Prologue
Narah
I wish I could say that my life will have a happy ending, but I’ve long ago accepted that’s not my path. My status as an Omega has always drawn Alphas to claim me as their own. I’ve known this my whole life, had it drilled into me from the moment I could speak. I’ve had years to prepare for my mating ritual. But now that the night has arrived, all I want is to run away.
Does that make me weak?
Maybe… but I prefer to think it makes me a survivor. After all, we live in a broken world ravaged by a virus and ruled by wolf packs, where Omegas like my sisters and I are apparently only good for rutting and impregnating. But what’s the alternative? Live outside the Storm Wolves’ pack at the mercy of rogue wolf shifters who will kill us? No thanks. So we make do, even if that means lying and wearing fake smiles to ensure we keep our heads on our shoulders.
We grew up here, and this is where we are safest.
You do whatever it takes, my father used to tell us. Just never let them see what you really are.
“Are you nervous?” Kaira asks, distracting me from my thoughts. She combs my long hair as I sit in the middle of our small stone hut. To say I’m nervous would be an understatement, and I look up at my sister, the panic on her face mirroring my knotted insides. Like me, she has a narrow face, a thin nose, and full lips. But while her eyes are the color of the bluest sky, mine remind me of a burning sunset. My father said I must have been born from fire to have such bright amber eyes.
For my two little sisters’ sake, I put on a brave face to reassure them. Even if a ripple of fear plunges into my gut that I’ll somehow ruin the ritual tonight.
I ought to be bouncing on my toes and be grateful I found my fated mate in this pack. Otherwise, I’d be given to another wolf shifter for rutting since more than half the pack is made up of Alphas who haven’t found their mates. The rest are a combination of Betas and Omegas at the mercy of these Alphas.
That’s why I need a strong man by my side, so I can protect my sisters from the others in this pack. It will give me time to help find their true fated mates.
I breathe deeply and sit back as Kaira keeps combing my hair.
My stomach hurts the more I think about what’s coming. Moon goddess, forgive me should I end up vomiting all over my mate from nerves. That would be the exact opposite of a perfect night.
“Do you think he will treat us well when we all move in together?” my sister continues. I hear the trepidation in her voice, only adding to my nerves. We’ve seen the atrocities taking place in the Storm Wolves’ pack, a clan once run by our father. We watched him get defeated and killed by the current Alpha after our mother vanished in the woods. They called her a traitor for leaving the pack, and our father paid the price.
“How could he not,” I answer. Martell is a new addition to our pack, and electricity sizzled through my body at our first and only meet, my body craving him instantly. Secretly, my reaction scared me, as there’s something unfathomable about already feeling connected to someone I barely know. I am guessing with time I will grow more affectionate toward my mate, feel emotion beyond the jarring desire that ignites in my body around him.
“I’d be nervous,” Jae butts in from across the room, sitting cross-legged on her blankets, plaiting a floral arrangement. She scrunches up her face in our direction. “Did you see the size of Martell, and his nose? How are you meant to kiss him around that?”
Kaira and I both laugh. Jae is the youngest of us at only fourteen, so she hasn’t quite reached the stage of finding boys interesting. And it’s better she stays that way for as long as possible.
Kaira leans in to whisper over my shoulder. “Mother told me that kissing was the mildest thing you need to worry about on your first night, sister. Are you ready for this?”
My stomach clenches at the thought, but it’s what finding your soulmate is all about, right? Consummating your connection.
“How hard can it be?” I reply with