Chapter 4: The Alpha’s Burden

Kaelen

The jagged tracks of the carriage wheels were permanently gouged into the mud.

I stood at the edge of the pack square, staring down at the deep ruts left behind by those demonic horses. The freezing wind bit at my face, but I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel my fingers. All I could feel was the massive, hollow cavity in the center of my chest.

‘Mate’ .

The word echoed in my skull, mocking me in the deep, rumbling timber of the Lycan King’s voice.

It was impossible. A sick, twisted joke. Slaves did not ride inside the King’s carriage. They were chained to the back of the meat wagons. They were dragged and treated like the trash they were. But the King… he had dropped to his knees. In the mud. For Liora!! He had wrapped her in his own royal furs and lifted her up against his chest like she was the most precious thing in the world.

How??!

My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together. A sharp, violent spasm of pain ripped through my ribcage, making me stumble half a step forward.

I grabbed my own chest, my fingers digging into my leather vest.

Breaking a mate bond wasn't as easy as the ancient texts made it seem. I was an Alpha. I was supposed to be immune to the emotional devastation of severing a tie with a weak wolf. But the biological backlash was real. It felt like someone had shoved a hand directly through my ribs and violently ripped out a piece of my lung.

And beneath the physical agony, there was something else. Something pathetic that I furiously tried to push down.

Longing.

She was the mate of my youth. The girl I had grown up with. I remembered the way she used to look at me before the miscarriages, before the endless clinic visits and the stench of her failure poisoned our bed. I remembered who she had been before I made her into someone who flinched when she heard my footsteps.

The thought arrived before I could stop it, and it was disgusting, and I shoved it back down where it belonged.

But worst of all was the jealousy. Hot, blinding, and irrational. I had discarded her. I had thrown her away because she was defective trash. But seeing another man —a man far more powerful than I would ever be— lift her up and look at her like she actually mattered? It burned me alive. It ate my insides carnivorously. 

"Hey."

Soft, warm fingers grazed my forearm, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I blinked, pulling my gaze away from the empty road. Selena was standing beside me, the thick fur of Liora’s old winter cloak pulled tight around her porcelain neck. Her perfect blue eyes searched my face, swimming with that manufactured, flawless innocence that always made my chest puff out.

"What are you thinking about?" Selena murmured, her voice a sweet, soothing melody against the harsh winter wind. She stepped closer, sliding her hand down to intertwine her fingers with mine. "Don't let that little scene fool you, Kaelen."

"He called her his mate," I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

Selena let out a soft, dismissive little laugh. She reached up, gently tracing the line of my jaw. "The Lycan King is a sadist, Kaelen. Everyone knows he plays sick games with his tributes. He puts them on a pedestal just to watch them fall. He enjoys playing with his prey before he gouges them."

She leaned in, her breath warm against my neck. "Worst case? He actually believes she's his mate for a day. But what happens tomorrow when he finds out she has a dormant, useless wolf? When he realizes that screaming brat is just a human baby? She’ll be stripped of those furs and thrown into the kitchens or toilets. She’ll be given the most meager jobs in his entire domain. She is not worth your time anymore. You are the Alpha of Frostbane. Look at what you have."

I stared down into Selena’s eyes.

The tight, agonizing knot in my chest suddenly loosened. Joy; warm and validating, brimmed deep in my soul. She was right. She was absolutely right. Liora was a defective incubator. The Lycan King would realize his mistake the moment he tried to get her to shift. I hadn't made a mistake; I had dodged a bullet.

I turned my back on the muddy tracks.

The entire pack was still gathered in the square, shivering, watching me with wide, uncertain eyes. The King’s aura had terrified them. They needed their Alpha to remind them who was in charge.

"Listen up!" I roared, my Alpha tone echoing off the stone buildings.

The whispers died instantly. Several wolves bowed their heads, submitting to my voice.

"Today marks the end of an era of weakness!" I declared, pulling Selena flush against my side. "We have shed dead weight. We have survived the winter. And today marks the end of an old, unworthy Luna, and begins the reign of another."

I lifted Selena’s hand high into the air.

"Meet your new Luna," I commanded, projecting every ounce of dominance I possessed. "You will give her the respect, the loyalty, and the absolute reverence you wasted on the former. She is the mother of our future!"

A cheer finally broke through the crowd. It started small, then grew into a roaring howl of approval. The pack was fickle. They just wanted strength. And Selena, with her pure white wolf and flawless pedigree, was exactly what they needed.

********

An hour later, the adrenaline of the public display finally faded, leaving me exhausted in the quiet solitude of my private office.

I poured myself a heavy glass of amber whiskey, downing it in one burning swallow. The packhouse was too quiet. The scent of wild jasmine was starting to fill the halls, but beneath it, clinging to the curtains and the floorboards, was the faint, pathetic scent of Liora’s lavender soap.

“Alpha?”

I stared down into my glass, watching the amber liquid swirl. The pain in my chest throbbed again, a dull, rhythmic ache. The image of the Lycan King’s golden eyes flashing with murderous intent flashed in my mind.

"Was I wrong?" I asked. The question felt dangerous. Taboo. "Did I make the wrong choice?"

Thorne turned fully around. He looked at me for a long, heavy moment.

"Do you want me to answer as your Beta, or as the man who grew up with you?" Thorne asked quietly.

My beast bristled at the hesitation. "Just answer the damn question."

Thorne let out a slow breath. "I think you made a mistake, Kaelen."

My hand tightened around my glass. "Excuse me?"

"She wasn't a burden," Thorne said, his voice steady but laced with a quiet disappointment that burned worse than anger. "She couldn't shift, yes. But she managed the pack logistics flawlessly. She knew the name of every Omega in the kitchens. When the winter fever hit the lower dens last year, she didn't hide in her room—she was down there changing bloody sheets. The pack respected her."

"She was weak!" I barked, slamming my glass onto the ironwood desk.

"She was kind," Thorne responded sharply to me, taking a step forward. "And you dragged her bleeding out of a clinic bed and sold her to a warlord like she was stolen cattle. She just gave birth to your child, Kaelen. The men... the men are uneasy. You didn't look strong today. You looked cruel."

"Shut your mouth!" I roared.

I didn't just raise my voice. I let my Alpha aura detonate across the room. The sheer, crushing weight of my dominance slammed into Thorne. He grunted, his knees instantly buckling as my aura forced his inner wolf into submission. He dropped to the floorboards, his hands bracing against the wood as he gasped for air.

I stepped out from behind the desk, standing over him with my chest heaving.

"I am the Alpha of Frostbane," I snarled, my eyes glowing a lethal, toxic silver. "I need a Luna who can fight at my side, not a fragile incubator whining in a hospital bed. I purged a defect from our ranks to keep us strong. If you or any of your men question my absolute authority again, I will strip you of your rank and throw you in the holding cells. Am I clear?"

Thorne kept his head bowed, his muscles shaking as he fought the crushing weight of my aura.

"Crystal clear, Alpha," Thorne forced out through gritted teeth.

"Get out," I spat.

Just as Thorne pushed himself up and opened the door to leave, a panicked pack guard nearly collided with him in the doorway. The guard was pale, panting heavily as if he had just sprinted all the way from the territory borders.

"Alpha!" the guard gasped, dropping into a sloppy bow. 

I slammed my glass down on the mahogany desk. "What is it? Did the rogues cross the river?"

"No, Alpha," the guard swallowed hard, looking absolutely terrified. "It’s... it's a convoy from the Ironclaw Pack. They just breached the southern gate."

My blood ran completely cold. Ironclaw!

"He's demanding an immediate audience," the guard stammered.

I gripped the edge of my desk so hard the wood groaned beneath my fingers. My father.

"That old fool," I hissed, a vein throbbing in my temple as years of bitter, violent resentment boiled to the surface. "What the hell does he want from me now?"