The King Kneels

Knox refused to kneel himself. He had spent his entire life commanding others. Warriors bowed to him. Alphas respected him. Enemies feared him. Even the strongest wolves in the kingdom recognized his authority.

He was the Alpha King. No one commanded him No one. Yet his wolf knelt before Ross. He struggled with his wolf who kept him kneeling down. "Get up." He commanded. His wolf didn't budge. His jaw tightened. "I said get up." Nothing. Instead, the beast lowered his head even further.

Knox felt something unfamiliar crawl through his chest. Not fear. Something worse. Recognition. His wolf knew something he didn't want to accept. Ross was above him.

Knox turned toward her. She stood several feet away, surrounded by kneeling wolves. She wasn't threatening anyone. She didn't need to. Her very presence had silenced an army. "Ross," he said. She looked at him. "Tell them to stand."

Her expression remained calm. "I don't need to."

Knox's eyes narrowed. "You expect me to kneel to you?"

"No."

"Then what is this?"

Ross glanced at his wolf. "Your wolf already knows the answer."

Knox's fists clenched. He tried to crawl forward. His wolf immediately growled inside him. Not at Ross. At him. Knox stopped. For the first time, his own beast was warning him not to challenge her.

He had never experienced anything like it. He closed his eyes briefly. Then he tried to force his wolf to rise. The command echoed through their bond. Stand. The wolf refused. Knox's breathing became heavier. "Impossible."

Why would he bow to the woman who had once stood before him in his study. The woman who had asked whether he hated her. He had told her that hate would require caring. And at that point, he understood the cruelty of those words.

She had stood before him knowing exactly who she was. Knowing exactly what she could do. And she had still allowed him to humiliate her.

Knox looked at her again. "You knew."

"Yes."

"For two years."

"Yes."

"You could have revealed yourself at any time."

Ross's gaze hardened slightly. "I could have."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I wanted to know what kind of man you were when you believed I had nothing." The words struck harder than any weapon. Knox went still. Ross continued. "I wanted to know whether you respected me because I was your Luna or because you thought I was powerful."

He had no answer. Because he knew. He had treated her according to what he believed she was worth. A woman without a wolf. A political wife. A burden. And now he knew her true worth had never depended on her wolf. She had simply been powerful all along.

Knox's wolf lowered itself further. His knees suddenly buckled. He caught himself. "No." His body trembled as he fought against the invisible pressure.

Ross didn't move. She didn't touch him. She didn't command him. Yet something ancient was pulling him downward. His wolf submitted completely. Knox's knee struck the ground. The entire battlefield went silent.

The Alpha King had knelt with his two knees. Knox bowed his head, this time lower than the other times. His warriors followed immediately. Thousands of wolves and warriors lowered their heads again. The sight was overwhelming.

Ross stood before them like she had been born for this moment. Because she had. She doesn't need a crown. She doesn't need a throne. She had been a queen before his kingdom even existed.

Knox lifted his eyes. Ross was looking directly at him. There was no triumph in her expression. No cruelty. That somehow made him feel even smaller. She could have destroyed him. She had chosen not to. She could have exposed herself two years ago. Yet, she had chosen silence. She could have taken his kingdom today. Instead, she had saved it.

Nash suddenly cleared his throat. "Well." Nobody moved. Nash looked around at the army. Then at Ross. Then at Knox kneeling in the dirt. "I have to admit, this is not how I expected today to go." Ross looked at him. Nash scratched his head. "I always knew there was something suspicious about you."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Suspicious?"

"Absolutely." He pointed toward Knox. "No normal woman could tolerate that man for two years." Ross stared at him. Then she laughed. A genuine laugh. Nash grinned. "See? I knew it."

Ross shook her head. "You are impossible."

"I prefer observant." Several warriors struggled not to smile. Nash continued. "I mean, I have watched Alpha Knox glare at people until they forget their own names. You survived two years of it."

Ross laughed again. "That should have been your first clue."

"Exactly!"

Nash looked at Knox. "Honestly, Alpha, I don't know whether I'm more impressed by Ross's power or by her patience."

Knox didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on Ross. She was still laughing. Her face was brighter than he had ever seen it. He suddenly remembered how rarely she had smiled around him. And how easily she smiled around Nash. Something unfamiliar twisted inside his chest.

He watched Nash lean closer to Ross as he made another ridiculous comment. Ross laughed again. Knox's jaw tightened. He didn't understand the feeling. He only knew he didn't like it. Not at all.

For two years, he had barely noticed who stood beside his wife. Now, for the first time, he noticed exactly who did.

Nash. His best friend. His Beta. Standing beside Ross. Making her smile. And Knox hated the way it made something dark and possessive awake inside him. And for the first time in two years, the Alpha King felt something he had never expected to feel toward his own Beta or towards his wife.

Jealousy.