POV: Kai
The emergency siren howled through the pack house, jolting me awake at three in the morning. My feet hit the cold floor before my brain fully caught up. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
"Kai!" Dad's voice boomed from downstairs. "Council room. Now!"
I threw on clothes and ran down the hall, my heart racing. Emergency talks in the middle of the night meant only one thing—danger. Big danger.
The meeting room buzzed with worried voices when I burst through the door. Beta Marcus paced by the window while other pack leaders crowded around a map spread across the table. Their faces looked grim in the lamplight.
"What's happening?" I asked, trying to sound calm like a future Alpha should.
Dad looked up from the map, his face dark. "Three packs attacked in the last week. The River Pack, Mountain View Pack, and Forest Glen Pack. All their bosses are dead."
My stomach dropped. "All of them?"
"Someone's targeting pack leaders," Beta Marcus said, his voice tight with fear. "The killings are too organized to be random. This is planned."
I stared at the red X marks on the map showing where each pack had been destroyed. A chill ran down my spine as I realized they formed a pattern—a circle around our area.
"They're coming for us next," I whispered.
Dad nodded grimly. "That's what we think. Which means you need to be ready to lead sooner than we planned."
The weight of his words hit me like a punch to the chest. I was meant to have years to prepare for being Alpha. Now I might have days or weeks.
"I'm not ready," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
"You'll have to be," Dad answered firmly. "If something happens to me, the pack will need you."
An hour later, I called an emergency pack meeting. Everyone met in the main hall, sleepy and confused. I stood at the front, trying to look confident while my insides churned with fear.
"Three neighboring packs have been attacked this week," I stated. The crowd gasped and whispered nervously. "Their Alphas are all dead. We believe our pack may be next."
Fear spread through the room. Parents pulled their children closer. Elderly dogs looked scared. I felt the crushing weight of responsibility—all these people counting on me to keep them safe.
"We're doubling patrols and strengthening our borders," I continued. "No one goes alone. Everyone needs to stay alert."
That's when I saw her.
Maya Rivers sat in the very back of the crowd, partly hidden behind Mrs. Peterson. But something about her caught my attention. While everyone else looked worried or scared, Maya seemed... focused. She listened to every word I said with an earnestness that surprised me.
Most omegas would be crying or falling at news like this. But Maya's amber eyes stayed fixed on me, like she was remembering everything I said. Her quiet attention made my chest feel warm in a way I didn't understand.
"What about the omega quarters?" asked Elder Thompson. "They're the most vulnerable if we're attacked."
"We'll move the omegas to the safe rooms in the pack house basement," I decided quickly. "They'll be protected there."
Maya's hand shot up. The entire room turned to stare at the small omega girl who dared to speak at a pack meeting.
"Yes?" I said, shocked but curious.
Maya stood up slowly, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. "What if we helped instead of just hiding?"
Confused muttering filled the room. Omegas weren't supposed to fight. They were meant to be protected.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well," Maya said, her voice getting louder, "we know every hiding spot in pack territory. We could be spies or messengers. We're small and fast—harder to catch than bigger wolves."
The room exploded in shocked whispers. Some wolves looked angry at Maya's daring. Others seemed thoughtful.
But I found myself smiling. "That's... actually smart. You're right that omegas know the area differently than warriors do."
Maya's eyes lit up, and something fluttered in my chest. When was the last time someone had shocked me with a good idea?
"We could set up a communication system," Maya continued, getting confidence. "If scouts spot danger, they could warn everyone faster than running back to the pack house."
"Absolutely not," Sophia's words cut through the room. The Beta's daughter stood up, her face twisted with anger. "Omegas are too weak to help with pack defense. They'll just get in the way and get themselves killed."
Maya's face fell, and I felt a strange urge to protect her.
"Maya's idea has merit," I said firmly. "We need every advantage we can get."
Sophia's eyes flashed with something that looked like jealousy. Why would she care if I listened to Maya's suggestion?
After the meeting, I couldn't get Maya out of my head. Her quiet intelligence fascinated me. Most wolves tried to impress me with loud voices and bold behaviors. But Maya impressed me by thinking differently, seeing answers others missed.
The next day, I found myself looking for her around the pack house. I spotted her in the kitchen yard, tending to herb plants. She worked with gentle, careful hands, humming softly to herself.
"Maya?" I called.
She jumped, nearly dropping her watering can. "Alpha Kai! I mean, future Alpha. I mean—sorry, I don't know what to call you."
"Just Kai is fine," I said, tickled by her nervousness. "I wanted to thank you for your idea yesterday. About the omega scouts."
"Oh." She blushed prettily. "It was probably stupid."
"It wasn't stupid at all. It was smart." I stepped closer, catching the smell of herbs and something uniquely Maya—warm and comforting. "Tell me more about what you were thinking."
For the next hour, Maya described her ideas about scout networks and communication systems. She was clever in a quiet way that made me want to hear more of her thoughts.
"You see the pack differently than I do," I admitted. "As a future Alpha, I think about strength and safety. But you think about relationship and community."
"Someone has to care about the wolves everyone else forgets," Maya said softly.
Her words hit me hard. How many pack members did I miss because they weren't alphas or betas? How many good ideas had I missed because I only listened to the biggest voices?
That evening, reports came in from our border guards. No attacks yet, but strange scents had been noticed. Rogues were definitely watching us.
I spent the night making defensive plans, but my mind kept drifting to Maya. Something about her made me want to be a better boss. She saw strength in places I'd never thought to look.
Three days later, I was reviewing patrol plans when Logan burst into my office.
"Kai!" he gasped, his face white with fear. "You need to come now!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's Maya. She fell in her garden. There's something shining under her skin, and she has a mark on her wrist."
My blood turned to ice water. "What kind of mark?"
"The kind that shouldn't exist yet," Logan said grimly. "We need to get her to Ethan fast. But Kai..." He met my eyes with a look of shock and fear. "I think the moon just changed everything we thought we knew about our futures."
I dropped my papers and ran after Logan, my heart pounding against my ribs. Maya was in trouble, and somehow I knew that whatever was happening to her would change not just her life, but mine too.
As we ran toward the garden, one terrible thought kept repeating in my mind: What if I was too late to save the girl who was making me want to be worthy of being Alpha?