POV: Alpha James
BANG!
My office door slammed open so hard it cracked the wall. I shot up from my desk, ready to fight, but froze when I saw who stood in the doorway.
My three sons stumbled in, all clutching their chests like they'd been stabbed. Their faces were pale and sweaty, and their eyes were wild with fear.
"Dad," Ethan gasped, barely able to speak. "Something's wrong. Something's happening to us."
"We can feel her," Ryan added, his warrior training lost as he swayed on his feet. "She's in pain."
"Who?" I ordered, rushing around my desk to catch Logan before he collapsed. "Who's in pain?"
"Maya," all three boys said at the same time.
My blood went cold. Maya Chen, the quiet omega girl who worked in the kitchen. Why would my kids be connected to her?
"Boys, what are you talking about?" I asked, but deep down, I already knew. I'd been an Alpha too long not to know the signs.
"The pull," Logan whispered, his blue eyes filled with confusion and surprise. "It's like something's calling to us. Something important."
"We have to find her," Ethan said, his natural leadership taking over even while he was clearly in pain. "Dad, we have to find her right now."
Before I could reply, a new voice spoke from the doorway.
"She's in the kitchen, Alpha James. And she needs your help."
Gamma Rose stood there, her old face grave with worry. Behind her, I could see other pack members gathering in the hallway, all of them looking nervous and confused.
"Rose, what's going on?" I asked, but she was already turning to leave.
"Come with me," she said simply. "All of you. It's time."
The walk to the kitchen felt like the longest trip of my life. My sons stayed close to me, their distress getting stronger with each step. Other pack members followed us, drawn by the same strange pull my boys were feeling.
When we reached the kitchen, I saw Maya instantly. She sat at the small table where the omega staff normally ate their meals, her face streaked with tears and her whole body shaking.
And on her wrist, glowing like a caught star, was a mark that made my heart stop.
Three wolves running in an endless loop, their forms intertwined in perfect harmony. The Triple Mark. The sign of the Trinity Bond.
"Dear moon goddess," I breathed, memories flooding back from my youth. "Grandfather's stories were true."
"What stories?" Ethan asked, but I could barely hear him over the noise in my ears.
I'd thought they were just fairy stories. Legends told to entertain children on long winter nights. But here was proof that the old magic was real.
"Maya," I said gently, moving closer to the frightened girl. "May I see your mark?"
She looked up at me with eyes full of fear and hope. Slowly, she held out her hand. The Triple Mark pulsed brighter, and I felt power wash over me like a warm wave.
"How long have you had this?" I asked.
"Since this morning," she whispered. "I woke up and it was there. I don't understand what's happening to me."
"I do." I knelt down so we were at the same level, remembering how my grandfather used to kneel when he told me important things. "Maya, you're not just any omega. You're a Trinity Omega. Your mark connects you to all three of my kids."
Gasps rang through the crowded kitchen. Some pack members looked excited, others worried. But my boys just stared at Maya like she was the answer to a question they'd been asking their whole lives.
"That's impossible," someone called out. "Omegas don't mate with Alphas!"
"The moon goddess decides who mates with whom," I said firmly, using my Alpha voice to quiet the crowd. "Not us. And she's picked Maya for my sons."
"All three of them?" another person asked. "How can one girl be mated to three brothers?"
I stood up, my mind running through everything my grandfather had taught me about the Trinity Bond. "It's rare, but not unheard of. The last Trinity Omega in our pack was my great-great-grandmother. She was mated to three boys, and together they led our pack through the Great War."
"What does this mean for us?" Rose asked quietly.
That was the question I'd been dreading. The Trinity Bond was strong, but it was also dangerous. History said that Trinity Omegas appeared only when great change was coming. When the pack faced threats that needed extraordinary leadership.
"It means our pack is about to face something big," I revealed. "Something that will require all four of them working together."
"What kind of something?" Ethan asked, his Alpha reflexes already kicking in.
Before I could answer, the kitchen windows burst inward. Dark creatures poured through the broken glass, their eyes burning red and their claws dripping with poison. Behind them came a figure that made my blood freeze.
The Widow Witch.
She floated above the chaos, her black robes flowing around her like smoke. Her face was hidden under a deep hood, but I could feel her evil smile as she looked at Maya.
"So," her voice was like nails on stone, "the Trinity Omega has finally appeared. Perfect timing."
"Get away from her!" Ryan growled, moving to protect Maya.
The witch laughed, a sound that made everyone in the kitchen cringe. "Oh, young dog, you don't understand. I'm not here to hurt your precious omega. I'm here to thank her."
"Thank her?" I stepped forward, putting myself between the witch and Maya. "For what?"
"For being exactly what I need to complete my spell," the witch said, raising her hands. Dark power swirled around her fingers like living shadow. "You see, Alpha James, Trinity Omega blood is the most powerful element in the world. One drop can make any spell ten times stronger."
"You're not touching her," Logan said, his gentle nature replaced by fierce protectiveness.
"I don't need to touch her," the witch answered. "I just need her to bleed."
She pointed at Maya, and suddenly the girl screamed. Not from fear, but from pain. The Triple Mark on her wrist was burning, getting brighter and brighter until it was almost too bright to look at.
"What are you doing to her?" I roared, but the witch ignored me.
"The Trinity Bond creates a connection between the omega and her mates," she explained casually while Maya writhed in agony. "If I can break that connection violently, the magical backlash will create enough power to fuel my spells for a century."
"Stop!" all three of my kids shouted together, but they couldn't move. The witch's magic held them frozen in place.
Maya's mark was burning so bright now that silver light filled the entire kitchen. But something was wrong. Instead of shrinking, Maya seemed to be getting stronger. Her eyes began to glow with the same silver light as her mark.
"Impossible," the witch hissed. "The spell should be breaking the bond, not strengthening it!"
"You made one mistake," I said, finally getting what was happening. "You assumed Maya was just a normal Trinity Omega."
"What do you mean?" the witch asked.
I looked at Maya, who was now standing despite the pain, her whole body glowing with old magic. "My granddad told me about the last Trinity Omega. She wasn't just mated to three brothers. She was the daughter of the Moon Goddess herself."
The witch's confident smile disappeared. "That's impossible. The race died out centuries ago."
"Apparently not," I said, as Maya's power filled the room with warmth and light.
But then Maya's glow suddenly flickered and started to fade. She swayed on her feet, her face going pale.
"The power is too much," Rose gasped. "She's not trained to handle it!"
"If she loses control now," I realized with horror, "the magical explosion will destroy half the pack territory."
Maya looked at me with desperate eyes as her power spun out of control. "Alpha James," she whispered, "I don't know how to stop it."
The witch began to laugh again, realizing what was about to happen. "Perfect! Even better than I planned!"
Maya's mark blazed one final time, and then everything went white.