The Fox's Heart

Chapter 15 - Talon's POV (Part 1)

***Warning:Violence***

Talon sat on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. The news from Tyrese had hit him like a punch to the gut. His sister had done the best she could to convince Elora to stay, but it was all for nothing. Elora was leaving, and now it felt like the last sliver of hope was slipping through his fingers.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Calin, muttered from the other side of the room, pacing restlessly. Talon could see the worry etched across his features, mirroring his own turmoil.

Falon, the middle of the three, leaned against the wall, his expression pensive. “Maybe we should talk to her. Try again. We can’t let her leave like this.”

Talon shook his head, anger boiling in his chest. “It’s too late for that. She’s made her decision. And honestly, I don’t blame her. We messed things up. I messed things up.” He clenched his fists, frustration coursing through him.

Their father had been furious after the party debacle. Talon could still hear Gavin’s voice booming in his head, laced with disappointment and anger. “I am so disappointed in you three. I am seriously considering making Dimitri the next alpha!” Dimitri was only seven and was their little half-brother. Crystal could not hide her excitement at their father’s words and Talon had to remind himself not to lash out at her.

Talon thought about their own mom, and he realized they had let her down. They promised her to lead the pack just like their father had on her deathbed. Their mother’s death when they were ten had been hard. And now the thought that they might lose their father’s respect too was unbearable. Talon remembered how weak and fragile their father had been after their mother passed away from cancer—a rare illness especially among werewolves.

He also remembered the day their grandfather had encouraged their father to remarry Crystal, the reasoning behind it shrouded in duty and alliance. She was the daughter of a former alpha, who was a member of the werewolf council like him. “It’s for the good of the pack,” their grandfather, Alpha Branden, had insisted. But Talon had seen the pain in their father’s eyes, the hesitation. It felt like a betrayal to their mother’s memory, their father’s mate. But he agreed, seeing the benefit of the alliance by bringing two packs together.

Now, with Crystal having given birth to Dimitri, it felt like a complete upheaval of everything they had known. Talon hated how much favoritism he sensed coming from Crystal, always trying to have their father favor Dimitri and even Ryder. Talon had seen how her gaze lingered on the triplets, how she subtly undermined them in front of their father. It was like she was playing a game he didn’t understand, and it infuriated him.

“We need to figure something out,” Calin finally said, breaking Talon from his thoughts. “We can’t just let Elora go without a fight.”

A tense silence settled over the room, broken only by the sound of a throat being cleared. Talon looked up, his heart sinking when he saw Ryder standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

“It’s already too late,” Ryder said, his voice dripping with disdain. “You should just let her go. Elora wants nothing to do with any of you.”

Talon’s jaw clenched, and he felt a surge of anger rise within him. “She’s our mate, Ryder,” he said, his voice cold and unwavering. “We’re not backing off just because you think you can stand in our way.”

Ryder shrugged, an infuriatingly calm smirk on his face. “Your mate? Funny, because it seems to me that she’s already moved on. She’s found someone she actually likes—someone who hasn’t spent their life hurting her.”

The words hit them like a punch to the gut. Talon, Falon, and Calin exchanged glances, a mix of anger and disbelief on their faces.

“What are you even talking about?” Falon demanded, his voice barely above a growl.

Ryder chuckled, his gaze shifting to Talon with a flicker of satisfaction. “Oh, come on. You three are dense, but I didn’t think you’d be this slow. I’m talking about Elora… and me. She deserves someone who actually cares about her.”

Calin’s face twisted with rage as the realization settled in. “You’re lying. Elora wouldn’t—she knows who we are to her.”

But Ryder stepped forward, his smirk widening. “Believe what you want, but when I kissed her, I could tell from the way she kissed me back, it’s clear she’s already over you.” His words were like gasoline thrown on an open flame, igniting the fury simmering within the room.

The next second, Calin exploded across the space between them, fists clenched. Before Ryder could react, Calin slammed him into the wall, the impact reverberating through the room. “You think you can just walk in here and act like you know anything about her?” Calin’s voice was a low, dangerous snarl as he pinned Ryder against the wall.

Ryder didn’t flinch. Instead, he looked down back at Calin, a glint of defiance in his eyes. “Touchy, aren’t we?” he sneered. “But I could say the same for you. What do you actually know about her?”

Falon stepped closer, fists balled at his sides. “If you think we’re going to stand by while you try to take our mate, you’re delusional.”

Ryder’s smirk wavered, just slightly, as he met Talon’s gaze. “Maybe you should consider that Elora is making her own choices,” he replied, his voice taunting yet calculated. “You’ve pushed her away for so long, you’ve given her every reason to look elsewhere.”

Talon’s fury twisted into a knot of frustration as Ryder’s smirk widened, but the harsh voice of Alpha Gavin cut through the tension like a blade.

“What is going on here?” Alpha Gavin’s authoritative tone filled the room as he stepped inside, his piercing gaze moving between Calin, who had Ryder pinned to the wall, and Talon, who stood rigid with anger. Crystal, Ryder’s mother, entered right behind him, a look of exaggerated concern spreading across her face.

Calin hesitated before reluctantly letting Ryder go, his shoulders tense as he stepped back. Ryder straightened, brushing himself off, his smirk still in place as if he’d won some silent victory. Crystal immediately moved to her son, fussing over him with an exaggerated tenderness.

“Are you alright, Ryder?” she murmured, loud enough for the triplets to hear. “I can’t believe they would do this to you.”

Alpha Gavin’s face was a storm cloud as he turned his attention to the triplets. “After the scene you three caused at the party, I was already fed up with your reckless behavior,” he said, his voice icy. “But now, attacking your stepbrother in my own home? You’re supposed to be leaders, and this is how you act?”

“Dad, we—” Talon started, but Alpha Gavin held up a hand, silencing him.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, Talon,” he said firmly. “For years, I’ve trained you three, hoping you’d be ready to take on the responsibility that comes with being alphas of the Blue Moon pack. But it seems I was mistaken.” He looked at each of them in turn, disappointment etched deep into his features. “After your actions tonight, I’m suspending your Alpha training. You’ve shown me that you’re not ready for this responsibility.”

Crystal’s expression turned smug as she glanced at the triplets, her lips curling into a small, satisfied smile. She wrapped her arm around Ryder’s shoulders as if to protect him from the triplets, a move that only deepened the burning frustration Talon felt.

“But, Dad—” Calin tried to interject, only for Gavin to shake his head.

“I’m beyond disappointed,” Gavin cut him off sharply. “If you’re serious about becoming alphas, you’re going to have to find a way to prove it. I’m not handing the pack over to anyone who treats everyone they don’t like, as if they are beneath them.”