MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS

ALPHA CORVIN

Every full moon since she died had always been unbearably hard to endure alone.

Twelve full moons and twelve long agonizing months of suffering in complete silence. Twelve months of actively denying that her death hurt me as deeply as it did because accepting that overwhelming pain would mean accepting that my twenty-five years with Zoya meant absolutely nothing in the end.

I could not accept that truth. I refused to let it be meaningless.

Twenty-five years of my life. Two sons. A partnership that had built this pack into what it was today.

Glancing through my bedroom window staring at the full moon which was just starting to form in the darkening sky, rising slowly and inevitably above the dense tree line that surrounded the estate, and my wolf was already howling desperately from deep inside my chest because it wanted its mate.

Its mate that was already dead and gone and never coming back to us.

A mate that even in death could not sever the powerful bond between us no matter how much I desperately wished it would just break and let me finally breathe without this constant suffocating ache in my chest.

It was absolute torture every single day but especially on nights like this when the moon was full and my wolf became uncontrollable.

My mind drifted back against my will to a memory I tried desperately every single day not to think about, pushing it down violently whenever it surfaced to torment me.

One Year Ago

I had just been having a brutal heated argument with Zoya in our private bedroom, a vicious fight that left permanent marks on your soul that never healed properly.

We had been arguing for hours at this point and neither of us was backing down.

"You will never choose me over her," Zoya screamed at me, her beautiful face twisted with pure rage and deep pain that I had caused. "After everything I have given you. After bearing your sons. After twenty-five years of complete devotion to you and this pack and your ambitions."

"This has nothing to do with choosing between you and her," I said, trying desperately to remain calm and rational even though my wolf was becoming increasingly agitated inside me, pacing. "Freya is innocent in all of this. She did not ask for this bond."

"Innocent?" Zoya laughed bitterly, the sound harsh and broken and nothing like her usual laugh. "She is a witch who has bewitched you with her magic and potions. Stolen you away from your own family. From your sons."

"That is not what happened and you know it," I stated firmly. "The bond formed naturally."

"Naturally?" she spat. "There is nothing natural about a wolf bonding with a witch."

"I am asking you to be reasonable about this situation," I said, my patience wearing thin.

"Reasonable?" Her voice rose to a piercing shriek that probably echoed through the entire house. "You want me to be reasonable while you openly fuck that witch under my own roof? In my own home that I have maintained for twenty-five years?"

"Watch your mouth, Zoya," I warned, my voice dropping.

"Or what, Corvin?" she challenged, stepping closer to me with fire blazing in her eyes. "You will kill me too? Like you have killed so many others who stood in your way over the years? Add me to your body count?"

"That is not fair and you know it, I did all that to protect this pack" I said.

"Fair?" she laughed again. "You want to talk to me about fair? When have you ever been fair to me?"

"I gave you everything you ever asked for," I protested.

"Except your heart," she said quietly, and the sudden shift in her tone was jarring. "You never gave me that. Not fully. Not completely."

"Zoya, that is not true—"

"Do not lie to me," she interrupted. "I have known for years that you never loved me the way I loved you. I accepted it. I lived with it. Because I thought eventually you would see what we had built together and choose our family."

"I loved you," I said, and I meant it even if it was not the kind of love she had wanted. "I still do."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You loved what I represented. The perfect Luna. The mother of your heirs. But you never loved me."

"That is not fair," I repeated weakly. Already knowing I was fighting a losing game.

"And now you have found your true mate," she continued, tears streaming down her face now. "The one the moon goddess chose for you. And where does that leave me? Twenty-five years and two sons mean nothing compared to a bond that formed overnight."

"The boys will always be my sons," I said. "That will never change."

"But I am replaceable," she stated flatly. "Is that it?"

"I never said that."

"You did not have to," she said coldly, wiping her tears away with angry swipes. "Your actions said everything."

"I loved you," I said again, desperately wanting her to understand.

"I loved you with everything I had. And you have completely destroyed me by choosing her." She paused avoiding my gaze as I stared at her, a sinking feeling resting in my chest, then she continued.

"I will make absolutely sure I ruin everything you have built. Since you choose that witch over your own chosen mate, over your own family and sons, I will take it all away from you."

Something about her tone made my blood run ice cold through my veins. "What have you done, Zoya?"

She smiled at me slowly, and it was absolutely terrifying to see that expression on her face. "What needed to be done to protect our sons."

I could suddenly feel my body growing weak, my knees buckling beneath me. "What did you do to me?"

"I drugged you," she stated simply, watching me with cold emotionless eyes. "Your wine at dinner. And by the time you wake up, you will have lost everything that matters to you. Your sons. Your pack. Your precious witch. All of it gone forever."

I tried to reach for her but my arms would not cooperate with my brain’s commands. My vision was blurring badly at the edges, darkening.

"Zoya, don’t do this—"

I passed out before I could finish the sentence, hitting the floor hard enough that I felt the impact.

But my wolf kept pushing frantically at me, forcing me toward consciousness even though my body desperately wanted to stay under the effects of whatever drug she had given me.

Wake up. Wake up now. Danger everywhere. Our sons are in grave danger. Wake up immediately.

I dragged myself up with tremendous effort, my limbs heavy and completely uncooperative, I stumbled down the dark hallway, barely able to walk straight or maintain my balance, using the walls for support.

I went to Rowan’s room first and pushed open the door roughly. He was in his bed, completely unconscious, breathing steadily but not waking no matter how much I shook him violently and called his name loudly.

She drugged him too. She drugged our son. Our firstborn.

Panic seized me violently and I stumbled as quickly as I could to Ryker’s room, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

I pushed open the door and froze, unable to process what I was seeing.