Arin ran until her lungs burned, not stopping until she reached the creek. Her safe place. She collapsed onto the damp earth, her borrowed red dress now smudged with dirt. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.
"What just happened?" she whispered to herself, touching the spot where she'd felt that strange pull toward Kael.
The sound of footsteps made her freeze. Had someone followed her?
"Arin?" Malik's voice called softly. "Are you okay? I saw what happened."
He emerged from the trees, concern etched on his face.
"I don't know what that was," Arin said, hugging herself. "When Kael looked at me, it felt like..."
"Like what?" Malik knelt beside her.
"Like something inside me recognized him." She shook her head. "It's crazy. I'm just an omega. He's the Alpha's son."
Malik's eyes narrowed. "That looked like a mate bond reaction."
"Impossible," Arin scoffed, though her racing heart suggested otherwise. "Alphas don't mate with omegas. Everyone knows that."
"Maybe you're not really an omega," Malik whispered, his eyes on her silver pendant.
Before Arin could respond, more footsteps approached—heavier, more determined.
"There she is!" a female voice snapped.
Siena stood at the edge of the clearing, her beautiful blue dress glittering in the moonlight. Behind her stood two of her friends, their expressions cold and angry.
"Siena," Arin stood quickly, suddenly aware of how out of place she must look in the borrowed dress.
"How dare you?" Siena's normally pretty face twisted with rage. "You think you can just walk into the Moon Ball dressed like that? Pretending to be something you're not?"
"I wasn't pretending—"
"Everyone's talking about how Kael looked at you," Siena cut her off, stepping closer. "What did you do to him? Some omega trick?"
Malik stepped between them. "Back off, Siena. It's her birthday."
"Birthday?" Siena laughed, a harsh sound that echoed through the trees. "You think that matters? You're nothing, Arin. Nothing but a servant."
The words stung, though Arin had heard them before. What hurt more was seeing the hatred in Siena's eyes. They'd been friends once, playing together as children before rank separated them.
"I'm sorry if I upset you," Arin said quietly. "I shouldn't have gone to the ball."
"No, you shouldn't have," Siena agreed, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "And you should stay away from Kael. All the triplets. I've been promised to one of them since birth."
"Promised?" Malik questioned.
Siena lifted her chin proudly. "My father and Alpha Vaughn have an agreement. I will be the next Luna of this pack. Not some omega who doesn't know her place."
A twig snapped nearby. All heads turned to see a tall figure emerge from the shadows.
"Is that so?" Jaxon, the middle triplet, leaned against a tree, his expression amused. "I don't recall being part of any agreement."
Siena's face paled. "Jaxon! I—I didn't know you were there."
"Clearly." His eyes drifted to Arin, and something flickered in them—curiosity, perhaps. Then his gaze dropped to her wrist where Malik's bracelet rested. "Interesting protection charms."
Malik stepped forward protectively. "We were just leaving."
"No need," Jaxon pushed off the tree and walked closer. "I'm more interested in why my brother stormed out of his own welcome party to search the grounds." His eyes fixed on Arin again. "Something about a girl with silver eyes."
Arin's heart skipped. Kael was looking for her?
"That's ridiculous," Siena insisted, grabbing Jaxon's arm. "Kael knows his duty to the pack. Our fathers have plans—"
"Plans change," Jaxon said, gently removing her hand. He turned back to Arin. "What's your name, silver eyes?"
"Arin," she whispered.
Something passed over Jaxon's face—recognition, shock, then carefully controlled neutrality.
"Arin," he repeated, as if testing the name. "The kitchen girl?"
She nodded, embarrassment heating her cheeks.
"Interesting." He looked at her more closely, then smiled—a charming, dangerous smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Very interesting."
Siena stepped between them. "She's nobody, Jaxon. Just an omega who forgot her place tonight."
"Nobody?" Jaxon raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that. In fact, I'd say she's caused quite a stir." He turned to leave, then paused. "Happy birthday, by the way."
He disappeared back into the trees, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind.
Siena's face had turned from pale to red with fury. "This isn't over," she hissed at Arin. "You've embarrassed me in front of the triplets. I won't forget that."
"I didn't mean to," Arin began, but Siena had already turned away, her friends trailing behind her.
"That was weird," Malik said once they were alone again. "How did Jaxon know it was your birthday?"
Arin shook her head, equally confused. "I need to get back before I'm missed. The kitchens will need cleaning after the ball."
"Are you serious?" Malik looked incredulous. "After what just happened? Kael is searching for you, Arin. That means something."
"It means nothing," she insisted, though her heart disagreed. "Tomorrow, everything goes back to normal. I'm still an omega. He's still an Alpha's son."
But as they walked back toward the pack house, taking a longer route to avoid being seen, Arin couldn't shake the feeling that nothing would ever be normal again.
The kitchen was empty when she arrived—everyone still busy with the ball. Quickly, she changed back into her gray dress, carefully folding Malik's mother's red dress and hiding it under her thin mattress.
She was scrubbing pots when the kitchen door swung open. Arin kept her head down, expecting the head cook.
"So this is where you've been hiding."
The deep voice sent a shiver down her spine. Slowly, Arin looked up.
It wasn't Kael standing there. It was Rowan—the quiet triplet with piercing blue eyes.
"You're her," he said simply, studying her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. "The girl from the prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Arin whispered. "I don't understand."
Rowan stepped closer, his eyes fixed on her silver pendant. "Where did you get that?"
"It was my mother's," Arin clutched it protectively.
A noise from the hallway made Rowan tense. "They're coming. Listen carefully—trust no one in this pack. Not even my brothers." He pressed something cold into her palm. "Keep this hidden. Your life depends on it."
Before she could respond, he vanished through the kitchen's back door.
Arin opened her hand. In her palm lay a small silver key with strange markings etched into its surface. The same markings that were on her pendant.
Footsteps approached. Quickly, she slipped the key into her pocket just as Siena's father, Beta Callen, entered the kitchen.
"There you are," he said, his expression unreadable. "Alpha Vaughn wants to see you. Now."
Arin's blood turned cold. Had she been discovered at the ball? Was she about to be punished? Or was it something to do with the strange reaction between her and Kael?
Either way, being summoned by the Alpha was never good news for an omega.
As she followed Beta Callen through the silent corridors, Siena's earlier words echoed in her mind: "I will be the next Luna of this pack."
But Rowan's warning rang louder: "Trust no one in this pack. Not even my brothers."
What had she stumbled into? And what did the silver key unlock?