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.

The pack was bleeding itself dry and still Thorne sat in his chamber, weaving words instead of wielding his sword.


I had served this pack for five decades. I had stood under three Alphas before him. None had neglected the pack as such. None had let the wolves starve while the council chambers overflowed with smoke and lies.


But tonight, as I watched the courtyard from the balcony, I saw something I had not seen in years. Not fear or obedience.


And it did not shine for Thorne. It shone brightly for Kieran.


The boy bled on the walls and roared with the warriors, fed from the same bowl. They called him Alpha without fear of what anyone would say. And in their hearts, he already was.


I turned from the sight before bitterness could choke me. The old ways were fading. And if we did not shape what came next, we would all be swallowed by it.


I found Elaria waiting for me in the council hall.


Chapter 56 - The Serpant's Council