Owned and Claimed by the Ruthless Alpha's

Chapter 4: The Primal Claim

Natalie's POV

The moment Xander's lips crashed onto mine, I forgot how to breathe. This was not some gentle first kiss. This was him claiming me, his hands rough on my waist as he lifted me onto his desk. Papers scattered. Something glass hit the floor and shattered.

I knew I should push him away. Knew I should remember he had stood there and let his pack tear me apart with words not even an hour ago. But my body had other ideas, melting into him like I had been waiting for this my whole life. His fingers tangled in my hair, yanking my head back to expose my throat. When his mouth moved down my neck, when his teeth grazed that sensitive spot where shoulder met collarbone, I made a sound I did not recognise.

"Last chance to run." His voice was not his anymore.

Too rough. Too animal. I dug my nails into his shoulders hard enough to draw blood.

"Would you shut up already?"

Something shifted in his expression. Then his eyes bled silver and I knew his wolf had taken over. He bit down. The pain was instant and total, like every nerve ending in my body caught fire at once. I could not scream. Could not move. Could not do anything except feel my entire world fracturing apart. Then the pain twisted. Heat rushed through my veins, spreading from where his teeth had broken skin. It felt like drowning in fire and I could not tell if I was dying or being reborn.

Blue light exploded from my skin. The windows blew outward in a spray of glass that caught moonlight and turned it into diamonds. Everything in the office lifted off the ground for one impossible second. Books. Papers. The lamp. Even Xander was ripped away from me, his body slamming into the bookshelf with a crack that made me wince. Books crashed down around him like rain. I tried to stop it but I had no idea what it even was.

The light kept coming, pouring out of me in waves. My wolf was screaming inside my head but the sound was all wrong. Too big. Too old. Like something else had woken up and pushed my wolf aside to make room.

When everything finally stopped, I was flat on my back on the desk trying to remember how lungs worked. My whole body shook. The air smelled like lightning and copper. Something at the base of my neck was burning cold, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. I touched it carefully and felt raised skin. A mark. Glowing. Xander groaned.

He shoved books off himself and stood slowly, blood running from his mouth down his chin. His shirt hung open in tatters. When he looked at me, I saw something I had never seen on his face before. Fear.

"What the hell are you?"

My voice came out scratchy. "I have no idea."

I sat up slowly, trying to hold my ruined shirt together even though half the buttons were gone. Everything felt different now. Too sharp. Too loud. I could hear people gathering outside, their voices mixing together. Could smell their confusion. Even the building itself felt alive under my hands, humming with energy I had never noticed before.

"That was not normal."

"You think?"

He wiped blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, still staring at me as if I might explode again. Before either of us could say more, boots pounded down the hallway. The door flew open and Marcus burst in with half a dozen warriors. They all stopped dead when they saw the wreckage. One of the warriors whispered something that sounded like a prayer.

Marcus's eyes went wide. He looked from the broken windows to the scattered books to me, and his whole face lit up.

"No way. You actually marked her."

"Get out."

Xander's voice could have cut steel. But Marcus was not looking at him anymore. He was staring at my neck where the mark was still glowing.

"The prophecy. She is the Lost Heir." My stomach dropped.

"What prophecy?"

Xander moved faster than I could track. One second he was across the room, the next he had Marcus by the throat against the wall.

"I said get out." Marcus managed to smile even though he could barely breathe.

"Everyone saw that light. The whole pack felt it. You cannot hide what she is anymore."

I slid off the desk on shaky legs.

"Hide what? I am nobody. An omega from the border who does not even have a last name."

"That is what they told you." Marcus's voice came out strangled. "Your parents were not just border wolves. They were protecting something. Someone. You are—" Xander's hand tightened and Marcus choked off. "Everyone out. Now." The warriors scrambled to obey. Marcus was last, rubbing his throat as Xander finally let him go. He paused in the doorway with that same knowing smile.

"Her uncles are going to come for her. You know that, right? The Varricks do not forget their blood." Then he was gone and the door clicked shut. Silence pressed down on us. The mark on my neck throbbed steadily, a constant reminder that something had changed between us. Something permanent. I could feel it now, this weird thread connecting me to him that had not been there before. It made my skin crawl.

"Who are my uncles?"

Xander turned away from me, running both hands through his hair. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he let out a breath that sounded almost defeated.

"Your parents were not killed in some random rogue attack." "What?"

"They were murdered. Assassinated because of who they were. What they were hiding." My hands balled into fists. "And what were they hiding?"

"You." The word hung in the air between us. "Your mother was born a Varrick. Royal blood. When she refused an arranged mating to some northern Alpha, she ran. Changed her name. Lived like a nobody on the border. But her brothers never stopped looking for her."

I laughed but it came out harshly. "That is insane. If I had royal blood, someone would have known. Would have felt it."

"Not if it was locked away." He finally looked at me again. "Your parents had your wolf bound when you were a baby. Sealed your power so you would read as a normal omega. It was supposed to keep you safe. Keep you hidden."

"Then why is it not working now?" My voice rose.

"Why did I just blow out every window in this room?" "Because I marked you." He said it quietly. "The mating bond broke whatever seal they put on you. Woke everything up." I wanted to tell him he was lying. Wanted to believe this was some sick game. But the power still humming under my skin said he was telling the truth. The mark burning ice cold at my neck said he was telling the truth.

"So what am I supposed to be?"

"Heir to the Varrick Kingdom." He said it like he was talking about the weather. "Which means every Alpha in the north is going to want you dead or collared." Before I could respond, every light in the mansion died. Darkness swallowed everything. I heard movement outside, too many footsteps to be guards doing rounds. Xander's hand found mine in the dark and squeezed hard enough to hurt. "Do not leave my side." "What is going on?"

"They are here." Fire erupted outside. Not normal fire. Silver flames that lit up the forest like daylight. Through the broken windows, I saw shapes moving between the trees. Dozens of them were wearing black cloaks marked with a symbol that made my new mark flare cold. A crescent moon wrapped around a star.

Xander swore under his breath. "Your uncles work fast."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "Those are my uncles?" "Those are their soldiers." He pulled me toward the door. "And if they get their hands on you, marking you will be the least of your problems."

Outside in the forest, Kade Varrick lowered his binoculars and smiled. He turned to the man beside him, still watching that blue light fade from the mansion windows.

"He did it. He jump-started the prophecy.”