The Alpha’s Rejected Heir

Chapter 1: The Traitor's Son

Aria's POV

Aria pulled Liam close, fingers clutching the old fabric of his shirt as she could somehow fuse him to her body. She glared at Ronen, steadying herself, knees shaking but refusing to let him see her falter.

“He’s my son,” Aria said, her voice dropping cold and quiet, each word solid as stone. “You lost any right to him the day you broke our bond and threw me to the wolves.”

One of the guards muttered, but General Kaelen shot out a hand, silencing them all in an instant. The market square felt like it was about to collapse in on itself. The villagers still here hugged the stone walls, too scared to so much as breathe near the Lycan King.

Ronen stepped forward, his boots grinding up an old bunch of dried wolfsbane someone had dropped. That overwhelming menace he carried into town had vanished, caving in on itself. He worked his jaw, swallowing hard as he looked at Liam—really looked at him.

“I didn’t know,” Ronen croaked out. The words sounded painful, ripped from his throat. He dropped to one knee, meeting the boy’s eyes. Up close, the years had carved trenches in his face. Aria barely recognised him. Shadows bruised his skin; a new scar cut down his neck, disappearing into his armour.

“Aria... my council... all the proof was there,” he whispered, eyes locked on Liam. “Selene brought three witnesses. Under oath. They swore. The vial had your mark. If I hadn’t exiled you, the High Court would’ve executed you right there before sunset. I severed our bond to save you.”

“You severed our bond to save your damn crown,” Aria spat, jerking back, making Ronen’s hand catch nothing but air. “You never asked. You didn’t look at me—just stood there, listened to a snake whisper what you wanted to hear, and cut me away like I was a tumour. Left me with nothing out beyond the border, surrounded by monsters.”

“I searched for you!” Ronen’s roar rattled the square. He stood so fast Kaelen’s sword slid halfway from the sheath, then slammed back. Ronen didn’t care. His chest heaved, fists clenched so tight his knuckles gleamed white. “Six months after you were gone, Kaelen uncovered the treason plot. Selene bought the alchemist and forged your seal. She confessed at trial—before I executed everyone bearing her blood!”

Aria’s breath snagged, rage and grief twisted into a hard knot in her throat. She forced it down, glare icy. “And I’m supposed to thank you, Your Highness? Bow and scrape because you finally wised up—after I survived two winters starving in the mud?”

Ronen looked like she’d stabbed him straight through. He stepped closer, hand reaching for Liam, stopping just short. “I sent scouts everywhere. I spent months on the border, searching. I thought... I thought you were dead, Aria. The bond was gone. I couldn’t even feel you breathe anymore.”

“Mama?” Liam whimpered, feeling the tension around him. He pressed into Aria’s neck, clutching her collar. “Up, Mama. Go home.”

“We’re going, love,” Aria murmured against his hair, smoothing her voice for him, then turning sharp as steel on Ronen. “Get out of my way.”

“No.” The word left Ronen barely above a whisper, but it landed with all the force of the Obsidian throne. He blocked the alley leading out. “You’re coming back. Both of you.”

Aria laughed, nothing warm in it—just dry and bitter. “You think you get to order me around? I’m a rogue now. I owe the Bloodmoon and the Obsidian crest nothing. I built a life here from your garbage, and I’ll die before I let you drag my son back into your pit of vipers.”

“He’s the heir,” Ronen shot back, frantic, Alpha energy sparking in his eyes. “Aria, he’s royal Lycan. You think the border lords won’t see those eyes? Or that the rogue packs sweeping these forests won’t sniff out his blood? He’s not safe out here in a shack.”

“He was safe until you showed up,” Aria snapped.

“King Ronen,” Kaelen stepped in, careful and quiet. “Sire—about the border sweep. The rogue pack we tracked—north, toward the ridge. If we’re going to intercept—”

Ronen didn’t even glance back. He watched Liam, then looked up at Aria, this woman he’d lost and wrecked and mourned for two miserable years.

“Let the others handle it,” Ronen ordered, voice like thunder in a lull. “Kaelen, bring the royal carriage. Lock down this village. Nobody gets in or out.”

Aria’s eyes went wild, her arm dropping to grip the herbalist’s dagger at her belt. “Touch him, and I’ll kill you, Ronen.”

A shadow of a smile touched the Lycan King—nothing warm in it, just something cracked and stubborn.

“Go ahead and try, my light,” he murmured, stepping so close she could feel the heat rolling from him, could smell the sharp dark pine that always made her mark burn. “You can stab me all you want. I’m not leaving you to the dark again.”