Chapter 4: New Home, New Rules
The silver moonlight flooded through the window as Liana thrashed in her bed, heart pounding madly. The voice of her wolf kept echoing in her mind. "The real danger begins..." What danger? Why wouldn't her wolf explain more?
She sat up, gasping for air. Her whole body felt on fire, like she might shift at any moment. But something held her back—a strange power she couldn't understand.
"Why now?" she whispered to her wolf. "Why are you finally talking to me?"
Silence. As usual, her wolf had gone quiet again. Liana pressed her hands against her hot face. Just yesterday, she was nobody. Now, she was apparently bonded to three Alpha brothers and part of some ancient prophecy.
A soft knock on the door made her jump.
"Liana? Can I come in?" It was Talia.
"Yes," Liana called, her voice still shaky.
Talia slipped inside, carrying a small bag. Her red curls were wild, and her eyes wide with worry.
"I heard everything," Talia whispered, sitting beside Liana on the bed. "The whole pack is talking about it. Three mate bonds! It's never happened before."
"It can't be real," Liana said. "I'm just... me."
"Well, 'just you' is causing quite the stir," Talia said with a small smile. "The Alpha sent me to help you pack. You're moving to the main house today."
Liana's stomach dropped. "Moving? But I don't want to—"
"It's not a request," Talia said gently. "Alpha's orders. Until they figure out which of the triplets is your true mate, you need to be protected."
"Protected from what?"
Talia bit her lip. "People are taking sides. Some think it's a miracle. Others think you've somehow tricked the triplets. Celeste's friends are... angry."
Great. Just what she needed—more haters.
Packing didn't take long. Liana owned very little: a few simple clothes, a hairbrush her mother had given her, and a small book of wolf tales. Her whole life fit into one bag.
"Ready?" Talia asked, trying to sound upbeat.
"No," Liana agreed, "but does it matter?"
Outside, a tall female guard waited for them. "Follow me," she ordered.
As they walked through the omega apartments, Liana felt everyone watching. Some looked curious, others scared, a few angry. News really did spread fast in the pack.
"Hold your head high," Talia whispered. "You're not just an omega anymore."
"But I am," Liana maintained. "One weird test doesn't change who I am."
The Alpha's house loomed ahead, three stories of stone and wood that seemed to touch the sky. Liana had only seen it from a distance before. Up close, it was even more frightening.
Inside, the guard led them through grand halls with paintings of past Alphas. Liana felt small and out of place among all the signs of power and history.
They turned a corner and almost crashed into Celeste's mother, Luna Vivian.
"There you are," Luna Vivian said, looking down her nose at Liana. "I've been waiting."
Talia squeezed Liana's hand before the guard pulled her away. "I'll come visit soon," Talia promised.
Alone with Luna Vivian, Liana tried not to shake.
"Follow me," the woman ordered, her voice cold. "I'll show you to your room."
They walked past beautiful bedrooms with big windows and soft beds. For a moment, Liana dared to hope she might get one of those. Instead, Luna Vivian stopped at a tiny door at the end of a dark tunnel.
"This will be yours," she said, pushing open the door.
The room was barely bigger than a closet. A small bed, a broken chair, and a tiny window high up on the wall. Dust covered everything.
"The storage room is next door," Luna Vivian added with a tight smile. "How... convenient for an omega like you."
Liana bit her tongue. She'd slept in worse places.
"These will be your clothes while you're here." Luna Vivian dropped a stack of gray, shapeless dresses on the bed. They looked like old servant outfits from decades ago.
"Thank you," Liana forced herself to say.
"Dinner is at six. Don't be late, and don't speak unless spoken to." At the door, Luna Vivian stopped. "My daughter has been preparing her whole life to be Luna. Whatever trick you're playing won't work for long."
After she left, Liana sat on the dirty bed and fought back tears. She would not cry. She had survived eighteen years of being ignored and stepped on. She could survive this too.
A knock surprised her.
"Come in," she called, quickly wiping her eyes.
The door opened, and Rowan stepped in. His blue eyes took in the tiny room, the ugly clothes, the dust.
"This isn't right," he said softly.
"It's fine," Liana lied. "I don't need much."
Rowan frowned. "You're a guest here, not a prisoner."
"Am I?" Liana challenged. "I can't leave. I have to follow orders. Sounds like a prisoner to me."
A small smile touched his lips. "Fair point."
He walked to the window, running his finger through the dust on the sill. "Luna Vivian did this, didn't she?"
Liana shrugged. No point getting in more trouble.
"I'll have someone clean this room properly," Rowan said. Then, more softly: "I'm sorry about all this. It must be overwhelming."
"Why are you being nice to me?" Liana asked.
"Because..." he started, then stopped. "Because I feel like I've known you forever. Since yesterday, there's this pull—"
The door burst open. Kael stood there, his gray eyes angry.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at his brother.
"Checking on our guest," Rowan replied calmly.
"You're supposed to keep your distance," Kael said. "Dad's orders."
"I was just leaving." Rowan gave Liana one last look before walking out.
Kael paused, his eyes taking in the room. His jaw tightened.
"This isn't acceptable," he muttered.
"It's fine," Liana said, continuing her lie.
"No, it's not." He shook his head. "I'll handle it."
Before she could reply, he was gone too.
Alone again, Liana unpacked her few things. The ugly dresses mocked her from the bed. Fine. If they wanted to dress her like a servant, she'd wear their clothes with pride.
She had just changed when another knock came.
"Seriously?" she grumbled, opening the door.
Jace leaned against the doorframe, grinning. "Nice outfit."
Liana blushed, wishing the floor would swallow her.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"To see how you're settling in." His green eyes sparkled with mischief. "And to give you this."
He gave her a small box. Inside was a beautiful silver band with a moon charm.
"I can't accept this," she said, trying to give it back.
"Sure you can." He closed her fingers around it. "Think of it as a welcome gift."
His hand stayed on hers a moment too long. His touch felt like lightning, making her wolf stir restlessly.
"My brothers visited you too, didn't they?" Jace asked.
Liana nodded.
"What did they say?"
"Not much," she admitted.
Jace leaned closer. "Do you feel it? The pull? Because I do. Ever since yesterday, it's like there's a string connecting us."
Before Liana could answer, shadows moved in the hallway behind him. Someone was watching them.
"I should go," Jace said, suddenly serious. "Be careful, Liana. Not everyone is happy you're here."
That night, Liana couldn't sleep. The tiny room felt like a cage. Her wolf was antsy, pacing inside her mind.
She stared at the moonlight streaming through the small window. Why was this happening to her? Which brother was her true mate? Or was it all some cosmic mistake?
A noise outside her door made her freeze. Footsteps, slow and careful.
The handle turned slowly. Liana's heart pounded as she reached for anything she could use as a weapon.
The door cracked open. A hand slipped through, holding something that glinted in the darkness.
A knife.