All A Mask Of Pretense
1440 Words
Aven
~
The silence in my room was heavier than the argument downstairs. It pressed against my eardrums, a suffocating weight that made it hard to breathe.
For eighteen years, I had been the anchor for Eryx and Cassian. I was the one who smoothed over their mistakes, the one who took the blame, the one who acted as the father our mother never was. We were triplets, born minutes apart, but I had carried the burden of leadership since the day we drew our first breath.
And today, for the first time, that burden felt like a noose.
All for a wolfless Omega. A girl with no status, no power, and seemingly no value.
I kicked the door shut behind me, the lock clicking with a finality that did nothing to quiet the storm in my head. My hands were shaking. Not from fear, but from a rage so cold it burned. Eryx’s words still echoed in my mind. You are not my father.
And Cassian’s had been the harshest. If you wanted the girl for yourself…
I drew in a sharp breath as I walked to the large mirror on the wall and began stripping off my shirt. The fabric hit the floor with a soft thud, distant and muffled by the pounding of my own heart.
Throwing my phone onto the bed, I watched my reflection staring back at me. My eyes lingered on my abs and the noticeable scar on the left side of my ribs. It had healed, but the mark remained. Some scars are left on our bodies as reminders not to forget a tragic past. Every time I stood naked before the mirror and saw that scar, I was transported back in time.
To the night our father died. To the vow that I would keep my brothers safe, no matter the cost.
I live for them, I thought, tracing the edge of the scar with my finger. I breathe for them.
But now? Now they looked at me with disdain. They saw my protection as control. My love as weakness.
The ringing of my phone pulled me back to reality. I turned my head and stared at the screen.
“Oh, God. Nisha,” I groaned, running a hand through my hair as I realized I had forgotten to text her back.
I walked to the bed and dropped onto the hard mattress, landing on my back with my arms spread wide, shirtless and exhausted. I held the phone up and sighed as I opened her message.
Nisha: I handled the zoning permits for the new inn project. But I'm sure you’ve been busy with the Ashmount partnership, which is why you couldn't get back to me. So, I took the liberty of finalizing the details with the council. Don’t worry about it.
Guilt twisted in my gut. I couldn't recall a single thing when it came to my brothers; Nisha had asked me to do a simple task—review the contracts weeks ago. I had promised to help. But I had been so focused on managing Eryx’s volatility and Cassian’s cruelty that I had forgotten. Again.
She was the daughter of Felix Williams, Alpha of the Crimson Pack, the second-largest pack in the Wolf Lands. His territory was nearly as vast as the combined kingdoms of my brothers and me—the South, North, and West.
I didn't know much about the old rivalries, but Dad had told me that he and Felix Williams had dueled for the position of Alpha King. Dad had won, and Felix had returned to his pack, rebuilding his strength until he became one of the strongest Alphas in the North, second only to mine. An alliance was formed between our fathers, and years later, after Dad's death and the tragic loss of my four previous brides, Mom chose Nisha as my mate.
We had been dating for some time before getting engaged two years ago. She was the perfect partner: confident, capable, powerful, and a Royal Beta with Alpha blood in her veins, next in line to lead her pack. We had a good understanding, having known each other for years.
Instead of texting back, I decided to call her on impulse.
“Hello?” My voice barely sounded normal. That was my problem; I couldn't fake my emotions well. When I was upset, it showed in my body language, my tone, and even my word choice. Most people blew it out of proportion.
“Hey, you okay?” she asked, hearing only the strain in that single word.
I forced myself to smile, though she couldn't see it. I needed to pretend everything was fine.
“I'm fine. Just tired. This shared alliance is really taking a toll on me,” I uttered, staring up at the ceiling.
“Oh, have you guys started negotiating?” I could practically hear her pouting or rolling strands of her dark hair around her fingers.
“Yeah. Victor is finally complying,” I mumbled.
I knew she disliked it when I talked about work because she always complained about me not taking her on trips or posing as a couple in public.
“Hmm. Anyway, we're doing well over here. My brother is doing great. He stays late on the training grounds all night and returns to his hostel early in the morning. His teachers and trainers are praising him heavily,” she began her usual chatter.
I didn't mind her talking about her brother, but it had become repetitive. She wanted him accepted into our Academy so he could fight for the position of Alpha King. Our situation was complicated, but werewolves lived by such fate. The Academies trained Alphas for the final battles to select the Alpha King. If challengers lost to any of us Draven Triplets, we, the reigning Kings, remained crowned.
“Yeah, you know what? I'm kind of tired,” I said, cutting her off. I didn’t have the energy to hear about her brother's witty accomplishments. He was arrogant, acting like a big deal whenever we met.
“Oh, I'm sorry I bored you with talk about my brother,” she replied, her tone turning bitter. “Okay, tell me how I can change your mood.”
I waited in silence, carefully choosing my words to avoid offending her. But there was no gentle way to say it. Her remark hinted that I cared too much about my brothers and not enough about her.
“By letting me rest?” I groaned. “We'll talk tomorrow. I have things to do.”
I hung up. But before I could even set the phone down, it rang again.
I didn't open my eyes as I answered. “Nisha, can we please talk tomorr—”
“Alpha King, it's me.”
My eyes shot open. It wasn’t Nisha’s voice. It was Adrian.
I pulled the phone away to check the ID. Adrian.
“What happened?” I asked, sitting up.
“Sorry to call on such short notice, Alpha. I received your encrypted request from two nights ago.”
“And?”
“Alpha, isn't Victor your stepfather?”
“Adrian, are you questioning my orders?”
“No! No, it's just… the data is unusable. It’s too clean.”
I frowned. Too clean meant fabricated.
“Never mind,” I said, my voice hardening. “I need you on another case. Find out every piece of information you can get on a she-wolf named Kaira. Niece to the late Rogue Queen from Blue River. Formerly an Omega.”
“Understood, my King.”
I hung up and threw the phone onto the bed.
Adrian was the only one up to the task. He was a computer genius, a werewolf with a mind as sharp as a blade, specializing in intelligence gathering. If anyone could dig up the truth, it was him.
Victor was my soon-to-be stepfather. But things didn't sit right with me. It was just too good to be true.
I couldn’t explain that to my brothers. Eryx was being manipulated by a social climber, a girl who used loopholes and desperation to get what she wanted.
I hated being the person who suspected everyone. I hated being the one who saw threats at every corner. But I had learned long ago that trust was a luxury Alphas could not afford.
Kaira was weak. That was what everyone said.
But to me, weakness was often a mask. And if Eryx was too blind to see it, I had to be the one to expose her.
- Writer
