EMBER POV
I run.
The bus station is six blocks away and my ribs scream with every step, but I don't stop. Behind me, I hear pack members shouting. They found Dad's body. Soon they'll look for me. Soon they'll ask questions.
I can't be here when they do.
The pre-dawn air is cold and bites my lungs. My backpack bounces against my bruised shoulders. Everything I own fits in one bag—that's how little my life amounts to.
The bus station is empty except for one person.
An old woman sits on the bench, silver hair glowing under the flickering lights. She's tiny but something about her makes the air feel heavy, powerful. When she looks up, her eyes are violet. Actually violet, like amethyst stones.
"Ember." She says my name like she's been waiting her whole life to say it. "You came."
"Who are you?" My voice shakes. "How do you know me?"
"I'm Elara Morven. Your grandmother." She stands, moving like water despite her age. "Your mother was my daughter. The one they told you was an orphan."
My brain can't process this. "That's impossible. Mom didn't have family—"
"Your mother ran away from our pack when she was seventeen." Grandmother's voice is gentle but firm. "She fell in love with Gordon Ashford against my wishes. I told her he was cruel, dangerous. She didn't listen. By the time she realized I was right, she was pregnant with you."
"But... why didn't you come for me? Why did you leave me with him for nineteen years?" Anger rises hot in my throat. "Do you know what he did to me? What they all did?"
"I couldn't." Pain flashes in her violet eyes. "Your mother made me swear a blood oath. She was terrified that if the Morven Pack found you, they would take you away and she'd never see you again. She made me promise to stay away until..." She stops.
"Until what?"
"Until you awakened." Grandmother reaches for my hand. The moment our skin touches, warmth explodes through me. That same heat from last night, but stronger. "Ember, you're not wolfless. You never were."
My heart stops. "What?"
"You're a True Omega. The rarest type of shifter—so rare they're considered myth. Your mother knew this. She was one too." Grandmother's grip tightens. "True Omegas are hunted, stolen, killed for their power. So she asked me to seal your wolf. Hide it. Keep you safe until you were strong enough to protect yourself."
The world tilts. "I have a wolf?"
"You have Seraphina. A white-gold Alpha-Omega hybrid. She's been sleeping inside you, waiting." Grandmother pulls out a small crystal pendant. "Gordon's death broke part of the seal—strong emotion can do that. But you need to fully awaken before other packs sense what you are. Before they come hunting."
"Other packs? Why would they—"
A howl cuts through the morning. Close. Too close.
"They're tracking you." Grandmother shoves the pendant in my hand and pushes me toward the arriving bus. "Get on. Now. The driver knows where to take you."
"Wait! You're not coming?"
"I have to lead them away. Make them think you went north." She cups my face with wrinkled hands. "Listen carefully. You're going to Silver Moon City. There's a woman named Lyanna there—she'll help you. She lost her daughter years ago and always wanted another. She's wolfless too, so she'll understand you."
"But I don't understand any of this—"
"Trust me, child." Grandmother's eyes glow violet. "And whatever you do, don't tell anyone what you really are. Not until you're ready to fight. Promise me."
"I promise."
She kisses my forehead. Power tingles across my skin. "Your mother loved you so much she died protecting you. Don't let that sacrifice be for nothing."
The bus door hisses open. I climb on with shaking legs. Through the window, I watch Grandmother shift into a massive silver wolf and race away from the station.
Three dark wolves burst from the treeline, chasing her.
My chest aches. I just found her. I can't lose her already.
The bus pulls away. I grip the crystal pendant so hard it cuts my palm.
Wake up, I think desperately at the wolf supposedly inside me. If you're real, I need you. Please.
Nothing happens.
I slump in my seat, exhausted and confused. True Omega? Sealed wolf? None of it makes sense.
The bus driver catches my eye in the mirror. "Silver Moon City, last stop. Six hours. Get some rest, kid. You look like you've been through hell."
"Something like that," I mutter.
I close my eyes. Try to sleep. But every time I drift off, I hear howling. Smell blood. See Dad's dead eyes.
Four hours later, my phone buzzes. Unknown number again: "Your grandmother is safe. She escaped. Now listen carefully—when you arrive in Silver Moon City, Lyanna will be waiting at the station. She's kind, lonely, and desperate for family. She'll take you in. In six months, she's marrying Alpha Marcus Crimson. You'll move with her to Crimson Moon Pack."
My blood runs cold. Crimson Moon Pack. One of the five Great Packs. Powerful, traditional, full of Alphas who hate weakness.
I text back with trembling fingers: "Why? Why am I going there?"
The response makes my stomach drop: "Because Alpha Marcus has three sons. Kael, Damon, and Asher Crimson. They're strong, cruel, and trained to destroy anything weak. They'll hate you on sight. They'll try to break you. But here's what they don't know—you're their fated mate. All three of them. When your wolf awakens fully, the mate bond will snap into place. And those boys who tried to destroy you? They'll burn the world down to keep you."
No. No, no, no.
"Three mates? That's impossible!"
"Not for a True Omega. You can bond with multiple Alphas. It's your gift and your curse. Those three brothers have been waiting their whole lives for you, even if they don't know it yet. Their wolves will recognize you the moment you meet."
I stare at the message in horror.
I'm walking into a house full of Alphas who will hate me. Who will hurt me. And somehow I'm supposed to be their mate?
"What if I don't go? What if I run?"
The response is immediate: "Then the other packs will find you within days. At least with the Crimson brothers, you'll be protected while you learn to access your power. They might be cruel, Ember, but they're also the strongest unmated Alphas in the country. Once the bond forms, they'll kill anyone who tries to take you."
The bus pulls into Silver Moon City station.
A woman with kind eyes and sad smile waits on the platform. She holds a sign that says "Ember."
This must be Lyanna.
My phone buzzes one last time: "Remember—don't tell anyone what you are. Let them think you're wolfless. Let the Crimson brothers underestimate you. And when your wolf finally wakes up? Show them exactly what a True Omega can do. Good luck, little wolf. You're going to need it."
I take a deep breath. Grab my bag. Walk toward Lyanna and whatever nightmare awaits me in Crimson Moon Pack.
Behind me, I swear I hear a voice inside my head—female, powerful, ancient: "Don't be afraid, little one. When the time comes, I'll show them all why they should have feared us."
Seraphina.
My wolf.
She's real.
And she sounds ready for war.