Choosing Duty
1317 Words
Rion’s POV
Tyler.
My Beta filled the doorway, broad shoulders framed by the hallway light, dark hair tousled from the wind, eyes sharp and warm at the same time. He carried a stack of reports under one arm, but that wasn’t what hit me first.
Her scent.
Faint, but unmistakable. Wildflowers clinging to his sleeve, to the front of his jacket. My mate’s scent was on him.
Ray went deadly still. Then lunged against my ribs so hard I grunted.
Did they meet?
Did they speak?
Did she ask about me? Did he touch her? Help her? Put his hands where they didn’t belong?
The thought made something twist violently in my chest, hot and sharp, not quite like pain and nothing like rage…yet close enough to both that I couldn’t tell the difference.
I didn’t understand it. Only that the idea of her letting him near her made my thoughts splinter, my body tense and my wolf stir like it wanted blood. His blood.
Tyler’s gaze flicked over me…like he was checking to see if I was alright…then landed on William. His expression hardened instantly.
He’d never liked William. Never hidden it either. The air between them always crackled like dry lightning…like sworn enemies from a past life.
“Alpha,” Tyler said, voice steady and warm, ignoring William completely. “I brought the reports on the new training grounds. The pups are progressing faster than expected.”
William smirked, leaning against the wall. “Nice to see you too, Beta.”
Tyler didn’t even glance at him. Just stepped inside, letting the door shut with a soft thud that felt louder than a slam.
William turned back to me, holding out the vial again. “Drink it, Rion. I want to see you finish it before I leave.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed on the bottle. He crossed the room in three strides, closing the space until he loomed beside me. That suspicious glint I knew too well sharpened in his gaze.
“And what could it be that you’re giving the Alpha to drink this time?” Tyler asked, voice deceptively mild. “Let me guess…another one of your special brews? Like the one that made him sleep for three days straight after the border skirmish? Or the tonic that had him puking his guts out before the northern summit? Or…my personal favorite…the ‘calming draught’ that left him staring at a wall for hours during the full moon?”
William’s smirk thinned. “You should learn not to meddle in things above your station, Beta. I'm the pack’s healer, specially trained to help the Alpha's condition. Whatever passes between Rion and me is highly confidential. Or are you accusing me of foul play? Of trying to harm him?”
Tyler’s smile was all teeth. “If you say so.”
“Enough,” I snapped. My voice cracked in the middle. “Both of you.”
I snatched the bottle from William’s hand, uncorked it, and threw it back in one swallow. Bitter fire burned down my throat, spreading cold numbness in its wake.
I handed the empty vial back. “Satisfied?”
William’s shoulders eased. “Now you’re doing the right thing.” He tucked the bottle away. “I’ll take my leave. But don’t forget, Alpha…you have a duty. Before the year runs out.”
He moved toward the door but Tyler didn’t budge. They stood chest to chest for a long second, glaring…William cold and superior, Tyler blazing with barely leashed fury. Then William slipped past with a soft chuckle and was gone.
Tyler exhaled hard. “What the hell was that about?”
I turned away, yanking my shirt over my head. Suddenly, I felt a sort of discomfort. My muscles ached. Everything ached for some reason.
“Stop targeting William. He means well.”
“If he means well,” Tyler muttered, “then why is he feeding you poison?”
I chuckled dryly, tired and feeling empty. The vial was working fast. Ray’s presence dimmed, curling into a tight ball deep inside, whimpering like a child that is being grounded.
“It’s not poison. William would never.” I tossed the shirt aside. “Have you forgotten? He’s my shadow. His whole existence is to find a cure for the darkness inside me.”
Memories surfaced before I could stop them.
William and I, pups together. His mother was my mother’s closest friend. She died trying to shield my mother from assassins sent by the old council.
My mother took him in that same week. Raised him alongside me. Made him my shadow so I’d have someone my age to copy smiles, frowns, anger, grief and other teenage experiences. Things I couldn’t feel.
“Study him,” Mother whispered, showing me her photos. “Listen to William. He will cure you and help you fit in.”
And he had helped me fit in so many times among other nobles. Stood up for me when it mattered the most. Mirrored expressions perfectly at international conventions so no one saw the blankness behind my eyes. Stayed when everyone else flinched away.
He was the last person who’d ever want me dead. He wanted the pack strong, safe and thriving. That's why he became a healer.
Tyler paced around restlessly. “Whatever the case may be, I still don't understand why the most feared Alpha would need to listen to that proud peacock?”
He stopped abruptly, eyes lighting up. “I saw you carrying that girl earlier. The one with the bruises. She’s your mate, isn’t she?”
The word hit like a blade and Ray whimpered from his cage in my mind.
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said coldly as the numbness spread deeper. “I have a duty.”
“What duty?” Tyler’s voice rose, fierce and protective…the kind of loyalty that made warriors follow him into fire.
“Your happiness should come first, Alpha. I saw your face out there. An expression I’ve never seen before. Soft. Real. It was because of her. You don’t have to let this go. You’ve sacrificed enough for this pack. It’s time for you to live for yourself. It's time for you to stop being the monster that protects everyone but himself.”
“Enough, Tyler. There’s no point anyway.” I met his eyes with a cold voice. “You know I won’t live past this year.”
He flinched.
“Tell me,” I continued, “what’s better for the pack? A strong alliance and a pure-blooded heir with Dawn’s Creek… or marking a nameless, mute mate whose bloodline is as cursed as mine?”
Silence stretched for five heavy seconds.
“You don’t know that,” he said finally.
“I do.” I said with more resolve. “She can’t speak. I’m a monster. Any child from us…would it even be fit to lead? To secure this pack’s future? You know the laws. I have to mark a noble in order to cleanse the line.”
Tyler’s jaw worked as conflict stormed across his face…loyalty to me warring with loyalty to the pack.
“There has to be another way—”
But I cut him off immediately, feeling like my old self again. “Go fetch Sophia Dawson.”
His eyes widened. “Alpha—”
“If I’m going to father a child with her,” I cut in, voice like stone, “we might as well start tonight since she's not running like the others.”
Tyler opened his mouth…desperatly searching for words to stop this train wreck.
But I was already walking away, heading for the bathroom as steam from the hot springs bath waited beyond the door.
The mating ceremony will be tonight.
I have to perform my duty.
For the pack.
For the future.
Before I die.
- Writer
