"There you are," he said, frowning. "You were supposed to report for duties an hour ago. What are you doing down here?"
An hour ago? How long had I been unconscious?
"I'm sorry," I said quickly, keeping my eyes down. "I wasn't feeling well. I must have overslept."
Derek snorted. "Overslept? Omegas don't get to oversleep. Get upstairs and start working. The kitchen is backed up and Chef is furious. If you're not there in five minutes, I'm reporting you to Alpha Thorne."
"Yes, sir. I'm going now."
I hurried past him and up the stairs, my heart pounding. I've been absent for some time at least a day, maybe more. That meant people had noticed my absence. That was dangerous. Drawing attention to myself was the last thing I needed right now.
I made it to the kitchen to find chaos. Dirty dishes were piled everywhere, and several omegas were rushing around trying to keep up with the morning meal preparation. Chef Morris's face was red as he shouted orders.
"Finally!" he bellowed when he saw me. "Where the hell have you been? Get over here and start washing dishes. We're drowning here!"
I rushed to the sink and plunged my hands into hot, soapy water. The other omegas shot me curious looks, probably wondering where I'd been, but no one said anything. We were all too busy trying to keep up with the work.
As I washed dishes, I became aware of how different everything felt. My hands moved faster than they ever had before, scrubbing and rinsing with an efficiency I'd never possessed. I could hear every conversation in the kitchen clearly, even the ones happening across the room. I could smell every ingredient, every spice, so strongly it was almost overwhelming.
This was my new reality. These powers, these abilities, they were mine now. But I had to be careful. I had to act like nothing had changed.
"Nessa."
I turned to find Cassidy beside me, her green eyes full of concern. She kept her voice low so no one else could hear.
"Where were you? I came to check on you yesterday and you were unconscious. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't respond. I was terrified, but I didn't know who to tell without getting both of us in trouble."
"I'm okay," I whispered back, still scrubbing dishes. "I was just really tired. The rejection took a lot out of me."
Cassidy studied my face, and I saw the moment she noticed something was different. Her eyes widened slightly.
"Nessa, your eyes..."
"It's nothing," I said quickly. "Just a trick of the light."
But Cassidy wasn't fooled. She leaned in closer, pretending to help me with a large pot. "What happened to you? You look different. You move different. And is that silver in your hair?"
I'd forgotten about the scarf. It must have slipped while I was working. I quickly adjusted it, making sure the silver streaks were covered again.
"Please, Cass," I whispered urgently. "Don't say anything. I'll explain later, but right now I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
Cassidy looked torn, but finally she nodded. "Okay. But you have to tell me what's going on. I'm worried about you."
"I will. I promise. Just... not here."
She squeezed my arm and went back to her own work station. I focused on washing dishes, trying to look as normal and unremarkable as possible. But inside, my mind was racing.
I've changed. Somehow, that tea had unlocked something inside me, something that had been dormant my whole life. I was stronger now, faster, more powerful. But I didn't understand what it meant or why it had happened.
And I kept thinking about what my wolf had said: "We are Silver Moon."
What did that mean? Was it a bloodline? A pack that no longer existed? And if it was important, why had no one ever told me about it?
The morning dragged on. I worked through breakfast service, then helped prepare for lunch. Every moment, I was hyperaware of my new abilities and terrified someone would notice. I kept my head down, my movements measured, trying to seem as weak and unremarkable as I'd always been.
But it was hard. Power thrummed through my body, begging to be used. My wolf paced restlessly in my mind, frustrated by my attempts to hide what we'd become. She wanted to run, to hunt, to show the world what we could do.
"Not yet," I told her silently. "We have to be smart about this. If they find out, they'll use us or destroy us."
My wolf growled her disagreement, but she settled down. She understood the danger even if she didn't like it.
Around midday, I was carrying a tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen when I turned a corner and nearly ran straight into Marcus.
We both froze. He was so close I could have reached out and touched him. For a second, our eyes met, and I saw shock flash across his face.
He felt it. The change in me. Even without the mate bond connecting us, he could sense that something was different.
"Nessa?" he said, and there was confusion in his voice. "What..."
But I didn't wait to hear the rest. I ducked my head and hurried past him, my heart hammering in my chest. Behind me, I heard him call my name again, but I didn't stop.
I made it to the kitchen and set down the tray with shaking hands. That had been too close. Marcus had noticed something. If he started asking questions, if he told his father...
"You're making a mess."
I looked down and realized I'd splashed water everywhere when I'd set down the tray. I grabbed a cloth and started cleaning it up, my mind still reeling from the encounter with Marcus.
The rest of the day, I waited for guards to come and drag me to Alpha Thorne's office. I waited for questions, accusations, demands. But nothing happened. Apparently Marcus hadn't said anything, at least not yet.
By evening, I was exhausted. Not physically, my new strength meant the work that used to leave me barely able to stand now barely fazed me. But mentally and emotionally, I was drained from constantly pretending to be weaker than I was.
When I finally made it back to my room that night, I collapsed on my mattress and stared at the ceiling. Two days ago, I'd been the pack's weakest omega. Yesterday, I'd been publicly rejected by my fated mate. Today, I've woken up transformed into something I didn't understand.
My life was spiraling completely out of control.