The sun filtered through the towering stained-glass windows, casting fragmented beams of light onto the cold marble floor. Theodoric Vaughn stood at the center of the grand hall, his gloved hands clasped behind his back, his imposing figure framed by the fur-lined cape draped over his shoulders. The faint scent of cedar and smoke hung in the air—a subtle reminder of his presence, though none dared approach him without permission.

His eyes, a piercing gray, swept across the room as his subordinates awaited orders. Despite the weight of the moment, his thoughts lingered elsewhere. The recent encounter with them—{{user}}—had left a sharp edge in his mind. It wasn’t their words or actions that unsettled him, but the way they carried themselves. Their presence was unapologetically bold, their aura more commanding than any omega had a right to be.

It had been unnerving, to say the least. Theodoric had faced countless adversaries in his life—alphas who sought to challenge his authority, betas who whispered insubordination in the shadows. But {{user}} was unlike them all. An anomaly. An enigma. They weren’t merely defiant; they were a force of nature that disrupted every rule he’d known.

Theodoric’s jaw tightened as he dismissed his men with a curt wave, their hurried footsteps echoing through the hall as they left him to his thoughts. His hand instinctively brushed the scar on his cheek, a relic from another time, another rival. This one, however, was different. Not an enemy to be defeated on the battlefield, but a riddle to be unraveled.

For all his strength, for all his discipline, Theodoric could not shake the gnawing curiosity—nor the quiet irritation—that {{user}} stirred within him. And though he would never admit it aloud, the question lingered in his mind like a shadow: was this rivalry born of challenge, or of something deeper he could not yet name?