Page 5 of Rebel for Claws
The silence stretched taut as Kieran's gaze took in every detail of Alaric's diminished state—the hollow cheeks, the way the thermal henley hung loose on his once-powerful frame, and the fresh scar marking his jaw like a brand of captivity. Kieran's expression warred between relief, disbelief, and something that cut deeper. Resentment.
He's remembering Moon Hollow. The kill order. The banishment.
Malcolm broke first, his diplomatic nature overriding caution as he crossed the room in three long strides. But Kieran remained frozen near the doorway, his body language screaming distrust and barely leashed fury.
"Dad?" Malcolm's voice cracked like he was sixteen again, reaching out but stopping short of actual contact. "What happened to you? You look like?—"
"Like I've been through hell," Alaric finished, his voice rougher than gravel. He forced himself to meet Kieran's burning stare, seeing thirteen years of accumulated hurt and confusion blazing there. "Because I have been."
Kieran finally stepped further inside, but his movements held the controlled menace of a predator assessing threats. "Where the fuck have you been for five months?"
The profanity hit like a physical blow. Kieran had never spoken to him that way, even during their worst confrontations.But I guess that's what happens when you completely destroy your son's faith in you.
"Sedated. Captive. Being used as Thorne's personal laboratory rat." Alaric kept his tone level despite the rage that description kindled in his chest. "But first, I need you to understand something about that day at Moon Hollow?—"
"That day you ordered me to murder my fated mate?" Kieran's voice could have frozen the fireplace flames. "Or what about that day you banished me for choosing love over your precious pack laws?"
There it is. The wound I carved into him.
"That wasn't my kill order, son." The endearment slipped out before Alaric could stop it, and Kieran flinched like he'd been struck. "And that banishment sure as hell wasn't my choice."
Malcolm's head snapped between them, confusion creasing his features. "What are you talking about?"
Alaric leaned forward in the chair, his hands gripping the armrests hard enough to make the leather creak. "I went to Thorne's estate that night five months ago to negotiate. To convince the Council to accept Maya as your mate and reverse the banishment."
Kieran's laugh held no humor. "Right. Because you were suddenly fine with hybrid contamination of our bloodlines."
"No, because I was finally ready to stop playing Thorne's game." Alaric's eyes flashed gold, his wolf responding to the challenge in his son's tone. "I'd spent fifteen years pretending to be the traditionalist he wanted while secretly investigating his corruption. But when you found your fated mate, I realized some things matter more than maintaining cover."
The admission hung in the air like smoke. Malcolm sank into Cade's vacated chair, his face pale with shock.
"So you're saying you supported the mating?" Kieran's voice had lost some of its edge, replaced by something more dangerous—hope.
"I was going to publicly accept Maya as your Luna." Alaric's throat worked around the words he'd never been able to say. "I told Thorne that hybrids represented evolution, not contamination. That our bloodlines needed strengthening, not isolation."
"And his response?" Malcolm whispered.
"He called hybrids an abomination. Said he'd worked too hard for three centuries keeping our kinds separate to let one hybrid ruin everything." Alaric's jaw clenched, the memory burning like acid. "Then he threatened to kill both of you if I didn't abandon this 'nonsense' about integration."
Kieran took a step closer, his silver-blue eyes searching his father's face for deception. "He threatened us?"
"He said accidents could be arranged. That Alphas who couldn't control their sons sometimes lost them to territorial disputes or hunting mishaps." Alaric's hands trembled with suppressed rage. "I told him he could go to hell. Next thing I knew, the wine at dinner tasted off, and I woke up strapped to a medical table with human scientists eager to understand Alpha physiology."
"Jesus Christ," Malcolm breathed.
Kieran's composure finally cracked. "Dad, I—Maya and I mated that night. While you were arguing with Thorne. Maya and I completed the mate bond whether you or the Council approved or not."
My son claimed his fated mate while I was being sedated for defending that right.
A fierce pride swelled in Alaric's chest, washing away months of guilt and self-recrimination. "Good. I never wanted you to ask permission to claim your mate. I raised you better than that."
"But the human operatives you sent after us?—"
"All Thorne's doing." Alaric's voice turned deadly quiet. "I would have died before sending hunters after you and Maya."
Kieran's expression shifted like storm clouds gathering—disbelief wrestling with something deeper. "So you're trying to say those human operatives that hunted us weren't acting on your direct orders? Because they claimed they were."
God, my son actually believed I'd send those monsters after him and his mate.
