Darkness. A strange vibration. My head pounded, matching the deep hum that shook my very bones. Where was I? The rough surface under my cheek wasn't the usual hard floor. It felt like cheap, scratchy fabric.
My arms and legs felt heavy, like they weren't mine. Drugged. The memory hit me hard. Viper. The taser. A deal gone wrong. I forced my eyes open. Thin lines of blurry light cut through the dark. I was moving. Fast.
My wrists were tied tight behind my back. Thick, hard ties that bit into my skin. My ankles too. Fear stabbed through the drug's fog, sharp and cold. I was stuck in some kind of vehicle. A heavy one, with no windows and a loud engine roar.
How long had I been out? I tried to move, to test the ties. Nothing. They didn't budge at all. Through a tiny crack in the back door, I saw bits of the outside. Huge buildings of steel and darkness flew by. Sharp, clean shapes, not like the broken mess of the Lower Sector. These looked dangerous.
We went up, climbing high. Away from the city's dirt, toward the fancy, guarded places of the rich. Suddenly, a giant wall came into view through the crack. Black, smooth, and endless, with weapons on top that shone even in the dim, smoky sky of Neo-Veridia.
This wasn't just a tall building. It was a fortress. The vehicle slowed, the engine's sound dropping low as we neared a huge gate. It had designs like sharp metal teeth, and above it, a shiny wolf's head seemed to growl at us. My stomach dropped. Wolves. Viper's word rang in my head. Not just a saying.
The vehicle stopped. The engine cut off, leaving only the far-off howl of wind and clicks of machines outside. The back doors opened with a hiss, blasting the space with bright, cold light. Viper stood there, a dark shape against the glare.
"Get out," he barked, yanking my tied arm hard. I stumbled out, my metal legs shaky from the drugs and taser. Two huge figures stood by Viper, towering over him. They wore dark gray gear mixed with shiny metal parts. Their faces hid behind mirrored masks, but a wolf's head symbol, like the one on the gate, marked their chests.
Cyborg guards. Strong and upgraded. "Package delivered," Viper said, pushing me forward. "As we agreed." One guard scanned me with a wrist device. A green light flashed. He nodded. Viper turned and left without looking back. Good.
The guards stood close, one on each side. They didn't touch me, but I felt trapped just by their size. They led me through the gate, which opened with a quiet, heavy slide. Inside, everything changed. No city dirt here. Just shiny metal, glowing floor lines, and clean, fake air. It smelled of control and cold power.
We walked down a wide hall, our steps echoing. This place, this Citadel, didn't feel like a home. It felt like a war base. We stopped at big doors. They slid open to a round room. Bright light stung my eyes after the dark vehicle. White walls, simple furniture, and a glowing screen on one wall showed endless data.
A cold, empty room for meetings. And they were waiting. Two men stood in the center. Twins, almost the same. Tall, strong, with a dangerous power that hit me like a wave, clearing the last of the drug's haze.
Their dark hair matched their intense, sharp eyes. Eyes that pinned me the moment I stepped in. Hard cheekbones, firm jaws. Even standing still, they felt like hunters. Their tech wasn't cheap street junk. It was top-level, built into them. One twin, colder, stiffer, had metal on his arms and neck, showing a strong frame under dark clothes. The other, wilder, with a burning gaze, had eyes that glowed faint red. Jax and Koda Volkov. The Alpha cyborg wolf shifters. The bosses of this place.
My breath stopped. Fear, yes, but something else too. A weird heat under my skin. My mind screamed danger, but something deep inside... knew them? Before I could figure it out, a woman stepped forward. Tall, strict, beautiful in a hard way. Maybe in her forties, with dark hair like the twins and eyes full of control and strength. Her fancy clothes screamed power.
She looked me over, taking in my messy look, the ties, the dirt from the streets. "Zara," she said, her voice smooth but icy. She spoke to the twins but kept her eyes on me. "As promised. A gift from the Serpent Coil, to seal our bond."
She stopped, letting her words sit in the cold air. Then she looked straight at me, a strange glint in her eyes. "I am Matriarch Lyra Volkov. Jax and Koda's mother." She paused, her words cutting. "And due to a new deal with your old guardian, Marcus Thorne... also your stepmother."
Stepmother? A deal? A gift? The words hit me like a punch. Marcus Thorne... Rex's real name? He married her? The leader of the Iron Fangs? And sold me, his stepdaughter, to his new stepsons as part of it?
The truth sank in, cold and heavy. I wasn't just a prisoner. I wasn't just taken. I was a piece in their game. Tied up and handed over to my new stepbrothers. The twin Alphas whose hungry eyes stayed on me, promising they would claim me.
