<h4>Chapter 3 - 3: Marked by Destiny</h4>


    ra couldn''t stop staring at her image.


    Silver eyes. A bright mark. This couldn''t be happening.


    "Breathe," she whispered to herself, holding the edge of the sink.


    "Just breathe." She traced the half moon and three stars on her wrist.


    The mark glowed with a soft silver light, warm to the touch. No matter how hard she rubbed, it wouldn''t fade.


    A loud knock at her door made her jump. "ra! Open up!" It was Mia, her only friend in the pack.


    ra quickly pulled her sleeve down and opened the door. Mia burst in, eyes wide.


    "Is it true?" she asked. "Everyone''s talking about it. They say the ckwood triplets found their matest night, and it''s—" Mia stopped mid-sentence, looking at ra''s face.


    "Your eyes! "They''re silver!"


    "Keep your voice down!" Mia was pulled inside by ra, who hissed and shut the door.


    "I don''t know what''s happening to me."


    "Show me your wrist," Mia said.


    Hesitantly, ra rolled up her sleeve. Mia gasped. She said in a whisper, "It''s real."


    "You are paired with the Alpha''s sons. All three of them."


    ra said, "That''s not possible. I''m just an omega."


    "Maybe you''re not," Mia said, her eyes sparkling with joy. "Maybe you never were."


    Before ra could answer, there was a louder, more serious knock on her door.


    "ra Moon," a deep voice called. "By order of Alpha Marcus ckwood, you are toe with us immediately."


    ra''s heart dropped to her stomach. Two pack guards stood outside, their looks grim.


    "What''s happening?" she asked, fear climbing up her throat.


    "The Alpha wants to see you," one guard said simply.


    "Now." With shaking hands, ra grabbed her jacket.


    Mia squeezed her arm. "Be careful," she whispered. "Don''t let them intimidate you."


    Easy for her to say. Mia wasn''t an omega being summoned by the most powerful wolf in the area.


    The guards led her through the pack grounds. Wolves stopped to stare as she passed. Some talked behind their hands. Others openly pointed at her. ra kept her head down, wishing she could disappear.


    The Alpha''s house loomed ahead, massive and imposing. ra had only seen it from a distance before. Up close, it was even more intimidating—dark stone and tall windows that seemed to watch her approach.


    The guards led her through heavy wooden doors into a grand main hall. A woman stood waiting, her posture perfect, her face unreadable. Luna Evelyn ckwood.


    "Thank you," she told the guards. "I''ll take her from here." The Luna''s gaze swept over ra, pausing on her face.


    "So it''s true," she whispered. "Your eyes have changed."


    "I don''t understand what''s happening," ra said, her voice small. Something softened in the Luna''s face.


    "No, I don''t imagine you do. Come with me." She led ra down a hallway and into a smaller room where an elderly woman waited. ra recognized her as Ruth, the pack doctor.


    "Show her your wrist," Luna Evelyn directed.


    ra unwillingly pushed up her sleeve. Ruth''s eyes widened as she took ra''s arm, examining the mark carefully.


    "Three stars," Ruth whispered. "I''ve never seen anything like it."


    "What does it mean?" ra asked. "It''s a mate bond mark," Ruth said.


    "But not an everyday one. The moon with three stars... it signifies a bond with various mates. Three, to be exact."


    "The triplets," Luna Evelyn said quietly. Ruth nodded.


    "This isn''t just any mate link. It''s a true mate bond—the rarest kind. The Moon Goddess herself has marked you." ra felt dizzy.


    "But why me? I''m nobody."


    "Perhaps you''re not who you think you are," the healer answered, studying ra with new interest.


    "Silver eyes are the mark of something special. Something powerful."


    "But I''m an omega," ra argued. Ruth shared a look with Luna Evelyn.


    "Are you certain about that?"


    Before ra could answer, the door burst open. Kael ckwood charged in, followed closely by his brothers. All three froze when they saw her.


    For a moment, no one spoke. ra felt that strange pull in her chest again, stronger than before. By the way the triplets tightened, they felt it too.


    "Mother," Kael said stiffly, not taking his eyes off ra. "We were told toe here."


    "Yes," Luna Evelyn answered.


    "Ruth has proven what we suspected. This girl bears the mate mark for all three of you."


    "Show me," Kael ordered. Reluctantly, ra held out her hand.


    The mark seemed to glow brighter in the triplets'' presence. Ronan moved forward first, taking her hand softly. His touch sent electricity running up her arm.


    "It''s beautiful," he whispered, tracing the stars with his thumb. Darian approached next, his face thoughtful.


    "Three stars," he said softly. "One for each of us."


    Only Kael hung back, his face a storm of feelings. "This changes nothing," he said coldly.


    "I refuse to ept an omega as my mate. As the future Luna." His words stung more than they should have.


    ra pulled her hand from Ronan''s grasp and stepped back. "I didn''t ask for this," she said, finding her voice.


    "I don''t want it any more than you do."


    "Kael," Luna Evelyn warned. "The Moon Goddess has chosen."


    "Then the Goddess made a mistake," he snapped. The room fell silent. Even Ronan and Darian looked shocked at their brother''s sphemy.


    Ruth broke the stress. "There''s more you should know," she said. "I need to test something."


    She pulled a small silver knife from her pocket. "May I?" ra paused, then nodded. Ruth pricked ra''s finger with the de. A drop of blood welled up—but instead of red, it shimmered with threads of silver. Ruth gasped.


    "Silver blood," she whispered. "Just as I suspected."


    "What does that mean?" Ronan asked, leaning closer.


    "It means she''s no omega," Ruth responded. "Her true nature has been hidden. Suppressed somehow."


    Luna Evelyn''s face paled. "It can''t be," she whispered.


    Amotion outside stopped them. Angry sounds approached, getting louder by the second. The door flew open again, and this time Celeste stormed in, her face twisted with rage.


    Behind her, Alpha Marcus entered more quietly, his powerful presence filling the room.


    "Is it true?" Celeste asked, pointing at ra. "Is this... this nobody iming to be their mate?"


    "Watch your tone," Ronan growled, stepping between them. Alpha Marcus held up a hand, stopping everyone. His cold gaze moved from ra to the mark on her wrist, then to his boys.


    "So," he said, his voice falsely soft. "The reports are true. My sons have been taken by an omega."


    "She''s not an omega," Ruth said definitely.


    "Look at her eyes. Her blood. She''s something else entirely."


    Celeste gave a bitterugh. "What, you think she''s special? She''s nothing! I was going to be Luna!"


    "The Goddess has decided otherwise," Luna Evelyn said.


    Alpha Marcus circled ra slowly, watching her like a wolf might study its prey.


    "Special or not," he said, "she could be useful."


    A chill ran down ra''s spine at his words. There was something calcting in his eyes that scared her more than Celeste''s open hatred.


    "Father," Kael began, but Marcus cut him off. "The girl stays here," he stated. "Under our care. Until we discover exactly what she is."


    "I can''t stay here," ra argued. "I have work, my cabin—"


    "That wasn''t a request," Alpha Marcus said coldly.


    Ronan moved closer to ra, his arm brushing hers in what felt like quiet support. Darian watched her with curious eyes, while Kael looked away, jaw clenched.


    Celeste''s face darkened with anger. "This isn''t over," she hissed at ra before stomping out.


    As everyone fought around her, ra felt a strange sensation—like someone watching her. She nced toward the window and caught a glimpse of a man she''d never seen before. His eyes met hers briefly before he disappeared from view.


    In that moment, a voice whispered in her mind: Be careful, little wolf. Not everyone in this house wants you to survive the night.