The Vane Brothers

Elara’s Pov

“Who… who are you?” I choked out.

He looked back at the Silver Moon Pack house with hate in his eyes. “I am Dante Vane, your brother. And I am the man who is going to burn that house to the ground for what they did to my sister.” His voice was deep and steady, the kind of voice that people instinctively obey.

Brother? That word felt ridiculous against the howling wind. I tried to laugh, but it turned into a jagged cough as mud filled my throat. “I don’t have brothers,” I wheezed. “My family is dead. Traitors, they called them.”

Three more men stepped out of the shadows. They were all tall like him: tall, muscular, but Dante especially looked dangerous. One of them leaned towards me. He scanned me with a small, beeping device. “She’s freezing,” he muttered. “We have to move.”

They didn’t question him. Dante dropped me into a massive SUV and wrapped me in a heated blanket. As the car moved, lights of the Silver Moon Pack house vanished in the distance. It was the first time in my life I’d felt true warmth.

Hours later, we pulled up in a mansion tucked deep in the misty mountains. It was a fortress of stone and glass, guarded by glowing security cameras. I’d been pushing myself throughout the journey for so long that I didn’t realize how drained I was until my body stopped moving. My mind went blank, my body went limp and the world around me went dark.

****

I woke up to a silence so absolute it was terrifying. For years, I had fallen asleep to the sounds of growling wolves, the clatter of the kitchen, or the whistling wind through the cracks in the kennel walls. This silence was different. It felt heavy, like a velvet curtain.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like lead. My body was heavy, but the constant, dull ache in my joints was gone. Instead, I felt a warmth spreading through my veins.

"Don't try to sit up yet, Little sis. Your internal organs are still recovering from years of severe malnutrition and chemical suppressants."

The voice was calm and clinical. I forced my eyes open. I wasn't in a dungeon. I was in a room that looked like a palace. The walls were a soft cream, the furniture was dark, polished wood, and the bed I was lying on was covered in silk sheets that felt like water against my skin.

A man sat by my bed. He was strikingly handsome, with wire-rimmed glasses and a white doctor’s coat draped over shoulders that were far too broad for a simple physician. He was holding a tablet, his eyes scanning my vitals with a mixture of professional focus and a raw, suppressed fury that he was trying to hide from me.

"Who... who are you?" My voice was a rasp, my throat feeling like I had swallowed sandpaper. "Where is Kaelen? Am I being punished for running?"

The man’s hand tightened on the tablet until the plastic began to groan. He didn't look up immediately, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Kaelen is a name you will never have to utter again," he said, his voice tight. "As for who I am... I am Julian. I am your second eldest brother. And you are in the private medical wing of the Vane Estate."

Brother, again.

Julian finally looked at me. His eyes were the exact same shape as mine, a deep, piercing blue that seemed to see right through me. "The Silver-Moon pack lied to you, Elara. They didn't just lie; they stole you. You were kidnapped twenty years ago during a hospital fire that was started by the very people you called 'Alpha'."

I froze. The world felt like it was tilting on its axis. "Why? Why would they want an Omega?"

"You are no Omega," Julian said, standing up and walking to the window. He pulled back the heavy curtains, revealing a sprawling estate that looked more like a fortress. “We aren’t just any family, Elara. We are the descendants of the first Alpha.”

He leaned in, his eyes intense. “Our blood carries the Silver Origin–an ancient power from the moon itself. Your pack kept you weak on purpose. They were suppressed by your true nature.”

He showed me the proof: old photos of a baby with my eyes and DNA results on a glowing screen. I wasn’t the daughter of a traitor. I was royalty.

The door to the room swung open with a violence that made me flinch. I instinctively curled into a ball, pulling the silk sheets over my head.

"The eldest is losing his mind, Julian," a new voice growled. It was a younger man, perhaps in his early twenties. He was dressed in black tactical gear, a combat knife strapped to his thigh, and his knuckles were bruised and bloody. "Silas is already mobilizing the legal teams to seize every asset the Silver-Moon owns. And Caspian... Caspian wants to burn the forest down with them inside."

"Caspian needs to wait," Julian said firmly. "She’s awake."

The younger man stopped mid-stride. His aggressive posture vanished instantly. He looked at the bed, his eyes widening when he saw me peeking out from under the covers. He approached slowly, his heavy boots making no sound on the plush carpet.

"Hey, kiddo," he whispered. His voice was rough, but it lacked the cruelty I was used to. "I’m Dante. Your fourth brother. I’m the one who found you in the mud."

He reached out a hand to touch my hair, but I flinched again. He stopped, his expression twisting into one of profound, aching pain. He pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry it took us twenty years. We were told the fire killed you. We’ve been mourning a ghost while you were being treated like..."

He couldn't finish the sentence. He turned away, kicking a chair so hard it shattered against the wall.

"Dante, enough," Julian warned.

"Why?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Why do you want me now? I’m broken. My mate rejected me in front of everyone. I’m wolfless."

The door opened again, and the man from the woods entered. Caspian. The Eldest. He moved with a terrifying grace, his presence filling every inch of the room. He walked to the side of my bed and looked down at me.

"Kaelen is a fool," He leaned down, his face inches from mine. "A mate bond is just a feeling. You don't need a man like him. You are a Vane. We are the most powerful family in the world. We don't ask for things. We take them."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my heart hammering in my chest.

"We will attend the Council Gala coming up in a week. The Silver-Moon thinks they are celebrating a new union and a new era of power."

He reached out and, this time, I didn't flinch as he ran a thumb over my cheek.

"You’re going to walk into that room, Elara. You’re going to wear a crown. And you’re going to watch us burn their world to the ground while they beg you for mercy."

I looked at my three new brothers, they all looked ready to kill for me. I felt a tear run down my cheek. I had spent my whole life thinking I was nothing. I had spent twenty years being hit and insulted. Now, these powerful men were calling me sister. They were talking about revenge.

But as I looked into Caspian’s eyes, he stared back at me like he was guilty of something

"There’s more, isn't there?" I asked. "About why they took me."

Caspian’s face went stone-cold. “Julian, make sure she eats. Dante, stay at the door. I have to call the Council. It’s time to start the war but not after she gets trained properly." He ignored my question and left.