Chapter Three – The Alpha Who Never Had a Choice
1191 Words
Ryker
Three days earlier...
Before the sun ever reached the peaks surrounding Blackwood Keep, I was already awake.
I preferred it that way.
The silence before dawn belonged to me.
No council meetings.
No petitions.
No warriors seeking permission.
No elders reminding me of tradition.
Just the cold mountain air and the steady rhythm of my own breathing.
I stepped into the training yard, stripped off my shirt, and picked up the heavy iron greatsword resting against the fence.
It weighed more than most warriors could comfortably lift.
To me...
It felt familiar.
One strike.
Then another.
Steel cut through the crisp morning air as I worked through the same routine I'd practiced since childhood.
Strength wasn't given.
It was earned.
Every single day.
"Again," Onyx rumbled.
"I know."
"You're favouring your left side."
"I was testing you."
"Liar."
A grin tugged at my lips.
"You noticed."
"I always notice."
---
By the time the sun crested the mountains, several warriors had gathered around the edge of the training grounds.
None interrupted.
They simply watched.
When I finally lowered my sword, my Beta, Elias, tossed me a towel.
"You've frightened the new recruits again."
"I wasn't trying to."
"You split the training post in half."
I glanced toward the shattered timber.
"...That one was already cracked."
Elias laughed.
"It most certainly wasn't."
The recruits exchanged amused looks.
They'd been expecting an Alpha who barked orders and demanded perfection.
Instead, they got one who quietly apologized to the carpenter every time he broke another practice post.
---
Blackwood Pack had ruled the northern mountains for generations.
We weren't the largest pack.
Nor the wealthiest.
But we were known for one thing above all else.
Honor.
My father had built that reputation.
He'd also died protecting it.
I was eighteen when I became Alpha.
Most believed I wasn't ready.
Truthfully...
So did I.
There had been no time to grieve.
The day after my father's funeral, I was expected to sit in his chair, make his decisions, and carry his burdens.
Some nights, I still caught myself looking toward his empty seat during council meetings.
Old habits lingered.
---
"You're thinking about him again."
My mother stood in the doorway overlooking the courtyard.
She carried herself with the same quiet dignity she always had.
Queenly without needing a crown.
"I was."
"He'd be proud of you."
"I hope so."
"He would."
She walked beside me, resting her hands on the stone balcony overlooking the valley.
"The summit begins in three days."
"I know."
"The elders will be watching."
"They always are."
She smiled knowingly.
"They're also getting impatient."
I already knew what she meant.
Every conversation eventually found its way back to the same subject.
Marriage.
Or rather...
The lack of it.
---
Among the northern packs, an ancient law remained unchanged for centuries.
No Alpha could claim a mate before reaching twenty-one.
The belief was simple.
A young Alpha's first duty belonged to their people.
Not their heart.
Until the ceremony marking their twenty-first year...
Love was forbidden.
Not because it was shameful.
Because it was powerful.
Powerful enough to cloud judgement.
Powerful enough to change history.
I'd never questioned it.
Mostly because I'd never given love much thought.
Running a pack left little room for anything else.
---
"That's not entirely true."
Onyx interrupted my thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"You've simply never met anyone worth wondering about."
"I don't wonder."
"We'll see."
---
Later that afternoon I walked through the village below the keep.
Unlike many Alphas, I preferred walking without an escort whenever possible.
Children barely glanced up from their games.
They were used to seeing me.
An elderly fisherman waved from beside the river.
"Morning, Alpha."
"Catch anything worthwhile?"
"My grandson says this one's bigger than yours."
The old man pointed proudly toward a trout no longer than my forearm.
I studied it seriously.
"I think he may be right."
The boy puffed out his chest in triumph.
"See!"
His grandfather laughed.
"Thank you for letting him win."
"I wasn't convinced I did."
The boy grinned from ear to ear.
Moments like these reminded me why I carried the title at all.
Leadership wasn't the meetings.
Or the battles.
It was making sure children still had reasons to smile.
---
The castle kitchens buzzed with preparation for the summit.
Servants hurried between long tables covered with bread, vegetables and roasting meats.
As I entered, everyone stopped what they were doing.
"You don't need to stop."
Immediately they returned to work.
The head cook marched toward me with flour covering half her apron.
"You've lost weight."
"I've done no such thing."
"You forget to eat when you're busy."
"I eat."
She folded her arms.
"When?"
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
"Exactly."
Five minutes later I was sitting at one of the benches with a bowl of stew I hadn't intended to eat.
The cook smiled triumphantly before returning to work.
Onyx chuckled.
"You fear her."
"I respect her."
"You're terrified."
"...A little."
---
That evening the council elders requested my presence.
There were six of them.
Every one had served my father.
Every one still believed they knew what was best for me.
"The summit will be difficult this year," Elder Thomas began.
"I expected as much."
"The Ashen Moon Alpha is attending."
"I've seen the guest list."
"The rumours surrounding her continue to spread."
"I've heard them."
Another elder leaned forward.
"You would be wise to keep your distance."
"Because of rumours?"
"Because legends have a habit of becoming truth."
I considered that quietly.
Then asked the question none of them expected.
"Has anyone here actually met Alpha Carley?"
Silence.
The elders exchanged glances.
"No."
"So we're judging someone we've never spoken to?"
Thomas sighed.
"Sometimes reputation exists for a reason."
"Sometimes."
I stood.
"I prefer deciding for myself."
No one answered.
---
Long after sunset, I stood alone on the highest tower of Blackwood Keep.
From here I could see the road winding through the mountains.
Soon it would be filled with visiting Alphas.
Old allies.
Old rivals.
New problems.
Onyx settled beside me within my mind.
"Something is coming."
"I know."
"Something important."
"You've been saying that for weeks."
"Because it's true."
A cold breeze swept across the mountains.
The forest below swayed beneath the moonlight.
For reasons I couldn't explain...
I found myself staring toward the southern road.
The one leading from Ashen Moon territory.
I had never met Alpha Carley.
I knew only the stories.
The feared Alpha.
The undefeated warrior.
The woman many packs believed should never have been given power.
Yet...
Every instinct I trusted told me those stories were missing something.
Perhaps they were wrong.
Perhaps they were right.
Either way...
In three days, I'd finally discover the truth for myself.
Neither Onyx nor I knew that the moment she stepped through Blackwood Keep's gates...
Everything we'd believed about fate, duty and the future of our pack would begin to change.
Neither of us knew that the summit wasn't bringing us another political meeting.
It was bringing us the one person our souls had been waiting for all along.
- Writer
