I stand at the edge of the marble balcony with my fingers gripping at the cold stone while I hear laughter and music coming from below.

Our pack is the Velaris Hollow pack and right now, lanterns sway gently in the evening breeze, casting a golden sort of glow over the courtyard where the higher pack members dance.

I can smell the scent of wild peonies and roasted meats and I glance around a bit but of course no one notices me, actually no one ever does.

My dress is a pale gray thing that hugs my thin frame too tightly at the hips but it is nothing compared to the jeweled gowns of those downstairs.

Elayne walks in through the crowd in silver and sapphire with her golden hair curled to perfection as always and her lips parted in that perfect curve of a smile that she always leaves on them.

She's spinning in the arms of a young Alpha and laughing as he dips her low.

Of course, Elayne gets the Alpha, she always does.

She's the beta's daughter after all, the highest rank in the pack aside from the Alpha's----- measly people such as myself can't compare to her in any way.

“She looks like a goddess,” a girl sighs from behind me.

Two Omegas who are girls I recognize from the washing quarters lean against the wall to look down as well at her while trying to balance the trays of desserts to get a better view of her.

“She’ll be chosen first tomorrow you know. Everyone knows it.”

“The Moon Goddess might as well carve his name into her skin tonight,” the other one adds.

They both giggle but I don't.

I only press myself deeper into the sides of the pillars beside me as I feel the night wind stings my cheeks, or maybe that’s just the burn of shame I feel.

I don’t know anymore, actually I shouldn’t even be up here.

This balcony is for bloodline Omegas, and even then, it's only for those who are invited first by ranking families.

My mother would skin me alive if she found out I’d crept away from cleaning the dining hall.

But I just had to see, maybe to pretend, even for a second, that I belonged in a higher rank than that of a lowly Omega.

“Don’t look at her,” I whisper to myself, turning my gaze from Elayne’s beautifully carved face.

“You’re not in her world, Iryn, you never were.”

But even as I say this, I don't tear my eyes away from the courtyard below.

The music starts again and just as I wonder when it had stopped in the first place, I hear strings and wind and flutes playing while the crowd parts to form a path.

I feel the aura before I see him, Lord Theron, Alpha of Velaris Hollow, pack, and I subconsciously lower my head in submission even when he hadn't commanded me to.

Lord Alpha Theron steps onto the dais with his mate, Lady Mairead and they look like they were carved from marble... so flawless, even more than Elayne's father, Beta Garren who is standing behind them with a lot of pride on his face.

It's how it is here, the higher up the rank you are the more perfect and powerful you are.

If the Lord Alpha and the Lady Luna are the Diamond and Gold of the pack, then Beta Garren and Elayne are the rubies and I'm nothing but the stone in the sand.

... Useless, utterly useless.

Suddenly, Lord Alpha Theron raises a hand, and silence falls everywhere instantly, including in my own thoughts.

“My people,” he begins, “tonight we feast beneath the stars not only to honor the full moon, but to welcome what the next night will bring— our sacred Mate Bond Ceremony.”

I hear gasps and the flutter of fans from the crowd as everyone is excited.

“The Moon Goddess will choose,” Lady Luna Mairead continues, running her silver eyes through the crowd.

“And when She speaks, we obey.”

“And when She binds,” Lord Alpha Theron finishes, “we embrace.”

The crowd start to clap but I swallow hard on nothing.

The Mate Bond Ceremony.

My stomach bunches into knots just at the thought of it.

Tomorrow night, under the full moon’s light, the Goddess will reveal the threads that tie soul to soul, showing the fated mates.

It's not every year we werewolves get to be shown who our soul mate is so of course everyone is excited and looking forward to it but I'm not.

The people chosen to be shown their fated mates are chosen by blood, rather than rank or logic.

So it might take a while for me to find my own mate, but it doesn't really bother me, all I want is to be seen even if it is just once.

The crowd begins to go back to enjoying the party below, and I immediately slip away before anyone can notice that I've been up here.

My feet move quickly across the garden paths, past fountains and night roses that are in their blooming season, until I reach the servant quarters on the far end of the estate.

Quickly, I enter inside which smells of soap and worn linens, then I creep down the hallway to the room I share with three other Omegas and quietly slip in.

No one’s here yet, thank the moon.

I shut the door softly, then kneel beside the narrow window at my small bed corner.

The moon is rising and it looks so swollen and silver- ish, like it's full to the brim with the Goddess' magic.

It's a good sign, so I take a breath and manage to breathe out.

“It’s my birthday,” I whisper, looking at the moon and wishing that SHE was looking at me now.

I’m finally eighteen and I want to make a prayer to Her.

I press my left hand to the window and my right hand to my chest, near my heart.

“Please,” I pray.

“Just… let someone see me... not because they want to send me on an errand or because I’m cleaning their boots or scrubbing their floors. Just… see me.”

A knock at the door startles me, and I quickly jump to my feet.

The wooden door creaks open, and my mother’s head peeks in.

Her brows knit into a frown immediately on seeing me. “You’re not in bed?”

“I— I just got back. I was—”

“Don’t lie, Iryn,” she snaps, entering inside and touching my hands.

“Your hands smell like rose oil; you were at the ceremony grounds,” she states rather than ask.

Sometimes I curse at the strong sense of smell all werewolves have.

“I didn’t go in,” I protest.

“I stayed on the balcony. I only watched.”

“You’re not the rank with them,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me. “You keep forgetting that.”

I bite the insides of my cheeks at her words.

“No one forgets that here, Mother,” I say quietly.

She doesn’t reply but she just exhales hard and turns toward the door.

“Be up before dawn. They’ll need help setting up the altar.”

And then she’s leaves, shutting the door behind her.

I sit back down, curling my fingers around the hem of my plain nightgown and start to think.

I used to imagine I was special, that maybe the Moon Goddess had some big plans for me.

... That someday I’d be pulled from all these like in all those great book stories I was told as a child by my nursery teacher.

But it's not like this is a book story; it's my life, and I am not special.

----------

Morning comes faster than other days, and I wake up hearing the elders chant prayers to the Moon Goddess as early as it is.

As the sun comes out fuller, more people wake up and the ceremonial field becomes very busy with preparations.

Wooden arches are being decorated with wildflowers, and small moon sculptures are coiled around their beams.

Elayne is already here, dressed in a pale blue robe embroidered with runes with many of her friends surrounding her as they discuss and talk about things I'm not worthy to hear of.

I walk by the edge to give them space----- as is required of Omegas---- with my arms full of folded cloths, until I hear a voice call out.

“Omega girl! The basin is dry!”

Immediately, I turn around to see one of the altar servants—an older woman with high cheekbones looking at me rather impatiently.

“Go fetch more water,” she barks.

I nod quickly and scurry off to drop the clothes and then run toward the well.

Along the way, I pass a group of young Alphas who laugh about something.

One of them elbow another and says, “Bet you’re praying the Goddess doesn’t pair you with some Omega. They’re all weak.”

“Weak and invisible,” the second Alpha scoffs, “They're a burden if you ask me.”

They all laugh as if what he just said was funny--- to me it wasn't, but I can't say anything so I keep walking, chewing the inside of my cheeks.

I carry the water back without spilling a drop on the already mopped floors but no one notices or thanks me for doing a good job.

But I can't keep my thoughts on it for too long; the sky is turning darker while clouds drift lazily across the once blue sky.

... the full moon is coming.

By dusk, the field is fully transformed and prepared for the ceremony.

People begin to gather, wearing clothes in colours according to their rank.

Alphas wear deep blues and blacks, Betas in warm golds and reds, and Omegas in pale, unadorned robes.

We’re not supposed to stand near the altar but at the edges which is close enough to witness our fate, but not to interfere.

Very slowly the moon rises slowly and Elayne stands near the center of the crowd with her hands clasped and her eyes lifted up to the moon like everyone else.

The crowd murmurs as they wait and then the Elders sing in the Old Tongue in low voices at the same time, calling to the Moon Goddess.

A strange wind rises in the air and then the moon starts to glow very brightly, casting beams of silver light down on the crowd.

One by one, the light falls between pairs and I hear gasps around me as mate bonds start forming.

Everyone looks around them up to see who they've been paired with.

Two Betas hold each other and sob while an Alpha grabs the hand of a wide eyed beta girl and pulls her close.

The moonlight glows even brighter and everyone gasps as we all know what this means----- The Moon Goddess is choosing.

Suddenly the wind dies, then the light condenses.

... And lands on me.

The light binds me so thickly and my chest rises and falls in quick, shallow gasps as the entire Velaris Hollow Pack stares at me like I’ve grown two heads.

No--- like I’ve stolen something sacred.

“Iryn Vale,” the High Priestess’s voice among the elders booms across the altar, breaking the unusual quietness of shock among the pack members.

“Step forward.”

My knees shake, my hands tremble at my sides and I can’t feel my toes or think past the rush in my ears.

She called my name, in front of everyone.

I glance around, but no one meets my eyes.

The Omegas look like they’ve seen a ghost, the Betas look confused and the Alphas?

Goddess, they look furious.

I take one shaky step, then another and I feel something thrum in my chest like an invisible thread is pulling me forward.

The High Priestess, dressed in a midnight blue cloak, lifts her hand and narrows her eyes at the moon above.

“The Moon has spoken. The bond glows for all to see.”

A hiss of whispers go through the crowd immediately like they've all just snapped out of a trance.

“She’s just an Omega.”

“No bloodline. No rank!! What is the meaning of this?”

“There must be a mistake—”

“There’s never a mistake during the bond.”

They talk on but I can barely breathe.

My footsteps stop at the edge of the altar circle, where only ranked wolves are allowed, however the light won’t stop pulling me.

It coils around my waist, my shoulders and my chest, then it splits and a second beam drops from the moon, then a third beam.

I blink in shock and at the same time, the crowd erupts into shouts.

“Three bonds?”

“No— that’s not possible.”

The silver threads of moonlight beams around me streak across the courtyard very fast, slamming into three figures who are standing shoulder to shoulder, making them all to glow.

Oh goddess!

My heart stutters; of course it does, why wouldn't it?

Everyone knows the names of the three men the Goddess just bonded me to, even lowly Omegas like me.

Nyall, Fenric and Orien.

And they're not just men, they’re all Alphas, the triplet sons of Lord Alpha Theron, born in the same hour, trained for pack wars.

No one knows which one of them will take the throne but all three are untouchable except now… they’re bound to me.

Me, an Omega!!

I don’t move, infact I can’t move, and then the three of them step forward.

Nyall walks first; he is tall and broad with onyx eyes that look like firelight and his gaze never leaves mine.

Fenric is next, with his hair tousled like he just came from a fight and enjoyed it.

His smirk is dangerous and...

And Orien… Goddess help me, Orien's eyes are as pale as storm clouds, but when they land on me there's confusion and hunger in them.

All three stop just a breath away from me and so the bond flares again, this time so brightly and strongly that I stagger backward.

Nyall catches my wrist, preventing me from falling.

“Mine,” he growls.

Fenric laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Ours, brother. Don’t forget the Moon gave her to all of us.”

“She’s shaking,” Orien murmurs in a quiet but dangerous voice.

“Are you afraid of us, little Omega?”

I try to speak, but nothing comes out.

“What sort of trickery is this?” Lord Alpha Theron roars from the steps above, shoving through the gathered crowd.

His own cloak flares about behind him as Beta Garren and guards march on either sides beside him with their weapons all drawn out of their sheaths.

“There is no trick,” the High Priestess says, not being intimidated at all by the Lord Alpha's anger.

“The Goddess’s light does not lie.”

“She’s a no name,” Beta Garren snaps.

"Born of a washmaid and a drunk who left before her third birthday. She has no claim to anything, much less them.”

“You would challenge the Moon’s will?” the High Priestess replies, turning her gaze on him as her eyes turn into a pure white glow.

Garren flinches at this, “This is an error. A curse. It must be undone.”

“She’s an Omega!” Elayne’s shrill voice breaks through the crowd.

She’s on her bare feet and her face is all red with fury and humiliation.

“She can’t be bonded to one Alpha, let alone three!”

I open my mouth then close it; I feel small and invisible again.

No— not invisible, everyone's looking at me. I feel targeted.

But I've done nothing wrong.

“Say something,” Fenric murmurs, stepping in and bending until his chest brushes against mine.

“Tell them it’s real. Tell them you feel it.”

I stare up at him, feeling the bond pulsing wildly between us.

Yes I do feel it, it’s alive and strong, and it's drawing at me.

“I… I didn’t ask for this,” I whisper.

Nyall’s jaw tightens as he looks at me. “None of us did.”

“Still,” Orien says in a low voice, “here we are.”

Lord Alpha Theron steps forward, towering over the altar.

“Iryn Vale, as Lord Alpha of this Hollow, I demand you reject the bond. Do it now, before it solidifies.”

The entire courtyard holds its breath and I blink in full shock.

Reject?

I hadn’t even known I’d be chosen---- how am I supposed to reject three bonded threads without getting destroyed?

I'm an Omega it will kill me.

“I…” My voice cracks.

“You’re terrified,” Orien murmurs. “I can hear your heart.”

Nyall’s hand wrap around my wrist tightly, but not cruelly, it's almost… protectively.

“I won’t let them force you,” he growls. “The bond is ours, not theirs.”

The High Priestess raises both her hands to the sky and speaks again.

“The bond has been cast. The Moon has chosen. If they reject, they do so together not under threat.”

I see Lord Alpha Theron’s eyes burn with fury, however I am surprised that I don't find myself lowering in submission to him.

“Elayne,” he barks. “Come. You’ll be bonded to Orien instead.”

Orien’s head whips around and he snarls at his father. “I. Am. Bound.”

“To her,” Nyall finishes.

“To us,” Fenric adds.

I stagger back again, feeling very overwhelmed.

“Enough,” the High Priestess says.

“The ceremony is concluded. The bond cannot be undone here. Take her to the sacred chamber, let the threads stabilize under the moon’s gaze.”

“What?” I gasp out before I can think.

“You will stay with them tonight,” she says looking directly at me and I almost flinch at her moon glowing eyes.

“The three of them. You are now connected in ways that must not be broken by force.”

“Like hell she will!” my mother’s voice screams from somewhere beyond the altar.

“She’s just a girl!”

Guards move to take me away, but in less than a breath, Nyall’s body blocks mine completely and Fenric and Orien stand by either side of me.

“No one touches her,” Nyall growls.

Orien steps forward, “Anyone who tries will answers to me.”

Fenric cracks his knuckles. “Might want to back up before someone gets shredded.”

The guards stop and Lord Alpha Theron’s hands at his sides twitches as his fingers shift into claws, but the High Priestess shakes her head at him.

“Break the bond now, and you will invite the Moon’s wrath. You know the old laws.”

I don't see his reaction to the High Priestess' words because suddenly everything around me feels so loud.

I try to breathe, but the air doesn’t move past my throat, my chest is burning, my skin is in fire from the inside out, and my legs tremble so violently that I'm afraid I can't keep standing for long.

Nyall is bent and about carrying me off from where I stand when suddenly there's a scream.

“She’s cursed them!” Elayne shouts again, in a louder voice than before.

“She bewitched the princes with some twisted spell! Look at her— she’s barely conscious! She can’t even control her own power!”

I clutch at my chest, feeling the bond pulling so tight at me that it feels like chains are coiled around my heart.

I can feel them— all three of them; Nyall. Fenric and Orien.

I can also feel their rage and their need for something.

Their scents fill my nostrils to the brim, not allowing me to perceive the scent of anything or anyone else.

They smell like dark cedar, scorched spice, wild pine.

Elayne’s heeled slippers click loudly as she steps onto the ceremonial stone ring near the alter, ignoring the High Priestess who stands and looks at her with shock.

“She’s tainted!” Elayne yells, pointing at me with shaking fingers.

“The Moon would never bind royalty to an Omega! This isn’t fate— it’s a curse!”

A few pack members gasps and some nod like they want to believe her. .

I want to speak and defend myself, but my tongue is heavy and my lips are right now trembling too much to form any words at all.

“I— I didn’t do anything,” I finally manage to whisper, but no one hears me over the growl that suddenly rents the air.

“Enough,” Fenric says in a low snarl.

He pushes forward, blocking Elayne from me with his broad body.

“Say one more thing about her,” he growls, “and I’ll rip your throat out. I don’t care if you're the Beta’s daughter.”

“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Elayne spits while her chest heaves. “You’re all under her spell!”

Nyall steps in next, grabbing Fenric’s arm. “Back off,” he snaps. “Let me speak to her. She’s mine.”

“She’s not just yours,” Orien snarls, appearing at my other side to face Nyall. “We all felt the bond, all three of us.”

I sway between them feeling like a thread that's about to snap.

“Stay away from her, both of you,” Nyall hisses suddenly, shoving Orien back. “She chose me—”

“She didn’t choose anyone!” Fenric roars.

“I don’t belong to any of you,” I whisper, but again, no one hears me.

Just then the bond pulls at me tighter than before, so tightly that it feels unbearable and my legs finally give way, allowing my knees to hit the ground.

“Iryn!” Orien’s voice cuts in, alerting the others.

I feel warm, rough hands on me before the blackness rushes up and swallows me whole.

-------------

When I wake, I’m still on the ceremonial stone, feeling the cold slab bite into my skin.

But something feels different because the crowd has become completely quiet and I don't even hear Elayne's voice anymore.

“The bond is real,” I hear Orien say angrily for what feels like the tenth time. “We all felt it.”

“You expect me to believe that my sons—the heirs to Velaris Hallow Pack are all fated to a nameless Omega?”

I gasp as I realise it is the Lord Alpha speaking again and turn my neck to see him still standing at the edge of the ceremonial ring.

He seems to be blocking his sons from moving anywhere, but then I notice that he has half shifted with his fangs, claws and glowing gold wolf eyes out, and I realise my mates stopped him from attacking me while they were distracted due to me having passed out.

Lord Alpha Theron narrows his eyes at me, then at his sons.

“You will not claim her,” he growls.

Fenric steps forward to towards him. “You can’t stop the bond.”

“I am the Lord Alpha!” Thorne roars, letting out his aura and the pack members fall to their knees.

Again, I don't feel the compulsive submissiveness to bow to him.

“I decide who my sons take as mates. And she—” he jabs a finger at me, “—is beneath us!”

My chest clenches painfully at his words. Although they are true, I’ve never felt so much shame like this and I wonder if my mother feels the same way now.

My instincts say that I should run and hide, but the bond won’t even let me move an inche now.

“You heard the High Priestess, you are defying the will of the Moon Goddess,” Nyall says evenly in warning.

“The Moon would never tie you to THIS.”

I flinch.

He just called me an object; obviously I've been called worse but this hits me harder knowing that he's the father of my mates.

Would he ever accept me?

“This girl will bring chaos with her. Imagine three heirs fighting---- the pack would be divided. If she can't reject the bond, you three must reject her.”

“She’s ours,” Orien says. “We’ll never reject her.”

“You will reject her,” Lord Alpha Theron snarls. “Or I will disown you all.”