CHAPTER 3: THE ALPHA ARRIVES

Maren

The air changed before the gates even opened. It got heavy, making it hard to breathe. Everyone felt it. The warriors straightened their backs, and my father, Alpha Aldric, stepped to the very front of the courtyard like he was king of the world.

I stood at the very back. That is where the Omegas go. We are the back row, the ones who don’t matter. I was wearing a tunic and pants that my mother had scraped together for me this morning. They weren't mine, and they didn't fit right, but they were clean.

"Maren, stop fidgeting," Sera whispered next to me.

"I’m not fidgeting," I lied. My skin felt too tight.

My father didn't look back at us. He never did.

Then, the gates opened.

Caius didn't come in with a shout or a show. He didn't have to. He just walked in, and suddenly, the courtyard felt smaller. He was bigger than the stories said, but he wasn't loud. He moved like a man who never had to ask for permission to exist. He had his inner circle with him, all of them looking like they were made of stone.

Aldric stepped forward, his hand out, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Alpha Caius. We are honored to..."

Caius shook his hand once. It was fast. It was polite, but it was dismissive. His eyes didn't stay on my father. They didn't stay on the high-ranking warriors or the beautiful females lined up in the front row. His eyes moved. They scanned the crowd like he was looking for something specific.

And then they stopped. On me.

He didn't say another word to my father. He just started walking. He walked past the Beta, past the Lead Enforcer, and straight through the gap in the lines. People scrambled to get out of his way. My heart started thumping against my ribs so hard.

He stopped two feet in front of me. I could smell him... rain and something sharp, like crushed pine needles. It was a dangerous smell.

"You're Maren," he said.

It wasn't a question. It was a fact. I looked up at him because I knew if I looked down, I’d never be able to look up again. I wouldn't let him see me tremble.

"I am," I said. My voice was steadier than I felt.

He just stared at me for a long beat. His eyes were dark, and there was something in them I couldn't understand. It wasn't the disgust I saw in my father’s eyes or the pity I saw in Sera’s. It was something else. It was heat. It was focus. It was like he was seeing me, really seeing me, in a way no one ever had.

He nodded once, turned on his heel, and walked back to my father.

Aldric looked like he’d swallowed a rock. His face was pale, his jaw locked tight. The rest of the pack was dead silent. I could feel their eyes on me now... angry, confused, jealous eyes. My hands were perfectly still, and I had no idea why.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the main hall.

It was just the four of us: Aldric, Caius, one of Caius’s guards, and me. My father had me sitting at the very end of the long wooden table. He was doing his best to act like the last few minutes hadn't happened.

"The border tensions with the Ironblood territory have been... manageable," Aldric said, leaning forward. "If we move the patrol routes as I’ve planned, we can..."

"What do you know about the Ironblood territory?" Caius interrupted. He wasn't looking at Aldric. He was looking at me.

Aldric cleared his throat. "As I was saying, Maren knows what I've told her, but the strategic..."

"I asked her," Caius said. His voice was quiet, but it cut through my father’s words.

Aldric’s jaw tightened so hard I heard a faint click. He hated this. He hated being interrupted, and he hated that I was being spoken to at all. He looked at me, his eyes cold and warning. Don't speak.

I ignored him. "The territory is rocky," I said, looking straight at Caius. "The Ironblood wolves use the higher ground for scouting. If you try to move through the valley, they’ll see you before you even cross the creek. You have to use the northern pass, even if it’s slower."

Caius leaned back in his chair. "The northern pass is prone to mudslides this time of year."

"Not if you stay on the ridgeline," I replied. "The ground there is solid stone."

"She's just guessing, of course," Aldric broke in, his voice tight. "She spends too much time with the scouts' reports and not enough time..."

"She's right," Caius said. He stood up, effectively ending the meeting. "The arrangement will proceed. I'll have my men prepare the transition."

He looked at me one more time. It was only for a second, but it felt like an hour. I felt a weird warmth crawl up my neck. It wasn't the warmth of a fire... it was the warmth of being noticed. It was terrifying.

He left the room without saying goodbye to my father.

I waited until I was sure they were gone before I stood up. Aldric didn't even look at me. He just slammed his fist onto the table and walked out the back door. I stood there in the silence, my heart finally slowing down.

I found Reva waiting for me by the laundry sheds. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shadows of the building.

"Maren! My god, did you see that?" she hissed.

"I was there, Reva," I said, trying to shake out my nerves.

"He walked straight past your father," she said, her eyes wide. "He didn't look at any of the warriors. He didn't even look at the Beta's daughter, and she spent three hours on her hair this morning."

"I noticed," I said.

"Maren. Why did he go to you first? Why you?"

I leaned against the rough wood of the shed. "I don't know. Maybe he wanted to intimidate me."

"It didn't look like that," Reva whispered. "It looked... it felt deliberate. It felt like he already knew exactly where you were standing before he even walked through the gate."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I was thinking about the way he said my name.

"Reva," I said quietly.

"What?"

"He knew my name."

Reva frowned. "Well, I'm sure your father sent him a list or something before he arrived."

"No," I said, and the realization hit me like a cold splash of water. "My father doesn't put my name on lists. To the rest of the world, Aldric has no daughter. He only has an Omega he keeps in the back of the house."

Reva stared at me, her mouth falling open. "Then how...?"

"I don't know," I said.

I looked back toward the main house, where the Ironblood banners were already being raised. Caius knew who I was. He knew my name.

And that was the scariest thing of all. He knew me, and I didn't know him at all.