A smell hit me like a truck going full speed. Pine trees and winter storms. Leather and something wild and scary and completely overwhelming. It made my wolf go totally crazy inside my head, scratching and clawing to get out. My knees went weak. The cleaning materials fell from my hands, clattering to the floor like my world was falling apart.

"Do you smell that?" a deep voice asked. The voice sent shivers down my spine.

"Honey and wildflowers," another voice answered, rougher than the first. "Like summer and sunshine. Where is it coming from?"

A third voice, softer but just as strong, said, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled."

But that was impossible. I was just an omega. Just unseen Aisla who cleaned floors and stayed out of sight and never caused trouble for anyone important.

The footsteps got closer. I could hear them breathe now.

My wolf was going crazy inside me. She wanted out. She wanted to run toward that smell, not away from it. She wanted something I didn't understand.

"There," the third voice said, softer than the others but somehow more dangerous. "In the kitchen. She's in there."

The footsteps stopped right outside the door. I could feel them there, waiting.

Deep down, I knew my life was about to change forever.

I could swear I heard three wolves roaring inside my head.

The kitchen door handle turned slowly.

I was about to meet my fate.

Or my doom.


~

I had spent my entire life in the shadows. As a lowly omega, I was used to being overlooked, ignored, and unseen. 

But everything changed on my 18th birthday.

That was the day the Moon Goddess gave me a cruel kind of blessing. 

I had a mate. 

Not just one. 

Not two. 

But all three of the Alpha’s sons, the legendary triplets were bound to me.

The courtyard smelled of sweat, iron, and unease.


I stood at its center, Mora's sharp eyes on me, the pack circling like wary wolves unsure if I was prey or predator. The younger warriors whispered my name like a prayer. The older ones watched in silence, jaws clenched, suspicion coiled tight in their gazes.


I raised my hand, fingers trembling, and summoned the shield. Silver light shimmered into a dome around me.


 My heart hammered in rhythm with the chant running in my head, every word Mora had drilled into me etched into bone.


Three warriors charged. Their claws scraped against the dome, sparks flying. The shield held for a breath. Then one wolf slammed harder, and cracks raced across the surface like lightning splitting stone.


"Don't let it break!" Mora snapped. "You are Moonblood! You hold or you fall!"


Chapter 72 - The Bond of Fire and Steel