Sage's POV
The coffee pot slips from my hand.
I catch it before it crashes, but my heart hammers like I just ran a marathon. Something feels wrong tonight. The diner is too quiet. The air is too heavy. And I can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me.
Girl, you okay? Maya asks, refilling the ketchup bottles at the counter.
Fine. I force a smile. Just tired.
It's a lie. I'm not tired I'm terrified, and I don't even know why.
The clock above the register reads 11:47 PM. Thirteen minutes until my shift ends. Thirteen minutes until I can go home to my tiny apartment, lock the door, and pretend today wasn't my twenty-fifth birthday. Another year alone. Another year invisible.
You should've let me throw you a party, Maya says for the third time tonight. She's my only friend, the only person who remembered today matters. Twenty-five is a big deal!
Working a double shift at a diner is party enough. I wipe down table six, even though it's already clean. Anything to keep my hands busy. Anything to ignore the crawling sensation on my skin.
Maya sighs. At least come out for one drink after
The door opens.
We both freeze.
We're closed! Maya calls out cheerfully, pointing at the sign.
But I can't speak. Can't breathe. Can't look away from the three men walking through the door like they own the world.
They're huge all of them over six feet tall, with shoulders so broad they have to turn sideways to fit through the doorway. They move like wolves, silent and graceful and deadly. And they're all staring directly at me.
The first man has ice blue eyes that seem to see right through me. He's wearing a dark suit that probably costs more than I make in a year. His black hair is slicked back, his jaw sharp enough to cut glass. Everything about him screams power.
The second man is darker midnight eyes, brown skin, a smile that makes my stomach flip. He's dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket, casual but somehow more dangerous. His gaze pins me in place like a butterfly on a board.
The third man is younger, with golden eyes that burn like fire. His reddish brown hair is messy, his fists clenched like he's fighting not to punch something. He vibrates with barely controlled energy.
And they're all looking at me like I'm the only person in the room.
We're closed, I manage to whisper, but my voice sounds wrong. Breathy. Weak.
The ice eyed man steps forward. Sage Winters.
My name in his mouth makes my knees weak. How do you know my name?
We know everything about you. The darkhaired man's smile widens. And you're coming with us.
The hell she is! Maya steps between us, fearless. I don't know who you creeps are, but you need to leave. Now.
The golden eyed man snarls actually snarls like an animal. Touch her and I'll rip your throat out, Damon.
Calm down, Ryder, the ice eyed man says coldly. We're here to help her.
Help me? My voice cracks. I don't know you!
Not yet, the man called Damon says softly. But you will, little Omega. Very soon.
Omega? What does that even mean?
Pain explodes through my chest.
I gasp, stumbling backward. Something is wrong. Something inside me is breaking apart, tearing free, burning through my veins like liquid fire.
No, no, no, the ice eyed man says, moving faster than should be possible. It's happening too fast. She's not ready
Sage! Maya grabs my arm. What's wrong?
I can't answer. Can't breathe. My bones are cracking I can hear them breaking and reforming. My skin burns like I've been set on fire from the inside out.
Get back! The golden eyed man Ryder shoves Maya away gently but firmly. She's shifting. If you're too close, she might hurt you.
Shifting? Hurt her?
I try to scream but it comes out as a howl inhuman and wild.
My hands aren't hands anymore. They're paws. White fur sprouts from my skin. My spine curves, reshapes, becomes something animal.
This isn't real. Can't be real.
But the pain is real. The terror is real. And when I look down, I see paws where my hands should be.
I'm becoming a monster.
Breathe, Sage, the ice eyed man says, kneeling in front of me. His voice is gentler now, almost kind. I know it hurts. I know you're scared. But you're safe. We're here. We've got you.
She's beautiful, Ryder breathes. Look at her. Pure white. Silver markings. She's perfect.
Of course, she is, Damon murmurs. She's ours.
Ours?
The shift completes. I'm standing on four legs now, looking up at three men who somehow don't seem surprised that I just turned into a wolf. Maya is pressed against the wall, phone in hand, shaking.
What did you do to her? Maya screams.
We didn't do anything, the ice eyed man says. This is what she's always been. She just didn't know it yet.
I try to speak, but all that comes out is a whimper.
Then the pain hits again worse this time. Reversal. My body trying to become human again but not knowing how.
I'm dying. I have to be dying.
Strong arms catch me as I collapse. The ice eyed man holds me against his chest, and I feel something impossible a connection, like an invisible thread tying me to him. It hums with energy, pulls tight, makes me want to burrow closer even though I should be running.
Easy, he whispers against my hair. The first shift is always the hardest. Just let it happen. Stop fighting.
I can't stop fighting. Fighting is all I know.
But his voice is calm. Steady. Safe.
I stop struggling and let the change take me.
When I blink my eyes open again, I'm human. Naked. Wrapped in the ice eyed man's jacket. The diner is destroyed tables overturned, windows cracked, claw marks gouged into the floor.
What... I start, but my throat is raw.
You're a wolf shifter, Sage, the ice eyed man says quietly. And according to ancient prophecy, you're our fated mate. All three of us.
I stare at him. At the other two men watching me with hunger and hope and something that looks like reverence.
That's impossible, I whisper.
Two weeks ago, you would've said shifting into a wolf was impossible too. Damon crouches beside me, his midnight eyes softening. Welcome to the truth, little Omega. Your real life just began.
And it began, Ryder adds, his golden eyes blazing, on the same night an ancient enemy sensed your awakening and started hunting you.
The diner door explodes inward.
A massive creature stands in the doorway part man, part wolf, all nightmare. Its eyes glow red in the darkness, and when it speaks, its voice is gravel and death.
Found you, it growls, lunging straight for me.
The three men shift instantly becoming enormous wolves that put my white form to shame. They attack the creature as one, a coordinated strike that speaks of years fighting together.
But I barely see it.
Because through the shattered window, I spot a dozen more red eyed creatures surrounding the diner.
They're not here for the men.
They're here for me.
And I have no idea how to fight.