Dumped Omega? Now Their Alpha King Begs at My Feet novel Chapter 17

Valerie's POV

The SUV left the city far behind, its powerful engine humming as we ascended into the exclusive territory of the Silver Crown Mountains.

This was where the oldest, most powerful packs built their homes, fortresses disguised as sprawling mansions, hidden from the human world.

We passed through multiple high-tech security checkpoints, each more intimidating than the last. The first was a simple gate with armed guards who waved us through after an electronic scanner read a chip embedded in our vehicle.

The second was a reinforced steel barrier that rose from the ground, manned by wolves carrying military-grade rifles. They checked Elias's credentials on a datapad, their eyes scanning the interior of the car before the road opened.

The final checkpoint was a tunnel carved directly into the mountain, lined with what looked like humming, blue-light energy field emitters. The air crackled with power as we passed through, a sensation that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

At last, we arrived at a massive, fortified estate. It wasn't a mansion; it was a modern fortress built of dark, polished stone and black, reflective glass, seamlessly integrated into the rugged mountainside. Waterfalls cascaded down its terraced levels into glowing pools. It was a statement of immense wealth and untouchable power.

This was the Silver Crown Compound. I stared, my mouth suddenly dry, my heart pounding in my chest.

This was not the home of "destitute rogues." This was the home of kings.

The car came to a smooth stop before a towering gate of wrought iron and obsidian, which slid open without a sound.

"After all these years, we finally found you," she sobbed, pulling me into a hug that felt like coming home to a place I'd never known.

Her father, Alpha Richard Sterling, a powerful, handsome man with kind, sorrowful eyes, stood beside her. He placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his own eyes filled with tears.

"She's right," he said, his voice thick with eighteen years of repressed grief and sudden, explosive hope. "There was a fire at the clinic the night you were born."

"It was chaos," he explained, the pieces of my entire life—my isolation, my strange abilities, the Blackwoods' cruelty—falling into a new, unbelievable pattern. "In the confusion, you were switched with another baby. The child who died in the fire... everyone thought it was you."

"You are our daughter, Valerie," he said, his voice breaking. "Our only heir. We thought you were dead for eighteen years."