Aria woke up yelling, her body drenched in sweat. She was in a strange room, lying on a big bed with soft blue sheets. Her head pounded like someone was hitting it with a hammer.
"She's awake!" a voice called out.
Jaxon rushed to her side, his warm eyes filled with fear. "Are you okay? You've been out for hours."
Aria tried to sit up, but pain shot through her body. "Where am I?"
"The Alpha house," Kade said, appearing in the doorway. His arms were crossed, and he looked angry, but Aria could see fear hiding behind his eyes. "In the guest room."
Lucian slipped in behind his brother, quietly watching her with those ice-blue eyes that seemed to see everything.
"What happened at the ceremony?" Aria asked, her voice shaking. She remembered the burning pain, the bright light, and then... "Sylas," she whispered.
All three brothers tensed.
"Who is Sylas?" Lucian asked sharply.
Before Aria could answer, Alpha Darius stormed into the room. His face was dark with anger and something else—fear.
"Everyone out," he ordered. "I need to speak with the girl alone."
"Father—" Kade began.
"Now!" Alpha Darius yelled.
The triplets left, but not before Jaxon gave Aria's hand a quick squeeze. The small touch sent a wave of relief through her body.
When they were alone, Alpha Darius paced the room. "What are you?" he finally asked.
Aria's throat went dry. "I don't know what you mean."
"Don't lie to me!" He slammed his fist on a table, making her jump. "I've been Alpha for twenty years. I've seen hundreds of wolves awaken. None of them made the Moonstone glow like that. None of them had silver eyes that lit up the night!"
Aria's hand went to her ring, which still felt warm against her skin.
"And that," Darius pointed at the necklace. "Where did you get it?"
"It was my mother's," Aria said softly. "Mira gave it to me yesterday."
"Mira is not your mother."
The easy words hit Aria like a slap. "What?"
Alpha Darius sat heavily in a chair near the bed. "Eighteen years ago, there was a powerful pack to the north—the Silver Moon Pack. They were... different. Their Alpha line could do things other wolves couldn't. The council of pack Alphas saw them as a threat and wiped them out in a single night."
Aria's heart raced as flashes of fire and screams filled her mind—memories that weren't hers but somehow felt real.
"There was a rumor," Darius continued, "that the Alpha's baby daughter survived. A child with the mark of the royal bloodline—silver eyes."
"That's impossible," Aria whispered. "I'm just an omega."
"You were never an omega," a new voice said.
Elder Rowan stood in the doorway, barefoot as always. He walked in, his cloudy eyes somehow finding Aria without problem.
"She was cursed," he explained to Darius. "A protection spell to hide her true nature until she came of age. The pendant was the key to breaking it."
Aria's head spun. "This can't be real."
"It is," Elder Rowan said softly. "And there's more. The prophecy—"
A crash from downstairs cut him off. Shouts rang through the house, followed by growls and the sound of fighting.
Alpha Darius jumped up. "Stay here!" he yelled before running out.
Elder Rowan moved to Aria's side with amazing speed for such an old man. "Listen carefully, child. Your wolf, Sylas, is ancient and powerful. She has been locked away to protect you, but now she's awakening. The triplets feel the mate bond with you because—"
The door burst open. A man Aria had never seen stood there, blood dripping from a cut on his face. He was beautiful in a dangerous way, with a scar across one cheek and long black hair tied back.
"Calyx," Elder Rowan hissed.
"Hello, little queen," Calyx said, smiling at Aria. "I've waited a long time to meet you properly."
"Get away from her!" Jaxon yelled, appearing behind Calyx.
Calyx moved with amazing speed, grabbing Aria and pulling her against his chest. She felt something cold against her throat—a knife.
"Nobody move," Calyx warned as Kade and Lucian joined their brother in the hallway. All three looked ready to kill. "She comes with me, or she dies right here."
"You wouldn't kill her," Elder Rowan said quietly. "You need her."
Calyx laughed. "I need her alive, old man. Not unharmed."
Aria's heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst. Suddenly, heat flooded her veins. The pendant burned against her skin.
Let me out, Sylas whispered in her mind. Let me protect us.
"No," Aria whimpered, afraid of the power she'd felt at the service.
"No?" Calyx pressed the knife closer. "You don't have a choice, princess."
He is right about one thing, Sylas said. You don't have a choice anymore.
Pain shot through Aria's body as her eyes began to glow silver. Calyx relaxed his grip in surprise, and she took her chance. She elbowed him hard in the stomach and broke free.
The triplets moved as one, making a wall between her and Calyx. The air filled with tension as they partly shifted—claws extending, eyes glowing, teeth sharpening.
"She smells like mate," Kade growled, his voice deeper than normal.
"Mine," Lucian hissed, his ice-blue eyes now sparkling with an eerie light.
"Ours," Jaxon corrected, his usually kind face changed into something fierce.
Calyx backed toward the window, smiling despite being surrounded. "The prophecy is true then. One mate for three heirs. How fascinating." He looked past them to Aria. "You don't belong with them, silver eyes. You were promised to me before you were even born."
"What?" Aria gasped.
"Ask Mira about the pact between our families," Calyx said. "Ask her why she really saved you that night."
"Enough!" Alpha Darius appeared in the doorway, blood soaking his shirt. "You're surrounded, rogue."
Calyx laughed. "I'm not a rogue, Darius. I'm an Alpha, just like you. And I've come to claim what's mine." He locked eyes with Aria. "I'll be back for you, little queen. When your wolf fully awakens, you'll understand."
Before anyone could stop him, he jumped out the window. Glass shattered everywhere.
In the chaos that followed, Aria's legs gave out. Jaxon caught her before she hit the floor.
"What's happening to me?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
Jaxon held her close. "I don't know, but we'll figure it out together."
Kade and Lucian moved closer, drawn to her despite their clear confusion. When all three brothers touched her, a strange calm washed over Aria. The pain faded, and Sylas's voice quieted.
"The bond is stronger than I thought," Elder Rowan muttered.
Alpha Darius looked at them with worried eyes. "Find Mira," he told his warriors. "She has answers we need."
"You won't find her," Talia said, appearing in the doorway. Her beautiful face was twisted with hate as she stared at Aria surrounded by the triplets. "She's gone. Just like my chance to be Luna." She held up a piece of paper. "But she left this for her precious little silver-eyed freak."
Aria reached for the note with shaking hands. As she read Mira's words, her world collapsed around her.
Forgive me, Aria. Everything I told you was a lie. The truth is too dangerous. Find the Wolf Queen's Tomb in the Ancient Forest. The answers about who you really are—and why three mates seek your soul—wait there. Trust no one. Not even me.
P.S. Calyx is not lying. You were promised to him. But there are worse things hunting you now.
Aria looked up at the three brothers who couldn't seem to stay away from her, at Talia who hated her, at Elder Rowan who knew more than he was saying, and at Alpha Darius who looked at her like she might destroy everything he'd built.
Let them come, Sylas whispered in her mind. Together, we'll show them what a Silver Wolf Queen can do.
For the first time since this nightmare began, Aria didn't feel afraid. She felt angry.