diner." She swallowed hard. "I live in the cabins at the edge of pack territory."
Recognition flickered in Darian's eyes. "She's the orphan. The one with no family."
"I have a family," Elara said immediately, even though it wasn't true. Her parents had died when she was a baby.
No one in the pack had wanted to adopt an omega pup, so she'd been raised by a number of reluctant guardians until she was old enough to live alone.
"What are you doing in the forest at midnight?" Kael demanded.
Elara paused. How could she explain the strange pull that had led her here? They would think she was crazy—or worse, lying.
"I... felt something calling me," she finally said. "I couldn't resist it."
The triplets traded looks. Something unspoken passed between them.
"It's her birthday," Darian said suddenly. "Isn't it?"
Elara blinked in surprise. "How did you know that?"
Instead of answering, Darian turned to Kael. "Eighteenth birthday. Silver eyes. The pull. It's happening."
"No," Kael said firmly.
"Not with her. Not with an omega."
"We all felt it, brother," Ronan said, his eyes never leaving Elara.
"You can deny it all you want, but—"
"Enough!" Kael's voice cracked with Alpha power, making Elara's knees buckle. Even his brothers seemed impacted, though they hid it better.
An odd silence fell over the clearing. The silver threads Elara had imagined were gone, but the tension in the air stayed, thick and heavy.
"I should go," she whispered, turning to leave.
"Wait." It was Darian who spoke, his voice softer than his brothers'.
He approached her slowly, like she was a frightened animal that might bolt.
"Your wrist. May I see it?" Confused, Elara held out her right arm.
Darian took it gently, turning it over to show her inner wrist. His touch sent tingles up her arm.
"There's nothing there," Kael said, coming closer to look.
"Not yet," Darian whispered. Ronan joined them, crowding around Elara until she was surrounded by the three strong wolves. Their smells mixed together—pine, smoke, rain, and something wild that made her dizzy.
"What are you looking for?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Before anyone could answer, a howl split the night air—deep and authoritative. All three brothers tensed.
"Father," Kael said. "He's summoning us."
"We can't just leave her here," Ronan protested, pointing at Elara.
"We can and we will," Kael said firmly.
"This doesn't change anything."
"You know it changes everything," Darian answered quietly. Kael's jaw clenched.
"Go home, omega," he told Elara.
"Forget what happened here tonight."
"But—"
"Go!" The command in his voice was hard to resist.
Elara found herself backing away, even as everything in her screamed to stay.
"This isn't over," Ronan called after her as she fled.
"We'll find you tomorrow."
"No, we won't," Kael growled.
The last thing Elara heard as she fled back through the bush was the brothers arguing, their voices fading behind her.
She ran all the way home, not stopping until she was safely inside her hut with the door locked. Her lungs burned and her legs ached, but the strange pull in her chest had finally eased.
Elara fell onto her bed, her mind racing with questions. What had just happened? Why had the Alpha's sons responded to her that way? And why had her eyes turned silver?
None of it made sense. Omegas weren't special. They didn't have silver eyes or magical ties to Alpha sons. They certainly didn't have three of the most powerful wolves in the pack staring at them like they were the solution to some important question.
After tossing and turning for hours, Elara finally fell into an uneasy sleep just before dawn. She dreamed of silver threads linking her to three shadowy figures, and a voice whispering, "The moon has chosen."
When she woke, sunshine was streaming through her window. Elara groaned and rolled over, her body aching from her midnight journey.
Had it all been a dream? She dragged herself to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. As she looked up at the mirror, she screamed. On her right wrist, exactly where Darian had touched her, a strange mark had appeared overnight—a crescent moon circled by three stars, glowing silver against her skin. And in the mirror, her eyes weren't brown anymore. They were bright, impossible silver.