Arin woke to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar curtains. For a moment, she forgot where she was—the soft bed and clean sheets nothing like her thin mattress in the omega quarters.
Then everything rushed back: the Moon Ball, Kael's intense stare, being summoned by Alpha Vaughn, and the mysterious visitors at her door last night.
A soft knock startled her.
"Who is it?" she called, remembering Kael's warning.
"It's me. Rowan."
Cautiously, Arin opened the door. The youngest triplet stood there, a tray of food in his hands. Unlike his brothers, Rowan's face rarely showed emotion, his blue eyes always watching, calculating.
"You should eat," he said, placing the tray on a small table. "Tonight will require strength."
"What happens at the Moonwell?" Arin asked, eyeing the fresh bread and fruit—food omegas rarely received.
Rowan glanced at the door before closing it quietly. "The Moonwell reveals truth. If you are who I think you are, your life is about to change forever." His eyes dropped to her neck. "Your pendant—may I see it?"
Hesitantly, Arin removed the silver necklace and handed it to him. Rowan turned it over in his palm, studying the strange markings.
"Just as I thought," he murmured. "Where is the key I gave you?"
Arin pulled it from her pocket. "What does it unlock?"
"Your future." Rowan handed back the pendant. "Or perhaps your past. They're connected." He moved toward the door. "Stay here until sunset. I'll come for you then."
"Wait!" Arin called. "Last night, someone came to my door with Siena. A man."
Rowan's eyes narrowed. "Did you see who?"
"No, but his voice was... cold."
"Trust only me and my brothers," Rowan said firmly. "No one else." He paused. "Have you felt it? The pull toward Kael?"
Arin's cheeks flushed. "Yes. But Jaxon said he felt something too."
A strange expression crossed Rowan's face. "What about me? Did you feel anything when we met?"
Arin considered the question. There had been something—different from what she felt with Kael, but definitely something. A sense of familiarity, like recognizing an old friend.
"Yes," she admitted. "Something... calmer. Like an echo."
Rowan nodded, unsurprised. "As I suspected. Eat your food. Rest. Tonight, everything changes."
After he left, Arin ate slowly, savoring the fresh food. The room felt like a beautiful prison—safer than the omega quarters but still a cage. Through the window, she could see pack members going about their day. Some glanced up at her window, whispering to each other.
The hours crawled by. Arin explored the room, finding clean clothes in her size in the wardrobe—simple but far nicer than anything she'd owned. Had they been placed there specifically for her?
As the sun began to set, another knock came at her door.
"It's Kael."
Something fluttered in her chest at the sound of his voice. She opened the door to find him standing there, tall and serious in a black shirt that made his green eyes stand out even more.
"It's time," he said, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine.
"For the Moonwell?" she asked.
Kael nodded. "My brothers are waiting." He hesitated. "Are you afraid?"
"Yes," Arin admitted, clutching her pendant.
"Good. Fear keeps you alert." His hand touched her arm briefly. "Stay close to me. There are those in the pack who don't want you at the Moonwell tonight."
They walked in silence through the pack house. Faces turned to watch them pass, expressions ranging from curiosity to outright hostility. Arin noticed Siena standing with her father, her beautiful face tight with anger.
Outside, twilight painted the sky in shades of purple and deep blue. Jaxon and Rowan waited at the edge of the forest path, both dressed in ceremonial black like their brother.
"Ready for your big reveal, silver eyes?" Jaxon winked, but Arin noticed tension beneath his playful words.
The path to the Moonwell wound through the darkest part of the forest. As they walked, Arin felt a strange energy growing stronger—a humming in her blood that seemed to pull her forward.
"Do you feel that?" she whispered to Kael, who walked beside her.
He glanced at her sharply. "Feel what?"
"The pulling. Like the Moonwell is calling me."
Kael exchanged a look with Rowan. "Most can't feel the Moonwell until they see it."
The forest opened into a clearing where a perfect circle of water gleamed silver in the rising moonlight. Around the pool stood several figures: Alpha Vaughn, Luna Calista, Beta Callen, and a tiny old woman covered in bone jewelry—Elder Mava, the pack's seer.
"She's here," Elder Mava announced, her ancient voice carrying across the clearing. "The child of prophecy returns."
Luna Calista stepped forward, fury in her eyes. "This is ridiculous! She's just an omega girl—"
"Silence!" Elder Mava commanded with surprising force. "The Moonwell will reveal all."
The old woman beckoned Arin forward. Nervously, Arin approached the edge of the silvery pool. The water seemed to glow from within, and that pull she'd felt earlier grew stronger.
"Your pendant," Elder Mava held out a gnarled hand. "And the key."
Arin's eyes widened in surprise. How did she know about the key?
"I see all, child," Elder Mava answered her unspoken question. "Now, the items."
Reluctantly, Arin handed over her mother's pendant and Rowan's key. Elder Mava studied them, nodding to herself.
"As I suspected. After all these years." She turned to Alpha Vaughn. "You know what this means."
The Alpha's face had gone pale. "It can't be."
"But it is," Elder Mava insisted. She turned back to Arin. "You must enter the Moonwell."
"What?" Luna Calista cried. "Omegas are forbidden from touching the sacred waters!"
"She is no omega," Elder Mava said firmly. "The Moonwell will prove it."
Fear gripped Arin's heart. "What will happen to me?"
"The truth," Elder Mava said simply. "If you are who I believe, the Moonwell will recognize your blood."
Arin looked back at the triplets. Kael's face showed concern, Jaxon looked unusually serious, and Rowan gave her an encouraging nod.
Drawing a deep breath, Arin stepped into the silvery water. Instantly, a shock ran through her body. The water began to glow brighter, illuminating the clearing as bright as day.
Elder Mava gasped. "The blood of the High Luna! It's true!"
"Impossible!" Luna Calista shouted.
But the water continued to brighten, swirling around Arin's legs. Images flashed through her mind—a woman with silver eyes like her own, a baby being hidden away, a promise of protection.
"Mother," Arin whispered, seeing her clearly for the first time in years.
Suddenly, pain shot through her heart. Arin cried out, falling to her knees in the shallow water. The Moonwell's glow turned from silver to blood red.
"What's happening?" Alpha Vaughn demanded.
"The bond is forming," Elder Mava explained, her voice filled with wonder. "But something is wrong. It's splitting!"
The triplets rushed forward as one, stopping at the edge of the water.
"Arin!" Kael called, reaching toward her.
Pain tore through her chest again. Through tear-filled eyes, Arin saw silver threads of light extending from her heart—not one, but three, each reaching toward a different triplet.
"The Goddess has chosen!" Elder Mava announced. "The prophecy begins!"
"Stop this!" Luna Calista screamed. "She'll destroy everything!"
But it was too late. The silver threads connected with each triplet's chest, sending them staggering backward with the force of it. Kael dropped to his knees, clutching his heart. Jaxon gasped, his eyes wide with shock. Rowan remained standing, but his face had gone deathly pale.
The water around Arin began to bubble and churn. The key and pendant in Elder Mava's hand glowed white-hot, forcing her to drop them into the Moonwell.
As they hit the water, a blinding flash of light erupted. When it faded, Arin floated unconscious in the now-calm waters, her black hair spread around her like a dark halo. The pendant hung around her neck once more, but now it was changed—three gemstones embedded in the silver where there had been none before.
And the key was gone.
"What happened?" Alpha Vaughn demanded as Kael waded into the water to lift Arin's limp form.
Elder Mava's eyes were wide with amazement and fear. "The impossible. She is bonded to all three. The Goddess has split one soul into three bodies, and now fate demands a choice."
"What choice?" Kael asked, cradling Arin protectively.
Elder Mava's voice dropped to a whisper that everyone strained to hear.
"One must live. One must die. One must sacrifice."
Luna Calista's laugh cut through the silence that followed. "You see? She brings death to our family! We should kill her now before—"
"Enough!" Alpha Vaughn's voice boomed with Alpha power. "No one touches her. The Goddess has chosen."
As they carried Arin's unconscious form back through the forest, no one noticed the figure watching from the shadows. No one saw Siena's tear-streaked face or the glint of the silver key now clutched in her hand.
"One must die," she whispered to herself, following silently behind the group. "And I know which one."