Chapter 2: The Obsidian Throne

​The transition from the muddy forest floor to the interior of the vehicle was a blur of silver eyes and the scent of expensive sandalwood.

​Ryker didn’t let Elara walk. He carried her as if she were made of the finest glass, his massive arms providing a sense of security she hadn’t felt in twenty years. When they reached the edge of the woods, Elara expected to see a horse or perhaps just the brothers shifting into their wolves to run.

​Instead, a fleet of three pitch-black, armored SUVs sat idling, their headlights cutting through the rain like the eyes of mechanical monsters. Men in dark suits wolves, she realized by their scent stood at attention, bowing their heads as Ryker approached.

​"The jet is ready at the private airfield, Alpha," one of the men said, his voice hushed with reverence.

​Ryker didn't acknowledge him. He stepped toward the middle vehicle, where the door was already being held open by Silas.

​"Wait," Elara whispered, her voice trembling as she looked at the pristine, cream-colored leather interior. "I’m... I’m covered in mud. I’ll ruin it."

​Ryker stopped. He looked down at her, his jaw tightening. For a second, Elara feared she had angered him, but when he spoke, his voice was thick with suppressed rage not at her, but at the life she had been forced to lead.

​"Elara," he said firmly. "You could set this entire fleet on fire, and I wouldn't care. Do not ever apologize for existing in my presence again. This all of this belongs to you."

​He settled her into the heated seat, and the warmth hit her like a physical wave. Beside her, the second brother, Orion, climbed in. He was the one with the calmest scent, herbs and rain. He didn't look like a warrior; he looked like a scholar, wearing gold-rimmed glasses that caught the light.

​"I need to check your vitals, little sister," Orion said gently. He reached for a medical kit tucked into the side panel. "The Ashwood Pack... they didn't just reject you. You're malnourished. Your heart rate is dangerously thin."

​As the SUV pulled away, gliding over the rough terrain with impossible smoothness, Elara looked out the window. She saw the distant lights of the Ashwood Packhouse, the place where she had spent twenty years being humiliated. It looked so small now. So insignificant.

​"They said I was a defect," Elara murmured, looking at her scarred hands. "Because my wolf never came. They said I was a waste of space."

​A low growl vibrated through the car. It came from Finn, the youngest brother sitting in the front seat. He turned around, his eyes glowing a fierce orange. "A defect? Elara, do you have any idea who our father was? Do you know why the Obsidian Pack was feared?"

​"Finn, not now," Orion cautioned, pressing a cool, dampened cloth to a cut on Elara’s forehead. "She’s in shock."

​"She needs to know!" Finn countered, his excitement breaking through his anger. "She spent twenty years thinking she was an Omega. Elara, the Thorne bloodline doesn't produce Omegas. We are a lineage of True Alphas. Your wolf isn't 'broken' she’s just been suppressed. And when she wakes up..."

​He trailed off, a wicked smirk crossing his face.

​The SUV arrived at a private strip where a sleek, matte-black Gulfstream jet waited. Elara felt like she was dreaming. She was ushered up the stairs and into a cabin that looked like a five-star hotel. There were silk blankets, a spread of fresh fruit and gold-flaked pastries, and a bathroom larger than her entire room at the Ashwood Pack.

​As the jet took off, banking away from the mountains of her past, Ryker sat across from her. He handed her a glass of sparkling water.

​"We are taking you to the Citadel," Ryker said. "It’s our home. It’s a fortress built into the cliffs of the northern coast. You’ll have your own wing, your own staff, and the best protection in the world."

​"Why me?" Elara asked, her voice small. "Why did you look for me for so long?"

​Ryker’s expression softened, a rare look of pure brotherly love crossing his face. "Because fifteen years ago, our pack was attacked. Our mother hid you in a human orphanage to save you before she fell. We thought we had lost everyone. But Silas found a trace of your scent in a registry three months ago. We've been tracking you since."

​He reached out, his large hand covering hers. "We didn't just come to find a sister, Elara. We came to find our Queen. The Ashwood Pack treated you like a servant because they were afraid of what you would become if you ever realized your power. They tried to break you before you could lead."

​Elara leaned back into the soft leather, the hum of the jet engines lulling her toward a sleep she desperately needed. For the first time, the "broken" feeling in her chest didn't hurt as much.

​"They’re going to come for me," she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut. "Valerius... he won't like that I left."

​Ryker’s silver eyes flashed with a lethal light. He looked out the window at the clouds passing below.

​"Let him come," Ryker whispered. "I’ve been looking for an excuse to turn his territory into a graveyard."