MIRA'S POV
Cold water slammed into my face.
I gasped and choked, my eyes flying open. Everything hurt. My head pounded where it hit the floor. My arm throbbed where Alpha Magnus dragged me.
"Wake up, Mira." The Alpha's voice was too calm. Too quiet. That's when he was most dangerous.
I blinked hard, trying to see. We were in a basement. Dark stone walls. No windows. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, swinging back and forth.
And my wrists—
"No!" I yanked my arms, but they wouldn't move. Silver chains wrapped around my wrists, bolted to the wall behind me. The metal burned like fire against my skin.
"Silver hurts, doesn't it?" Magnus crouched in front of me. His eyes were cold and empty. "Especially for wolves. Even ones who haven't shifted yet."
"Please," I whispered. "I don't understand what's happening."
"Don't lie to me!" He grabbed my face, his fingers digging into my cheeks. "You were listening at my door. You heard everything."
"I didn't hear anything! I don't know what you're talking about!"
But I did. I heard him say White Wolf. I heard him say my parents were hiding something. I heard him say he was going to chain me up the moment I turned eighteen.
Except he didn't wait.
Magnus let go of my face and stood up. "Your parents thought they were so clever. Hiding what you are. Using that witch to suppress your wolf, to hide your scent."
My heart hammered. "What do you mean, what I am?"
"You really don't know?" He laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "They died protecting a secret they never even told you. How pathetic."
Tears burned my eyes. "My parents weren't traitors."
"No," Magnus agreed. "They weren't. They were protectors. Hiding the most powerful wolf bloodline in existence." He leaned close, his breath hot on my face. "They were hiding a White Wolf."
"I don't know what that means!"
"It means power, Mira. Real power. White Wolves can command other wolves. They can heal injuries that would kill normal wolves. They can break curses and bonds." His smile was horrible. "They can make an Alpha unstoppable."
My stomach twisted. "You killed my parents because you thought I was this... this White Wolf thing?"
"I killed your parents because they refused to let me use you." Magnus pulled out a silver knife. "They said you were just a normal late bloomer. They lied very convincingly, right up until the blade came down."
I couldn't breathe. Mama's face flashed in my mind. Her smile. Her last words.
We love you.
They died for me. To protect me from this monster.
"Now," Magnus said softly, pressing the knife against my throat. "Tell me what you know about your bloodline. Tell me about the White Wolf powers."
"I don't know anything!" The words came out as a sob. "I swear, I don't know!"
"Wrong answer."
The knife cut. Not deep, but enough. Blood trickled down my neck.
I screamed.
"Every time you lie, I cut." Magnus's voice never changed. Still calm. Still quiet. "We have all night, Mira. And silver wounds take so long to heal."
"I'm not lying! My parents never told me anything!" My wrists burned where I pulled against the chains. "Please, I'm just an omega! I'm nobody!"
"You're not nobody." He grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. "You're mine. And in two weeks, when you shift for the first time, your wolf will prove exactly what you are."
Two weeks. My birthday. The day I was supposed to run free.
The day he was planning to chain me forever.
"What if I'm not?" I gasped. "What if you're wrong and I'm just normal?"
"Then you'll die in these chains." Magnus let go of my hair. "Either way, you're never leaving this pack."
He walked toward the stairs.
"Wait!" I called out. "At least tell me—tell me why. Why do you need a White Wolf so badly?"
Magnus paused. For a second, I thought he wouldn't answer.
Then he looked back at me. "Because I'm tired of being just another Alpha. With a White Wolf's power, I could rule every pack in this country. Maybe the world." His eyes gleamed. "And you, little Mira, are going to help me do it."
"I'll never help you."
"You won't have a choice." He smiled. "The witch made sure of that."
Then he left. The door slammed shut. A lock clicked.
I was alone in the dark.
The silver burned and burned and burned. I tried to pull free, but the chains were too strong. Every movement made it worse.
"Mama," I whispered into the darkness. "Papa. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
They died to keep me safe. And I got caught anyway.
Hours passed. Maybe days. I couldn't tell. Time felt weird down here.
The silver made me so tired. So heavy. My wolf was supposed to come in two weeks, but I couldn't feel her at all. Maybe the witch's spell was too strong. Maybe I'd never shift.
Maybe Magnus was wrong and I wasn't special at all.
My eyes started to close. The pain faded into numbness.
That's when I heard it.
Footsteps on the stairs. But lighter than Magnus's heavy boots.
The door creaked open.
"Well, well." Elena's voice dripped with fake sweetness. "Look at you now. Not so proud anymore, are you?"
I lifted my head. Darius's girlfriend stood in the doorway, holding a water bottle. For a second, I hoped—
She dumped the water on the floor in front of me. Just out of reach.
"Oops," she said, smiling. "How clumsy of me."
"Why do you hate me so much?" My voice cracked. "I never did anything to you."
"You exist." Elena crouched down, her perfect face twisted with anger. "Do you know how long I've waited to marry Darius? Since we were children. He's supposed to be mine."
"I don't want him—"
"Liar!" She slapped me. "You're his mate. I saw it. The witch told me years ago that Darius would be fated to the traitor's daughter. So I paid her extra. I made sure the bonds would never snap into place."
My blood turned cold. "You blocked the mate bonds?"
"Me and Magnus together." Elena stood up, smoothing her dress. "So even when you shift and the bonds try to form, they'll fail. Darius will never know you're his mate. None of them will."
None of them?
"What do you mean, none of them?" I whispered.
Elena's smile grew wider. Crueler.
"Oh, did Magnus not tell you the best part?" She laughed. "You're not just Darius's mate, little omega. According to the witch's vision, you're fated to all three Alpha heirs."
The world tilted.
Three mates. Darius. Cain. Ryker.
The three people who hated me most in the world.
"And they'll never feel the bond," Elena continued. "They'll never want you. You'll burn with the mate connection while they marry other people, have children, forget you exist." She walked to the door. "You'll suffer alone forever. Just like you deserve."
The door slammed.
I stared at the ceiling, my mind spinning.
Three mates who would never feel our bond.
A White Wolf power I didn't know how to use.
A monster who wanted to own me.
And in two weeks, my wolf would come whether I wanted her to or not.
My wrists burned. My neck bled. My heart shattered into a million pieces.
Then, through the pain and fear and hopelessness, I felt it.
Deep inside my chest. Barely there. Almost nothing.
But real.
My wolf stirred.
And she was angry.