Claimed by Wolf King

The Royal Gathering

The Marlows’ car stopped at the foot of the broad stone steps leading to Alpha Carter’s estate. Two guards in black uniforms opened the doors for Charles and Vivian, the silver crests on their jackets catching the courtyard lights. More cars arrived behind them, each carrying guests dressed for an evening among some of the most powerful wolves in the Western Territories.

Ava waited until everyone else had stepped out before leaving the car. At twenty-two, she had lived with the Marlows long enough to understand what they expected without being told. Charles offered Vivian his arm, and Liana hurried to join them in her emerald gown, leaving Ava to follow several steps behind in the old gray dress she had spent most of the day repairing.

She had barely reached the first step when Vivian glanced back.

“Remember what I told you,” she said quietly, making sure no one else could hear. “Be polite if someone speaks to you, but don’t mistake attention for genuine interest. Powerful men aren’t looking for women without wolves.”

Ava met her stepmother’s eyes. “I understand, Vivian.”

She kept her voice steady, refusing to let Vivian see how much the words had hurt. Still, Ava didn’t feel quite as invisible as her stepmother wanted her to. The warmth low in her stomach had returned the moment they left home, growing stronger with every mile toward the estate.

She touched the pendant hidden beneath her dress and felt the silver grow warm against her skin.

Inside, hundreds of guests moved beneath crystal chandeliers while an orchestra played on a raised platform. Servers threaded through the crowd with champagne, and tall windows overlooked gardens glowing beneath carefully placed lights.

Despite the music and conversation, anticipation hung over the ballroom. Important Alphas kept glancing toward the entrance. Younger women adjusted their dresses and hair, and voices dropped whenever one of the royal guards passed by.

Everyone was waiting for Ethan Knight.

Ava had heard enough stories about the Wolf King to think she already knew his reputation. He was powerful, wealthy, ruthless toward his enemies, and, according to nearly every unmated woman in Ashbourne, impossible to resist.

She had always assumed that last part was exaggerated.

“I heard Ethan rejected the Northern Alpha’s daughter,” a woman whispered to Liana nearby.

Liana smoothed a hand over her hair. “Apparently, she spent months trying to get his attention.”

“Why would he reject her?” another woman asked. “She’s beautiful.”

“Because no woman has ever held Ethan Knight’s interest for long,” Liana replied with a small laugh.

Ava accepted a glass of water from a passing server and moved away before the conversation could continue. She didn’t care whom Ethan Knight had rejected or which women he chose to spend his nights with, though she couldn’t deny the faint curiosity that drew her toward one of the windows.

What kind of man could walk into a ballroom knowing nearly every unmarried woman inside was waiting for him and still remain uninterested in all of them?

“You look like you’re planning your escape,” a woman said beside her.

Ava laughed before she could stop herself. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only to someone who’s wanted to escape her share of these gatherings.”

The woman wore a simple navy dress, and silver hair framed a face that remained elegant despite her age. Unlike most of the guests, she didn’t seem interested in attracting attention or proving how important she was.

“I’m Ava,” Ava said.

The woman’s pale eyes studied her with an intensity that didn’t match her easy smile. “I know.”

Ava frowned. “Have we met before?”

Before the woman could answer, the orchestra fell silent.

A herald’s voice carried across the ballroom. “His Majesty, Ethan Knight, Wolf King of the Western Territories.”

Every guest turned toward the entrance, including Ava.

Several royal guards entered first, followed by Beta Mason. Ethan came in behind them, and the moment Ava saw him, she understood why the women had been talking.

His black suit fit his broad frame perfectly without appearing flashy, and the open collar of his white shirt made him seem less formal than the guards around him. There was nothing careless about him, though. He carried himself with the quiet confidence of a man who never needed to raise his voice to command a room.

Then Ava saw his face.

His dark hair, strong jaw, and controlled expression made handsome seem like an understatement. Ethan Knight was attractive, but that wasn’t what held her attention. There was something dangerous about him—not because he looked cruel, but because he seemed completely aware of what he was capable of.

Ava’s gaze drifted over his shoulders before she realized what she was doing. Heat rushed into her cheeks, and she quickly lifted her glass to her lips.

As Ethan moved farther into the ballroom, the warmth in her chest suddenly sharpened. Ava gasped and pressed a hand over her pendant, which had grown hot enough to burn against her skin.

The heat spread through her body, making her aware of every breath and every place the thin fabric of her dress touched her. She had never felt anything like it, and nothing Eleanor had said had prepared her for the intensity of the reaction.

Across the ballroom, Ethan stopped.

Onyx surged to the surface with enough force to lock every muscle in Ethan’s body.

She’s here.

Ethan looked over the crowd. Where?

A possessive growl rolled through his mind.

Ours.

Ethan’s jaw tightened. Who is ours?

Instead of answering, Onyx pushed his awareness toward the far side of the ballroom.

Ethan followed the pull, scanning the faces around him. Several women noticed his attention and reacted immediately. One smiled, while another held his gaze with deliberate confidence. He recognized most of them and would normally have offered a polite nod before turning back to Alpha Carter.

Tonight, he barely noticed them.

Then he saw the woman standing near the windows.

She wore a simple gray dress and looked as though she were trying not to draw attention to herself. While everyone around her competed to be noticed, she stood half-hidden beside an older woman in navy, holding a glass of water as if she would rather be anywhere else.

Ethan couldn’t look away.

The gray dress followed the curve of her waist before falling loosely around her legs, and soft brown hair framed a face he wanted to see more clearly. There was something guarded in the way she held herself, as if years of being overlooked had taught her to expect it.

Then she looked up at him.

The attraction hit him so suddenly that his jaw clenched. It wasn’t the passing interest he sometimes felt toward a beautiful woman, and it wasn’t ordinary desire. Something deeper recognized her before his mind had a chance to understand why.

Her lips parted beneath his stare, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.

For one unguarded moment, Ethan wondered how those lips would feel beneath his. The thought came so quickly that he forced himself to look back into her eyes.

Go to her, Onyx demanded.

I don’t know her name.

Then ask her.

Despite himself, Ethan almost smiled.

“Your Majesty?”

Alpha Carter’s voice pulled Ethan’s attention back to the conversation beside him.

“Is everything all right?” Carter asked.

“Perfectly.”

His answer sounded calm, even though every instinct he had was urging him to cross the room.

Mason followed the direction of Ethan’s earlier stare until he spotted the woman by the windows. His eyebrows shot up.

“That’s new,” he murmured.

Ethan gave him a warning look. “Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“I absolutely was.”

Ethan ignored him and looked toward the windows again. The woman had lowered her gaze to her glass, but as if she could feel him watching, she slowly looked up.

Their eyes met for the second time. She didn’t look away immediately, and something in Ethan eased when he realized the pull between them wasn’t entirely one-sided.

He had never seen her before, yet Onyx had already claimed her with a certainty that should have bothered him more than it did. Ethan wanted to know her name, why her scent was hidden, and why being noticed seemed to frighten her.

Whatever answers awaited him, he wasn’t going to find them from across the ballroom.

He excused himself from Alpha Carter and began making his way through the crowd.

Ava watched Ethan approach and forgot how to breathe.

She didn’t understand why she couldn’t look away from him. Men had looked at her before, though usually with indifference or mockery. Ethan’s attention felt completely different. His gaze was direct without being disrespectful, and something about it made her heart race.

Even after she lowered her eyes, she could still feel him watching her. The thought sent another wave of warmth through her body. She found herself wondering what it would be like to hear his voice when he spoke only to her, or to stand close enough to feel his warmth.

The direction of her thoughts shocked her. She had never met this man, yet she was wondering how his hands would feel at her waist.

“You seem surprised,” the older woman murmured.

Ava turned toward her. “By what?”

The woman smiled. “By him.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t.”

Ava glanced across the ballroom again. Ethan was speaking briefly to Alpha Carter, but his attention returned to her before the conversation had even ended.

“What’s happening?” Ava asked, more to herself than to the woman beside her.

“That’s a question only the two of you can answer.”

Ava looked at her sharply. “Who are you?”

The woman’s knowing smile widened, but she didn’t answer.

Across the room, Ethan excused himself from Alpha Carter and started walking in their direction. Guests moved aside for him without being asked, and his gaze remained fixed on Ava with every step.

“It looks like the Wolf King has finally found something at this gathering worth paying attention to,” the woman said.

Ava’s stomach tightened. “He isn’t coming over here.”

The woman looked at Ethan, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Ava. “My dear, he definitely is.”

Ava tightened her fingers around her glass. Vivian’s warning returned to her, telling her not to mistake attention for genuine interest, while Eleanor’s voice urged her to leave if anything strange happened.

Everything about this moment felt strange. Her pendant burned against her skin, her heart raced, and the most powerful man in the Western Territories was crossing the ballroom as if no one else existed.

For the first time in Ava’s life, being noticed felt far more dangerous than staying invisible.