Raven's POV
Magnus's smile doesn't reach his eyes. Behind him, Elder Meredith and two other council members emerge from the office, blocking any escape route.
Caspian's hands are still on my shoulders. I can feel him trembling—whether from his unstable power or something else, I don't know.
"Let her go," Caspian says quietly.
"Why?" Magnus's voice is silk over steel. "She was eavesdropping. That requires... correction."
My mouth goes dry. Correction. That's what they call punishment here—beatings, starvation, isolation. I've seen omegas disappear into "correction" for days.
"She didn't hear anything important," Caspian lies, his grip tightening protectively.
"Didn't she?" Magnus steps closer, and I smell the sickly-sweet scent of rot beneath his cologne. Something is very wrong with the Alpha. "Tell me, Miss Thorne. What did you hear?"
I force myself to meet his eyes—a dangerous move for an omega, but I'm too terrified to look away. "Nothing, sir. I was just cleaning."
"Liar." The word is a whip crack. "You heard us discussing pack business. You heard things an omega has no right to know."
"Father—" Caspian starts.
"Silence!" Magnus's power explodes outward—wild, unstable, making the air crackle with electricity. Everyone stumbles back except Caspian, who takes the full force protecting me.
He cries out in pain, and without thinking, my hand finds his.
The chaotic energy stops immediately.
Magnus's eyes widen. Then narrow. "Fascinating."
"Leave her alone," Caspian gasps, his body still shaking from the power surge. "This isn't her fault."
"On the contrary." Magnus circles us like a predator. "This is entirely about her. Bring her to the council chamber. Now."
"No!" I try to pull away from Caspian, but his hand tightens around mine.
"Don't fight," he whispers. "Please. It'll only make things worse."
The council members close in. I have no choice but to follow as they escort us through corridors I've only cleaned, never walked as anything but invisible help.
The council chamber is cold and imposing. A long table dominates the center, surrounded by high-backed chairs. Maps and documents cover every surface.
They force me into a chair. Caspian takes the seat beside me, still holding my hand like it's a lifeline.
Magnus sits across from us, his expression calculating. "Do you know what you are, Miss Thorne?"
"Omega," I whisper.
"Yes. But not just any omega." He slides a piece of paper across the table. It's covered in words I don't understand—medical terms, test results, bloodline analysis. "You're special."
I don't want to be special. Special gets you noticed. Noticed gets you hurt.
Elder Meredith leans forward, her aged face sympathetic but firm. "Your bloodline carries markers we haven't seen in generations, child. Your great-grandmother was part of an ancient omega lineage—one with unique abilities."
"I don't have abilities," I protest. "I'm just—"
"You stabilize Alpha power." Magnus cuts through my words like a knife. "When you touch Caspian, his energy balances. The pack bond strengthens. We've tested it three times while you slept."
Ice floods my veins. "You... you've been in my room?"
"We needed to understand." Elder Meredith doesn't sound apologetic. "The pack is dying, Raven. Wolves are going feral because the Alpha bloodline is unstable. Caspian's rejection of you created a fracture in the supernatural bonds that hold us together."
"That's not my problem!" I stand so fast my chair crashes backward. "He rejected me! He chose this!"
"And now he'll fix it," Magnus says coldly. "With your help."
"No." The word comes out stronger than I feel. "No, I won't—"
"You don't have a choice." Magnus's eyes glow with dying Alpha power. "The pack comes first. Always. If your presence saves us, then you'll stay close to Caspian. You'll live in the Alpha wing. You'll attend pack functions. You'll do whatever is necessary."
"You can't force me—"
"Can't I?" He smiles that terrible smile again. "You're omega. You have no rights here. No voice. You exist to serve."
Rage bubbles up inside me—rage I've suppressed for twenty-four years. "Then exile me. Let me leave."
"Exile means death for a lone omega," Elder Meredith says gently. "You know that."
"Better than being a prisoner!"
"Raven." Caspian finally speaks, his voice raw. "Please. I know I have no right to ask anything of you. But the pack—people will die. Children. Families. If we don't stabilize the bond—"
"Why should I care?" I spin on him, months of pain exploding. "Why should I care about a pack that treated me like trash? That laughed when you destroyed me? That never once defended me?"
He flinches like I've struck him. "You're right. You're absolutely right. But they're still innocent people who don't deserve to suffer because of my mistake."
"Your mistake." I laugh bitterly. "Is that what you call shattering your mate's heart?"
"Yes." His voice breaks. "The biggest mistake of my life."
We stare at each other, and I see real pain in his eyes. Real regret. It doesn't change what he did, but it's there.
Magnus clears his throat. "How touching. Miss Thorne, you'll move into the Alpha wing tomorrow. Guards will escort you."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll be charged with endangering the pack." His smile is poisonous. "The penalty is death."
The room spins. They're actually going to force me. Actually going to trap me in the world that destroyed me.
"There has to be another way," Caspian says desperately.
"There isn't." Elder Meredith stands. "The tests are clear. Raven's scent, her presence, her touch—these things anchor Alpha power. It's in her blood."
"What does that mean?" I demand. "What am I?"
The elders exchange glances. Finally, Magnus speaks.
"You're a Primordial Omega, Miss Thorne. A bloodline we thought extinct. One that can control Alpha wolves." His eyes gleam with something that looks like hunger. "And now, you belong to us."
Before I can process this, before I can even breathe, the door bursts open.
A warrior stumbles in, bleeding from a dozen wounds.
"Alpha!" he gasps. "Rogues... breaching the western border... they're asking for her." He points at me with a shaking hand. "They're asking for the Primordial Omega by name."
The room freezes.
"How," Magnus whispers, "do they know what she is?"
The warrior's next words turn my blood to ice.
"Their leader says he's been looking for her for years. Says she belongs with them, not trapped in a pack that doesn't understand what she is." He meets my eyes. "His name is Kieran Nightshade, and he's demanding we hand you over—or he'll burn Shadowpeak to the ground."