Bound by Alpha’s Vows

The Shattered Alpha

The mighty Alpha of Ravenstone hit the forest floor hard, one hand pressed against his chest as if he’d been shot. His face had drained of all color, leaving him pale as moonlight.

Selene stared in shock. This wasn’t the reaction she’d prepared for rage, demands, threats. Not this. Not vulnerability.

“Five years,” Kade whispered, his voice broken. “Five… five years, and you never…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. His silver eyes, usually so controlled and intimidating, filled with a grief so raw it made Selene’s chest ache.

“Kade,”

“Don’t.” His voice cracked like a whip, but there was no anger in it. Only pain. “Just… don’t.”

Lucian, who had been hiding behind Selene’s skirts, took a tentative step forward. His small voice cut through the tension like a blade.

“Are you really my father?”

The question hung in the air, fragile as spun glass.

Kade looked up from where he knelt in the dirt, staring at the boy with wonder and anguish warring in his expression. Slowly, as if afraid Lucian might bolt, he reached out one trembling hand.

“Yes,” he breathed. “I am.”

And then, to Selene’s absolute shock, tears began streaming down the Alpha’s face.

She had never, never, seen Kade cry. Not when his father died. Not when he’d rejected their mate bond. Not even when she’d left.

But here he was, brought to his knees by the sight of his son.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, the words directed at Lucian but his eyes finding hers. “I’m so sorry.”

Selene felt her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble. This wasn’t the cold, duty-bound Alpha who had chosen politics over love. This was a broken man realizing what he’d lost.

“Kade…” she started, but her voice caught.

He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly. “What’s his name?”

“Lucian.”

“Lucian.” He repeated it like a prayer. “My son. My… gods, Selene, what have I done?”

Before she could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps crashed through the moment. Beta Marcus burst through the trees, flanked by three warriors, all of them looking alarmed.

“Alpha, we heard,” Marcus stopped short when he saw the scene before him. His eyes darted between Kade’s tear-stained face and the small boy at Selene’s side.

Understanding dawned in his expression, followed quickly by something that looked suspiciously like panic.

“Sir,” he said carefully, “perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere more… private?”

Kade nodded numbly, still staring at Lucian as if he might disappear. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

As they made their way toward the packhouse, Selene couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had just changed in ways she hadn’t anticipated.

She’d expected Kade’s anger. His dominance. His attempts to control the situation.

She hadn’t expected him to fall apart completely.

And she definitely hadn’t expected to feel sorry for him.