TBMA [Complete ✔️]

3. Pawn

Knox's P.O.V

Mom and dad haven't been talking a lot since we had to be locked up with the others, while dad fought the bad wolves. There has been a lot of shouting and mom never allowed me to help her. Dad never screamed at her before, so I often wondered if he was turning into one of the bad wolves.

He also stopped playing with me and sis, which made me really sad. Before we would have picnics along with Zane, his dad, and Ed, and we would all play soccer together, dad teaching me how to be the best out there. He no longer did that now.

Sometimes, he, sis, and I would have tea parties to make her happy. She would dress up in a princess dress and put on fairy wings, then she would pick out outfits for dad and me. She would paint my nails and get upset when I complained or moved, but I didn't want to make her sad, so I tried to sit as still as possible. He no longer had time for that, either.

It seemed, he no longer had time to play with us, nor read us nighttime stories before bed. Mom used to read them to us since he stopped, but now, she said I was a big boy and no longer needed to be read before I went to sleep. I wasn't mad at her though, I knew she was just tired, sometimes, she was sad too, but she never let me, or sis know.

I read the books to sis, knowing she wasn't a big girl like me. She was still scared of falling asleep on her own, and I didn't mind. My teachers said my reading had improved and I felt happy that I could make mom smile. She always smiled when I showed her how I was doing at school.

But other than that, mom didn't smile much anymore. She would only do it for our wolves, but as soon as they passed, she would stop. She said it was polite to do so, so now I smiled at them too. Mom said it was important to be polite, that I had to be if I wanted these wolves to be mine one day.

I didn't really want wolves, just wanted dad and for her to smile again, but I did as she said, hoping that maybe if I was a good boy, I could make her happy like she was before.

One night, after I had read sis to sleep, I heard dad shout at her. I knew I should listen to them, that that wasn't polite, but I didn't like it when he did that. I tiptoed to their room and heard them talk about losing many wolves, that they had no other option, but I didn't understand. The next second, I heard a loud noise and mom crying. Dad rushed out and didn't notice me, so I went up to mom and gave her a big hug.

I told her she didn't have to cry because I was a big boy and I would protect her as I did with sis, which made her wipe her tears and flash me a smile, but it didn't look like a happy smile. The lamp behind her had fallen to the floor and was broken, maybe dad was mad at her because of the lamp. I promised to buy her a prettier lamp, then she tucked me into bed.

"Hi, buddy!" Mom greeted me with a hug as I came back from school. "How was your day?" She asked, taking my backpack and leading me into our living room.

"The teachers said Zane needs to learn to read like me!" I beamed proudly.

"Homework?" I shook my head.

"Not today."

"Go play with Zane and Ed then, they're already outside." I kissed her cheek and ran off, passing by dad on the way out. I said hello to him, but he didn't even look at me.

Aria's P.O.V (T. W. domestic violence ahead, please proceed with caution)

I sat back on the couch, my mate's scent reaching me as soon as Knox went outside. I took a deep breath, his angry aura engulfing the place and making me feel uneasy.

"It's okay, we'll calm him down." My wolf soothed, leaving me to hope she was right.

I knocked on the door of his office, not waiting for a reply before making my way in.

"Hi!" I said quietly, his head in his hands.

"What do you need?" He grumbled, not bothering to look up. My chest tightened painfully, remembering his once warm smile, or his open arms whenever I would visit him while he worked.

Nothing was the same after we found out our pup was special and the attack. Not our relationship, not his and mine with the kids, or with the pack. After losing way too many of their loved ones, pack members no longer trusted their Alpha, coming up to me with their problems. I knew the pack meant a lot to him, yet I never thought it meant more than our family.

I sat on the chair opposite his desk, wondering how to calm a wolf, who didn't want to be calmed.

"I just wanted to know how your day went." I shrugged. He finally bothered to look at me, or more like glare at me, the eyes once full of love, now always tired and angry.

"Are you mocking me?" He gritted, a frown making its way onto my lips.

"If you call me trying to help my mate mocking, then sure." He shook his head, a bitter choke of a laugh leaving his lips.

"You know well how to help me, Aria!" This time, I shook my head, hurt at his continued suggestion.

"I'm not having this conversation again," I said through gritted teeth, jumping out of my chair. "Mention it again and I'll take the kids and leave you!" I looked him straight in the eye, showing him just how serious I was, though all he met me with was a cruel, amused smile.

"Perhaps that wouldn't be a big deal for you, though." I turned to leave, but his grip on my arm stopped me. I angrily turned to face him, his veins pulsating, wolf coming forward.

"Those kids are not yours to take!" He spat before his voice went back to normal. "You always say you want to help me, yet when it comes to actually doing your part, you chicken out."

"I won't sell my daughter, dumbass!" He slapped me across the face, making me cup my cheek. Tears threatened to spill not because of the sting, but because of the betrayal not only to me but to our small daughter as well.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Aria!" He shouted again, my reaction to his hit perhaps fueling his anger. Despite him wanting me to give up, to cower and let him go through with his sick plan, I stood tall and looked him straight in the eye, looked at the face of the man, who laid his hand on me, the one who used to claim he would love me forever no matter what. "How many times do I have to tell you that we won't be selling her! It's a trade! She would live with us until she turns thirteen, then she would go to Silver Moon, where she would be taken care of, and our pack will be protected and given funds!" I snorted, wishing glares could kill.

"Exchanging for money is what people call selling and my daughter is no pawn in your plan! Lay a finger on me or the pups and you'll see what I'll do to you!" He grabbed my face, painfully gripping it, waiting for a wince. Despite the pain and his Alpha strength, I held it all in.

"I'm interested to hear what you'll do to me?" He smirked, his behavior disgusting not only me but Ailia as well.

Until today, he had screamed, he had thrown things, broken them even, but he had never done anything to physically hurt me. My heart was in pieces, grieving a man that was right in front of me, grieving the once loving version, I was unfortunately sure would never come back.

"I would show every single member of your precious pack your real face!" I told him, my voice low and calm. He hated it.

"Go ahead, they don't trust me anymore anyway." He shrugged, though both of us knew he would never let his reputation be tarnished.

"They clearly have a reason," I muttered, his fingers grabbing my face again and bringing it closer to his.

What would once have been a romantic gesture, now made me want to gag. The lips I once longed for, I now felt disgusted by. Even with the mate bond, the sight of this wolf in front of me was only painful, not an ounce of my heart left belonged to him.

"I'm sorry!" I linked my whimpering wolf.

"It's not you who should be sorry." She replied before blocking me off, leaving me to deal with the monster of a mate we had on my own.

"This is our only option!" He tried to reason, letting go of me, his tone growing softer. It's what he always did whenever we fought, he would shout, break and throw things, but then he would apologize and voice his reasons. I let it slide for a while, knowing that losing this many pack members, losing everything he'd worked so hard for, took a toll on him. I tried to help, tried to stay patient, and guide him through the hard times, but a year later and it had simply become a habit. I never thought he was serious about trading our pup. I lived in ignorance, thinking, or hoping, his words were empty.

Things would get better for a day or two, barely, but they would. He wouldn't yell, he would ask Knox about school, and Rosie about daycare, and though still being cold towards me, he would say a word or two, then another attack would weaken the borders, kill more of our warriors, and all progress would be lost.

Members were giving out, they were exhausted and underpaid and our allies were nowhere to be found. Day after day, both female and male wolves trained and worked harder than they had ever had to, but it never paid off. Funds were low, constantly going towards repairing what was broken. Esteban was going crazy trying to do things fairly for his wolves, while also doing what he thought was necessary, but it seemed no matter what he tried and how many hours he worked, it was never enough. He and his wolf, being of Alpha blood, were going crazy with the thoughts of not being good leaders, of failing, but still, we could have searched for a solution together, instead of him suggesting to give up our pup.

What was happening in the pack gave him no right to act the way he did, nor did it give him the right to abandon me and the kids, to push us away. The moment he laid his hands on me was the moment defeat truly hit me. Until now, I had hoped things would get better, I had hoped that one day the pack would start to thrive again, somehow, and with that, my mate would return to us. No matter how many items he destroyed, or how much he raised his voice, I always excused him in my head. I thought of various reasons why he was angry that day, or how I could help because the one thing I wanted most was a happy family. The family he gave me for a while.

"This is our only option, Aria!" He repeated, snapping me out of my thoughts, away from the shame consuming my mind for excusing his behavior and thinking he was going to change. "How many more wolves do you want dead, huh?" He asked, looking straight into my eyes as if that would finally make me understand.

"Those are innocent lives, Ari! Lives we are responsible for and lives we are losing!" I stepped back, the closeness of our bodies now feeling uncomfortable.

"And our five-year-old daughter you're so easily ready to give up, ready to hand over to be used, she isn't innocent? Knox, whose been asking for his father for a year and a half now isn't innocent? I, who have excused your tantrums time and time again am not innocent?" I seethed with rage. Every word coming out of his mouth saddened and angered me at the same time.

"Our daughter will not be used, she will help others!" I held back the spit I wanted to release on him, not wanting to be hit again. I didn't need to have to hide scars and bruises, and some, I was sure, were already forming.

"With every wolf she heals, her energy decreases! You will be handing her her death sentence!" I screamed, knowing no matter how much I raised my voice, he would hear, but never listen.

"But we will stop losing warriors and our wolves will finally have peace and enough food on the table!" He reached to grab my arm again, but I took another step back, hurt and anger flashing through his eyes. "Just think about it, Ari!" He tried again, finally making me slap his arm away with a glare.

"As long as I'm alive, my child will not be sacrificed because you couldn't do your job properly!" The door to our suite opened, an Omega dropping Rosie off from daycare. She ran in and threw her arms around me, the Omega leaving with a bow and a smile aimed only at me.

"Hi, baby!" I cooed, picking her up despite her not being a baby anymore. In a way, I think she'd always be my baby, while my son would always be my big, strong wolf, ready to protect everyone, even when he couldn't.

"Fine." He huffed, his eyes softening at the sight of our little girl. It seemed he hadn't taken time to really look at the kids ever since the attack. Hopefully, now he would consider letting the crazy idea go and figure out another way. "Let it be your way." He walked past me, his arm brushing against mine as he walked towards his desk. "Any death would now stain your hands." He whispered in my ear, letting Rosie and I scurry away.

A/N:

Hi, Treasures! Make sure you join my F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k group Teddy's Treasures for extra content and discussions! Esteban has started to show his true colors. What do you think?