A smell hit me like a truck going full speed. Pine trees and winter storms. Leather and something wild and scary and completely overwhelming. It made my wolf go totally crazy inside my head, scratching and clawing to get out. My knees went weak. The cleaning materials fell from my hands, clattering to the floor like my world was falling apart.

"Do you smell that?" a deep voice asked. The voice sent shivers down my spine.

"Honey and wildflowers," another voice answered, rougher than the first. "Like summer and sunshine. Where is it coming from?"

A third voice, softer but just as strong, said, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled."

But that was impossible. I was just an omega. Just unseen Aisla who cleaned floors and stayed out of sight and never caused trouble for anyone important.

The footsteps got closer. I could hear them breathe now.

My wolf was going crazy inside me. She wanted out. She wanted to run toward that smell, not away from it. She wanted something I didn't understand.

"There," the third voice said, softer than the others but somehow more dangerous. "In the kitchen. She's in there."

The footsteps stopped right outside the door. I could feel them there, waiting.

Deep down, I knew my life was about to change forever.

I could swear I heard three wolves roaring inside my head.

The kitchen door handle turned slowly.

I was about to meet my fate.

Or my doom.


~

I had spent my entire life in the shadows. As a lowly omega, I was used to being overlooked, ignored, and unseen. 

But everything changed on my 18th birthday.

That was the day the Moon Goddess gave me a cruel kind of blessing. 

I had a mate. 

Not just one. 

Not two. 

But all three of the Alpha’s sons, the legendary triplets were bound to me.

They cling to me like pins I can't shake off, sticking in my hair and pricking my skin. 


Every time I walk through the corridors, I hear the words. Cursed. Wrong. Dangerous. War.


Sometimes I hear the words loud and clear. Sometimes it was just the looks... quick glances when they think I am not watching, and mothers pulling their children closer when I pass.


The worst part? I want to believe them, but there is a conviction that I am not a danger to the pack. 


And I had no idea where it is from, but it is stronger than the doubt in my head.


I try to drown the voices out in training, with the rhythm of sparring, the burn in my arms from swinging a blade, the sweat soaking my shirt, and of course, Mora's chants. 


But no matter how hard I push, the voices are still there, echoing in the back of my head.


Chapter 36 - The Snare