Chapter 01

Xara Draven stood on the edge of the Moonstone Pack's village, her gaze drawn to the jagged horizon as the sun began to set. The air was thick with the aroma of moist dirt and pine, a constant reminder of the world in which she had grown up yet never quite belonged. She pulled the tattered blanket across her thin shoulders, her mind racing as she watched the town spring to life in preparation for an event she had no desire to attend.

Her wedding.

The mere thought sent shivers down her spine. Not a wedding of love, hope, or desire. No, it was much darker, something that made her skin crawl. Xara has always known she was unwanted within her own pack. Being the Alpha's illegitimate daughter, the result of an affair with a healer, had defined her as an outcast since birth. Her stepmother, Luna Lyra, had made it her duty to make sure Xara knew where she stood—below everyone else.

But nothing, including years of torture and seclusion, could have prepared her for this.

Alphas are a triplet.

She'd heard whispered stories—horrors, really—about the fabled Savage Blood Pack leaders. Zayne, Luka, and Rowan Savage. They were known as the Demon Lords, and with good reason. Their pack was the largest and most feared, and they ruled with an iron fist. They were famed for their cruelty in war and their voracious appetites outside of it. Xara had also heard reports of how many brides had been offered to them, only for those women to vanish, their fate unknown. No one ever mentioned what happened to them following their unions.

Xara was next.

Her heart beat against her ribs, and her hands trembled as she held the shawl tighter. She was not prepared for this. How could anyone be prepared for what she found in the Savage Blood Pack? However, she had no choice. Luna Lyra had ensured this.

"You're nothing but a burden," Lyra had snarled earlier that morning, her sharp eyes sweeping over Xara's petite figure with contempt. "You should be grateful that the Alphas are willing to accept you. Perhaps they'll use you in ways that we couldn't.

The memories ached, but Xara swallowed the growing lump in her throat. She couldn't allow herself cry right now. There had been too many tears throughout the years, and what good had they served? She had long realized that no one cared about an omega's anguish. Particularly not hers.

As the sky darkened, the village's preparations got increasingly frenetic. Wolves changed between shapes, carrying supplies, starting fires, and speaking beneath cupped hands. The Moonstone Pack rarely hosted a gathering like this—an offering to the Savage Blood Alphas. Everyone realized it wasn't a celebration, but a matter of survival. Their group was diminishing in size, and Luna Lyra saw an opportunity in Xara's sacrifice. She would marry her stepdaughter to form an alliance with the Savage Bloods, trying to save her pack from extinction.

At least that was her excuse. Xara understood the truth. Lyra never wanted her around. This was the simplest way to permanently remove the undesired omega.

The gentle crunch of footsteps behind her interrupted Xara's thoughts. She turned to see Nyra, her childhood friend, arriving with a sorrowful expression on her face. Nyra was one of the few people who had ever showed her kindness, and seeing her just made Xara's chest feel heavier.

"Xara," Nyra said softly, her voice shaking. She reached out and pulled Xara into a tight embrace. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I," Xara answered, her voice empty. She drew back slightly, looking over Nyra's shoulder at the gathered group. "But there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"There has to be a way—"

"There isn't." Xara shook her head and cut Nyra off. "You understand what will happen if I refuse. The pack... Lyra will not hesitate to punish me. "Or worse."

Nyra's lips pulled together in a narrow line, her eyes welling with unshed tears. "It's not fair," she muttered angrily. "You don't deserve this."

Xara laughed harshly, her voice harsh in the cold nighttime air. "Fairness has never had much to do with it."

The two stood silently for a minute, the weight of their impotence falling between them. Xara could sense the unspoken words hanging in the air, things Nyra couldn't bring herself to say. They might not see each other again. Xara might not make it out of the Savage Blood Pack alive.

The faraway howl disturbed the silence, sending shivers down Xara's spine. It was a deep, primeval voice that echoed across the forest, demanding attention and respect. Her heart skips a beat.

"They're here," Nyra said softly.

Xara's gut churned with dread. Alphas are a triplet.

Before she could process the concept, the ground trembled beneath her feet. The woods at the village's edge parted, revealing three huge figures silhouetted against the dying light. Even at a distance, Xara could feel the raw force emanating from them.

Zayne, Luka, and Rowan Savage.

The sight of them took the breath out of her lungs. They were taller, broader, and more imposing than she had expected. Each of them wore dark attire, their muscles rippling with each step. Their eyes, shimmering with the faint amber light of their wolf, searched the settlement with a predatory intensity that chilled Xara's blood.

Zayne, the eldest, headed the group. His hair was dark, almost black, and his jaw was set in an unwavering attitude of dominance. Luka followed closely after, his face more relaxed but his eyes full of mischief. Rowan, the quietest of the three, walked in the shadows, his presence almost ghostly but equally terrifying.

As they approached, the town became silent, with each member of the Moonstone Pack bowing in submission. Xara felt the weight of their glances, but she couldn't get herself to move. Her body felt frozen, and her mind raced with panic.

This was it. Her fate had arrived.

The triplets paused in front of her, towering above her little form. Zayne's gaze fixed on hers, and the intensity of his stare made her knees weaken. He stretched out, brushing his fingers across her chin and raising her head up to meet his.

"You're the one they've offered?" His voice was low and deep, and he spoke with absolute authority.

Xara swallowed hard and forced herself to nod. She couldn't speak or find the words to react. Her entire body trembled, every instinct screaming at her to escape, to avoid the danger in front of her. But she knew it was futile. There was no avoiding this.

Luka smirked as he stepped closer, his gaze running over her body with a mix of curiosity and hunger. "I assumed she'd be... different. Stronger."

"She's an omega," Rowan murmured from the shadows, his voice soft yet forceful. "What did you expect?"

Xara's heart tightened at the words. Others had always viewed her as weak and inferior. But hearing it from him, one of the Alphas who now possessed her, made the grief even more intense.

Zayne's hand slipped from her chin, and he stepped back, his expression unreadable. "It does not matter. She belongs to us now."

Those words. So final and absolute. They sealed her fate.

The triplets turned and began heading back toward the village's outskirts, their movements smooth but deadly, as if they were wolves seeking prey. Xara's feet felt firmly planted on the ground, yet she knew she had to follow. With one last look into Nyra's tear-filled eyes, Xara took a shaky breath and forced herself to move.

As she followed the triplets into the darkness, the weight of her new reality fell on her shoulders. She'd been claimed by the Demon Lords, and there was no going back.

Her life as she knew it was over.