Olivia Hale

The omegas always got the scraps.

Scraps of food. Scraps of clothing. Scraps of respect, if there was any left to begin with. And me? I was the leftover of a leftover. The stain no one wanted to admit was still on the pack’s record.

Everyone in Bloodroot Hollow howled when Lucy Greene shifted for the first time.

She glowed silver under the full moon, her pristine white wolf coat glittering like she was dipped in starlight. The pack cheered. They called her “blessed.” The future Beta female. A perfect mate.

Meanwhile, I coughed up blood in the shadows.

“Keep walking, slave brat,” someone growled behind me as they shoved past. I didn’t bother looking back. I was used to it. The bruises, the cold glares, the whispered insults. That’s what being a freed omega orphan got you. You weren’t a person—you were a walking reminder of what the pack wanted to forget.

I didn’t shift. Not at thirteen. Not at fifteen. Not even at sixteen, when most girls felt the call of their wolf.

Eighteen tomorrow. And if the Moon Goddess had any mercy left, she’d kill me in my sleep before I had to face that humiliation all over again.

But fate doesn’t let girls like me die easy.

It makes us useful first.

I dragged myself through the crowd, careful to keep my head down, eyes low. One wrong look was all it took for someone to throw a punch or worse—tell the triplets I was being "disrespectful." And they always made it a game. One would hold me down, the other would laugh, and the third? He never touched me. Not once. But his silence hurt worse than any bruise.

“You are more than what they see,” Mama used to whisper when the moonlight filtered through the rotting roof of our shack. “But don’t let them see it. Not until you have claws of your own.”

She died two days after that. Torn apart by rogues. Or so they claimed.

I stopped believing the pack’s stories the same night I found claw marks that didn’t match rogue teeth.

“Hey, darling omega,” a low voice cut through the noise.

I froze. I knew that voice.

I turned slowly, heart in my throat.

Riven. The middle triplet. The rebel one. The dangerous one.

He leaned against a tree, moonlight catching on the metal cuff around his wrist—the Beta-in-waiting’s band. His dark eyes locked on mine, sharp and unreadable.

“You're shaking,” he said casually, like it wasn’t his brothers who'd shoved me into a freezing creek last week and laughed when I nearly drowned.

I bit back the urge to snarl. “Maybe it’s the cold.”

Or maybe it’s you.

His gaze dropped to the ripped hem of my shirt, the faded hand-me-downs clinging to my frame.

“You should eat something.”

I blinked. What?

Was this some new game? Concerned Riven? Savior Riven? I wasn’t buying it.

“I’ll eat when you stop pretending you care,” I muttered.

A smirk ghosted over his lips. He pushed off the tree and stepped closer. Too close.

“I don’t care,” he whispered. “But I do wonder…”

I held my breath.

“…what kind of wolf hides for eighteen years.”

Then he turned and walked away.

Just like that.

Like he didn’t just dig under my skin and light a fuse.

I wanted to tear him apart with my hands.

"Ugh " I groaned in frustration folding my fists to punch a nearby tree. Nothing happened to the tree but I felt the searing pain in my fists. I looked at them and saw they were bleeding already. Maybe I was weak. None of the lessons with Elijah had paid off. I was still weak.

Tears blurred the back of my eyes threatening to spill as I wiped them off hastily sniffling.

I slowly walked back to my rundown shed.

Maybe tomorrow will be different. Hopefully.

---------

The next night I found myself at the pack house.

“Move it, freak,” snarled one of the kitchen staff as she shoved past me, a tray of roasted meats balancing on her shoulder.

I flinched but didn’t argue. I was used to being invisible—except when they needed someone to mock.

My boots slipped slightly on the stone floor as I pushed open the back door to the pack house. I didn’t belong inside. Omegas didn’t sit at the table with Alphas, Betas, or the inner circle. We served. We obeyed. And we disappeared.

It was just how it was. How it always had been.

I sat alone under the willow tree by the servant’s quarters, a half-eaten bread roll in my hand, cold air nipping at my skin. My coat was two sizes too small, the sleeves ending just below my elbows.

“Happy birthday to me,” I muttered dryly, tossing a pebble across the frosty grass.

Eighteen today. Nothing felt different. Still the same bitter taste in my mouth. Still the same pitying stares. Still the same whispers of “That’s the freed slave’s daughter.”

Still the same… nothing.

My mother used to tell me stories about the mate bond. How it was magic, destiny, a gift from the Moon Goddess. How one day, the moment I turned eighteen, my wolf would awaken and guide me to the one person the Goddess had chosen for me.

That had been before. Before she got sick. Before her spirit broke under the weight of years spent cleaning other people’s filth. Before I realized the bond didn’t matter when you were born at the bottom.

I didn’t want a mate. I didn’t want love or fate or magic. I wanted a way out.

And yet…

I looked up, eyes drawn to the training field in the distance. There she was—Lucy Greene. The Beta’s daughter. Practically gliding as she jogged around the track, her platinum hair tied in a bouncing ponytail, laughter trailing behind her like a perfume.

Everyone loved Lucy. Perfect Lucy. Gifted Lucy. Her wolf awakened early at sixteen, the Elders called her “blessed.” She was already prepping to be a Luna—trained in etiquette, strategy, charm.

What did I have? A dead stare and a secondhand coat.

She caught my eye for a second. Smiled. Waved.

I didn’t wave back.

The sound of the pack bell rang across the grounds. Shift trials. Of course.

Every year, on our eighteenth birthday, those born of wolf blood had to show their first shift. It was a celebration for most—an invitation to join the adult ranks. But for me, it felt like another test I was bound to fail.

I stood up slowly, heart pounding. My body ached. I hadn’t eaten enough. Hadn’t slept. The nightmares were getting worse—visions of blood and silver, of being chased through forests by shadowy beasts.

My wolf hadn’t even whispered yet. I was turning eighteen and still… nothing.

If I didn’t shift tonight, I’d be labeled defective. Or worse—human.

The crowd gathered near the sacred stone circle, a relic of our ancestors. The Elders stood robed in grey, the Alpha's sons—Kael, Riven, and Silas—off to the side, watching with bored expressions.

I kept my eyes down. They didn’t know me. I wasn’t important enough.

“Next,” called Elder Elijah’s voice, calm and even.

My name.

I stepped into the circle. My hands were shaking.

Breathe, Liv. Just… breathe.

I could feel the weight of their stares. Whispers began immediately.

“Is that the Hale girl?”

“She won’t shift.”

“I heard she doesn’t even have a wolf.”

And then—burning.

It started in my spine, a searing heat that knocked the air out of my lungs. I dropped to my knees, gasping. My bones cracked. My skin rippled. It felt like my body was tearing itself apart from the inside.

I screamed.

Voices blurred. I heard someone say, “It’s happening!”

Fur burst from my skin, dark and silver-flecked. My vision sharpened, ears twitching, claws digging into the dirt.

I’d shifted.

I was no longer human. I was wolf.

The crowd was silent.

Then—howls.

Not one. Not two.

Three.

From across the field, the Alpha’s sons fell to their knees, groaning. The pack went silent again, confused.

Kael’s golden eyes locked with mine. His lips parted.

Riven stumbled forward, eyes wide, chest heaving.

Silas… smiled. Slowly. Creepily. Like he knew a secret no one else did.

I shifted back, trembling, chest heaving. My knees gave out.

And then—snap.

A sound, not heard but felt. Like chains latching onto my soul. Like a brand burned into my skin.

Mate bond.

Three times.

Panic erupted. Elders rushed forward. Voices shouting.

“She’s bonded to all three.”

“That’s impossible.”

“The prophecy—”

I didn’t hear the rest. I was too busy trying not to faint.

The triplets were staring at me like I’d just stolen the sky.

And I… had no idea what the hell just happened.

Olivia Hale

I was going to pass out. There was no doubt in my mind. I could feel the world spinning around me like a disorienting whirlpool. My heart was pounding, my breathing shallow. I tried to stand, but my legs betrayed me, collapsing beneath me as if they couldn’t handle the weight of whatever had just happened. I fell back and bruised my hands and legs.

The air felt too thick, too heavy, suffocating with the sound of murmured voices and the pounding of my pulse in my ears. Everywhere seemed to be drowning.

“What’s happening?” I whispered hoarsely. “Why am I… I shouldn’t be…”

I was so dizzy, I could barely see straight. The sensation of the triplets’ gazes bore down on me, like hot coals, scorching my skin even though they hadn’t touched me. Even though all they were was a blur. My wolf... it was still there, like a pulsating heartbeat beneath my skin, thrumming with energy I didn’t understand. I wanted to rip it out of me. Now I desperately wished I hadn't shifted.

“You shouldn’t be doing this.” Kael’s voice. Low, tight, and strained. His golden eyes flicked between me and his brothers, but he didn’t move.

Silas, standing beside him, clenched his fists, his body stiff. He seemed torn—like he wanted to break something, but didn’t know where to start. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”

“You’re…” Riven’s grin widened, his lips curling in a wicked smirk, his dark eyes gleaming with something like curiosity and amusement. “Well, this is going to be fun.”

I shot him a glare, instinctively pulling myself into a crouch, ready to bolt. My body wasn’t used to this kind of power. I wasn’t used to being wanted by three of the most dangerous wolves in the pack—no matter how much of a mistake it was.

“You’re not supposed to be bonded to all three,” Kael growled, the authority in his voice making me flinch. “It’s a damn curse, not a gift.”

But his words were laced with something else. Something darker.

“Calm down,” Riven said, his tone dripping with amusement. He glanced back at Kael and Silas. “It’s already done. We can’t undo it now.”

“But why her?” Silas muttered, his voice full of frustration and confusion. “Why now?”

I struggled to push myself up, the ground feeling unsteady beneath me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I snapped, my throat tight. I was angry now—angry at them, angry at the whole damn situation. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of this!”

“You don’t have to ask for it,” Kael said, his voice still tight with something I couldn’t quite place. “It’s fate. And fate’s a bitch.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. My vision swam again, the world tilting at odd angles. Just as I felt myself losing consciousness, I was caught—by none other than Riven.

“Well, isn’t this a sight?” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear as he gently lifted me up. “The freak of the pack, with the mate bond that should never have been.”

I pushed against him, but my strength was gone, drained by whatever had just happened. “Let go of me,” I hissed, though it sounded more like a plea.

But Riven didn’t let go. Instead, he smirked. “Oh, don’t worry, my sweetheart omega. I’ll let you go when I’m ready.”

I didn’t know whether to punch him or kiss him—both impulses surged through me in equal measure, and I hated it. Hated how he made my skin heat under his touch. I should’ve hated him. They all were the triplets, the sons of the Alpha. They were trouble with a capital T.

“Take her inside,” Kael ordered, his voice sharp. “Now.”

Riven chuckled. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“No, but I’m the one in charge of the pack till dad gets back,” Kael shot back. “So take her inside.”

I was still too out of it to argue, my body too drained, too exhausted from the shift and the bond that seemed to be ripping me apart. My pulse was still racing, still aching, and it felt like the triplets’ presence was anchored in my chest like a heavy weight.

“You heard him,” Silas said quietly, his voice still laced with confusion and anger. “Take her.”

“Fine,” Riven muttered, sounding completely uninterested. But he shifted his grip on me, wrapping his arm more securely around my waist as he started walking toward the pack house.

The cold night air hit my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I barely registered the path we were taking, too consumed by the new and overwhelming sensation of the bond thrumming inside me. The triplets’ presence was everywhere, like they were a part of me.

I was trying to push them away, but it was like pushing against a flood. My body reacted without my permission, every cell in me alert to their touch, their proximity.

“Stay with me, Liv,” Riven murmured as he carried me into the pack house. “Don’t pass out on me yet.”

“Why… why are you doing this?” I rasped, struggling to focus.

Riven grinned, but it wasn’t the mischievous grin I was used to. It was something darker, something... possessive.

“Because you’re ours now,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “And we’re not letting you go.”

The tension in the air was thick. Everything inside me screamed for me to fight back, but I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t even understand what was happening.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening.

And yet, I could feel it. The triplets—the Alpha’s sons—were mine now. The bond was there. Whether I liked it or not.

What did it mean? And how was I supposed to live with this?

I woke to silence. The kind that buzzes in your ears and makes your skin crawl.

The sheets beneath me were expensive—cool silk that screamed power, not comfort. The scent was masculine, sharp, and disturbingly familiar.

One whiff, and I knew.

Kael.

The ice prince himself.

Of course he'd be the one command them to drag me back to the pack house after I passed out from whatever mate-bonding nightmare I'd stumbled into.

I sat up slowly, expecting pain. Instead, I felt… different. Stronger. More aware. My wolf, who'd always been a dull throb in the back of my mind, was now fully awake—pacing around furiously, stretching, snarling, vibrating with a hunger I couldn't name.

The door clicked open.

I flinched.

Kael stepped in like he owned the floor I sat on. Not a single piece of him was casual. Gold eyes, sharp and unreadable, zero emotion on that stupidly beautiful face. He looked carved from stone, all broad shoulders and strawberry-blonde hair tied back like he'd just walked out of a battlefield.

His eyes swept over me once. No smirk. No frown. Just pure calculation.

"You're awake."

"No sh*t, Sherlock," I snapped.

He ignored the jab. "You shifted. The bond's sealed."

I shoved the covers off. "Undo it."

Kael tilted his head. "That's not how this works."

"Then explain it."

He didn't move closer. "You were born wolf but locked out of your nature. The curse chose us to fix that."

"Curse," I echoed. "Right. Because fate looked at the Hale girl and thought, 'You know what'd be fun? Bond her to three emotionally unavailable psychopaths.'"

Something flickered in his expression. Barely there. But it was a crack. A small one.

"I don't care how you feel about it," he said coolly. "This isn't a love story. It's a binding. A contract written in blood. You're not an omega anymore, Olivia. You're ours."

"No," I shot back, standing. "I don't belong to anyone. Especially not to you."

He stepped forward then. Just once. And suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

"You belong to this pack now. To me. To Riven. To Silas. You'll learn to accept it, or you'll break under it."

"I'd rather burn."

His eyes narrowed. "Then burn. But you're not walking out that door unless I say so."

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving the door wide open. A test. A warning. Maybe both.

Seconds later, someone filled the space he left behind.

Riven.

Black-haired chaos in a leather jacket. Muscles, tattoos, and a scar that looked like it had a story I'd never hear.

"Kael always this warm and fuzzy, or is it just me?" I asked.

Riven grinned. A sharp, cocky thing that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You're awake. Cute."

I scowled. "I'm not cute. I'm pissed."

"Even better." He stepped inside like he lived here, hands shoved in his pockets, green eyes raking over me. "You should've seen the three of us, you know. Pacing like caged animals while you were out cold. Never thought I'd live to see Kael panic."

"He didn't look panicked."

"That's because you're not fluent in Kael. I am."

I crossed my arms. "You done flirting?"

"Who's flirting?" he asked, mock serious. "I just like watching your face go all red when I say things like—'Hey, trouble. Miss me?'"

I groaned. "You're insufferable."

"And you're bonded to me. So I guess we're both cursed." He shrugged. "Look, I don't do pack loyalty. I don't do rules. And I definitely don't do fate. But something happened in those woods, and now I can't stop thinking about you."

My heart thudded. Stupid wolf.

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough."

He took a step forward, and my body tensed, not from fear—but from something much, much worse.

Want.

"If you want to survive this," he said, voice low, "don't lie to yourself. Your wolf knows we're hers. Even if you haven't figured it out yet."

Then he brushed past me, the scent of smoke and sin trailing behind like a warning.

And then came the last knock.

Soft. Almost polite.

"Darling omega," a voice sang.

I stiffened. "Go away, Silas."

The door creaked open anyway. Of course.

Silas walked in like he was delivering bad news with a bouquet of roses. Gold curls, pretty-boy smile, and hazel eyes that shouldn't have been terrifying—but were.

"Look at you," he said, head tilted. "All fire and fury and bare feet."

"I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood. And yet, here you are. In our house. Breathing our air."

"I didn't choose this."

"No one ever does. Fate chooses. And fate, darling, has a wicked sense of humor."

He came closer, and the air tightened around us. Silas had that thing—predator in a silk shirt energy. The kind that made you forget he was dangerous until his teeth were already in your throat.

"Here's how this goes," he murmured. "You fight us. You run. You curse our names and slam every door in this house."

I swallowed. "And if I don't?"

He smiled wider. "Then we ruin you. Gently, sweetly, completely."

I slapped him.

Hard.

He didn't flinch. Just blinked. Then… laughed.

"Oh, Liv," he whispered. "You're going to be so much fun."

Then he turned and left me—dizzy, breathless, and absolutely furious.

I sank onto the bed, heart pounding, head spinning.

Three triplets. Three wolves. Three nightmares wrapped in bodies I had no business craving.

And me?

I was the cursed girl with a target on her soul—and three monsters fighting over who got to claim it first.