The alphas runt

The Breaking Alpha

Kael had stopped sleeping three days ago.

No one in Silver Fang Pack dared mention it aloud.

Not Damien.

Not the warriors.

Not even the healers.

Because the alpha standing before them now barely resembled the controlled leader they once knew.

He looked feral.

The week since Lyra disappeared had hollowed him out piece by piece.

Dark circles shadowed silver eyes that no longer softened for anyone. His beard had begun growing unevenly across his jaw from neglect, and the scent of rage permanently clung to him now like smoke after wildfire.

The entire pack felt it.

The bond between alpha and luna was weakening.

And Kael was falling apart with it.

Snow crunched beneath heavy boots as Kael stalked through the courtyard before dawn, silver eyes glowing faintly in the darkness while warriors hurried to avoid his path.

Fear followed him now.

Not respect.

Fear.

Because everyone had witnessed the terrifying truth during the past week:

Lyra had never weakened their alpha.

She had been the only thing holding the monster inside him together.

Without her, Kael became colder every day.

More violent.

More unstable.

Warriors fought more often now. Omegas stayed hidden in their quarters. The estate itself felt darker somehow—as though warmth had been ripped from its walls the same night Lyra vanished.

Even nature reacted strangely.

The territory storms worsened.

Animals fled deeper into the forests.

And every wolf in Silver Fang carried restless unease beneath their skin.

Because their luna was gone.

Kael stopped suddenly near the training grounds.

The bond pulsed faintly again.

Weak.

Painfully weak.

His chest tightened violently.

Mine.

The desperate instinct tore through him instantly.

Still alive.

Barely.

That single fragile connection remained the only reason Kael hadn’t burned entire kingdoms to the ground already.

Damien approached carefully across the snow.

“Scouts returned from the western mountains.”

Kael turned sharply.

“Report.”

The beta hesitated briefly.

“No trace.”

Rage exploded instantly.

The nearby stone wall cracked beneath Kael’s fist hard enough to send wolves flinching backward across the courtyard.

“Seven days,” Kael snarled.

Seven days without her.

Seven days without hearing her voice.

Without feeling her warmth beside him in bed.

Without knowing if she’d eaten.

If she’d slept.

If she was terrified.

The thought nearly drove him insane every single hour.

Kael’s wolf paced violently beneath his skin now.

Find her.

Find her.

Find her.

Damien’s expression darkened carefully.

“We’re expanding searches farther north.”

“It should’ve been done already.”

“It takes time.”

Kael grabbed Damien’s jacket instantly, dragging the beta forward with enough force to shake him.

“I DON’T HAVE TIME.”

The entire courtyard fell silent.

Damien didn’t fight back.

Didn’t even look surprised.

Because this wasn’t truly anger anymore.

It was grief.

Pure devastating grief.

Kael released him abruptly before turning away again.

His breathing came too fast now.

The bond hurt.

Gods, it hurt.

Each day without Lyra weakened the connection between them further. Mira warned him it would happen eventually if bonded mates remained separated too long.

Especially during pregnancy.

The thought made panic surge violently through him again.

Their pup.

Lyra was carrying his pup somewhere out there.

Alone.

Afraid.

Possibly hurt.

Kael closed his eyes briefly.

And saw her anyway.

White hair spread across dark blankets.

Crystal-blue eyes looking up at him softly.

Tiny body curled against his chest while his hand rested protectively over her stomach.

Safe.

Mine.

The memory nearly destroyed him.

A younger warrior suddenly sprinted across the courtyard toward them.

“Alpha!”

Kael’s eyes snapped open instantly.

The warrior stopped several feet away, visibly shaken.

“A messenger arrived.”

Every wolf nearby went still.

Kael stepped forward slowly.

“From where?”

“We… we don’t know.”

The messenger handed over a sealed black envelope with trembling hands.

No scent.

No markings.

Nothing.

Kael ripped it open immediately.

One single page rested inside.

And the moment he read it—

The world went red.

Reject the runt.

Break the mating bond publicly before the next full moon.

Do this, and perhaps she lives long enough to return home.

Continue searching… and you will bury both your mate and unborn pup.

Kael stopped breathing.

Pup.

Whoever took her knew.

The paper crumpled violently inside his fist.

Pure alpha rage detonated through the courtyard hard enough that several wolves dropped instantly beneath the pressure.

Damien snatched the letter carefully from Kael’s hand.

His face paled while reading it.

“…Fuck.”

The bond inside Kael erupted violently now.

Terror.

Rage.

Desperation.

He couldn’t reject her.

The idea alone felt like death ripping through his chest.

Impossible.

Lyra was part of him now.

His wolf would never survive rejection.

Neither would he.

Kael’s voice came dangerously quiet.

“Prepare horses.”

Damien looked up sharply.

“You don’t know where they are.”

“I’ll find them.”

“You’re not thinking clearly.”

Kael’s silver eyes snapped toward him murderously.

“My pregnant mate was kidnapped.”

The temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop instantly.

“You’re lucky I’m thinking at all.”

Silence followed.

Then unexpectedly—

Another voice spoke behind them.

“You won’t find her alone.”

Kael turned instantly.

Ronan Blackwood stepped through the courtyard gates alongside several Crimson Claw warriors.

Behind him came something even more shocking.

Other alphas.

Three of them.

Kael frowned sharply.

“What is this?”

Ronan approached calmly through the snow.

“Help.”

Kael looked openly suspicious.

“Why?”

The Crimson Claw alpha held his gaze evenly.

“Because something feels wrong.”

Silence.

Another alpha stepped forward.

Older.

Gray-haired.

“The northern territories changed after your luna disappeared.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

He’d heard the whispers already.

Wolves across multiple territories reported strange unrest during the past week. Packs argued more frequently. Smaller conflicts escalated violently. Even children became more anxious.

No one understood why.

Except maybe Kael.

Because Lyra calmed wolves naturally.

Not through power.

Not through dominance.

Something deeper.

Something blessed.

Another alpha crossed his arms thoughtfully.

“My mate cried for two days after the kidnapping.” He looked genuinely unsettled. “She said it felt like losing sunlight.”

Kael froze slightly.

The male continued quietly:

“She believes your luna is blessed by the Moon Goddess.”

The courtyard fell silent.

Blessed.

Not cursed.

The exact opposite of everything Lyra had been told her entire life.

Ronan looked toward Kael carefully.

“We all felt it.”

Kael’s throat tightened painfully.

Because he felt it too.

The absence.

The missing warmth she unknowingly spread through every wolf she touched.

Silver Fang hadn’t simply lost its luna.

The northern packs had lost something important.

Something sacred.

Kael looked down briefly at the crumpled letter still clenched in his fist.

“They want me to reject her.”

Ronan’s expression darkened instantly.

“And you?”

Kael’s silver eyes turned lethal.

“I would rather die.”

The answer came instantly.

Absolute.

Every alpha present looked unsurprised.

Because by now, everyone could see the truth.

Kael Draven loved his mate completely.

And without her—

He was unraveling.

Ronan stepped closer slowly.

“Then we find her before they force your hand.”

Something dangerously close to hope flickered weakly through Kael’s chest for the first time in days.

Not because he trusted easily.

But because these alphas didn’t stand here out of politics anymore.

They stood here because Lyra had affected them too.

Even after only one meeting.

Kael looked toward the forest beyond the estate walls.

The bond pulsed faintly again.

Weak.

Fading.

Panic immediately followed.

Seven days.

Too long already.

Every hour weakened her connection to him further.

If it broke completely—

No.

Kael physically couldn’t think about that possibility.

Ronan noticed the shift in his expression.

“The bond?”

Kael nodded once.

“Getting weaker.”

A heavy silence followed.

Because every wolf there understood what that meant.

Time was running out.

Elsewhere far beneath the frozen northern mountains, Lyra curled weakly beneath thin blankets inside the cold underground room where Magnus kept her hidden.

Her skin felt feverish.

Her body exhausted.

The pregnancy drained her quickly without proper food or care.

And each passing day weakened the mating bond more painfully.

Sometimes she barely felt Kael anymore.

That terrified her more than the k********g itself.

The heavy door creaked open.

Magnus stepped inside calmly.

Lyra immediately stiffened.

The elder smiled warmly.

False.

Always false.

“You look tired, child.”

She pressed protectively against the wall.

“What do you want?”

Magnus studied her quietly for several moments.

“You’ve caused remarkable chaos.”

Fear curled tighter in her stomach.

Kael.

The pack.

What was happening?

Magnus almost looked amused now.

“The alpha is deteriorating beautifully.”

Pain stabbed through her chest.

“What did you do to him?”

“I gave him a choice.”

Lyra’s face paled instantly.

No.

Magnus crouched carefully before her.

“He’ll reject you eventually.” His voice softened mockingly. “Males always choose power.”

Tears burned painfully behind her eyes.

But deep down—

She knew he was wrong.

Because Kael would burn the world before willingly abandoning her.

And somehow…

That terrified her even more.