Defending a traitor

Veyron’s POV

We knotted.

His scent still lingered in the air, that strong gardenia mixed with petrichor becoming almost overwhelming now that we'd tied. Looking down at his face, I realized he probably didn't know he was releasing pheromones this potent.

His cheeks were flushed, his eyes fixed on anything but mine since I'd commanded him not to look. Those emerald eyes I used to admire held nothing but resentment now. I'd watched the admiration die over months, yet I'd let him live, something I never did with enemies.

I had underestimated his hatred. I didn't see the betrayal coming because I let my feelings rule my actions. Suspected traitors were always eliminated. But with Soren, I was weak.

Thirty minutes passed before the knot finally softened. I stood, forcing him to wrap his legs around my waist. He was small but athletically built, surprisingly stronger than some alphas. He clung to me as I crossed to the desk for my phone.

I dialed. "I knotted one of my omega breeders. Still tied. How long until you can check for pregnancy?"

"Pregnancy? In four days, alpha, " the voice answered more shocked than excited since I’ve never asked for this.

I ended the call without relaying the information to Soren. He'd heard. He got no special treatment unless the test came back positive.

When the knot released, I stood. I could have eased him down. I didn't. I watched as the anchor of my obsession hit the floor with a hollow thud, the breath knocked from his lungs. I didn't look back. Seeing him curled there, shivering on the hardwood, was the first moment of clarity I’d had in weeks. It was a reminder: I was the master. He was the mess.

"Get out."

Pain flickered across his face, maybe from the fall, maybe from the dismissal. I stepped over him, heading for the bathroom, then stopped. He was crawling toward his shredded clothes.

"I said get the fuck out!" The command cracked like a whip. He recoiled, trembling.

He tried to stand, but his legs buckled after the night I'd put him through. So he crawled. Like vermin, on all fours, biting his lip against the humiliation burning his skin. Soren had always hated humiliation. That's why he'd rejected me when we were teens. Now I was drowning him in it. Let him regret. Let him hate me more.

I couldn't care less if he was the key to breaking our pack's curse. The collective rage from Zek and me ran so deep that even this knotting, something I'd wanted for over ten years, was not enough to make me less upset.

The bathroom mirror doubled as a screen. I powered it on, watching Soren stumble through the halls on the security feed. Utterly humiliated. Pack members saw him naked, exposed, and did nothing. Not even his mother stepped forward to help as guards dragged him to his new quarters.

This was only the beginning.

"Veyron, we have the list of families connected to the humans who helped Soren to betray you. What's our move?" Cassian held out the tablet, his dirty-blonde hair catching the gym lights.

"Kill them all." I kept bench-pressing, plates rattling with each rep.

Cassian stared. "But you promised Soren—"

I slammed the barbell back into the rack, the steel ringing like a funeral bell. I turned on Cassian, my inner wolf rising to the surface, and the atmosphere in the room shifted. It wasn't just a glare; it was a physical weight, pressing into the floorboards. 

The oxygen left the room. Cassian didn't just stumble; he collapsed, his knees cracking against the concrete, the others following him down like gravity had suddenly doubled. They were terrified, and for the first time that day, I felt a spark of satisfaction.

"What is this, Cassy?" My eyes burned gold as Zek surged forward, hating challenge more than anything. "You'd disobey your alpha for a traitor?"

"Forgive me, Alpha." He kept his head down.

I returned to my reps, but my form broke. He was right. Going back on my deal with Soren compromised my integrity. "Fine. Surveillance only. Nothing passes you."

"Yes, Alpha." He gathered his men and left.

Three hours later, I returned from the hunt, my clothes dusted with the dirt of the woods and my skin still cooling from the shift.

"Welcome, Veyron."

Elowen, my aunt, Soren's mother, stood in my path, her voice shaking. She looked terrified, approaching me while I still carried the scent of the kill, yet she held her ground, stubborn like her son. 

I kept walking. She took the silence as permission to continue. Her eyes, green like his, were swollen and puffy. She had been crying.

Pathetic.

"Veyron... I know I have no right to ask, but as family—" Tears spilled immediately. A dominant omega, reduced to begging. "It's about Soren—"

"Arrest her for defending a traitor."

I didn't break my stride. Guards swarmed, cuffing her wrists as she shrieked about her innocence. I didn't look back. The apple never falls far from the tree.

I had barely dropped the carcass in the kitchen when a guard found me, breathlessly tense. "The doctor is with Soren, Alpha."

I reached the infirmary, my hands still stained with the moose's blood as I pushed the door open.

The doctor stood, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else on earth. Soren stood behind him, his gaze fixed on the wall, his jaw set. He knew.

 I felt the sharp, jagged spike of his anxiety for the first time ever. It was strange.

“Well?”I barked, my patience snapping. “Give me the good news, doctor.”

The doctor wiped sweat from his brow. “Alpha, the test is negative. He is not pregnant.”