<h4>Chapter 5 - 5: A Home Among Wolves</h4>


    "Prophecy?" Alpha Marcus''s words cut through the silence like a knife.


    "What prophecy?" Tobias Grey smiled, despite the guards gripping his arms.


    "The one your father tried to bury. The one about a silver-eyed mate who would join three brothers and change the fate of the ckwood Pack forever."


    "Take him to the cells," Alpha Marcus directed, his face dark with rage.


    "We''ll deal with himter."


    "You can lock me up," Tobias called as the guards dragged him away, "but you can''t stop what''s already begun!"


    Once the door closed, all eyes turned to ra. She shrank under their stares, wishing she could disappear.


    "Is it true?" Luna Evelyn asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Are you here to destroy our pack?"


    "No!" ra cried. "I don''t know anything about any forecast. I don''t want to hurt anyone!"


    "She''s lying," Kael said coldly.


    "This is too convenient."


    "Or maybe she truly doesn''t know," Darian offered. "If her nature was hidden from her, why not her purpose as well?"


    Alpha Marcus paced the room, his powerful body tense with thought. Finally, he stopped and turned to face them all.


    "Whatever the truth may be, the girl stays here where we can watch her. Closely." His eyes narrowed.


    "ra Moon, you will move into the pack house instantly. Today."


    "What?" Kael and ra shouted in unison.


    "Father, you can''t be serious," Kael argued. "Bringing her here, into our home?"


    "I have spoken," Alpha Marcus said with certainty.


    "Ronan, Darian—help her gather her things from her cabin. Kael, you will prepare a good room for her in the east wing."


    Kael''s jaw clenched so tight ra thought his teeth might crack. Without another word, he stormed out of the study, mming the door behind him.


    "This isn''t necessary," ra tried. "I can stay in my own cabin."


    "This isn''t a request," Alpha Marcus answered. "It''s an order. Ruth will need ess to you for her tests, and I want you where I can see you. Whether you''re the rescue or destruction of this pack remains to be seen."


    ~


    An hourter, ra stood in her tiny cell, throwing clothes into a worn duffel bag. Her hands trembled with a mix of fear and anger.


    "You don''t need to pack much," Ronan said, leaning against her doorframe. "Mother will insist on buying you new things anyway."


    "I don''t want new things," ra snapped. "I didn''t ask for any of this." Ronan''s yful smile softened.


    "I know, little Luna. None of us did."


    "Don''t call me that. I''m not a Luna. I''m just..." She trailed off, not even sure what she was anymore.


    "You''re our mate," Ronan said simply. "All three of us. That makes you something special, whether you—or Kael—like it or not."


    Across the room, Darian studied a small shelf of books—ra''s most prized possessions. "You like to read," he noticed quietly.


    "It was my escape," she revealed. "When being an omega became too much."


    "But you''re not an omega," Darian told her, turning to face her. "You never were."


    "Then what am I?" ra asked. "That''s what we need to find out," he responded.


    A knock at the door stopped them. Mia poked her head in, eyes wide.


    "ra! Everyone''s talking about—" She froze when she saw the triplets.


    "Oh. Um. Hello."


    "Mia,e in," ra said, d to see a friendly face. "I''m apparently moving to the pack house."


    "For real?" Mia whispered, eyeing the brothers uneasily.


    "So it''s true? You''re their—"


    "Mate," Ronan finished with a grin. "Yes, she is."


    "But not everyone''s thrilled about it," Darian added, looking meaningfully at his brother.


    Mia helped ra pack the rest of her meager things while Ronan and Darian waited outside. When they were alone,


    Mia grabbed ra''s hands. "Are you okay?" she asked anxiously. "This is all happening so fast."


    "I don''t know," ra revealed. "Yesterday I was nobody. Today I''m supposedly part of some prophecy that could destroy the pack."


    Mia''s eyes widened. "Destroy the pack? What are you talking about?"


    Before ra could exin, a cold voice cut in from the doorway. "Yes, what ARE you talking about?" Celeste stood there, her beautiful face twisted with contempt. She stepped inside, looking around the small cabin with disgust.


    "So this is where the future ''Luna'' lives," she sneered. "Pathetic."


    "Get out," ra said, surprised by the power in her voice. "Or what?" Celeste taunted. "You''ll use your mysterious skills on me? We both know you''re nothing but a fake."


    "I never imed to be anything," ra responded.


    "Yet here you are, stealing what''s rightfully mine." Celeste stepped closer, her voice falling to a hiss.


    "Listen carefully, omega. I don''t care what marks appeared on whose wrists. I don''t care about silver eyes or prophesies. You will NEVER be Luna. I was born for that part, and I will have it."


    "Is that a threat?" Mia asked, moving forward protectively.


    "It''s a promise," Celeste answered, her smile sharp as ss. "Enjoy ying princess while you can, ra. It won''tst." She turned to leave but found Ronan blocking her path, his golden eyes dangerously bright.


    "Threatening our mate isn''t wise, Celeste," he growled.


    "Your mate?" sheughed. "Please. Kael would rather cut off his own arm than ept her. And without the future Alpha''s blessing, she''s nothing."


    "You heard my father," Ronan said. "The Moon Goddess has decided."


    "We''ll see about that." Celeste pushed past him. "Not even the Goddess gets everything she wants."


    After she left, an ufortable silence fell over the cabin.


    "Well," Mia finally said, "she''s more unpleasant than usual."


    "We should go," Darian said from the doorway. "Father expects us back before dinner." ra hugged Mia tightly.


    "I''ll find a way to visit you," she promised.


    "You''d better," Mia replied, blinking back tears. "And remember—no matter what they say, you deserve to be there just as much as anyone."


    The ride to the pack house was tense. ra sat between Ronan and Darian in the back of a sleek ck SUV, clutching her duffel bag like a shield.


    She''d never been in such a nice vehicle before. "Nervous?" Darian asked quietly.


    "Terrified," she admitted.


    "Don''t be," Ronan said, his warm hand covering hers. "We won''t let anything happen to you."


    "Your brother hates me," ra pointed out.


    "Kael doesn''t hate you," Darian replied thoughtfully. "He hates what you represent—change, uncertainty, a challenge to everything he''s nned."


    "He''lle around," Ronan added, though he didn''t soundpletely convinced.


    When they arrived, Luna Evelyn was waiting on the front steps. Her expression was kind but guarded as she weed ra.


    "I''ve prepared a room for you in the east wing," she said. "Kael will show you the way."


    "Kael?" ra''s heart sank.


    As if summoned by his name, Kael appeared in the doorway. His face was a mask of cold indifference.


    "This way," he said curtly. ra followed him through the grand hallways, struggling to keep up with his long strides. Neither spoke until they reached a door at the end of a corridor.


    "This is your room," Kael said stiffly. "Dinner is at seven. Don''t bete." As he turned to leave, ra found her voice.


    "Why do you hate me so much? This isn''t my fault." Kael stopped but didn''t turn around.


    "I don''t hate you," he said, his voice low. "But I can''t ept you either. Not as my mate. Not as Luna."


    "I never asked to be your Luna," ra replied. Now he did turn, his silver-blue eyes boring into hers.


    "Then what do you want?"


    The question caught her off guard. What did she want?Before all this, her dreams had been so small—save enough money formunity college, maybe leave the pack someday for a better life.


    "I just want to understand who I really am," she finally said. Something flickered in Kael''s eyes—a moment of connection, quickly buried.


    "We all want that," he said quietly. Then his walls came back up. "Seven o''clock. Don''t bete."


    After he left, ra explored her new room. It was bigger than her entire cabin, with a plush bed and private bathroom. She felt like an imposter in this luxury. As she unpacked her few belongings, she noticed a small wooden box on the nightstand that wasn''t there before.


    Curious, she opened it. Insidey a silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon with three stars. A note beneath it read:


    "To help you find your way. —T.G." Tobias Grey.


    The mysterious rogue who imed to know her true nature. ra picked up the pendant. The moment it touched her skin, the silver eyes in her reflection gleamed brighter, and a voice whispered in her mind: Remember who you are, daughter of the moon. Your enemies are closer than you think, and the one who hates you most might be the one you need to trust.