Knotting His Rejected Breeder

Craig stood near the entrance, arms crossed tight over his chest, his eyes darting between his father and the flap where the growls kept coming.

"Now Ramon is here? Who else isn’t here?" Craig asked.

Ferins looked from one son to the other. These were the boys he had raised with his own bare hands, teaching them to fight, to hunt, to lead. He had broken them down and built them back up so they would never turn their backs on him. Not now. Not when everything hung by a thread.

"Ferins, come out!" Ramon growled again from outside. The sound carried anger that had been building for years.

Wolf shifted his big frame. "He sounds like he wants your head, and from all I’ve heard, rightly so. You better tell us the truth, or by the moon goddess, I would leave your ass here so he can finish you off once and for all."

Ferins’ face twisted with frustration. He raised his voice sudden and sharp. "Can you all listen to yourselves? Don’t you see what’s clearly happening? That bastard is trying to pin me against my own sons! He did it with your sister too!"

Cade stepped closer, his fists clenched at his sides. "How? How father?!"

"He cursed her when he touched her with his filthy hands. That’s how! He soiled her, and cast a dent in the way we see her. She’s not your mother’s look alike any more. She’s my enemy’s whore!"

The words hit like a slap. The sons all pulled back in shock. Their eyes went wide. Jaws tightened. They stared at their father like they were seeing him for the first time.

"Father, this is Sonia we’re talking about here. Our Sonia," Jed said. He turned to Lorena, voice hard and accusing. "What did you do to him?"

Lorena opened her mouth, but Ferins cut in fast. "She didn’t need to do anything. This is who father really is. At the end of the day, he hates Ramon more than he loves anything in life. Even our dear Sonia. Because it’s the only way he doesn’t see that the whore standing behind him has also been soiled by the hands of Ramon. It’s a pity." Seth shook his head, disgust plain on his face.

"I am your father, and I’ve never been wrong about anything. This isn’t any different. Join me and fight, or walk away, and die. The choice is yours!"

Wolf laughed, deep and bitter. "You’re giving us a choice? I’m shocked. Now here’s one of mine. Get a hold of yourself, and return to your senses. Do that, or be left to defend yourself and that slut, and her bastard child!"

Ferins’ hand moved before he could stop it. The smack across Wolf’s face echoed sharp in the room.

"You seem to forget, giant, I am still Alpha Ferins, ruler of Silverpaw. Slayer of giants. I will not be questioned, or challenged by my own sons!"

A guard burst into the tent, chest heaving, eyes wild. "Alpha! The alpha of Bloodmoon has lost his mind. He has fought his way through half our wolves outside. He’s on his way to you."

Ferins turned back to his sons, voice rising with fresh anger. "You heard that? That son of a bitch dared to slay what belongs to us. The same warriors you all had a hand in training. Are you going to let that insult slide? Are you going to do away with what makes a wolf, a wolf? Our pride? All for what? To defend your sister that would choose that bastard over all of you? Wake up, and fight with me now. Come on, Cade!"

He smacked his hand against Cade’s chest and stepped closer, eyes full of desperate hope. "You’re my first. My inheritance. You’re the heir. The next alpha of Silverpaw. Show me now I’m still alive what kind of ruler you’d be. A weak one, or the one to be written in history books."

"I said come out, you coward!" Ramon’s voice came again, even closer now, raw with fury.

"What is it going to be?" Ferins looked at Cade, waiting. He knew if the oldest agreed, the others would follow. They always had.

All eyes turned to Cade.

"Go to hell," Cade muttered. He turned and walked out of the room.

Ferins’ face twisted in rage. "Do not dare step a foot back into my pack when this is all over. And the same goes for everyone of you. If you turn your back on me now, that is the end!"

"You already turned your back on my sister. I could never forgive you for that," Seth said, and followed.

Jed went next without a word. Then the triplets.

Only Wolf stayed behind.

Ramon, standing outside in the chaos, caught a glimpse of the sons walking out. They passed him like he wasn’t even there, eyes straight ahead. He had been ready to fight them all if it came to it. A suicide run, maybe. But they didn’t look at him. Didn’t attack.

Then Wolf came out, dragging a screaming Lorena with him.

Ramon stopped cold when he heard her voice.

Their eyes met across the bloody ground. Lorena screamed louder. "He’s going to kill me, Ramon. They kidnapped me. They want to hurt your child! Save me! Save your heir!"

Ramon’s hands were already covered in blood. Cuts burned across his arms and chest. He looked around, confused for a moment. But the distraction didn’t last.

A claw caught him from behind, digging deep into his shoulder. Pain exploded hot and sharp. He groaned and reached back, shoving the attacker away with everything he had.

"Go after Wolf, and get the lady back!" Ferins ordered the nearest wolf, then turned his full attention to Ramon.

Ferins smiled, slow and ugly, as he walked closer. His eyes glowed with hate. "Give up, Ramon! You’re outnumbered. Before I get to you, my warriors would have torn you from limb to limb. You should never have come here. You should have waited for me to come to you."

Ramon fought off three more wolves that jumped him, claws and teeth flashing. He kept his eyes locked on Ferins the whole time. His body ached. Blood ran warm down his skin. He knew coming here alone was reckless. But he was done letting Ferins pull every string. Done waiting. He might die tonight, but he would fight with everything he had for his pack, for Sonia, for what was right.

Ferins laughed when another slash tore across Ramon’s chest, ripping what was left of his shirt. "You’re already growing weak, and I haven’t even gotten to you yet. Give up, and I may spare your life. Maybe when I destroy Bloodmoon for the second time, this time permanently, I’d let you live so you could be one of my slaves. How does that sound? If you ask me, I’d say it’s the most merciful anyone can be."

"Go to hell!" Ramon growled up at the sky. He tore off the last pieces of his ripped shirt. His eyes started to shift, the wolf pushing hard under his skin. But he held it back. Not yet. Not with so many wolves still between him and the man he wanted to reach.

"You’ll die tonight, Ramon! When you do, Sonia would go to your best friend. I’ll ensure that even in the afterlife you don’t find peace!"

Rage pushed Ramon forward, but another wolf caught him from behind. Claws dug deep into his back. The pain burned like fire, sharp and spreading. He lifted his head to the dark sky and howled loud enough that the sound carried all the way back to Bloodmoon. His pack would hear it. They would know.

"Give up, Ramon. Just give up!" Ferins laughed, mocking him.

"Never!" He howled again, surrendering to the control of his wolf.