Evelyn's POV
"Mama, why won't you let me come home?"
The child's voice echoes in my mind as I jolt awake, my heart hammering against my ribs. Silver eyes, ancient and knowing, stare at me from the fading dream. A little girl with dark hair like mine, standing in moonlight so bright it turns everything to liquid silver.
I scrub my palms against my eyelids, trying to shove the image away. Third time this week. Each night, she feels more solid, her desperation clawing at me like a living thing.
"Evelyn! Get up! You'll be late for the gathering!" Lilah's shout jolts me fully awake, her voice a whip-crack through the lingering fog. My sister's boots thump up the creaky stairs of our cottage, and I catch her muttered grumbles, something about me drifting off when there's work to be done. Typical Lilah.
"I'm up," I croak, tossing the quilt aside. The morning air bites my skin, cool and sharp, but something's… wrong. A strange current hums beneath my flesh, like static sparking in my veins, new and restless. I frown, rubbing my arms, but the feeling clings.
My door flies open, no knock, of course, and Lilah storms in, auburn curls bouncing like a wildfire. Her hazel eyes gleam with urgency. "Hurry, Evie! Elder Matthias said all unmated females need to be at the clearing by noon for the blessing, and it's, " She freezes, nose crinkling as if she's caught a whiff of something odd. "What's that smell?"
"What smell?" I mutter, but the words barely leave my lips before it hits me too. Sweet, warm, vanilla and wild honey, maybe, but laced with something deeper, wilder, unnameable. My wolf stirs, a restless ripple under my skin, pacing in its cage. I swallow hard, unease pooling in my gut.
Lilah steps closer, sniffing, her eyes widening like twin moons. "Oh, goddess, Evie. It's you. Your scent's changing."
My stomach lurches, a cold weight dropping inside me. Scent changes mark one moment in an Omega's life: the awakening, when our wolf senses mate potential. I turned twenty-two last month, and I've been dreading this, attention I'd rather dodge, expectations I'll never meet. The pack will notice. Everyone will notice. And worst of all, he might.
"Maybe it's just, " I start, grasping for an excuse.
"No way." Lilah's hands clamp my shoulders, her grip tight, her grin splitting wide with excitement. "This is it, your awakening! Do you know what this means?"
I do. Too well. Every unmated male will catch my scent from miles off. I'll go from a quiet, overlooked Omega to a beacon in a single day. And Adrian Blackthorn, our Alpha, untouchable and unreadable, might finally see me. The thought sends a shiver racing down my spine, one I refuse to name.
"I need to get dressed," I mumble, brushing past her to the closet, my cheeks burning.
"Wear the blue dress!" Lilah calls, undeterred. "It makes your eyes pop!"
"I'm not trying to stand out," I snap, yanking a plain gray tunic from the hanger.
She laughs, bright and teasing. "Too late, Evie. After today, you'll be drowning in attention."
The sacred clearing buzzes with life when Lilah and I arrive. Woodsmoke curls into the sky, mingling with the rich scent of roasting venison, pine needles, and damp earth, our territory's heartbeat. Pack members huddle near the firepit, their chatter a low, steady hum, laughter spiking here and there. I tug my shawl tighter, head down, aiming to melt into the crowd as we weave toward the other unmated females.
But I feel it, the shift. Eyes flick my way, subtle at first, then bold. Nostrils flare, catching my scent on the breeze. Whispers falter, heads turn. My wolf paces faster, a whine building in my chest. Too many stares, too much weight.
"Evelyn?" Sarah Chen, a pack warrior, steps forward, brow furrowed. Her dark braid sways as she tilts her head, sniffing. "Is that you? You smell…"
"Different," her mate, Jacob, cuts in, voice flat but careful. His pupils widen for a split second before Sarah's elbow jabs his ribs, sharp and quick.
"Congrats," Sarah says, her smile tight but genuine. "Your awakening's a blessing."
I nod, forcing a thin smile, but my wolf's clawing at me now, restless and caged. The urge to bolt burns in my legs, my chest tight with panic. Too many eyes.
"There's Elder Matthias," Lilah murmurs, nodding across the clearing. The old spiritual leader stands with the other elders, his white beard glowing in the firelight, hands clasped over his staff. "Let's pay respects."
We start forward, but a ripple cuts through the crowd, silence spreading like a wave. Heads swivel toward the tree line. My skin prickles, a hum of awareness sparking deep in my bones.
He's here.
Adrian Blackthorn strides into the clearing, all power and presence, like the forest itself parts for him. And in a way, it does, he's our Alpha, lord of this land. His dark hair catches the firelight, gray eyes sharp as steel, cutting through the dusk. Our gazes lock across the flames.
The world tips sideways.
A bolt of heat, raw, electric, surges through me, stealing my breath. Adrian's pupils blow wide, black swallowing gray, and his fists clench, knuckles whitening. Around us, the pack shifts, uneasy, sensing the charge in the air.
"What the hell?" someone mutters, voice low.
Adrian moves, stalking around the crowd's edge, his steps fluid, predatory. My instincts scream, run, hide, but my feet root me to the earth, trapped by this pull, this impossible thread snapping taut between us.
"Evie," Lilah hisses, grabbing my arm, her nails digging in. "What's happening?"
I can't speak, can't think. He's closer now, and his scent hits me, pine, leather, a dark, male musk that wraps around me, heavy and warm, like a hand on my skin. My wolf whines, torn between fear and something sharper.
Adrian stops, too close, towering over me. I tilt my head back, meeting his gaze, and the air thickens, charged with something wild and dangerous.
"You," he growls, voice low and rough, scraping over my nerves. "What did you do?"
"What?" My voice is a whisper, thin and shaky.
"Your scent." His jaw tightens, a muscle ticking beneath the stubble. "It's…"
He doesn't finish, but his eyes tell me everything, hunger, confusion, restraint trembling in his shaking hands. The crowd's gone quiet, the fire's crackle dulled, every gaze pinned on us, waiting for our Alpha's next move.
"I need to speak with you," Adrian says, his tone a command, sharp and final. "Privately."
My wolf whimpers, caught between yielding and defiance. But beneath it, a flicker of something terrifies me more, desire, hot and unbidden.
"Alpha," Elder Matthias steps in, hands raised, voice calm. "Perhaps we should, "
"Now," Adrian snaps, eyes still locked on mine, unyielding.
"Please," I breathe, hating the tremor in my voice. "Not here, not with everyone watching."
Something flashes in his gaze, surprise, maybe, at my resistance. I brace for him to push, to use that Alpha tone that bends wills. But he steps back, just a fraction.
"Eastern border," he says, quieter now, but firm. "Twenty minutes."
Then he turns, vanishing into the trees, leaving me trembling in the silent crowd, my heart a wild drum, my world unmoored.
I don't wait twenty minutes.
The second he's gone, I run, not toward the border, but away, toward the cottage, my safe haven. Lilah's voice chases me, sharp and worried, but I shove through the crowd, breath ragged, desperation driving my legs.
Fifty yards in, a hand clamps my wrist, strong and unyielding. I spin, and Adrian's there, gray eyes blazing, wild and untamed.
"Running away?" His voice is calm, too calm, but those eyes burn into me.
"Let go," I snap, tugging, but his grip holds, iron-like. I pull harder, and he draws me in, close enough to feel the heat of him.
"Not until you tell me what you've done to me," he says, voice low, dangerous.
"I haven't done anything!" My shout echoes in the quiet woods.
"Bullshit." He steps closer, backing me against an ancient oak, its bark rough against my spine. "Three hours ago, you were a shadow in the pack, barely a thought. Now your scent's in my head, driving me mad. Now all I can think is, "
He stops, teeth grinding, eyes dark with something raw.
"Think what?" The words slip out, reckless, my pulse roaring.
His gaze drops to my lips, and the air crackles, thick and alive. "You know."
I do. This pull, this heat, it's terrifying, intoxicating, a current dragging me under. But admitting it shifts everything, and I'm not ready for that fall.
"It's the awakening," I say, steadying my voice, clinging to logic. "All Omegas go through it. The scent draws eyes, but it'll fade in days. You'll move on."
"Will I?" He leans in, breath warm against my ear, sending a shiver through me. "Because right now, all I want is t
o drag you to my cabin and map every curve of you for days."