Ryker's POV

Eight years. We spent eight long years away in the Highlands. We trained our bodies and our minds to take back the Silverfang Pack. I expected many things when I came home. I expected a big party. I expected the Beta to give me reports. I even expected some enemies to fight us.

I did not expect a girl in a leather jacket to kick open my doors and shoot me.

I felt the silver bullet hit my shoulder. It was a sharp, hot sting. It ruined my expensive suit. I did not fall. I did not even move. I just stood in the shadows and watched the smoke come out of her gun. My blood began to boil. My inner wolf was angry. He wanted to kill whoever was brave enough to attack a King in his own house.

"You should not have come back, Anna," Ronald said next to me.

The girl, Anna, made an angry sound. She looked like a wild animal. Her red lips were pulled back, showing her teeth. Her eyes were full of rage. I stepped into the light. I was ready to kill her with my bare hands. I wanted to see her look afraid before I ended her.

Then, something strange happened.

The air in the room became very heavy. It felt like a bolt of lightning hit my heart. It made my blood feel like fire. My wolf, who wanted to kill her a second ago, became quiet. Then he started to howl with happiness.

Mate.

The word was loud in my head. It felt like the Moon Goddess was screaming it. It shook my whole soul. I looked at Ronald. He looked shocked, too. His eyes were wide. He was smelling the air. She smelled like a storm in a forest. She smelled like everything I ever needed.

I looked at my shoulder. I touched the cut from the bullet. I put my fingers to my mouth and tasted my own blood. My golden eyes looked at hers. She was shaking now. Her gun hit the floor with a loud noise.

"You have a good aim, little wolf," I said. My voice was deep and scary, like a predator.

I was not angry anymore. I was interested. This beautiful girl had tried to kill an Alpha King. She was wearing leather that showed her curves. Her smell was making me go crazy.

The big doors opened again. Derrick, our acting Beta, ran in with six guards. They had their claws out.

"Alphas! I am so sorry!" Derrick shouted. He looked pale and worried, but I knew he was faking it. "This crazy girl escaped. She has no wolf, and she is trash. Guards, grab her! Take her away to be killed!"

The guards moved toward my mate. I started to growl deep in my chest. It was so loud the windows shook. I was going to change into a wolf and kill them for touching her. But Anna moved first.

She did not look at the guards. She did not look at me. She walked straight to Ronald. My brother is a King. Nobody tells him what to do. But he just stood there like a statue. She shoved her phone into his hand.

"Record this," she told him.

I blinked. I looked at Ronald. He is the Alpha King. But he just stared at her. He held the phone and actually hit the record button. He was doing what she said.

Anna turned around to face Derrick.

"You think I am trash, Derrick?" she asked. Her voice was cold.

"You are nothing!" Derrick said. He felt brave because the guards were there. "You are just a broken orphan. I only used you. You were good in bed, but Joanna is a real wolf-"

He did not finish. Anna's fist moved fast. She punched him hard in the groin. He flew off his feet.

Derrick made a high noise and fell over. His face turned purple. But she was not done. She grabbed his hair and pulled his head up. She slapped him so hard it sounded like a gun. He spun to the ground.

"That was for the lies," she said.

She got on her knees over him and started beating him up. She punched his face and his stomach. She was full of rage. Derrick was the man running the pack for eight years, but now he was crying like a baby.

I watched her. I did not stop her. Ronald did not stop her either. The guards were shocked. They looked at us for orders, but I held up my hand. I wanted to see what she would do. She was amazing. She had no wolf, but she was beating a Beta in front of two Kings.

"And that," Anna said, giving him one last kick, "is for the rain."

She stood up and fixed her leather jacket. She looked at Derrick like he was gross. Then she walked back to Ronald. She grabbed her phone from his hand. She did not even say thank you. Ronald just stood there with his mouth open. He looked at her like she was a goddess.

"I am done with this pack," Anna said. Her eyes were like fire. "And I am done with all of you."

She turned around and walked out. Her boots made a clicking sound on the floor. I couldn't stop staring at her. I watched her hips move as she left. The smell of her strength stayed in the room. It made my wolf happy.

Derrick was still on the floor, holding himself and crying for help. I did not even look at him. He was pathetic. He had a diamond, and he traded it for a rock.

I looked at Ronald. My brother was still staring at the door. He looked very impressed. His Alpha energy was buzzing.

I leaned back against the desk and smiled. My shoulder hurt, but I felt great.

"Well, Ronald," I said. "It looks like coming home will be very fun."

My wolf agreed. We found her. She was strong, she was violent, and she was ours.

"I like powerful girls," I whispered.

Anna's POV

My chest moved up and down as I struggled to breathe. My knuckles hurt from hitting Derrick's face, but it was a good kind of pain. His blood was on my hand. He was curled up on the floor like a ball, making weak, pathetic sounds.

I looked away from him. I saw Ronald Reed holding my phone. He was staring at me like he couldn't believe his eyes. His golden eyes were wide. I didn't care that he was a famous Alpha King. I didn't care that he was strong enough to kill me with his bare hands.

I walked up to him and grabbed my phone.

"This belongs to me," I said sharply.

Ronald didn't try to stop me. He didn't growl. When our fingers touched, I felt a spark of electricity shoot up my arm. It made my skin tingle. That strange "mate bond" was trying to pull at my heart. It wanted me to stay. It wanted me to jump into his arms.

I looked at Derrick one last time. I spat on the floor right next to him.

"You were right about one thing, Derrick," I said with hate in my voice. "You are just a placeholder. You are nothing compared to a real man."

I didn't wait for the Twin Alphas to speak. I could feel Ryker watching me with hungry eyes, but I didn't look back. I marched out of the office. The guards in the hall moved out of my way quickly. They looked like they were afraid of me.

I ran down the big stairs. I burst through the front doors of the palace and ran to my motorcycle. I hopped on and started the engine. It made a loud, angry roar. I didn't look back at the palace. I didn't want to see them watching me go.

I sped away from the Silverfang gates. I drove fast through the city traffic. The cold wind hit my face and dried my tears before they could fall. Every time I stopped at a red light, I felt a pull in my chest. It felt like an invisible string trying to pull my bike back to the palace.

"No," I whispered. "Never again."

I finally reached my small apartment. I parked my bike, ran inside, and locked the door. I used all three locks and the chain.

I ripped off my leather jacket and threw it on the floor. I walked back and forth in my small room. My heart was still beating very fast. The room felt too small.

"This can't be happening!" I yelled at the ceiling.

I looked out the window at the moon.

"Is this a joke?" I screamed at the Moon Goddess. "I loved a man for years, and he treated me like trash! Now you give me two more? Just because of a bond? I won't do it! I am not a prize for two Kings!"

I was shaking with anger and fear. People always told me I was a "weak omega" because I didn't have a wolf. Derrick had used me like a toy. Why would the Twin Alphas be different? They probably just wanted me so they could have children or look good at meetings.

"My name is Anna Russell," I said loudly. "I am a biker. I am an orphan. I am independent."

I walked to the table and picked up my silver gun. I took it apart carefully. I cleaned it and put the bullets back in. It was the only thing that made me feel safe. If those Alphas tried to take me like property, I would fight them.

I went to the bathroom and washed the blood off my hands. I looked in the mirror. My lipstick was messy, but my eyes looked strong. I didn't look like a girl who needed a mate. I looked like a girl ready for a fight.

"No more pack," I whispered. "No more mates. No more lies."

I stayed alone for hours. I turned off my phone. I sat on my bed with my back against the wall. I held the gun in my lap. I tried to ignore the empty feeling in my heart where the bond was calling for the Twins. I listened to the sounds of the city and the rain hitting my window.

I was going to live my own life. I would work at a garage. I would ride my bike. I would be my own boss.

I must have fallen asleep for a moment, but a loud noise woke me up.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It wasn't a normal knock. It was the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway. They were slow and strong. The floor seemed to shake under the weight.

Then, I smelled them.

The scent came through the cracks of the door. It smelled like a storm. It smelled like wood and cold rain. It was the smell of power. It was the smell of the Twins.

My heart hit my ribs very hard. My skin started to tingle. The pull in my chest got so tight I could hardly breathe.

They were here.

I grabbed my gun tightly. I didn't move. I didn't make a sound. I watched the shadows of two big men under my door.

"Anna," a voice called out. It was Ronald. His voice was soft, but he sounded like a leader. "Open the door. We need to talk."

I didn't answer. I just pointed my gun at the door and waited.

Ronald's POV

The office was quiet after Anna left. The only sound was Derrick crying on the floor. I stood there staring at the empty door. My hand still felt warm from holding her phone. My skin felt like it was buzzing. Every part of me wanted to run after her and hold her until she knew she belonged to us.

When she first ran in and shot my brother, I thought she was a spy. I thought an enemy pack sent her to kill us. I was ready to kill her. But then she moved. She breathed. She looked at us with eyes full of fire.

The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes. She gave the two most powerful Alphas a mate who has no wolf, rides a bike, and carries a gun.

"Get him out of here," I said. My voice was as cold as ice.

The guards grabbed Derrick. He looked like a broken toy. As they dragged him away, I thought about the video I saw on her phone. I saw how the pack treated her. I saw them throw her into the mud like she was trash.

I felt a heavy weight of guilt in my stomach. While Ryker and I were away for eight years, our pack had become mean. They had bullied our mate. They had insulted the most important person in the Silverfang Pack because she was a "weak" omega.

"They laughed at her, Ryker," I whispered. My claws started to grow. "They threw her out into the rain."

Ryker was leaning against the desk. His eyes were glowing gold. He touched the cut on his shoulder and smiled. It was a scary look. "I know. And we will make them pay for every tear she cried. But first, let's go get her."

We didn't need a map. An Alpha King always knows the smell of his mate. We walked out of the palace. We ignored the guards bowing to us. When we got outside, we changed into our wolves.

My wolf was a huge golden beast. Ryker's wolf was a giant black monster. We ran through the Silverfang land. Our paws hit the ground like thunder. We didn't care if the pack leaders were watching. We didn't care that she didn't have a wolf. All we cared about was her smell. It smelled like rain and wood.

She was close. She was hiding in a small, cheap apartment. It was a place for poor people. It made me very angry. Our mate was living in a dump while Derrick lived in a palace.

We reached the building and changed back into men. Ryker fixed his jacket. He looked very serious.

"She is scared," Ryker said, sniffing the air. "Scared and angry."

"She has a reason to be," I said.

We walked into the building. The stairs made noise under our weight. My heart was beating very fast. I was an Alpha King. I had killed many enemies. But standing in front of this girl made my hands shake.

We reached her door. I could hear her breathing on the other side. She was waiting for us. I could smell the gun oil and her leather jacket.

"Anna," I called out. I tried to keep my voice calm. "Open the door. We need to talk."

There was no answer. It was very quiet.

I looked at Ryker. He was ready to kick the door down. I held up my hand to stop him. I didn't want to scare her. I wanted her to trust us.

"Anna, we know what they did to you," I said louder. "We saw the video. We are not here to hurt you. We are here to take you home."

"I am home!" she yelled from inside. "Go away! I don't want a mate! I don't want a pack! Just leave me alone!"

Her voice was full of pain. It hurt my heart. She had been treated so badly that she didn't believe in the mate bond anymore. She thought we were liars.

"We are not leaving," Ryker growled. "You shot me, little wolf. You have to talk to me."

I took a deep breath and knocked again.

Suddenly, the locks clicked. One. Two. Three.

The door opened. She was standing in the middle of her room. She looked amazing. She wore her black leather jacket and tight pants. Her hair was pulled back tight. Her red lips were pressed together.

But she had a gun. She held it with both hands and aimed it at my chest. Her eyes were strong and brave.

"One more step and I will shoot both of you," she said. Her voice was steady. She wasn't shaking at all.

I looked at Ryker. He was looking at her with hungry eyes. He didn't care about the gun. He loved that she was a fighter. He loved that she didn't care about our titles.

I looked back at Anna. I could see a golden string of light connecting the three of us. It was the mate bond. It was glowing in the dark room. She felt it too. I could see her eyes get wide.

"You can shoot me if you want, Anna," I said softly. I took a small step toward her. "But you belong with us. And we are going to destroy anyone who hurts you."

Anna's finger was on the trigger. She looked into my eyes. She was trying to see if I was lying.

I looked at my brother. I knew what he was thinking. The hunt was just starting. We had found our Queen. We would not stop until she was sitting on the throne with us.

"The Silverfang Pack belongs to us," Ryker said in a low, scary voice. "And you belong to the Kings."