Chapter 2: The Face of Fate

Ava's POV

The palace was huge.

I stood outside the servant's entrance with Max, staring up at the white stone walls that seemed to go on forever. My legs felt weak. I'd barely eaten in the past week, just the bread and water Max gave me on the way here.

"Ready?" Max asked. He wasn't looking at me. He kept checking over his shoulder like someone might be following us.

"No." My voice came out small. Honest.

"You'll be fine." He pushed a pile of clothes into my arms. "Put these on. Quickly."

I looked down. A maid's uniform. Simple gray dress, white apron, nothing special. Nothing that would make anyone look at me twice.

That's what I needed. To be invisible.

I changed behind a wall while Max kept watch. The dress was too big and smelled like soap. When I came back, Max nodded.

"Keep your head down. Don't talk unless someone asks you something. And don't tell anyone about your blood." His eyes were hard when he said that last part. "Promise me, Ava."

"I promise."

He led me through the entrance and down a long hallway. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. The palace was beautiful inside, way more beautiful than my old pack house. Everything was clean and shiny. Expensive.

"Wait here," Max said, stopping at a corner. "I need to find the head maid. Don't move."

He disappeared before I could argue.

I stood there alone, trying not to panic. My chest still hurt sometimes, that weird burning from three days ago. It hadn't come back as bad, but I could feel it there. Waiting.

"New girl?"

I jumped and spun around.

A girl about my age was standing there, holding a bucket and some rags. She had red hair pulled back tight and freckles all over her face. She was smiling at me, but her eyes looked worried.

"I'm Leta," she said. "You look lost."

"I'm Ava. I just got here."

"Yeah, I can tell." Leta stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Listen, stick with me today, okay? This place can be confusing. And some of the people here aren't very nice."

Something about her felt familiar. Safe. I nodded, relief flooding through me.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." She gave me a look that seemed like a warning. "Just be careful who you trust."

Before I could ask what she meant, Max came back with an older woman who barely looked at me.

"You'll start in the main hall," the woman said in a bored voice. "Dusting and cleaning. Don't touch anything valuable. Don't speak to any of the family. Keep your eyes down."

"Yes, ma'am."

She walked away. Max squeezed my shoulder once.

"I have to go. You'll be alright." Then he left too, and I was alone with Leta.

"Come on," Leta said. "I'll show you where everything is."

She led me through more hallways until we reached two massive doors. My stomach dropped just looking at them.

"The main hall is through there," Leta said. She handed me a cloth. "Just dust the tables and the shelves on the sides and stay away from the center. That's where they walk."

"They?"

Leta's face went pale. "The Alphas. The triplets. If you see them coming, get out of the way fast. Don't look at them, and don't talk to them. Just move."

My mouth went dry. "Are they really that bad?"

"They're not bad." Leta looked scared. "They're dangerous. There's a difference."

She pushed open the doors and we walked in.

The hall was enormous. The ceiling was so high I could barely see it. Windows lined one whole wall, letting in bright sunlight. Everything was gold and white and perfect.

And it hurt.

The second I stepped past the doorway, pain shot through my chest. That same burning from before, but sharper and stronger. I gasped and almost dropped my cloth.

"You okay?" Leta grabbed my arm.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I wasn't fine. Something was wrong. The air in here felt thick and heavy, pressing down on me. "Just tired."

"Take it slow then. No one expects you to be fast on your first day."

We started cleaning. The work was easy enough. Dust, wipe, move to the next table. But that pressure in my chest kept getting worse. It felt like something was watching me. Waiting.

Then the doors at the far end of the hall opened.

Everyone stopped moving. Every single maid and servant in the room froze.

Three men walked in.

No, not men. Alphas. I could feel their power from across the room, thick and suffocating and absolute.

They were all tall. Incredibly tall. Dressed in dark clothes that looked expensive and they were the most handsome people I'd ever seen, in a way that felt wrong. Scary.

The one in front had black hair and sharp features. Cold gray eyes that swept the room like he owned everything in it. He probably did.

The one on the left had lighter hair, almost brown, and moved like a fighter. Confident. Deadly.

The one on the right looked the youngest, with dark eyes that seemed to see everything. He looked troubled and distracted.

My whole body started shaking. I couldn't help it. Their presence was overwhelming. Suffocating.

"Don't look at them," Leta hissed beside me. "Ava, look down."

I tried. I really tried.

But then they stopped walking.

All three of them. Right in the middle of the hall.

The pressure in my chest exploded. It felt like something cracked inside me, hot and sharp and agonizing. I bent over, biting my lip to keep from crying out.

What was happening? What was wrong with me?

When I looked up, all three of them were staring directly at me.

Not near me or past me. At me.

Their eyes were wide and shocked. Like they'd seen a ghost.

The one in front took a step toward me. The whole room seemed to hold its breath.

No no no. This couldn't be happening.

The burning got worse. So much worse. I could barely breathe. It felt like my ribs were breaking. Like something inside me was trying to claw its way out.

The three Alphas moved closer. Together. Their faces changed from shock to something else. Something intense, possessive and terrifying.

I backed up until I hit the wall. Trapped.

They stopped right in front of me. So close I could smell them, pine and rain and something wild.

The dark-haired one in front opened his mouth. His voice was deep and rough and it vibrated through my whole body when he spoke.

The other two spoke at the exact same time, the same word, and I felt it in my bones. In my blood. In every broken piece of me.

"Mate."