Aisla's POV
The glass broke when I held it.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" As I watched the pricey wine glass break on the marble floor, I whispered. The red wine and tiny pieces of glass made a mess that looked like blood.
It hurt my heart to feel that. My mother-in-law would kill me if she knew. When I cleaned the pack house for a month, I made more money than this glass cost. It could be more than what I made in three months.
I got down on my knees and used my bare hands to pick up the pieces. I had to clean this up before anyone saw. Before they remembered I existed long enough to punish me.
"Stupid Aisla," I mumbled to myself. "Why can't you do anything right? "Why are you always a mess?"
Today was meant to be special. It was my eighteenth birthday. But like every other day, I was unseen. No one remembered. No one cared. I'd been hoping someone might notice, might say something nice. But the day was almost over, and nothing had changed.
I could hear laughing and music from upstairs. The Alpha's kids were coming home tonight after two years of training. The whole pack was celebrating. Everyone except me.
A piece of glass cut deep into my palm. I bit my lip to stop from crying out. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself. Pain always found me somehow.
Blood dripped onto the white marble. But something was wrong. In the moonlight flowing through the window, my blood looked... different. It glowed silver, like liquid stars or melted moon beams.
I blinked hard. That couldn't be right. Blood was red. Everyone knew that. Had always been red.
"Are you seeing things now too, Aisla?" I whispered. "Great. Now you're going crazy on top of everything else."
I wiped my hand on my apron and kept cleaning. The silver glow vanished like it was never there. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe being alone all the time was finally making me lose my mind. Maybe the loneliness was making me insane.
Footsteps clicked down the stairs. I froze like a rabbit feeling a wolf.
"Aisla!" Elaria's words rang out, sharp and annoyed. "What are you doing down there?"
My stomach dropped. Elaria was the Beta's daughter and the most beautiful girl in our pack. She had long golden hair and green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. Everyone loved her. The Alpha's sons would probably fight over who got to marry her.
"I'm cleaning, Miss Elaria," I called back, trying to sound normal.
Her shoes clicked closer. I gathered the glass pieces faster, cutting my hands more. Pain shot through my fingers, but I didn't stop.
Elaria emerged at the bottom of the stairs. She wore a beautiful blue dress that made her look like a princess. Her makeup was perfect. Her hair fell in beautiful waves.
Everything about her was perfect.
Everything about me was wrong.
"The triplets will be here any minute," she said, not looking at me. "Make sure you stay in the kitchen. No one wants to see you at the party."
My chest tightened. "Yes, Miss Elaria."
"And clean up that mess. You're always breaking things. Always making trouble for everyone else." She turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, and Aisla? Try not to embarrass the pack tonight. Some of us actually count. Some of us have real value."
She walked away, leaving me alone with her cruel words ringing in my head.
I sat back on my heels, fighting tears that wanted to fall. Eighteen years old today, and this was my life. Cleaning up messes. Being unseen. Being told over and over that I didn't matter. That I never would matter.
My wolf stirred inside me, angry and hurt. She wanted to shift and run away from this place. But where would we go? We had no family. No friends. No one who cared if we lived or died.
I finished picking up the glass and mopped the wine. My hands stung from the cuts, but I ignored the pain. Pain was normal for me.
The front door opened with a bang. Male voices filled the air, deep and strong. My wolf perked up, suddenly alert.
"We're home!" someone yelled.
The Alpha's kids were here. Kieran, Lucien, and Caelan. The triplets every girl in the pack dreamed about.
I grabbed my cleaning tools and ran toward the kitchen. I had to hide before they saw me. Before they remembered that the weak omega girl existed.
But as I reached the kitchen door, something strange happened.
A smell hit me like a truck going full speed. Pine trees and winter storms. Leather and something wild and scary and completely overwhelming. It made my wolf go totally crazy inside my head, scratching and clawing to get out.
My knees went weak. The cleaning materials fell from my hands, clattering to the floor like my world was falling apart.
What was happening to me? Why did I feel like my entire body was on fire?
The smell got stronger, filling every breath I took. Footsteps moved toward the kitchen. Heavy boots on marble, getting closer and closer.
"Do you smell that?" a deep voice asked. The voice sent shivers down my spine.
"Honey and wildflowers," another voice answered, rougher than the first. "Like summer and sunshine. Where is it coming from?"
A third voice, softer but just as strong, said, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled."
My heart stopped beating. They were talking about me. Somehow, they could smell me. But that didn't make sense. Nothing about this made sense.
But that was impossible. I was just an omega. Just unseen Aisla who cleaned floors and stayed out of sight and never caused trouble for anyone important.
The footsteps got closer. I could hear them breathe now.
I pressed myself against the kitchen wall, trying to disappear into the shadows. But the smell in the air got stronger too. It filled my lungs and made my head spin like I was drunk.
My wolf was going crazy inside me. She wanted out. She wanted to run toward that smell, not away from it. She wanted something I didn't understand.
"There," the third voice said, softer than the others but somehow more dangerous. "In the kitchen. She's in there."
The footsteps stopped right outside the door. I could feel them there, waiting.
I held my breath and hoped they would go away. Prayed they would forget about the strange smell and go back to their party.
But deep down, I knew my life was about to change forever.
Because when I looked down at my hand, the cuts were glowing silver again. Brighter this time.
And I could swear I heard three wolves roaring inside my head.
The kitchen door handle turned slowly.
I was about to meet my fate.