Chapter 37: The Sober Alpha
1164 Words
Ryker’s POV
The room reeked of liquor, pain, and regret. There I sat, on the cold stone floor, surrounded by empty bottles.
No less than a dozen
My shirt was halfway unbuttoned, and my hair was a wild mess. The walls seemed to close in, tighter with every breath. I had become a shadow of my former self.
I was done.
Just then, I heard footsteps
"Get out," I muttered as the door creaked open.
Councilman Taro paused at the doorway. “I see you’ve made yourself… comfortable.”
I could hear the sarcasm in his voice.
“Didn’t you hear me?” I growled without looking up. “Go away, Taro. I’ve got nothing left. There's nothing here for you anymore”
He ignored me and stepped inside anyway, stepping over the shattered glass. He crouched beside me, brushing off a space on the floor to sit.
“I didn't just come here for nothing, I came because I had to,” he said calmly.
“Your brothers are on their way. Together”
I snorted, letting out a bitter laugh. “Well, good for them. They can as well take the damn throne. I never wanted it. I'm certainly in no place to rule”
Taro eyed me for a long moment. “They didn’t come just to claim power, Ryker. They came to eliminate any threat…including you.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the wall. “Let them try. Maybe if I die, I’ll finally get some peace.”
“And Lucy?” Taro asked.
“What about your unborn pups?”
I closed my eyes for a brief moment. Her name stirred something in me I’d been trying to drown.
I took another sip of alcohol, “She’ll be safe. Away from me, she has a better chance to live.”
Taro didn’t speak right away.
Then, in a low voice, he said, “You remind me of your father…” he stopped to shake his head "In the worst ways.”
That made me sit up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I knew my father well enough to know he wasn't the best person to grow up around; he always made me feel less than a wolf.
Taro leaned forward, eyes dark with something deep. “Let me tell you a story. One you’ve never heard, but one you need to.”
I frowned.
“There were five founding Alphas who built our empire,” he began. “They weren’t saints. They were wolves driven by rage, lust, and a hunger for control. They bathed the soil in blood and carved their names into the history of this world. In fact, ruthless doesn’t even begin to describe them.”
“Sounds familiar,” I muttered, remembering my father.
Taro’s eyes sharpened. “Your father, Alpha Kaelen, was one of them. He was the youngest of the founders—charismatic but cruel. He found your mother when raiding a village. She was strong, the daughter of a seer, no less”
I caught my breath. I never knew my mother was a seer.
“He was going to kill her,” Taro continued, “but something about her made him stop and think. Instead, he took her captive”
“He put her in chains. Tried to break her. But she never crumbled.”
My fists clenched as I pictured the events playing out in my head.
“Over time,” Taro said, voice softer now, “he changed. He fell in love with her fire. And she… eventually came to love the man buried beneath the monster. They had sons yes.
, but you… You were different.”
I looked at him now, curiosity racing through my mind.
“She loved you the most,” he said. “Because, unlike your brothers, you had not just her eyes, but her spirit too. Her compassion, she saw in you something no one else saw”
Silence stretched between us.
I exhaled, shoulders sagging. “Thanks for the bedtime story, Taro, but it still doesn’t change anything.”
Taro’s eyes narrowed. “You think you're broken, Ryker. Losing Lucy, losing the throne, makes you less of a leader. But you’re wrong. You still have something to fight for.”
I shook my head. “Speaking of Lucy, I don’t even know if I love her. Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. Everything between us has been chaos since the beginning.”
“But you care,” he pressed, as if searching into my soul. “You feel something for her. Or you wouldn’t be down here drowning in bottles instead of fighting for your throne”
I didn’t answer, but my silence said it all.
“And if you don’t love her,” he added, “do you at least care enough to protect her? To protect your babies inside of her?”
My eyes flicked to him. “She’s safe now. That’s all that matters.”
Taro leaned closer. “No, she’s not.”
The way he whispered to me felt like war drums beating in my eardrums.
“If your brothers want the throne, believe you me, they’ll wipe out every trace of your bloodline—including Lucy and those babies. Do you really think they’ll let your heirs live?”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. After hours of feeling pity for myself, I finally snapped out.
“No,” I breathed.
It wasn't his story that brought me back; it was the thought of Lucy, crying out for help with no one to protect her…
The image of our unborn babies never having a chance to take their first breath…
A growl rose in my throat.
“I have to find her,” I muttered, pushing myself off the floor. My legs wobbled from the alcohol, but I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stand.
Taro caught my arm and steadied me. “Then hurry. There’s no time left.”
Without another word, I stumbled out of the room and into the open. The cold night air hit me like a slap to the face, sobering me up slightly. The moon was still high.
I let the shift take me, bones snapping, my muscles stretching. Pain rushed through me, but I embraced it. The wolf inside was alive once more and ready to fight.
Then I heard it.
A scream.
High-pitched, raw, and unmistakable.
It was Lucy.
Her voice tore through the night and straight into my soul. I didn’t wait. I bolted through the trees, breaking trees as I ran, her pain guiding me like a beacon.
I could feel her—not just hear her, but feel her—like we were connected by something deeper than our blood or bond.
I wasn’t sure what would be waiting when I reached her. But one thing was certain…
I would kill whoever dared to hurt her.
- Writer
