The Bastard Alpha

The Alpha was afraid of me.

I saw it clearly now.

Not the loud kind of fear that made wolves tremble or beg-but the quiet kind. The kind that lived behind clenched jaws and careful words. The kind that made powerful men erase history and silence the dead.

The council hall hadn't recovered from the shockwave yet. Cracks ran like veins across the stone floor, spreading outward from where I had stood. Wolves were still picking themselves up, murmuring in low, uneasy voices.

No one laughed anymore.

The Alpha hadn't moved.

He stood frozen near his throne, his eyes locked on my glowing hands like he was staring at a ghost that had crawled out of a grave he personally dug.

"Impossible..." he muttered.

I straightened slowly, ignoring the lingering pain tearing through my chest. The bond was still fractured, bleeding raw energy into my veins. Every breath felt heavier than the last, but my spine stayed straight.

I had spent my whole life bowing.

Not tonight.

"Tell me," I said, my voice echoing unnaturally through the hall, "what exactly is impossible?"

The Alpha flinched.

That single reaction sent a ripple through the elders.

Fear spread fast among wolves.

The High Elder turned sharply to the Alpha. "You said the boy was fatherless," he accused. "That his mother lied."

"She did lie," the Alpha snapped too quickly. "She lied about everything."

My wolf stirred, alert now-listening.

"Then why," the High Elder pressed, "does his blood respond to an Alpha rejection with Primordial force?"

Silence.

The word hit me like a punch.

Primordial.

Even I knew what that meant.

Old. Forbidden. Erased.

The Alpha's jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles whitening. For the first time, he looked less like a ruler-and more like a man cornered by his past.

"You should have killed me when I was born," I said quietly.

His eyes snapped to mine.

"You wanted to," I continued. "I see it now."

Murmurs erupted.

The Alpha took a step back, then caught himself.

"She was nothing," he growled. "A mistake. A weakness."

"My mother," I said, each word sharp, "died screaming your name."

The hall went deadly silent.

Even the torches seemed to dim.

The High Elder's face drained of color. "Alpha... what did you do?"

The Alpha laughed-short, brittle, wrong. "I protected this pack."

"No," the High Elder whispered. "You protected yourself."

I felt it then.

A memory that wasn't mine.

Blood-soaked snow.

A woman kneeling.

Silver eyes burning with defiance.

A man-him-standing over her with fear in his heart and power trembling in his hands.

My head snapped up as the vision faded.

"You didn't kill me because you couldn't," I said slowly. "My blood wouldn't let you."

The Alpha's breathing turned shallow.

"You knew," I went on. "You knew what my father was."

Gasps exploded through the council.

The Alpha roared, Alpha command slamming into the hall. "Enough!"

Wolves dropped to their knees instantly.

All except me.

The force hit me like a storm-and shattered.

The backlash sent the Alpha staggering.

The elders stared in horror.

"You see?" I said softly. "You've been afraid of me my entire life."

The High Elder looked between us, realization dawning. "The old legends... the vanished bloodline..."

The Alpha's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't say it."

Too late.

"The first Alpha," the High Elder said, trembling. "The one chosen before the Moon created packs."

My wolf howled.

The sound shook the hall.

The Alpha fell to one knee.

That was when I understood.

My father wasn't a nobody.

He wasn't a servant.

He wasn't even a wolf bound by pack laws.

He was something older.

Something the Alphas feared so much they erased his name from history.

"You feared I'd awaken," I said.

The Alpha looked up at me-defeated.

"I feared," he admitted hoarsely, "that you would remember who you are."

A scream cut through the hall.

Her scream.

I turned just in time to see the human girl-the mate I had rejected-arch backward as silver markings ignited across her skin.

The bond screamed.

The Moon above the hall shattered through the ceiling.

And a voice older than time echoed in my skull:

The heir has awakened.

And so has his queen.