Alpha William

I stood outside Tobias’ chamber, unable to bring myself to walk inside.

The guards lining the hallway lowered their heads as I passed, none of them daring to speak. They knew what had happened. Everyone in the castle knew.

The air itself felt heavy with grief.

From behind the closed doors came the sound of my Beta’s family breaking apart.

His wife’s cries and his daughter’s screams. Inside that room was a family mourning the loss of a husband and a father.

The kind of pain that no words could properly describe. The kind of pain that no warrior, no matter how strong, could fight against.

And for the first time in a long time, I found myself standing outside a room, uncertain of what I was supposed to do.

I was Alpha. I had led battles. I had made decisions that determined the lives of hundreds. I had watched warriors die in front of me and remained standing because that was what an Alpha did.

But this... This felt different because Tobias wasn’t just my Beta. He was my friend.

My mind drifted back years ago, back to when we were younger, before the responsibilities, before the title, before the weight of ruling a pack changed everything.

We were barely in our late teens when the rogue war happened.

A group of ruthless rogues had moved from territory to territory, destroying packs and leaving nothing but blood behind them. They were stronger than most expected, organized in a way that frightened even experienced warriors.

When they came for our pack, many believed we wouldn’t survive. I was young. Way too young.

I had confidence, but confidence was not the same as wisdom. Tobias was the one who stood beside me.

His family had provided warriors, supplies, and strategies that helped turn the battle in our favor.

Without him, without his family, I knew the outcome would have been different.

After that war, I gained more than victory. I gained a brother and I made Tobias my Beta because he had earned it.

Not because of his family, not because of politics but because he was loyal. Because he was someone I trusted with my life and for years, he proved me right.

Even when my decisions became unpopular, even when the pack questioned my choices, even when whispers spread about my relationship with the vampires and the rules they forced upon us.

Tobias never once turned against me. He never questioned my decisions. He never tried to take my position. He never gathered people behind my back to rebel against me or harm me in any way.

He simply stood beside me and now... A vampire had taken his life.

Not in battle, not because he betrayed anyone and not because he threatened them.

He died because High Acolyte Varek wanted to pass out punishment on me because my failure to deliver Selena had become an inconvenience to them.

They wanted to make a scene that would remind me of the consequences of not bringing my daughter to them as promised.

My fingers curled into fists as the doors opened suddenly and Rosalind stepped out.

Her face was swollen from crying, her hair messy, her entire body carrying the weight of losing the man she loved.

For a moment, I saw only Tobias’ wife. The woman who had stood beside him for years but the moment she saw me, her expression changed.

Pain turned into anger and hatred. "You!!!" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the accusation behind it was clear.

I looked at her. "Rosalind..."

"Don’t." She shook her head. "Do not say my name or my husband’s name out of that mouth of yours."

My jaw tightened. "I know this is difficult. I’m just here to sympathize with your family."

She let out a broken, bitter sound of laughter. "Difficult?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. "You stand there and call this difficult?"

She pointed toward the room where the husband laid on the floor. "My husband is dead."

Silence filled the hallway as she continued. "He was your friend."

The words struck harder than I wanted them to. "And he trusted you."

I looked away. "I know that."

"No, you don’t." Her voice rose. "If you knew, he would still be alive and not dead."

The guards shifted nervously as she kept yelling at me and pouring her frustration. I could feel their attention but I ignored them.

"Watch your words, Rosalind."

She stared at me. "Why should I?" Her voice trembled. "Because you’re Alpha?"

She stepped closer. "Because everyone has to bow their heads and pretend you’re always right?"

Something inside me snapped and before I could stop myself, my claws extended and my hand wrapped around her throat.

The hallway became so silent that even the guards looked shocked.

I leaned closer to her "Be careful how you speak to me." My voice was low. "I have lost enough today and I’m still your Alpha!!!"

Rosalind looked at me without fear. Instead, there was only anger. "Then take my life too."

My eyes narrowed more in anger as she continued. "You already took my husband." Her tears fell. "So finish it."

For a moment, I saw Tobias. His smile and his loyalty then his voice telling me I was wrong whenever I needed to hear it.

My grip tightened more when she screamed into my face again. "Do your worst Willam! You lost a Beta. I lost my husband. "

Rosalind coughed as I released her then I flung her roughly into the ground and her daughter Isadora rushed out of the house with a swollen face.

"Please let my mother go. She’s in pain already from losing my dad."

"You think killing me will fix anything?" Rosalind looked away. "No." Her voice cracked. "Nothing fixes this."

I turned and walked away in disgust. I couldn’t stand there anymore.

—

My office was quiet as I sat behind my desk, staring at nothing.

High Acolyte Varek’s words echoed in my mind. He had given us warning before hurting my Beta.

He had given us one moon to retrieve my daughter or suffer the consequences.

He did not care about my excuses. He did not care that Selena had disappeared.

To him, I was a failure. I had tried explaining. I told him Selena had been stolen from me and that someone had taken her away before I could deliver her but vampires did not care about explanations.

They cared about results and because I failed, Tobias paid the price.

My hands tightened.

I had bowed. I had promised because that was how things worked.

The vampire system existed for a reason. Some people called it oppression, others called it cruelty but I saw it in a different light.

Power needed control. Without rules, without someone stronger maintaining order, what would happen? Werewolves were powerful, dangerous and driven by instinct.

If nothing controlled us, we would destroy ourselves. We would become nothing but beasts and that was why the vampires had their place.

That was why their laws existed. At least, that was what I reminded myself because accepting anything else meant admitting that maybe everything I had sacrificed had been for nothing.

A knock interrupted my thoughts. "Enter."

Garrick, the warriors captain, walked inside and bowed. "Alpha."

I looked at him. "Explain what happened at the border."

His expression tightened as he started. "The vampires entered our territory without permission and they refused to leave."

"So your warriors attacked?" I asked. His silence answered enough and my anger grew. "Do you understand what you have caused?"

"Alpha, they were threatening—"

I moved speedily from my seat as my claws cut across his face before he could finish.

He fell back, blood running down his cheek. "You allowed a conflict with vampires."

Garrick lowered his head. "I apologize, Alpha."

"No." My voice hardened. "An apology does not fix weakness."

His eyes lowered. "You will execute three warriors as a warning to the other warriors."

I stared at him. "The pack needs to remember the consequences of acting without thinking."

He swallowed. "Yes, Alpha."

"Also prepare a group of scouts to go search for my daughter."

"Okay, Alpha." He bowed and made his way out.

Later, I remained alone and the silence was unbearable. My eyes moved toward the painting on the wall.

A younger version of myself stared back and beside me was Selena, my daughter.

Before everything changed. Before expectations. Before the vampires and Before I convinced myself that sacrificing her was necessary.

I walked closer to the picture, for a moment... A small voice inside me questioned everything.

Was I truly protecting her? Or was I sending her into danger?

The thought disturbed me because deep down, I knew Selena was not just a payment. She was my child.

But I pushed the thought away. The vampire way was the only way and It had to be.

Without it, everything would fall apart. The werewolf race would lose control and we would become savages.

I closed my eyes. I only had one hope that High Acolyte Varek would branch to Blackbourne pack before returning home.

At least then, I would have less to deal with when it came to Alpha Kael.

A knock sounded and I turned around as a scout stood at the doorway. "Alpha, the scouting group is ready." He bowed. "They await your order."

I looked once more at the painting then I faced him.

"Find my daughter or die trying."