The Alpha’s face hardens. He can’t believe his ears and now stands fully. His imposing aura expands like wildfire. "You would betray your family? Betray the pack for a mere girl?"
Darien stands even straighter. "Yes, Father. Yes. Because she’s worth more than your idea of power. More than your rules. More than your pride. We..." He stops, seeing the subtle twitch in his father’s lips. "We are fated to her. And she has a right to live, to be heard, and to be defended."
Silence crashes into the room like a slammed door.
The Alpha’s expression calcifies. His jaw flexes once and Darien swears the temperature in the study drops several degrees. Morgan shifts his weight, trying to look unfazed, and Grayson is practically vibrating with the effort of not bolting straight through the nearest window.
Kairos murmurs in Darien’s head. "He’s about to blow. I can already hear the vein in his forehead packing its bags."
Darien keeps his chin high, refusing to break eye contact with the man. His lungs burn, but he doesn’t let himself blink. Not in front of him.
The Alpha finally speaks.
"You embarrass me. I can’t believe you’re my sons. All the noble daughters in this pack, girls with history, lineage, sacred bloodlines... and my sons choose a mere Moon Blessed? A girl marked by superstition and scorn? A curse made flesh?"
Morgan scoffs, under his breath but loud enough. "Wow. You really don’t hold back, do you?"
Grayson elbows him sharply. "Morgan, shut up..."
"No," the Alpha cuts in. "Let him speak. Since you are all so emboldened now."
Smoke from the cigar curls between them, making the air thicken. Darien feels the shift in his chest as though something in him crosses a line. He doesn’t care anymore.
"Damn this man and his hypocrisy!" Kairos rages and Darien loses it.
"Is that truly why you hate her?" He asks, stepping forward. "Because she’s a Moon Blessed? Or is it because she’s the one in the prophecy?"
The Alpha goes motionless. It’s so subtle that one might not notice, but Darien sees the micro-second delay in breath. The subtle twitch in his brows. The flicker in the eye.
Kairos whispers, stunned. "...oh, he didn’t expect that one."
Morgan and Grayson whip their heads toward Darien like WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?
The Alpha straightens slowly, sheepishly clearing his throat. "...How do you know about that?"
Darien doesn’t flinch. "You’re not the only one with power in this pack."
A muscle jumps in the Alpha’s jaw. His next exhale is sharp, steaming with disappointment. "So a council member betrayed me."
Kairos snorts. "Funny how he’s more mad about that than plotting to kill his sons’ mate."
The Alpha swirls the bourbon in his glass before tossing it back in one gulp, then sets it down with a force that trembles the desk.
"Very well," he nods. "If you know the truth, then hear the rest: that girl puts everything at risk. The order. The balance. The leadership we have upheld for generations and not just my position, but yours as well, YOU FOOLISH BOYS!"
Tch. Position? They are really going to kill a girl who just wants to peacefully live her life because they want to keep their titles.
"Have they thought for a second that maybe, just maybe, the prophecy is there because they would try to harm her and she’ll lose it, destroying them all as a result?" Kairos sucks his teeth, replying to Darien’s thoughts.
Darien steps forward again. "You want to ’take care’ of her because you fear a prophecy. A prophecy you don’t even understand."
The Alpha slams his hand down on the desk — CRACK.Wood splinters beneath his palm.
"You will not lecture me about fear," he snarls. "I built this pack with my blood. My strength. My sacrifices. And I will not let one cursed girl tear apart everything I shaped."
"We’re not letting you hurt her," Darien fires back.
"We?" the Alpha hisses. His gaze snaps to Morgan and Grayson. "And you two fools agree with this madness?"
Morgan steps forward, chin up, fearless in the way only Morgan can be. "Yeah. We do."
Grayson adds a shaky but determined, "Same here."
Kairos hums in approval. "Look at them. Little toy soldiers all grown up."
The Alpha inhales slowly, like a person on the verge of setting the whole estate on fire restraining himself. Then he says it... says the quiet threat that cuts even deeper than his earlier rage. "So this is your choice."
His voice is eerily calm now. "If you support Heidi, you choose her over me. Over this family. Over this pack. And you must be ready to bear the consequences."
Darien doesn’t hesitate. Neither do his brothers.
"We’ll bear them," Darien affirms.
"All of them," Morgan adds.
"Whatever they are," Grayson finishes.
The Alpha studies them. Three sons, three stances, three unwavering faces. Then he leans back in his chair and says:
"Then fight me."
Darien gulps. Who knew there could ever come a day when the Father he looked up to and always fought to please would ask that he fight him?
Morgan’s eyes widen at first, almost making Darien think he’s about to take back his words before they narrow. "I’m not afraid of you."
Right. He’s dumb for ever thinking Morgan could be afraid of anybody, Darien thinks. He’s never seen anyone who loves trouble and embraces it as much as Morgan does.
Grayson swallows but squares his shoulders. "Same."
Darien presses his lips together. There’s no going back now. "Neither am I."
The Alpha’s lips curl. "Brave. Stupid. Predictable."
He picks up his cigar and flicks ash into a crystal tray. "Since you insist on siding with the girl, then you should know something."
His gaze on the boys hardens. "The lawsuit is in two days."
The room goes silent.
"WHAT?!" Morgan blurts.
"You’re lying," Grayson whispers.
Darien feels his pulse spike. "Two days? That’s impossible. There’s no time to..."
"There is," the Alpha cuts in, "if you want to save your little cursed Moon Blessed. Or fall with her. Either path suits me."