The golden threads snapped like broken strings.
I screamed as pain shot through my chest. The light disappeared, leaving the Great Hall in regular sunlight again. I fell to my knees, gasping for air. It felt like someone had ripped my heart into three pieces.
"Guards!" Alpha Raphael's voice echoed. "Take her to the holding room. Now!"
Strong hands grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet. I was too weak to fight back. My legs wouldn't work right. Everything hurt.
"Wait," Dorian stepped forward, his green eyes worried. "Father, she's hurt. Let me.."
"Don't touch her!" Alpha Raphael's eyes were filled with anger. "None of you can touch her until we figure out what's happening."
I looked at the three princes as the guards dragged me away. Dorian looked like he wanted to help me. Tobias was staring at his book, his face pale. Marcus was clenching his fists, his jaw tight with anger.
"Please," I whispered. "I don't understand what happened."
Nobody answered me.
The guards took me to a small stone room with no windows. They pushed me inside and locked the door. I heard their footsteps walking away, leaving me alone in the dark.
I sat on the cold floor and cried. What was wrong with me? Why had those golden threads appeared? Why did I feel connected to all three princes?
Hours passed. Nobody came to check on me. Nobody brought me food or water. My stomach growling from hunger, but my heart was hurt the most.
Finally, I heard footsteps again. The door opened, and a guard I didn't recognize stepped inside. He was older than most guards, with gray hair and beautiful eyes.
"Miss Aria," he said softly. "My name is Captain Reed. I'm here to take you home."
"Home?" I stood up slowly. "But the Alpha said..."
"The Alpha has decided to let you go for now. But you must come back tomorrow morning. Early."
I followed Captain Reed out of the castle. The sun was setting, painting the sky orange and pink. I had been locked up all day. My birthday was almost over.
"Captain Reed," I said as we walked through the castle grounds. "What happened to me in there? Those golden threads..."
"I don't know, miss. But I've been a guard for thirty years, and I've never seen anything like it." He looked at me with worried eyes. "Be careful, Aria. When things like this happen, people get scared and ending up doing dangerous things."
We reached the small house where I lived with my father. It was nothing like the castle, just two rooms and a tiny kitchen. But it was home.
Captain Reed knocked on the door. "Sebastian, your daughter is here."
The door opened, and my father appeared. His face was white with worry. "Aria!" He pulled me into a tight hug. "I heard what happened. Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay, Dad." But I wasn't really okay. I felt empty inside, like a part of me was missing.
"Thank you, Captain," Dad said. "I'll take care of her."
After Captain Reed left, Dad sat me down at our small table. He looked older than he had this morning, like he had aged ten years in one day.
"Tell me what happened," he said.
I told him everything. The golden threads. The connection to the princes. The pain when it broke. Dad listened without saying a word, but his facial expression signify something bad.
"This is bad," he said when I finished. "Very bad."
"Why? What's wrong with me?"
Dad was quiet for a long time. Then he stood up and walked to our old wooden locker. He pulled out something wrapped in cloth.
"I hoped this day would never come," he said. "But I should have known better."
He unwrapped the cloth, and I gasped. Inside was a silver necklace with a red stone that seemed to glow with its own light.
"This belonged to your mother," Dad said. "She made me promise to give it to you when you turned eighteen. But only if..."
"If what?"
"If you showed signs of being special. Different." He looked at me with sad eyes. "Like what happened today."
I reached for the necklace, but Dad pulled it back.
"Wait. Once you touch this, there's no going back. Your life will change forever."
"It's already changed," I said. "I bonded with three princes at once. How much worse can it get?"
Dad sighed. "You don't understand. This necklace will wake up powers inside you. Powers that some people have been waiting eighteen years to see."
"What kind of powers?"
"The kind that makes you a target." Dad's voice was almost a whisper. "The kind that could get you killed."
Before I could ask more questions, someone knocked on our door. Hard.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Open up!" a voice shouted. "Royal business!"
Dad quickly wrapped the necklace back up and shoved it into my hands. "Hide this. Don't let anyone see it."
I stuffed the necklace under my dress just as Dad opened the door.
A tall guard in fancy armor stood outside. Behind him were five more guards, all carrying swords.
"Aria Blackwood," the tall guard said. "You're wanted at the castle. Right now."
"But Captain Reed just brought her home," Dad protested. "She's had a long day..."
"Orders from Alpha Raphael himself." The guard stepped into our house without being invited. "The girl comes with us. Now."
My heart started beating faster. "Why? What did I do wrong?"
"You'll find out soon enough." The guard looked at me with cold eyes. "Move."
I hugged Dad goodbye. "I'll be back soon," I whispered.
But Dad's face told me he wasn't sure about that.
The guards surrounded me as we walked back to the castle. I could feel the necklace against my skin, warm and somehow alive. What had my mother been? What powers was Dad talking about?
We didn't go to the Great Hall this time. Instead, the guards led me to a part of the castle I had never seen before. The walls here were covered with strange symbols that seemed to move in the torchlight.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To see someone who's been waiting a long time to meet you," the tall guard said.
We stopped in front of a door made of black wood. The guard knocked three times.
"Enter," a voice called from inside.
The door opened, and I saw a room filled with books, scrolls, and strange objects. Candles burned everywhere, making shadows dance on the walls.
And sitting behind a desk was Rowan Vale, the pack's seer.
But he wasn't alone.
Three figures stood in the shadows behind him. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw who they were.
The triplet princes.
All three of them were staring at me. Something was different about them now. Their eyes seemed brighter. More focused.
"Ah, Aria," Rowan Vale said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Please, sit down. We have so much to discuss."
I sat in the chair across from his desk, my heart pounding.
"First," the old seer continued, "let me apologize for the confusion today. What happened in the Great Hall was... unexpected."
"I still don't understand what happened," I said.
"Oh, but you do." Rowan Vale leaned forward. "Deep down, you know exactly what you are. You've always known, haven't you?"
I touched the necklace under my dress. It was getting warmer.
"The question is," Rowan Vale said, his milky eyes entering into mine, "are you ready to face the truth? Because once you do, there will be people who want to kill you for it."
Behind him, the three princes stepped closer. In the candlelight, they looked more like predators than men.
"What truth?" I whispered.
Rowan Vale smiled, and this time it was terrifying.
"The truth about who you really are, child. And why the moon itself has marked you as the most dangerous person in our world."