The Alpha They Erased

Rogue king! The brother Finn never speaks of.

“I was told you were dead,” I whispered.

Knox’s lips curved faintly—not a smile. “So was I.”

Silence stretched. Then my chest burned.

Not pain but Heat. A slow, spreading warmth that curled deep inside my bones.

I gasped, pressing a hand to my heart.

Knox froze. “No,” he muttered. “The Moon Goddess wouldn’t dare.”

My breath came fast and shallow. “What’s happening to me?”

He straightened slowly, every muscle in his body going rigid.

“The bond,” he said hoarsely.

I shook my head. “It was destroyed.”

“No,” Knox corrected. “It was severed.” The difference mattered.

The air between us thickened, charged with ancient magic. My wolf stirred fully now, lifting her head, wary but awake.

Knox looked at me like a man staring at his execution.

“You’re mine,” he said quietly. “And I am the last Alpha you were ever meant to belong to.”

Fear and hope collided violently in my chest.

“I don’t want another bond,” I whispered. “I don’t want to be broken again.”

Knox stepped closer—but stopped himself, hands fisting at his sides as if holding back instinct.

“I will never ask you to endure,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “I will never make you beg to be chosen.”

His eyes burned into mine. “If you accept me,” he continued, “it will be because you want me.”

The Moon outside flared brighter, silver light spilling across the room.

"You are my MATE. But, i won't force you. Rest for now, we will talk about it later when you must have decided" The door creaked open and shut.

And for the first time since the ceremony— I felt chosen.

But by an Alpha to the brother who would rather burn me than break his mistress.

The next day, he came to check on me.

Even before the door creaked open, my wolf was already going wild.

"Hey! Feeling better now?" He asked, and I nod.

Silence returns while he lit the fireplace and waited until the fire burned low, until the night pressed close around the stone walls, until my breathing steadied and my wolf no longer trembled in excitement at every of his glances at me.

Truth, he seemed to know, required silence first.

“They call me a rogue,” he said at last, staring into the flames. “Because it’s easier than admitting they were afraid of me.”

I stayed quiet.

“Finn was not born Alpha,” Knox continued. “He was chosen.”

I frowned. “You were the firstborn.”

“Yes.”

His voice was calm, but something dark moved beneath it.

“Our father ruled with strength, not mercy. He believed an Alpha should inspire fear before loyalty.” Knox’s jaw tightened. “I disagreed.”

The fire cracked sharply.

“I believed power should protect,” he went on. “That an Alpha’s duty was to the weakest wolves first. Healers. Omegas. Children.”

My chest tightened.

“They called it softness,” Knox said. “The elders whispered that I would weaken the pack.”

I could already see it—how a pack built on pride would despise an Alpha who valued compassion.

“When our father fell ill, the elders intervened,” Knox said. “They tested us. Trials meant to measure dominance.”

“Finn passed,” I murmured.

Knox’s lips curved bitterly. “Finn survived.”

There was a difference.

“He won because he obeyed,” Knox continued. “Because he did what they wanted. I refused.”

“What did they ask of you?” I asked quietly.

Knox’s eyes flicked to me, sharp and assessing, as if weighing whether I was ready.

“They asked me to execute a healer,” he said.

My breath caught. “What?”

“She was accused of treason,” he said flatly. “No proof. No trial. Just fear.”

The room suddenly felt too small.

“She reminded me of you,” Knox added, voice low. “Quiet. Loyal. Always blamed when something went wrong.”

I swallowed hard.

“I refused,” he said. “I demanded evidence. I challenged the elders.”

“And they branded you a traitor,” I whispered.

“They branded me dangerous.”

Knox leaned back, shadows carving his features into something carved from stone.

“They arranged an ambush,” he continued. “Called it a test of loyalty. When I survived, they declared me rogue and ordered my execution.”

“You escaped,” I said.

“Barely.”

Silence settled between us, heavy and reverent.

“I left not because I was weak,” Knox said. “But because staying would have meant becoming what they wanted.”

“What happened to the healer?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“She disappeared,” Knox replied. “Just like you were meant to.”

My fingers curled into the furs.

“I built something beyond the border,” he went on. “A territory where rank is earned, not inherited. Where mates are chosen, not endured.”

I looked at him then—really looked.

“They feared you,” I said softly.

“Yes,” Knox agreed. “Because I wouldn’t bend.”

He turned toward me fully now, golden eyes intense but careful.

“And now,” he said, “they’ve made the same mistake twice.”

My heart skipped.

“They cast out the one person the Moon Goddess marked for me,” Knox finished. “And they did it believing no one would come for you.”

His hand hovered between us—not touching, giving me the choice.

“They were wrong.”

Outside, the moon slid from behind the clouds, bathing the room in silver light.

For the first time, I understood. Knox was not exiled because he failed.

He was exiled because he was too dangerous to control.

And somewhere far away, in a pack rotting from its own lies— Finn Nightclaw ruled a throne that had never truly been his.