POV: Maya
CRASH!
I jerked awake as every dish in my tiny room rattled and fell to the floor. My bed was shaking like an earthquake was hitting, but that wasn't what made me scream.
Fire was shooting up my arm.
"What's happening to me?" I gasped, gripping my wrist as burning pain raced from my hand to my shoulder. It felt like someone was marking me with a hot iron.
The shaking stopped as quickly as it started, leaving broken pieces of my water cup scattered around my feet. But the burning in my wrist got worse and worse until tears streamed down my face.
I stumbled to my small mirror, afraid to look but needing to know what was wrong. When I pushed up my sleeve, my heart nearly stopped.
There, glowing bright silver on my skin, was a mark I'd only heard about in whispered stories. A mate mark. But not just any mate mark.
Three wolves running in a perfect circle, their bodies twisted together like they were dancing. Each wolf was different but beautiful, and they seemed to move even though I knew it was just a mark on my skin.
"No, no, no," I whispered, backing away from the mirror like it might bite me. "This can't be real."
But the mark pulsed with warm light, showing it was very real indeed. Mate marks only appeared when you turned eighteen and your destined partner was close. And there was only one set of three boys in our entire pack.
The Alpha's kids.
My legs gave out and I sat down hard on my bed. Ethan, Ryan, and Logan Blackwood. The three most important boys in our pack, and one of them was meant to be my mate.
But that was impossible. I was just Maya the omega cooking girl. They were future pack masters. Things like this didn't happen to girls like me.
I wrapped a kitchen towel around my wrist, trying to hide the bright mark. My hands shook so bad I could barely tie the knot. What was I going to do? Who could I tell? What would happen when people found out?
The worst part was thinking about Sophia. She'd been planning to mate with one of the boys since we were kids. If she found out an omega had a mate mark linking her to them, she'd probably try to kill me.
Actually, she might really try to kill me.
I needed to get to work and act normal while I figured this out. Maybe if I claimed nothing happened, I could buy some time to think.
But the moment I walked into the pack kitchen, Gamma Rose took one look at me and dropped the tray she was carrying.
"Child, what's wrong with you?" she asked, running over to grab my shoulders. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I'm fine," I lied, trying to smile. "Just tired."
Rose's wise old eyes studied my face like she was reading a book. After fifty years of taking care of omega girls, she could spot danger from a mile away.
"Show me your wrist," she said quietly.
My heart jumped. "What? Why would you—" "Maya. " Her voice was gentle but strong. "I felt the power surge through the omega rooms this morning. Every wolf with a bit of magic in them felt it. Now show me what you're hiding."
With shaking fingers, I unwrapped the towel. The mate mark blazed even brighter in the kitchen light, leaving silver shadows on the walls.
Rose gasped and stumbled backward. "The Triple Mark," she breathed. "Sweet moon goddess, it's real."
"You know what this is?" I asked desperately.
"I know the old tales. A mark like this hasn't emerged in our pack for over a hundred years." Rose's voice was filled with wonder and fear. "Maya, this mark means your mate is one of the Alpha's triplet sons."
"But I'm just an omega!" I cried, my voice cracking. "This has to be some kind of mistake!"
"Mate marks don't make mistakes," Rose said strongly. "The moon goddess chose you for one of those boys, and there's a reason for it."
"What reason? I can't even serve tea without breaking something!"
Rose put her hands on both sides of my face, causing me to look at her. "Listen to me, child. You're better than you know. Kinder than anyone gives you credit for. And apparently, you're exactly what one of the Alpha's sons needs."
"Sophia's going to murder me," I whispered.
"Sophia's going to try," Rose agreed sadly. "But first, you need to tell the Alpha. Pack law says mate marks must be reported quickly."
The thought of facing Alpha James made my gut twist into knots. "What if he doesn't believe me? What if he thinks I'm lying?" "The mark proves itself," Rose said. "But Maya, you need to be prepared. Once the Alpha knows, everything changes. Your life as a silent omega girl is over."
Before I could answer, the kitchen door burst open. Logan Blackwood stumbled in, grabbing his chest and breathing hard. His blue eyes were wild with fear.
"Where is she?" he gasped. "I can feel her nearby. Something's wrong with her."
Rose and I froze. Logan's eyes swept the kitchen until they landed on me, and his whole body went still.
"Maya?" he whispered, taking a step toward me.
The mate mark on my wrist started burning again, but this time it wasn't painful. It was warm and tingly, like my skin was noticing something important.
Logan's eyes widened as he stared at my covered wrist. "You feel it too, don't you? The pull?"
Behind him, I heard running footsteps. Ethan and Ryan burst through the door, both looking just as confused and desperate as Logan.
"She's here," Ryan said, his green eyes searching the room. "I can sense her."
"The connection is so strong," Ethan added, his amber eyes finally focused on me. "Maya? Is it you?"
All three brothers looked at me with a mixture of hope and disbelief. My mate mark was nearly vibrating under the towel, responding to their presence.
Rose stepped protectively in front of me. "Boys, you need to speak with your father before—"
"Show us," Logan interrupted, his words gentle but urgent. "Please, Maya. Show us your mark."
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. This was it. The moment that would change everything. Once I showed them the Triple Mark, there would be no going back.
But before I could decide what to do, the kitchen door slammed open again.
Sophia Torres stood in the doorway, her face twisted with rage and something that looked like crazy.
"I knew it!" she screamed, pointing a shaking finger at me. "I felt the power spike too! She's trying to steal what's mine!"
The three brothers instantly stepped between Sophia and me, their protective instincts kicking in. But Sophia's eyes were locked on my covered wrist, and her smile was wicked and dangerous.
"Let's see what little Maya is hiding, shall we?" she said, pulling something from behind her back.
A knife glinted in the kitchen light.
"If you won't show your mark willingly," Sophia snarled, "then I'll cut it off your arm myself."