"Get your hands off her!" Kade growled, pushing Jaxon away from Aria.
Jaxon fell backward but quickly regained his balance. "What's your problem?" he snapped, his honey-brown eyes flashing with anger.
"Both of you, stop it!" Aria tried to step between them, but Lucian suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him.
"Fascinating," he muttered, studying her face with those cold blue eyes. "Your scent has completely changed."
The room felt too small with all three boys crowding around her. Aria's heart raced as she tried to make sense of everything happening. Just yesterday, she had been invisible. Now, the three most strong wolves in the pack couldn't stay away from her.
"This is impossible," Kade said, running his hands through his dark blonde hair. "One mate can't bond with three wolves."
Alpha Darius slammed his hand against the wall, making everyone jump. "Enough! The girl needs to see Dr. Mara immediately."
"I don't need a doctor," Aria argued. "I need answers." She held up Mira's note. "I need to find the Wolf Queen's Tomb."
Elder Rowan shook his head. "You're not ready, child. The tomb is protected by ancient magic. In your current state, you wouldn't survive the journey."
"Current state?" Lucian raised an eyebrow. "You mean with her silver eyes and three mate bonds?"
Talia laughed from the hallway, the sound sharp and bitter. "This is ridiculous. She's an omega! There must be some trick."
"Shut up, Talia," Jaxon snapped, shocking everyone. He was usually the nicest of the triplets.
Aria felt dizzy with all the voices and feelings swirling around her. Inside her mind, Sylas growled.
They argue while our enemies gather strength. We should leave this place.
"Stop talking in my head!" Aria cried out, pushing her hands against her temples.
The room went quiet. Everyone stared at her.
"Who are you talking to?" Alpha Darius asked slowly.
Before Aria could answer, a sharp pain shot through her chest. She gasped and doubled over.
All three brothers moved at once, reaching for her. When their hands touched her, something strange happened. A visible silver thread seemed to pulse between Aria and each brother—one to Kade's heart, one to Lucian's, and one to Jaxon's.
"The mate bond," Elder Rowan whispered in awe. "It's manifesting physically."
"Make it stop," Aria begged as the pain grew. The silver threads pulled tighter, like they were trying to drag her in three different ways.
"Take her to Dr. Mara. Now!" Alpha Darius ordered.
Jaxon lifted Aria into his arms. The moment he touched her, his thread glowed brighter, and the pain eased slightly. Kade and Lucian followed close behind, looking worried despite trying to hide it.
Dr. Mara's appointment room was small but clean. The older lady with salt-and-pepper hair moved around Aria with quick, efficient movements, checking her pulse and shining a light in her silver eyes.
"Remarkable," she grumbled. "In thirty years as pack doctor, I've never seen anything like this."
The triplets stood against the wall, none willing to leave. Aria could feel them watching her, their gazes like physical touches against her skin.
"What's happening to me?" Aria asked as Dr. Mara drew blood from her arm.
"Your wolf is awakening," Dr. Mara said, "but something's blocking the complete transition. It's like your human side and wolf side are fighting each other."
"Sylas," Aria whispered.
Dr. Mara looked up quickly. "What did you say?"
"My wolf. Her name is Sylas."
The doctor dropped the jar of blood. It shattered on the floor, red liquid spreading like a dark pool.
"That's impossible," she breathed. "Sylas was the name of the last Silver Wolf Queen, who died over a hundred years ago."
A memory that wasn't Aria's flashed through her mind—a strong silver wolf standing on a cliff, howling at the moon as hundreds of wolves bowed before her.
"Wolves don't inherit the spirits of the dead," Kade said firmly.
"Royal bloodlines do," Dr. Mara replied. "The Silver Moon Pack passed down their wolf spirits from generation to generation, keeping their power pure and strong."
Lucian moved closer, his eyes calculating. "If that's true, then Aria isn't just carrying any wolf spirit. She's carrying the most powerful one in werewolf history."
"And you three all feel the mate bond with her?" Dr. Mara asked, looking at each brother in turn.
They nodded.
"Then the ancient prophecy is true," she said softly.
"What prophecy?" Aria and the boys asked almost in unison.
Before Dr. Mara could answer, the door burst open. Alpha Darius stood there with a group of fighters behind him.
"We found Mira," he declared grimly.
Aria's heart sank. "Is she okay?"
"She's dead."
The room spun around Aria. Mira—the only mother she'd ever known—was gone. Despite the lies, despite everything, Mira had loved her, had protected her.
"How?" she choked out.
"Her throat was torn out," Alpha Darius said. "And this was carved into her forehead."
He held up a photo showing a strange symbol—a half moon with a crown above it.
Dr. Mara gasped. "The mark of the Royal Hunter."
"What does it mean?" Jaxon asked, moving protectively closer to Aria.
"It means someone is hunting the last of the royal bloodline," Dr. Mara whispered.
They've always hunted us, Sylas growled in Aria's mind. That's why I was locked away inside you. To keep you safe until you were big enough.
Tears streamed down Aria's face. "Mira died protecting me," she said, her voice breaking.
Suddenly, the pain in her chest returned, worse than before. The silver threads connecting her to the triplets pulsed violently. Aria screamed as her bones began to shift.
"She's transitioning!" Dr. Mara shouted. "Hold her down!"
The triplets rushed forward, each taking hold of Aria's thrashing body. Where their skin touched hers, silver light glowed.
"What's happening?" Kade asked.
"The mate bond is trying to complete itself," Dr. Mara stated. "But it can't connect to three wolves at once. It's tearing her apart!"
"Then what do we do?" Lucian asked, for once looking truly worried.
"One of you must claim her," Alpha Darius said from the doorway. "Now. Before the bond kills her."
The brothers looked at each other, then at Aria.
"I'll do it," they said in agreement.
"No," Jaxon argued. "I feel the strongest pull to her."
"I'm the heir," Kade replied. "It's my right."
"Neither of you understand what she truly is," Lucian said coldly. "I do."
As they argued, Aria felt Sylas rise within her, pushing against her human form. Silver fur began to sprout along her arms.
Let me out, Sylas ordered. Let me choose.
With the last of her strength, Aria gave in.
The room filled with bright silver light. When it faded, a massive wolf stood where Aria had been—fur as silver as moonlight, eyes shining like stars. She was twice the size of a regular wolf, her presence filling the room with power.
Everyone stepped back in awe and fear. Everyone except one of the triplets.
Sylas padded forward, silver eyes locked on her chosen mate. She pressed her nose against his chest, right above his heart.
The silver thread linking them blazed like fire, solid and unbreakable.
The other two threads faded but didn't disappear completely.
"The Queen has chosen," Elder Rowan said from the doorway, having appeared quietly. "But the prophecy isn't complete. All three bonds must remain for what's to come."
"What does that mean?" Alpha Darius asked.
Before Elder Rowan could answer, Sylas threw back her head and howled—a sound so strong it shook the walls. Windows throughout the pack house smashed.
Miles away, in the darkness of the forest, dozens of wolves raised their heads and howled in answer.
The Royal Silver Wolf had returned. And war was coming.