The Alpha King Got Me Pregnant, Then Killed

Alpha Henry’s POV Five lines running on her neck, but I chose the third. A middle ground for all this. Slicing from ear to ear, I grinned as her blood gushed out. The Sacred Stone drank it greedily. Hot and thick, Nova’s blood pooled at my feet, soaking into the ancient grooves carved by my ancestors. The stone had been waiting for her. The metallic scent filled my nose. I held her gaze as the light started to fade from her eyes, my smile never twitching, my hand steady. This was what power looked like. This was what I want my people to see Around us, the council and the pack watched in silence, but approving faces. They had come to witness the breaking of the curse, the restoration of the Alpha line. Behind them, torches burned against the darkness, casting long shadows across the clearing. The moon rose above us, fat and silver, blessing this moment. Even the moon goddess was in support Nova’s mouth moved. No sound came out at first, just a wet gurgle as more blood spilled from the wound and spluttering out of her mouth. Her hands, bound tightly behind her back, twitched uselessly. She was trying to speak. I leaned closer, still smiling. Her lips formed words I couldn’t quite hear over the sound of her blood hitting stone. Her eyes spoke understanding that had come too late. She knew now. She finally knew what she had been to me from the very beginning. She had been saved by me, married by me, bred by me, gotten pregnant by me just for this particular moment; a moment where she is used as a sacrifice wrapped in white wolf bloodline and delivered to my door three years ago. Her chest rose one last time, “My blood will remember.” The words danced around my ears like a curse of their own. For a second, the torches flickered. The wind shifted. I felt something cold brush against my spine, but I pushed it away. This was done. It was finally done. Nova’s body went slack. Her head fell to the side, and the last of her blood poured out across the Sacred Stone. Her body lay crumpled, her eyes were still open. The small swell of her belly where our child had been growing was perfectly still now. A complete sacrifice I had loved her. I straightened up, letting the blade hang loose in my hand. Blood dripped from the tip, pattering softly against the stone. I turned to face the council, my expression calm. The grey wolf elder stepped forward first. His hood fell back, revealing his weathered face and clouded eyes. He nodded once. The others followed, each one stepping up to examine Nova’s body, to check the grooves, to ensure the ritual had been completed correctly. “It is done,” the grey wolf said. “The sacrifice has been made. The bloodline has been honored.” One by one, the elders bowed their heads to me. One by one, they turned and disappeared into the forest, their robes swallowing them up in shadow. They would return tomorrow for the final rite. Tomorrow, when my wolf would emerge at last. *** My whole body shook. I couldn’t stop it. My hands braced against my knees, and I heaved again, bringing up nothing but bile. The smell of blood was everywhere. In my nose, on my skin, in my mouth. I couldn’t escape it. I threw up again Nova was dead. My mate was dead. I killed her My hands shook as I stared at it. These hands took the life of my mate and now her last words wouldn’t leave my ears I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, smearing her blood across my face. My legs barely held me upright. She was eighteen when I pulled her out of that house where her foster parents had beaten her half to death. I loved her when I married her that same day, before she even understood what was happening. I loved her through every cold word I spoke, every night I spent in someone else’s bed, every time I made her feel small and worthless. I loved her, and I killed her anyway. I had known the end from the beginning Because the curse demanded it. Because my wolf had never emerged, and without a wolf, I was nothing. An Alpha in name only. My younger brother Jax circled me like a predator, waiting for the pack to lose faith completely. The elders disapproved of me. The warriors looked to Jax for leadership instead of me. I was going to lose the throne I had searched for five years to find someone with White Wolf blood. The texts said only a sacrifice of that bloodline could break the curse on mine. And when I finally found Nova, I knew what I had to do. I said cruelty would make it easier. That if I kept my distance, if I made her hate me, then killing her would be easy I was wrong. A knock came on my door I spun around, my hand going instinctively to where my blade had been. But I had dropped it. My fingers closed on nothing. “Alpha.” Gommet opened the door, her face half-hidden in the darkness of my room. She wore a ceremonial gown, deep red like blood, cut low enough to show the curve of her breasts. Her dark hair fell loose around her shoulders. She had been beautiful once. Maybe she still was. I couldn’t tell anymore. “It is done” she heaved. I nodded. Words refuse to form I remembered how she had crossed the clearing in the forest. She had not looked at Nova’s body. She never acknowledged it at all. Her eyes stayed fixed on me as she approached, her hips swaying with each step. “The pack is celebrating,” she said. Her voice was soft, almost soothing. “They’re singing your name. Praising your strength. Your courage. You have gained back their favour.” I said nothing. She stopped in front of me, close enough that I could smell her perfume. A floral scent that made my stomach turn again. She reached up and touched my face, her fingers tracing the line of blood I had smeared there. “You were brave,” she whispered. “You saved us all.” Her hand slid down my chest, lower, until her fingers brushed against my belt. I caught her wrist, but I didn’t push her away. I stood there like a statue while she worked my belt loose. She dropped to her knees in front of me. “Let me help you forget,” she said. “Let me show you I much I appreciate your bravery tonight” Her mouth was warm. She moved back and forth as her skillful hands rubbed my balls. She had done this before, many times. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the sensation. All I kept seeing was Nova’s blood pooling on the Sacred Stone as I recited the incantation. She had thought, until the very end, that I might change my mind. That the man who saved her three years ago might save her again. Gommet’s rhythm increased. Her fingers dug into my thighs. I forced myself to respond, forced my body to react the way it was supposed to. My hands tangled in her hair roughly She moaned, taking it as encouragement. Maybe it was. I didn’t know anymore. I didn’t know anything except that Nova was dead and I had put the blade to her throat and smiled while her blood poured out. “My blood will remember.” The words echoed in my head, louder than Gommet’s breathing. Gommet finished, swallowing, then rose to her feet. She kissed me, and I tasted myself on her lips. It was wrong, but I kissed her back anyway because what else was I supposed to do? When she pulled away, she smiled. Satisfied. Triumphant. “Tomorrow your wolf emerges,” she said. “Tomorrow you become the Alpha. A true Alpha.” She left without another word