CHAPTER 2: CHOSEN

The light binds me so thickly and my chest rises and falls in quick, shallow gasps as the entire Velaris Hollow Pack stares at me like I’ve grown two heads.

No--- like I’ve stolen something sacred.

“Iryn Vale,” the High Priestess’s voice among the elders booms across the altar, breaking the unusual quietness of shock among the pack members.

“Step forward.”

My knees shake, my hands tremble at my sides and I can’t feel my toes or think past the rush in my ears.

She called my name, in front of everyone.

I glance around, but no one meets my eyes.

The Omegas look like they’ve seen a ghost, the Betas look confused and the Alphas?

Goddess, they look furious.

I take one shaky step, then another and I feel something thrum in my chest like an invisible thread is pulling me forward.

The High Priestess, dressed in a midnight blue cloak, lifts her hand and narrows her eyes at the moon above.

“The Moon has spoken. The bond glows for all to see.”

A hiss of whispers go through the crowd immediately like they've all just snapped out of a trance.

“She’s just an Omega.”

“No bloodline. No rank!! What is the meaning of this?”

“There must be a mistake—”

“There’s never a mistake during the bond.”

They talk on but I can barely breathe.

My footsteps stop at the edge of the altar circle, where only ranked wolves are allowed, however the light won’t stop pulling me.

It coils around my waist, my shoulders and my chest, then it splits and a second beam drops from the moon, then a third beam.

I blink in shock and at the same time, the crowd erupts into shouts.

“Three bonds?”

“No— that’s not possible.”

The silver threads of moonlight beams around me streak across the courtyard very fast, slamming into three figures who are standing shoulder to shoulder, making them all to glow.

Oh goddess!

My heart stutters; of course it does, why wouldn't it?

Everyone knows the names of the three men the Goddess just bonded me to, even lowly Omegas like me.

Nyall, Fenric and Orien.

And they're not just men, they’re all Alphas, the triplet sons of Lord Alpha Theron, born in the same hour, trained for pack wars.

No one knows which one of them will take the throne but all three are untouchable except now… they’re bound to me.

Me, an Omega!!

I don’t move, infact I can’t move, and then the three of them step forward.

Nyall walks first; he is tall and broad with onyx eyes that look like firelight and his gaze never leaves mine.

Fenric is next, with his hair tousled like he just came from a fight and enjoyed it.

His smirk is dangerous and...

And Orien… Goddess help me, Orien's eyes are as pale as storm clouds, but when they land on me there's confusion and hunger in them.

All three stop just a breath away from me and so the bond flares again, this time so brightly and strongly that I stagger backward.

Nyall catches my wrist, preventing me from falling.

“Mine,” he growls.

Fenric laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Ours, brother. Don’t forget the Moon gave her to all of us.”

“She’s shaking,” Orien murmurs in a quiet but dangerous voice.

“Are you afraid of us, little Omega?”

I try to speak, but nothing comes out.

“What sort of trickery is this?” Lord Alpha Theron roars from the steps above, shoving through the gathered crowd.

His own cloak flares about behind him as Beta Garren and guards march on either sides beside him with their weapons all drawn out of their sheaths.

“There is no trick,” the High Priestess says, not being intimidated at all by the Lord Alpha's anger.

“The Goddess’s light does not lie.”

“She’s a no name,” Beta Garren snaps.

"Born of a washmaid and a drunk who left before her third birthday. She has no claim to anything, much less them.”

“You would challenge the Moon’s will?” the High Priestess replies, turning her gaze on him as her eyes turn into a pure white glow.

Garren flinches at this, “This is an error. A curse. It must be undone.”

“She’s an Omega!” Elayne’s shrill voice breaks through the crowd.

She’s on her bare feet and her face is all red with fury and humiliation.

“She can’t be bonded to one Alpha, let alone three!”

I open my mouth then close it; I feel small and invisible again.

No— not invisible, everyone's looking at me. I feel targeted.

But I've done nothing wrong.

“Say something,” Fenric murmurs, stepping in and bending until his chest brushes against mine.

“Tell them it’s real. Tell them you feel it.”

I stare up at him, feeling the bond pulsing wildly between us.

Yes I do feel it, it’s alive and strong, and it's drawing at me.

“I… I didn’t ask for this,” I whisper.

Nyall’s jaw tightens as he looks at me. “None of us did.”

“Still,” Orien says in a low voice, “here we are.”

Lord Alpha Theron steps forward, towering over the altar.

“Iryn Vale, as Lord Alpha of this Hollow, I demand you reject the bond. Do it now, before it solidifies.”

The entire courtyard holds its breath and I blink in full shock.

Reject?

I hadn’t even known I’d be chosen---- how am I supposed to reject three bonded threads without getting destroyed?

I'm an Omega it will kill me.

“I…” My voice cracks.

“You’re terrified,” Orien murmurs. “I can hear your heart.”

Nyall’s hand wrap around my wrist tightly, but not cruelly, it's almost… protectively.

“I won’t let them force you,” he growls. “The bond is ours, not theirs.”

The High Priestess raises both her hands to the sky and speaks again.

“The bond has been cast. The Moon has chosen. If they reject, they do so together not under threat.”

I see Lord Alpha Theron’s eyes burn with fury, however I am surprised that I don't find myself lowering in submission to him.

“Elayne,” he barks. “Come. You’ll be bonded to Orien instead.”

Orien’s head whips around and he snarls at his father. “I. Am. Bound.”

“To her,” Nyall finishes.

“To us,” Fenric adds.

I stagger back again, feeling very overwhelmed.

“Enough,” the High Priestess says.

“The ceremony is concluded. The bond cannot be undone here. Take her to the sacred chamber, let the threads stabilize under the moon’s gaze.”

“What?” I gasp out before I can think.

“You will stay with them tonight,” she says looking directly at me and I almost flinch at her moon glowing eyes.

“The three of them. You are now connected in ways that must not be broken by force.”

“Like hell she will!” my mother’s voice screams from somewhere beyond the altar.

“She’s just a girl!”

Guards move to take me away, but in less than a breath, Nyall’s body blocks mine completely and Fenric and Orien stand by either side of me.