Sera's POV
The alarm is so loud it feels like my skull is splitting.
I jolt awake, heart hammering. Red lights flash through my tiny window. The sound sharp, piercing, endless can only mean one thing.
Attack.
I stumble out of bed, legs tangling in thin sheets. My hands shake as I try to remember what the servants told me. Where are omegas supposed to go during attacks? The safe room. But where is it?
Footsteps thunder past my door. Shouts echo down the hallway. Warriors running to defend the fortress.
I yank open my door and nearly crash into a female warrior sprinting past.
Where's the safe room? I gasp.
She doesn't even slow down. Basement. East stairwell. Move!
I run. The fortress is chaos warriors everywhere, weapons being distributed, orders being shouted. I keep my head down and follow the stream of servants fleeing toward safety.
Then I hear glass shatter behind me.
I spin around.
Three rogues crash through a window at the end of the hallway. They're in human form but barely eyes wild, faces twisted with madness, clothes torn and filthy.
Rogues are wolves who've lost their pack bonds. Lost their minds. They're unpredictable, violent, and they kill without mercy.
One of them locks eyes with me.
Run, my brain screams.
But I'm frozen. Absolutely frozen.
The rogue smiles a horrible, broken thing. Omega. His voice is like gravel scraping stone. Smells weak.
He lunges.
My body finally moves. I turn and run, but I'm not fast enough. I've never trained for combat. Never learned to fight. Omegas aren't taught those things.
Claws rake across my back. Pain explodes through me. I scream and fall, hitting the floor hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.
The rogue is on me in seconds, pinning me down. His breath reeks of blood and rot. Gonna tear you apart, omega. Nice and slow.
Terror floods my system. I try to fight, try to push him off, but he's so much stronger.
His claws sink into my shoulders.
I scream again and something inside me snaps.
Heat explodes from my chest. Not painful heat. Not normal heat.
Power.
The rogue flies backward like he's been hit by a truck. He crashes into the wall so hard the stone cracks. The other two rogues stare in shock.
I stare at my hands. They're glowing. Actually glowing with faint silver light.
What
The second rogue snarls and charges. Instinct takes over. I throw my hands up to protect my face.
The power surges again. The rogue hits an invisible wall and drops, unconscious.
The third one looks between his fallen companions and me. Then he turns and runs.
I collapse against the wall, gasping. My whole body is shaking. Blood soaks through my shirt from the claw marks on my back and shoulders, but that's not what scares me.
What scares me is the silver light still flickering around my fingers.
Omegas don't have power. We can't fight. Can't defend ourselves. That's just how it is.
Except I just threw two rogues across a hallway without touching them.
Footsteps pound toward me. I look up and see a female warrior running my way tall, fierce, with short dark hair and a sword in her hand.
She skids to a stop when she sees the unconscious rogues. Then her eyes land on me.
On my glowing hands.
What the hell? Her voice is sharp. What did you do?
II don't know, I stammer. They attacked me and I just it just happened
The warrior steps closer, eyes narrowed. That's not omega power. That's not any kind of power I've seen.
Before I can respond, more footsteps. Heavy ones.
Kade appears at the end of the hallway.
His eyes sweep the scene the broken window, the unconscious rogues, me bleeding on the floor, the warrior standing over me.
Through the bond, I feel his rage spike. Then his concern. Then confusion.
Mira. His voice is deadly calm. Report.
The warrior Mira gestures at the rogues. Found them like this. She said they attacked her. She also said she doesn't know how she defended herself.
Kade's eyes finally land on me. They're unreadable. Defended yourself how?
I try to make the glowing stop, but my hands won't cooperate. The silver light pulses with my heartbeat.
I don't know, I whisper. It just... happened.
Kade walks closer. Each step deliberate. When he's right in front of me, he crouches down to my level.
Up close, I can see his face clearly. No disgust this time. Just intense focus.
Show me your hands.
I hold them out, trembling. The silver light reflects in his dark eyes.
He studies them for a long moment. Then his gaze shifts to the rogues. You threw them? Without touching them?
I nod.
Impossible, Mira mutters. Omegas don't have that kind of strength.
Clearly, this one does. Kade's voice is hard. His eyes lock on mine. What are you?
The question hits like a punch. Because I don't have an answer.
I don't know, I say honestly. I've never done anything like this before. I didn't even know I could.
Kade's expression shifts to something I can't read. Through the bond, I catch a flash of his thoughts suspicion mixed with something that might be concern.
You're bleeding. He reaches for my shoulder, then stops himself. Like touching me is dangerous.
It's not bad, I lie. The claw marks burn like fire, but I've dealt with worse.
Mira, take her to the healers, Kade orders, standing. And don't let anyone else see what she can do. Not until we figure out what this is.
Understood. Mira helps me to my feet. I wince as the movement pulls at my wounds.
Kade turns to leave, then pauses. He looks back at me, and for just a second, the ice in his eyes cracks.
You fought back, he says quietly. Good.
Then he's gone, disappearing down the hallway to deal with the rest of the attack.
Mira stares after him, eyebrows raised. Well. That's the closest thing to a compliment I've ever heard him give an omega.
She starts leading me toward the healers, supporting my weight. As we walk, the silver glow finally fades from my hands.
But I can still feel it inside me. Coiled. Waiting.
Whatever just happened, whatever power just woke up inside me it's not gone.
It's just sleeping.
And something tells me it's been sleeping for a very, very long time.
Hey, Mira says as we turn a corner. You mentioned someone framing you. Back in the Council chamber. Did you mean that?
I glance at her, surprised. Yes. My friend Lydia planted those relics in my room. She lied to get me arrested.
Why?
I don't know. To move up in the pack, maybe. To get away from being an omega.
Mira is quiet for a moment. You know what I think?
What?
I think someone powerful wanted you arrested. And they used your friend to do it. She looks at me seriously. The question is why. Why would anyone care about one omega?
Her words send ice down my spine.
Because she's right. Omegas are invisible. Worthless. Nobody pays attention to us.
Unless they're hiding something.
The silver glow flickers in my palms again, just for a second.
Unless I'm hiding something I don't even know about.