CHAPTER 4
1277 Words
The Alpha was by himself in that council chamber, way after everyone else had gone out the door.
That question from his mom kept bouncing around in his head, kind of cutting deep every time it hit.
“Choose, son. Let this omega stay, or you go with her.”
He had dealt with all sorts of fights, the kind where blood just soaked everything, and he had to put those brave wolves in the ground, ones who looked to him right up to the end.
Leadership got dumped on him when he was barely ready for it.
But his mother's stare, that was something else, like it was closing in on him from all sides.
She was over by that big chair with all the Full Moon Pack carvings, standing so straight in her fancy clothes.
Lucia got sent out, and she hadn't said a word since, but she didn't have to.
It's always been that way with her.
“You hesitate” she said after a bit, her voice steady but hitting just right.
It carried this undercurrent of warning, though.
“This is unlike you.” She went on.
He let out a slow breath.
“I am considering the consequences.”
Her mouth turned up as her lips turned into a smile.
“As you always do. For the pack.”
He faced her straight on, his gray eyes getting darker.
“And when have I ever chosen otherwise?”
She didn't say anything, which pretty much said it all.
Those old memories started coming back, the ones he had shoved down under all his responsibilities, faces , talks and little moments.
He remembered the healer's daughter back when he was younger, she had this soft warm smile that pulled him in.
“She's too weak” his mom had told him when he considered marrying her.
Then the she-wolf warrior, tough and right there fighting next to him.
“She's unrefined” His mom decided.
“She's unfit to stand beside an Alpha.”
It kept happening like that.
He always ended up drawn to the ones without the status or power or the family line his mom wanted so bad.
And each time, he backed off.
For the pack.
He silenced his wolf, pushed down what he really wanted, picked steadiness over happiness, calmness over fire, duty over what he felt.
Until now with Lucia.
“This Omega is different” his mom said, keeping her eyes on him.
“You feel it too. That is why she must go.”
“No!” he said, flat but strong enough she got it.
Her look got sharper.
“You forget yourself too often.”
“No mom, I remember myself too well” he shot back, his voice slicing through the quiet.
“I remember every time I sacrificed something that mattered to me because you said it was necessary.”
“This is not about you” she said, cool as ever. “This is about the pack.”
“It has always been about the pack, he said. At the expense of my peace. My comfort. My life.”
She came closer, dropping her voice.
“And that is what makes you Alpha.”
He let out this bitter laugh “Or what makes me empty.”
Those words just sat there between them, all heavy with stuff they weren't saying.
“She is a disruption” his mom kept going.
“The wolves sense it. The elders sense it. You are inviting division.” She continued
“She is not the threat,”he paused. “Your refusal to accept change is.”
Her face got harder.
“And you would choose her over your own people, right?”
He didn't jump to answer.
He was thinking about Lucia in the hall, her eyes wide, standing there by herself with all that judgment around her.
The way she held quiet strength even scared. That old pull he couldn't ignore anymore.
“I will not force her to leave” he said finally. “If the pack cannot accept her, then they may leave.”
The whole chamber went quiet, like dead quiet.
His mom stared, a flash of not believing it, then something colder took over.
“You would let wolves abandon the pack for an Omega.”
“I would let them choose” he said. “As you once forced me to.”
Silence stretched out long.
Then she smiled slowly like she planned it.
“So be it” She said. “But do not forget, choices have consequences.”
She turned to the door, steps echoing soft but final.
“You will regret this” she threw over her shoulder without turning.
Lucia picked up on the change before the whispers even started.
The pack area was all buzzing, restless.
Wolves in little groups, talking low and tight. When she came into sight, they stopped, eyes tracking her.
She felt out in the open, not wanted at all.
But under the scared part, there was this weird sure feeling she couldn't pin down.
It seems like something big was shifting, maybe.
The Alpha spotted her by the training edge.
“They told me” she said the first thing.
“Your mother?”
His jaw went tight. “I won't let her send you away.”
Her breath hitched. “You shouldn't have to choose because of me.”
“I have been choosing my whole life” he said softly.
“This time, I choose differently.”
She looked at his face, and saw the tiredness under the tough guy who gave too much all the time.
“You are risking everything” she whispered.
“I already have” he said.
They stood there quiet for a second. That connection between them thrummed, strong even without words.
Then the horn blew.
It was sharp and official.
The Alpha stood up straighter.
“The elders are convening.”
Lucia nodded slowly.
“This isn't over.Is it?”
“No, It is just beginning.” He said.
Night came down heavy on the pack, full of that uneasy vibe.
Lucia went back to her room, her heart all jumpy, and all thoughts spinning through.
She tried to sleep, but the quietness felt off, like it was waiting for something.
A knock cut through it.
She stood up and opened the door.
A young servant girl, with big eyes bowed slightly and whispered
“She is here”
“From the Southern Pack.”
Lucia frowned. “Southern pack? Who is she”
“She came for the Alpha by the order of his mother.” the servant said, not sure.
A chill ran down her back.
She went with the girl to the courtyard, torches lit up more than normal.
Wolves lined up proper, air thick with tension.
In the middle, there was a woman.
Elegant. Sure of herself. Kinda familiar.
Lucia let out a quiet gasp.
“Elara.”
Her stepsister turned at the name.
Their eyes locked.
Elara's mouth curved slowly, like she knew.
“Hello, Lucia” she said sweetly. “It has been a long time.”
The Alpha came up, shock on his face quick, then it turned to not believing.
“My mother summoned you” he asked.
Elara nodded gracefully. “She did.”
Then she looked him over, closely.
“I am here” she said “because I am your chosen mate.”
It hit like a storm.
Lucia's world spun.
And off in the shadows, the Alpha's mother watched, quiet but like she won.
- Writer
