CHAPTER 2
999 Words
Amelia didn’t sleep that night.
How could she?
Even after scrubbing dishes until her hands were raw… Even after sweeping the hallway floors while nobles danced just beyond the walls… Even after curling up on her threadbare mattress beside her wheezing mother and her shivering little brother her thoughts stayed locked on those eyes.
Black as midnight. Cold as storm winds. And yet they hadn’t looked at her with disgust.
He saw her.
Not the dirt on her skin. Not the omega mark burned into her life.
And that terrified her more than Jayden ever could.
Who was he?
She didn’t even get his name.
But his scent still clung to her skin. Wild. Powerful. Like rain on stone.
The bond had flared. Not once, twice.
Two mates?
That wasn’t just unheard of. It was blasphemy.
Either the Moon Goddess had made a mistake…
Or something very, very big was about to happen.
Morning arrived too fast.
The pack house buzzed with excitement. The Alpha King’s departure was scheduled for noon, and no one could stop whispering about him.
"Did you see him last night?"
"I heard he threatened a whole council once for questioning his decree."
"They say no she-wolf has ever dared touch him."
"Imagine being mated to that."
Amelia’s heart twisted.
Because she had touched him.
She had looked into those eyes.
And the bond had answered.
She kept her head down as she entered the kitchen, hoping to blend in. But eyes followed her. Whispers followed her.
And then he came in.
Not Jayden.
Him.
The stranger from the woods.
Only he wasn’t a stranger anymore.
Because the moment Alpha Ryder Blackthorn stepped through the doors, the entire room fell silent.
He didn’t need to announce who he was. Every cell in the room already knew.
Tall. Impossibly tall. A black coat sweeping behind him. A presence so commanding, even the Alphas of lesser packs shrank when he passed.
He didn’t look around.
He looked straight at her.
Amelia froze.
Every nerve in her body screamed: Run.
But her feet refused to move.
Those obsidian eyes found hers, held them like a secret promise.
And then he spoke.
“I will not leave without my mate.”
The room exploded.
Gasps. Shouts. A tray clattered to the floor. Someone dropped a spoon.
Amelia’s breath caught. No.
Not here.
Not in front of everyone.
“Bring her forward,” Ryder said. Calm. Cold. Final.
Cook looked around, panicked. “Wh-Whom, Your Majesty?”
He didn’t blink. “The silver-haired omega.”
The silence deepened. No one moved.
Then hands grabbed her.
She stumbled forward, shoved through the circle of shocked wolves, until she stood in the middle of the kitchen floor, heart racing, eyes on the ground.
She didn’t want this.
Not like this.
Not like a prize pulled from the dirt.
Ryder stepped toward her.
Only a few feet separated them.
He reached out, gently tilting her chin.
“Look at me,” he said.
And she did.
Those eyes weren’t cruel. Not like Jayden’s.
They were... searching. Fierce. Burning with something she couldn’t name.
“This is the second time you’ve run from me,” he said, low and rough. “Don’t do it again.”
“I’m not yours,” she whispered.
“Then why are you trembling?”
Her lip trembled too. Not from fear but from feeling.
The pack Alpha, Alpha Cross Jayden’s father stormed into the kitchen, fuming. “Your Majesty,” he growled, “this is highly irregular. She is an omega. She’s not worthy..”
“She’s mine,” Ryder said,calmly without raising his voice.
The silence was so thick it rang in Amelia’s ears.
Jayden entered next, blinking like he’d been dragged from bed.
And when he saw her, standing there, with his father’s hand on her cheek his face darkened.
“You’re making a mistake,” Jayden hissed. “She’s nothing.”
Amelia looked at him and something inside her snapped.
“I was your mate,” she said, voice steady now.
Jayden flinched.
“And you threw me away.”
They rode out by noon.
Ryder didn’t give her time to pack. He didn’t ask questions. He simply said, “Come,” and extended a gloved hand.
She looked back only once.
Lyra was standing on the packhouse steps, her mouth twisted in disbelief, her eyes burning with hatred.
Let her watch, Amelia thought.
Let them all.
The Royal Court was nothing like the Silverbird Pack.
It was carved into the mountains cold, ancient, and alive with power. The palace shimmered with obsidian stone, and wolves patrolled every corridor with sharp eyes and sharper claws.
Amelia stood out like a stain.
Servants avoided her. Noble she-wolves glared as she passed. Some whispered she was a witch. Others claimed she had bewitched the king.
And Ryder?
He said little.
But he watched.
Always watched.
He never touched her again, not after that first ride. Never ordered her around. Never forced her into his bed.
Instead, he gave her… space.
Rooms with sunlight. Food on golden plates. Silence.
But silence was louder than cruelty.
She couldn’t make sense of him.
Why her?
Why now?
Why had the Moon Goddess tied her to not just one Alpha… but two?
One night, she wandered the halls and found him alone on a balcony, staring out at the stars.
“Do you believe in fate?” she asked softly.
He didn’t turn. “I used to.”
“And now?”
“I believe in war. And survival. And the look in your eyes when you stand tall, even when the world tells you to kneel.”
She swallowed.
"You still think I’m your mate?"
He looked at her then. Steady. Unflinching.
"I don’t think," he said. "I know."
Amelia’s chest rose with a shaky breath.
Maybe he was dangerous.
Maybe he was wrong.
But for the first time in her life...
Someone believed in her.
- Writer
