The Cub Must Die

~Jacob~

Being the younger brother of Lucien Draegor was never as promising as people imagined. There was nothing truly brotherly about our relationship.

My elder brother, Alpha Lucien, was far too taciturn. He was terrifying, powerful beyond measure, yet no one truly understood what he was. Even I did not know.

That mystery alone was enough to make packs across Hoston fear and respect the Draegors.

Still, despite being related to such a prominent figure, I never enjoyed the privilege attached to his name. Lucien was painfully detached and cold.

He barely acknowledged me as his brother most days. Sometimes he could remain inside his room for hours doing absolutely nothing. From sunrise till deep into the night, he would sit indoors without any interest in recreation or conversation.

That was simply who Lucien was.

Even as an Alpha like him, I feared him.

I held authority within the pack too, yet around Lucien, that confidence naturally diminished. Whatever Lucien wanted done was usually what I obeyed without argument.

Rumors constantly surrounded him. Honestly, it was impossible for someone like my brother not to stir conspiracies. Some claimed he was not entirely wolf. Others whispered that spirits lived inside him, which explained why he rarely spoke.

And yes, Lucien was unnaturally tall. Taller than any ordinary man should ever be. He stood dangerously close to eight feet, towering over nearly everyone around him.

Still, rumors remained rumors to me.

Lucien was strange, detached, and difficult, but I believed there was still a man somewhere beneath all that silence. A man who simply wanted peace.

At least, that was what I hoped.

And perhaps, in my own way, I had been trying to give him that peace all along.

But recently, my thoughts had belonged entirely to Elsa Vance of the Vance Pack.

Ever since that night, I could not get her out of my head.

The difficult part was telling Lucien.

I still had no idea how my brother would react after learning I had awakened a mate bond with someone from the Vance Pack. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Or perhaps—

Happy?

The thought almost made me laugh bitterly. I had never once seen Lucien smile.

Unlike him, I actually spent more time with our father while growing up. Lucien had always remained distant, separated from everyone even as a child, so we never truly shared the closeness most brothers did.

Then Father died. Lycan Frank Draegor.

And after his third remembrance ceremony, Lucien finally returned to the estate.

But he did not return as the brother I remembered.

He returned towering, dominating, and frighteningly powerful. More importantly, he returned to claim the title of Alpha of the Draegor Pack.

No one opposed him.

Not even Uncle Arthur.

Alpha Arthur was one of the oldest wolves in the pack, yet even he feared Lucien deeply. Honestly, no one truly understood what existed inside my brother. We simply learned to fear him quietly while pretending otherwise in public.

That was why telling Lucien about Elsa felt so difficult.

It should have been simple. Direct.

Yet the dread of confronting him completely overshadowed me.

One morning, I woke with that same heaviness in my chest again.

Unable to remain in bed, I walked through the corridors until I reached the balcony. From that terrible height, the entire city stretched beneath me alongside the distant grey mountains surrounding Hoston.

The air there felt peaceful.

For a moment, every worry disappeared.

The cold atmosphere eventually settled against my skin until my body temperature nearly matched it. But peace never lasted long around me anymore.

Soon, the thoughts returned.

Elsa. Lucien. The mate bond.

And the possibility that my brother would never approve.

Truthfully, what made everything worse was the fact that Lucien was not on good terms with the Vance Pack.

In fact, I suspected he outright despised them.

During our visit to the Vance estate, Lucien’s private conversation with Seth had almost certainly concerned tribute payments.

Every pack across Hoston paid tribute to the Draegors. It was an established treaty. Any Alpha who failed to meet those obligations eventually faced consequences.

And Seth Vance had been struggling badly.

Every discourse month, pack Alphas gathered at the Draegor estate with their payments. That tradition had existed long before I was born.

Seth almost never paid in full. I still remembered the humiliation.

Several Alphas had witnessed it countless times, yet none ever stepped forward to help him.

Despite being an older man, Seth was forced to wash dishes alongside servants, mop floors, and clean walls as punishment for delayed tribute.

Honestly, I pitied him. But there was nothing I could do.

Lucien would be furious if he ever discovered I sympathized with Seth, much less helped him. Sometimes I wondered if my brother genuinely enjoyed the punishment.

And I hated that thought.

So yes, there was a very real possibility Lucien hated the Vance Pack more than I initially realized. That truth made everything harder.

I could never tell Elsa what her father endured at the estate. It would destroy her completely. Besides, Seth himself had begged me never to reveal the humiliation to anyone.

Eventually, I decided there was only one person I could confide in.

Uncle Arthur.

At least he might know how to present the situation carefully to Lucien.

Arthur was expected back at the estate that night, so I waited impatiently in my room for hours, thinking of no one but Elsa. Since that night with her, she had consumed my thoughts entirely. More than anything, I wanted to officially announce her as my mate.

When Uncle Arthur finally arrived, I welcomed him warmly as usual. Together, we first visited Lucien’s room.

Arthur immediately bowed respectfully toward the Alpha upon entering.

Lucien lay on his massive bed with both hands clasped behind his head. He merely nodded once in acknowledgment without saying a single word.

We were used to that silence by now.

Used to how brooding and reticent he naturally was.

Afterward, I accompanied Arthur to his room.

The moment he settled onto the bed, he noticed I had followed him for a reason.

“So tell me, Alpha Jacob,” he said with amusement. “What exactly are we discussing tonight? You look far too serious already.”

His aged eyes settled on me curiously.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“How was your journey, Uncle?” I asked first, still hesitating.

Arthur nodded once. “Peaceful enough. And?” he pressed immediately.

His widened eyes already knew I wanted something more.

“I wanted to ask you a question,” I admitted.

Arthur grabbed a juice pack from the nearby table, opened it, and poured himself a drink.

“I’m listening, brother.”

“It’s about… mate bonds—”

“Mate bonds?” Arthur nearly spilled his drink.

I blinked in confusion at his reaction.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

Arthur quickly shook his head. “Of course not. Continue.”

Still, he looked strangely tense now.

“But why do you seem shocked?” I questioned carefully.

“Nothing, Jacob. Just ask your question,” he insisted, though his eyes remained unusually alert.

I hesitated briefly before speaking again.

“Promise me you won’t tell Alpha Lucien.”

Arthur waved dismissively. “Fine. I promise.”

I studied his face for reassurance before finally forcing the words out.

“I think… I found my mate.”

Arthur stared at me for a long moment.

Then suddenly, he burst into laughter.

“So this is why you’re acting nervous?” he chuckled while taking another sip. “You’re worried over mate bonds?”

I frowned slightly. “Wait… you’re fine with it?”

Arthur tilted his head while drinking again.

“Jacob, wolves recognizing their mates is common knowledge. Your wolf reacts strongly. That part is normal.” He leaned forward slightly afterward. “But let me be clear. Feeling your wolf react does not immediately confirm a mate bond. There are still traditions and rites that must verify whether she truly is your destined mate.”

At that moment, Welma, the head maid, entered quietly carrying additional juice containers. She placed them down respectfully before bowing and leaving again.

The moment the door closed, I looked back toward Arthur.

“What if we… got intimate?”

The glass slipped from Arthur’s hand instantly.

It shattered violently against the floor.

His eyes widened in horror. “Don’t tell me you actually did it, Jacob,” he whispered shakily. “You’re a Draegor. You cannot do that.”

Only then did I realize how little I truly understood about my own bloodline.

“What’s wrong, Uncle?” I asked carefully.

“Answer me, you d*mn fool!” he snapped, though his voice remained low.

“I… I did,” I confessed weakly. “I slept with her.”

Arthur looked genuinely disturbed now.

“How could you be so reckless?” he hissed. “You’re a Draegor. You were never supposed to go that far.”

I stared at him in confusion while he paced briefly across the room.

“There are beliefs within the Draegor bloodline that do not align with ordinary Moon traditions,” Arthur continued darkly. “You don’t understand the danger of what you’ve done.”

“What danger?”

Arthur stopped walking.

Then slowly, his gaze returned to me.

“You will bring the girl here,” he said. “And we are going to perform the appease.”

“Appease?”

He nodded. “Whatever connection formed through that intimacy,” Arthur said quietly, “must be erased.”