LOGINRonald’s POV
The office was quiet after Anna left. The only sound was Derrick crying on the floor. I stood there staring at the empty door. My hand still felt warm from holding her phone. My skin felt like it was buzzing. Every part of me wanted to run after her and hold her until she knew she belonged to us.
When she first ran in and shot my brother, I thought she was a spy. I thought an enemy pack sent her to kill us. I was ready to kill her. But then she moved. She breathed. She looked at us with eyes full of fire.
The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes. She gave the two most powerful Alphas a mate who has no wolf, rides a bike, and carries a gun.
"Get him out of here," I said. My voice was as cold as ice.
The guards grabbed Derrick. He looked like a broken toy. As they dragged him away, I thought about the video I saw on her phone. I saw how the pack treated her. I saw them throw her into the mud like she was trash.
I felt a heavy weight of guilt in my stomach. While Ryker and I were away for eight years, our pack had become mean. They had bullied our mate. They had insulted the most important person in the Silverfang Pack because she was a "weak" omega.
"They laughed at her, Ryker," I whispered. My claws started to grow. "They threw her out into the rain."
Ryker was leaning against the desk. His eyes were glowing gold. He touched the cut on his shoulder and smiled. It was a scary look. "I know. And we will make them pay for every tear she cried. But first, let’s go get her."
We didn't need a map. An Alpha King always knows the smell of his mate. We walked out of the palace. We ignored the guards bowing to us. When we got outside, we changed into our wolves.
My wolf was a huge golden beast. Ryker’s wolf was a giant black monster. We ran through the Silverfang land. Our paws hit the ground like thunder. We didn't care if the pack leaders were watching. We didn't care that she didn't have a wolf. All we cared about was her smell. It smelled like rain and wood.
She was close. She was hiding in a small, cheap apartment. It was a place for poor people. It made me very angry. Our mate was living in a dump while Derrick lived in a palace.
We reached the building and changed back into men. Ryker fixed his jacket. He looked very serious.
"She is scared," Ryker said, sniffing the air. "Scared and angry."
"She has a reason to be," I said.
We walked into the building. The stairs made noise under our weight. My heart was beating very fast. I was an Alpha King. I had killed many enemies. But standing in front of this girl made my hands shake.
We reached her door. I could hear her breathing on the other side. She was waiting for us. I could smell the gun oil and her leather jacket.
"Anna," I called out. I tried to keep my voice calm. "Open the door. We need to talk."
There was no answer. It was very quiet.
I looked at Ryker. He was ready to kick the door down. I held up my hand to stop him. I didn't want to scare her. I wanted her to trust us.
"Anna, we know what they did to you," I said louder. "We saw the video. We are not here to hurt you. We are here to take you home."
"I am home!" she yelled from inside. "Go away! I don't want a mate! I don't want a pack! Just leave me alone!"
Her voice was full of pain. It hurt my heart. She had been treated so badly that she didn't believe in the mate bond anymore. She thought we were liars.
"We are not leaving," Ryker growled. "You shot me, little wolf. You have to talk to me."
I took a deep breath and knocked again.
Suddenly, the locks clicked. One. Two. Three.
The door opened. She was standing in the middle of her room. She looked amazing. She wore her black leather jacket and tight pants. Her hair was pulled back tight. Her red lips were pressed together.
But she had a gun. She held it with both hands and aimed it at my chest. Her eyes were strong and brave.
"One more step and I will shoot both of you," she said. Her voice was steady. She wasn't shaking at all.
I looked at Ryker. He was looking at her with hungry eyes. He didn't care about the gun. He loved that she was a fighter. He loved that she didn't care about our titles.
I looked back at Anna. I could see a golden string of light connecting the three of us. It was the mate bond. It was glowing in the dark room. She felt it too. I could see her eyes get wide.
"You can shoot me if you want, Anna," I said softly. I took a small step toward her. "But you belong with us. And we are going to destroy anyone who hurts you."
Anna’s finger was on the trigger. She looked into my eyes. She was trying to see if I was lying.
I looked at my brother. I knew what he was thinking. The hunt was just starting. We had found our Queen. We would not stop until she was sitting on the throne with us.
"The Silverfang Pack belongs to us," Ryker said in a low, scary voice. "And you belong to the Kings."
Anna's POVRonald’s words fell like heavy iron blocks into the dusty air of the archive room, and the sudden silence that followed was so loud I could hear the tiny flame of the candle eating through its wax. I sat up completely on the leather cot, my fingers twisting into the rough sheet, my heart hammering against my ribs with a fierce, burning heat that had nothing to do with the triad bond."My father," I whispered, my voice shaking as I stared at the crimson ink on the ancient page Ronald was holding with trembling fingers. "Magnus told everyone he died in a border skirmish, he told my mother he was a nobody who abandoned us before the purge even started.""He lied to the entire continent, Anna," Ronald said, his face completely pale as he stepped over to the side of my cot, holding the silver-bound text open so I could see the circular sun crest stamped into the parchment. "Look at the records, Magnus didn't just assassinate him for the Silverfang territory, he did it because yo
Ronald's POVThe heavy link snapped, and Anna collapsed sideways into my chest, her pale skin burning with a chaotic, golden heat that felt like a furnace against my ribs. I caught her tightly, my boots skidding in the gray ash of the northern ridge camp, while Joanna remained face-down in the dirt, weeping softly from the absolute destruction of her mental barriers."Ryker, secure the northern warriors, they are completely leaderless now," I barked, lifting Anna into my arms as her platinum eyes closed, her breathing turning fast, shallow, and terrifyingly hot."I have the perimeter, Ronald, get her back to the archives," Ryker roared, his massive fists clenching as he turned his yellow wolf glare onto the five hundred northern spearmen, who were already dropping to their knees in submission before our combined triad aura.I didn't waste a single heartbeat, shifting mid-stride into my silver wolf form with Anna slung carefully across my broad shoulders, tearing through the dense fore
Anna's POVThe fifty black wolves stood perfectly still in the flickering firelight, their breathing a collective, heavy rumble that filled the wide arena, their freshly turned platinum eyes reflecting the massive wave of energy humming inside my chest cavity. Joanna scrambled backward on her knees, her hands clawing frantically at the loose gravel as she stared at the animals that had just been ready to tear my throat out under her command."This is impossible," Joanna shrieked, her voice cracking into a high, panicked squeak that echoed off the high rocks of the northern ridge. "Get up, you mindless beasts, I am your Alpha, I am Magnus’s blood, I command you to shred her to pieces right now."The giant black wolf closest to her foot didn't lung forward at me, it simply bared its long, silver fangs and let out a low, terrifying growl that vibrated directly against her shins, forcing her to freeze in pure terror.I stood up slowly from the dusty ground, my torn shirt fluttering in the
Anna's POVMid-fight, Magnus's wolves attack the arena, and Marcus is killed by Joanna.The sight of Marcus’s lifeless body hitting the smoking dirt sent a violent, icy shockwave right through our shared triad link, but before I could even draw a breath to yell a warning to Ryker, a heavy, suffocating weight slammed into my back from the shadows. Two massive, pitch-black wolves crashed into my shoulders, their combined weight pinning my face directly against the sharp gravel, their foaming jaws snapping inches from my ears as they held my limbs flat. I fought against the pressure, trying to call upon the deep pool of platinum energy inside my chest, but a sharp, sudden kick to my ribs cut my breathing short, making my vision blur into dark streaks."Look at you, lying in the dirt exactly where you belong," Joanna hissed, her shadow falling over my face as she stepped into my line of sight, her fingers dripping with Marcus's fresh crimson blood."Anna," Ronald screamed from across the
Ryker's POVThe sickening sound of teeth tearing into my mate's flesh echoed across the quiet clearing, and the triad bond inside my chest didn't just snap, it became a raging volcano of pure, unadulterated fury that obliterated my control. I burst through the thick foliage at the edge of the northern ridge, my heavy boots tearing up the damp dirt as I moved faster than a bullet, my yellow wolf eyes locked onto Marcus's broad shoulders."Get your filthy jaws off her," I roared, a sound so loud it caused several wine glasses on the neutral camp tables to shatter into pieces, and my large hand slammed into the back of Marcus’s neck, gripping his collar with a brutal strength.I hauled him backward with a massive, violent heave, ripping his fangs clean out of Anna's shoulder, a few drops of her dark crimson blood splashing onto the dry grass between us. Marcus stumbled over a loose stone, his boots skidding in the dirt as his five hundred northern warriors instantly drew their heavy iro
Anna's POVRonald’s voice cut through the shared triad link like a jagged piece of glass, the memory of Marcus’s arrogant face splashing into my mind through our new connection, and a dark, cold anger flared right inside my chest. I stood up from the mahogany table in the palace war room, the platinum lines beneath my skin pulsing with a sudden, dangerous heat that made the crystal chandelier above us rattle against the ceiling."He wants what?" Ryker growled beside me, his yellow wolf eyes flashing with a lethal ferocity as his large fists clenched until his knuckles popped loudly. "I will tear his camp to pieces, I will slaughter every northern warrior before I let that bastard touch you, Anna.""No, Ryker, stay down," I said, my voice dropping into that deep, layered resonance that made him instantly freeze in his tracks. "Ronald is surrounded by five hundred fighters, and we need those numbers to hold the valley against Derrick, so we are going to play his game for a little while.
Anna's POV"Become it," I repeated.The words sat in the air between Magnus and me and I turned them over in my head looking for an interpretation that wasn't what it sounded like and couldn't find one."You want me to seal myself in the vault," I said. "Permanently.""Not sealed, installed," Magnu
Magnus's POVI watched the Triad bond form from the shadows of the upper chamber and felt something I had not felt in a very long time.Surprise.Not the mild kind, the kind that actually makes you reassess, the kind that arrives when something you spent thirty years engineering produces a result y
Anna's POVThey were going to kill each other.Ronald's fist connected with Ryker's jaw and Ryker's head snapped sideways and then Ryker hit Ronald in the ribs hard enough that I heard something crack from fifteen feet away and they were both gone, both lost, their eyes solid gold with no trace of
Ronald's POVThe first thing I felt was the silence.Not the silence of a quiet room or a still night, the silence of something missing that had never been missing before, not once in my entire life, not even during the years in the Highlands when everything else fell apart.Ryker was always there,







