The Alpha's Torment

Xavier didn't sleep that night.

He couldn't.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face. Luna. His Luna. Standing in the doorway of the packhouse with that cold, unreadable expression, looking at him like he was a stranger. Like he was nothing.

And the boy.

God, the boy.

Xavier paced his chambers, his bare feet leaving tracks in the thick carpet. The fire in the hearth had burned down to embers hours ago, casting the room in a dim, orange glow. His wolf, Kael, was a restless, snarling presence in his chest, clawing at him from the inside.

Our mate, Kael growled. Ours. And the pup—our pup—

"I know," Xavier muttered, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "I know."

You rejected her. You broke the bond. You threw her away.

"I know!"

The words tore from his throat, raw and anguished. He slammed his fist against the wall, the stone cracking under the force of the blow. Pain shot through his knuckles, but he welcomed it. Anything was better than the agony in his chest.

Three years.

Three years since he'd stood on that platform and destroyed the only good thing in his life.

He'd told himself it was necessary. That a wolfless omega was a liability. That the pack needed a strong Luna, not a weak, helpless girl who couldn't even shift.

He'd been a fool.

The moment the words had left his lips—I reject you—something inside him had shattered. He'd felt the bond snap, felt Luna's soul cry out in agony, and in that instant, he'd known he'd made the worst mistake of his life.

But it was too late. The words had been spoken. The bond had been broken. And Luna had walked out of his life, leaving nothing but an empty, howling void where her presence used to be.

For months afterward, Xavier had searched for her. He'd sent trackers into the forest, scoured the neighboring territories, followed every rumor and whisper. But Luna had vanished without a trace, as if the earth itself had swallowed her whole.

And now she was back.

Not as the broken, weeping girl he'd discarded, but as a queen. A warrior. A mother.

The mother of his son.

Xavier stopped pacing, his chest heaving. His son. His heir. The boy with his eyes, his jaw, his dark hair. The boy who had looked at him with curiosity, not recognition. The boy who called another man "Daddy."

A snarl ripped from Xavier's throat. The thought of Damian—that golden-haired Alpha with his easy smile and his possessive hands—touching Luna, holding her, raising Xavier's child as his own… it made him want to tear the world apart.

Ours, Kael snarled. They're ours. Take them back.

"It's not that simple," Xavier said through gritted teeth.

Make it simple. Kill the other Alpha. Claim our mate. Claim our pup.

Xavier closed his eyes, fighting for control. Kael was driven by instinct, by the primal need to protect and possess. But Xavier was an Alpha—a leader—and he couldn't afford to let his wolf run wild.

Not yet.

Not until he understood what he was dealing with.

He crossed to his desk, where a stack of reports had been waiting for him since earlier that evening. Information about the Shadowfang Pack. About Luna's rise to power.

He'd read them a dozen times already, but he picked them up again, scanning the pages with desperate intensity.

The Shadowfang Pack was decimated by war three years ago. Alpha Damian inherited a broken pack with fewer than fifty members. Within two years, they had grown to over three hundred warriors, making them one of the most powerful packs in the region.

The turning point came with the arrival of a mysterious she-wolf known only as Luna. Sources say she appeared from nowhere, half-dead and alone. Alpha Damian took her in, and within months, she had become his most trusted advisor—and eventually, his mate.

But the most remarkable development is the birth of their son, Leo, now three years old. The child is rumored to possess extraordinary power, though details are scarce. Some say he is the reincarnation of an ancient Alpha. Others claim he is the fulfillment of an old prophecy.

Xavier's hands tightened on the papers, crumpling them.

A prophecy. His son—his and Luna's—was part of a prophecy.

And he'd had no idea. No idea that Luna was alive, no idea that she'd borne his child, no idea that the boy was destined for greatness.

He'd been living in ignorance while his mate built an empire with another man.

The thought made him sick.

A knock at the door interrupted his spiraling thoughts. Xavier straightened, forcing his expression into something resembling calm.

"Enter."

The door opened, and his Beta, Marcus, stepped inside. Marcus was a tall, lean wolf with sharp features and sharper eyes. He'd been Xavier's closest friend since childhood, the only one who dared to speak truth to power.

"You look like hell," Marcus said bluntly.

"Thank you for the observation."

Marcus crossed the room, his gaze sweeping over the shattered wall, the crumpled papers, the dying fire. "I heard about the Shadowfang delegation's arrival. And about… the boy."

Xavier's jaw tightened. "News travels fast."

"News like this? It travels at the speed of light." Marcus paused, his expression softening. "Is it true? Is he yours?"

"Yes."

"And Luna? Is she…?"

"She's mated to Damian now." The words tasted like poison on Xavier's tongue. "She's built a life without me. A family."

Marcus was silent for a long moment. Then he said, quietly, "What are you going to do?"

Xavier stared at the fire, his mind racing. What was he going to do? The question echoed in his skull, demanding an answer he didn't have.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I thought… I thought if I ever saw her again, I could make things right. Apologize. Explain. But she won't even look at me."

"Can you blame her?"

No. He couldn't. He'd destroyed her, publicly and cruelly. He'd stripped her of her dignity, her place in the pack, her very identity. He'd thrown her away like garbage.

And she'd survived. Thrived. Become something magnificent.

"She's different now," Xavier said slowly. "Stronger. Fiercer. There's a power in her that wasn't there before."

"The reports say she has hidden abilities," Marcus said. "That she's not the wolfless omega she appeared to be."

"I know." Xavier turned to face his Beta, his eyes blazing. "And I want to know everything. Every detail. How she came to Shadowfang, how she rose to power, what happened to her during those three years."

Marcus nodded. "I'll have my best trackers on it."

"And Marcus?"

"Yes?"

Xavier's voice dropped to a dangerous growl. "I want to know about the boy. Everything. His powers, his abilities, his connection to the prophecy. If he's my heir, I need to understand what he's capable of."

"Understood."

Marcus turned to leave, but paused at the door. "Xavier, I've known you my whole life. I've never seen you like this."

"Like what?"

"Obsessed."

Xavier didn't deny it. He couldn't. Because it was true.

He was obsessed. Consumed. The moment he'd seen Luna standing in that doorway—beautiful, powerful, utterly untouchable—something had awakened in him. A hunger that had been dormant for three years, now roaring back to life with a vengeance.

He wanted her. Needed her. Would do anything to have her.

But she hated him. Despised him. And she had every right to.

The question was: how could he change that?

How could he make her see that he'd changed? That he regretted everything? That he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her if she'd just give him a chance?

He didn't know. But he was an Alpha. And Alphas didn't give up.

They fought. They conquered. They claimed what was theirs.

And Luna was his.

No matter how long it took. No matter what he had to do.

He would win her back.

---

The next morning, Xavier stood on the balcony of his chambers, watching the sun rise over the Silver Moon territory.

He'd bathed, dressed, and composed himself. He'd forced the darkness in his eyes to recede, forced the snarl from his lips. Today, he would be calm. Controlled. The Alpha the pack expected him to be.

But inside, he was a storm.

He'd received more reports overnight. The trackers had confirmed what he already suspected: Luna's power was real. She had something called "Moonfire"—a rare and ancient ability thought to be extinct. It was the same power that had been rumored to belong to the first Alpha Queen, the one who had united the packs centuries ago.

And Leo, his son, was showing signs of the same power.

The implications were staggering. If Luna and Leo both possessed Moonfire, they were more than just powerful—they were a dynasty. A force that could reshape the entire werewolf world.

And they were his. His family. His legacy.

But they were in the hands of another Alpha.

Xavier's fists clenched at his sides. Damian. That smug, golden-haired bastard. He'd taken what belonged to Xavier, claimed what wasn't his, built a life on the ruins of Xavier's mistakes.

He would pay.

But not yet. First, Xavier needed to show Luna that he'd changed. That he was worthy of her. That he could be the mate she deserved.

And if she still refused him?

Then he would take her by force.

It wasn't a noble thought. It wasn't the kind of thought a good Alpha should have. But Xavier had never been a good Alpha. He'd been a ruthless one. A conqueror. A wolf who took what he wanted and destroyed anyone who stood in his way.

He'd tried to be different for Luna. He'd tried to be better.

But she'd left him. She'd moved on. She'd chosen another.

So why should he be better?

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He turned, composing his expression.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Marcus entered, his expression carefully neutral. Behind him stood two servants, carrying trays of food.

"Breakfast," Marcus said. "I thought you might need it."

Xavier glanced at the trays without interest. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat. You barely touched anything yesterday."

"I said I'm not hungry."

Marcus sighed, dismissing the servants with a wave. Once they were gone, he crossed the room and stood before Xavier, his arms crossed.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself," Marcus said quietly. "Punishing yourself won't change the past."

"The past is all I have."

"That's not true. You have the future. You have a chance to fix this."

Xavier laughed bitterly. "How? She won't even speak to me. She looks at me like I'm a monster."

"You were a monster. You rejected her in front of the entire pack. You humiliated her, broke her, cast her out. What did you expect?"

The words hit like a slap. Xavier flinched, his jaw tightening.

"I know what I did," he said, his voice rough. "I know it was unforgivable. But I'm not the same man I was three years ago."

"Then prove it. Show her you've changed. Don't just demand her forgiveness—earn it."

Xavier stared at his Beta, his thoughts churning. Earn it. How could he earn forgiveness for something so unforgivable?

"You need to apologize," Marcus continued. "Publicly. Sincerely. And then you need to give her space. Let her come to you."

"She won't come to me."

"Then you need to make her want to." Marcus's expression softened. "Xavier, I've never seen you like this. You're obsessed, yes, but there's something else. You genuinely love her, don't you?"

Xavier closed his eyes, the truth hitting him like a physical blow.

Yes. He loved her. He'd loved her three years ago, even as he rejected her. He'd been too proud, too scared, too determined to prove his strength to the pack. He'd convinced himself that a wolfless omega couldn't be his mate, couldn't be his Luna.

And he'd been wrong. So very wrong.

"I love her," he whispered. "I've always loved her."

Marcus nodded slowly. "Then fight for her. Not with claws or fangs—with your heart. Show her the man you could be. The man you should have been three years ago."

Xavier opened his eyes, a new determination settling in his chest.

"Help me," he said. "Help me win her back."

Marcus smiled, the first genuine smile Xavier had seen from him in days. "That's the Alpha I know."

Xavier turned back to the window, watching the sun climb higher in the sky.

He would do whatever it took. Whatever it cost. He would prove to Luna that he was worthy of her.

And if she still refused him?

Then he would die trying.

But he would never, ever give up.

She's ours, Kael whispered. And we're never letting her go.