Chapter 7

Ryker stood over me, and I quickly realized I had judged his height wrong. How unbelievably tall was this shifter? It wasn’t only his height either. He was broad, packed with muscles, and there was so much of him. His warm mocha scent made me want to climb him like a tree and hide my face against his neck. Damn, scent matches were the worst. They completely confused your mind and pushed all logical thinking away.

No! Hell no.

I had to pull myself together. I couldn’t give in after all these years just because I had run into my scent match and true mate. An alpha this powerful could destroy me in a single moment. Compared to him, Mom’s alpha pack looked almost weak.

“Alpha Ryker, what are you doing? Step away from the omega.”

Kael was standing close by, but he didn’t dare move any nearer to the huge man who had me trapped against the wall.

Ryker’s massive body blocked everything from my view, and nobody else tried to stop Ryker Blackthorn, leaving me completely helpless before him. “Are you going to kill me?” I asked quietly, struggling to breathe as I tipped my head all the way back to look into his eyes while preparing myself for whatever he would do next.

A low rumble came from his chest again, making it obvious that his wolf was very close to taking over. Even so, he kept himself under control and didn’t let his beast break free.

“What’s your name?” he asked softly, his deep rough voice sending chills through my body. If he touched me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him, but he still kept the smallest gap between us. “Aria Vale,” I answered with difficulty.

Looking at him this closely, I noticed his eyes were not as dark as I had first believed. They were a stormy gray, almost as dark as charcoal. The moment I said my name, a faint golden color flashed around his pupils, and he slightly tilted his head while studying me like a predator. “Why would I kill you, Aria?”

Right then, the blonde alpha, Serena, chose the perfect moment to interrupt. “We don’t care if you kill the rogue, Alpha Ryker. But, love, could you release all of us from your dominance first?”

Love? Now I was the one who wanted to growl, even though that reaction was completely wrong because he was not my fucking alpha. No. No matter how strongly this dangerously handsome shifter pulled at me, I could never belong to a mate or a pack.

“Looks like someone’s calling for you, love,” I whispered, forcing down my growl. “You should probably step back before your girlfriend gets angry and tears my eyes out.”

Even though I only whispered, every dominant shifter in the room heard me. As expected, Serena completely lost her temper and started yelling that I was a loudmouthed cunt and that every rogue should be killed.

“Shut the fuck up, Alpha Serena,” another council member snapped. I couldn’t see who had spoken because Ryker’s huge body still blocked my view. Typical fucking alpha.

“Uh, hello?” I called out, hoping somebody could get Ryker under control. “Is Alpha Ryker broken? What the hell is going on?”

I let out a sharp breath when Ryker suddenly came back to his senses. His dominance disappeared at once as he stepped away from me. A second later, he calmly returned to his seat at the council table as though nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, I had completely forgotten how to breathe. And why, for the love of everything holy, did I suddenly feel cold now that his overwhelming presence was no longer surrounding me like an invisible force?

“Aria, please return to the head of the table,” Kael said in a calm voice, acting as though a storm hadn’t just torn through the room. “Let’s continue.”

Ryker’s arrival had almost made me forget that I was standing here fighting for my life. That storm had blown every other thought out of my head except for his overwhelming presence, and it reminded me exactly why I could never belong to a pack.

I managed to make it back to the head of the table without tripping. It took every bit of self-control I had built over the last twenty-five years to stop myself from looking at Ryker, especially because I could still feel his dark, piercing eyes on me. My wolf cried out for our mate, but I forced her down. We have to survive this trial first. Please. I only needed her to stay with me this one time.

She finally settled with an unhappy sigh, but her attention stayed locked on the most dominant shifter in the room, sitting across the boardroom table.

Kael continued where he had stopped. “As I was saying, Aria Vale is eighteen years old and has lived alone since she was very young. Her mother was killed by shifters, which made her believe she was not safe inside the shifter cities. We have found no signs that she is unstable, but since she is an omega wolf, that is what we expected.”

“Omega!”

Even though I tried not to react, my head instantly turned toward Ryker when he growled. He was already halfway out of his chair as if he couldn’t stop himself. I swallowed hard, trying to find enough moisture in my dry mouth. Somehow, I forced myself to look away from him and spent far too long staring at the wood grain on the table.

“That’s correct, Alpha Ryker,” Kael replied respectfully, as much respect as one powerful alpha would show another.

“Then she needs to become part of a pack,” one of the male council members sitting at the far end of the table said.

Darius stood up immediately. Considering everything that had happened since meeting him less than ten minutes earlier, it was surprising I had almost forgotten he was even there. “Stormfang Pack would be happy to speak for her and make sure she stays safe once she passes the trial.” A wide smile spread across his face, his messy red hair making him look charming in a rough sort of way. “You all know we’re a strong pack, and we already have one blessed omega among us.”

Are there other omegas here?

I straightened my back. “How many omegas are in this city?”

Serena frowned at me, and I wondered if she knew how ridiculous she looked with that expression. Should I warn everyone not to get her wet or feed her after midnight? She snarled at me. “Prisoners don’t get to ask questions, bitch. Shut the hell up.”