"Not one, but two?!"
Kourtney’s voice went off like a megaphone in the steam-heavy confines of the packhouse kitchen.
Lena winced. Her hands flew up to cup her ears as a spike of pain shot through her skull.
Kourtney always had a hard time controlling her volume, especially when she was excited. Everyone in the pack knew this and avoided surprising her.
It was a blessing when you needed to rouse the guards, but a total curse when she wanted to gossip. And if you thought her shouting was bad, her laugh sounded like a literal earthquake.
Lena had somehow gotten used to it over the years. But after hours of enduring the shamans’ deafening sonic howls in the sanctum, her eardrums were raw.
Worst of all, Lena had no idea what any of it meant. She had woken up in her small bed an hour ago with a raging migraine and a black hole where her memory should be.
All she knew was that when she looked down at her hands in the morning light, her heart had nearly stopped.
"Kourtney, keep your voice down before you bring the ceiling down on us. Have you stopped taking your vocal control lessons?" Martha chided, stepping over with a frown.
But the twenty-one-year-old Omega kept her eyes glued to Lena’s upturned palms.
"I can’t help it! Look at them!" Kourtney squealed, though she managed to drop her voice to a frantic whisper.
She gripped Lena’s wrists, staring at the twin silver brands with absolute seriousness. "Lena, you have perfect tits, a waist wolves would kill for, and now two divine marks? Do you have any idea what this means for Sanatio Academy?"
Lena shook her head, mostly wondering how Kourtney could say all that with a straight face.
"The guys there are all from rich bloodlines," Kourtney pressed, her eyes wide. "Hot Alphas. Royalty."
Lena pulled her hands back, tucking them safely into her oversized sweater sleeves. "Too bad. I’m not interested in the guys."
For Kourtney, who still hadn’t found her own fated match, the universe began and ended with males, mating cycles, and pack drama. Hearing Lena dismiss them felt like an abomination. She was completely lost for words.
"Well, you have to be," Martha interrupted gently, placing a warm bowl of bone broth in front of Lena. "It is mandatory that you come back from the Academy with a mate. A wolfless girl needs a knight in shining armor."
The sting of insults pricked Lena’s chest.
When the rest of the pack called her wolfless, it didn’t hurt. But hearing it from Martha stung. Unlike the others, this woman actually meant something to her.
Between the two of them, Martha and Kourtney were the absolute worst people to take life advice from. One wanted her to chase after arrogant Alphas, and the other wanted her to submit to them. Still, Lena knew their hearts were in the right place.
"Or mates," Kourtney added, shamelessly wiggling her eyebrows. A few of the other kitchen Omegas blushed and giggled.
Lena quickly masked her embarrassment with a scowl.
"Just look at what happened at the coming-of-age party two nights ago," Kourtney continued, leaning in. "Future Alpha Brandon completely lost his mind over you. You have the kind of natural beauty that drives wolves feral, Lena. Even without a wolf scent."
Lena opened her mouth to argue, but the kitchen doors suddenly swung open.
The packhouse’s resident lovebirds stumbled backward through the doorway, hands tangled in each other’s clothes and mouths locked together.
Elena’s heel caught the edge of the kitchen rug, sending her tipping over, but Marcus caught her waist without breaking the kiss.
He reached behind his back, slammed the door shut, and crowded her against the wall.
A loud, synchronized clearing of throats shattered their bubble.
Marcus froze, his lips still pressed against Elena’s jaw. Elena’s eyes snapped open, locking instantly onto Martha, Kourtney, and Lena, who were all staring at them from the prep table.
Out of the three, Kourtney’s gaze held a deep, painful longing.
"Oh," Elena flushed a violent crimson, instantly trying to smooth down her rumpled shirt. "We... thought everyone was at the training grounds."
Her gaze landed and remained on Lena.
Elena stiffened, quickly adjusting the collar of her shirt and shooting a sharp look back at her boyfriend, who was still lingering by the door.
"Tell him to go home, Elena," Martha warned from the stove. "The Alpha’s guards are pacing the halls."
"He’s leaving," she snapped, leaning back to whisper a harsh order to her boyfriend. When she closed the door for good, she turned her full attention to Lena, her expression tight.
"No one wants their boyfriends anywhere near the kitchen right now anyway. Not after two nights ago."
The shade was loud and clear.
"If you’re going to blame me for what happened at the party—"
"I’m not blaming you," Elena cut her off, walking over and leaning against the prep table, crossing her arms. "But the fact remains. I heard future Alpha Brandon was chained. And, he broke off his chain last night because of the pull you have. Everyone is saying it’s your fault. They’re calling you an audacious whore for showing your face at school after making Victoria’s pet go wild."
"Oh, I am well aware of the rumors, thank you. But did you and your gossiping crew ever ask yourselves if it was true?"
"It doesn’t matter what the truth is," Elena said, her voice dropping into a rare, brutally honest register as she looked at Lena’s swollen eye and her two hidden palms. "The pack thinks you’re a threat now. And standard Omegas don’t threaten Alphas."
Lena’s jaw tightened. She hated when Elena did this, shifting the blame onto her for things she didn’t even understand.
She was still trying to figure out what had happened that night. Alpha Brandon had cornered her and–
"Elena, that’s enough. Leave the girl alone." Martha commanded.
"Why?" Elena challenged, throwing her hands up. "Because she suddenly has two marks on her palms she’s too fragile for the truth? Or is she dangerous now?"