Knotting His Rejected Breeder

The first sound was the horn.

It rolled across the battlefield like thunder, cutting through the screams, the clash of steel, and the growls of wounded wolves.

Ramon lifted his head, and for one brief second, even Fenris paused.

Beyond the battlefield, a sea of warriors appeared over the ridge. Their banners rose above them in the wind.

MoonRay pack was at the front of the army, and Alpha Jackie rode.

The warriors behind him moved in perfect formation, their armor glinting beneath the pale light of the moon. They had come from the east, crossing the mountains and the frozen valleys to reach Silverpaw before the battle was over.

Jackie raised his sword. "For Ramon!"

His army answered with a roar. The sound shook the ground and Ramon stared at them.

His chest rose and fell heavily as blood ran down the side of his face. His clothes were torn. One of his arms hung slightly lower than the other, but his grip on his sword remained firm.

He had been fighting Fenris for nearly an hour and neither man had been able to bring the other down.

Fenris stood several feet away, his black hair falling across his forehead and blood dripping from a cut across his cheek.

His eyes were bright with fury.

"You brought an army?" Fenris asked.

Ramon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "No. Why?"

Another horn sounded. This time, it came from the opposite side.

A second army emerged.

Stormridge.

At its front was Alpha Liam, Alpha Ramon’s best friend.

Liam’s eyes found Ramon immediately. For a moment, the battlefield disappeared.

Ramon saw the boy he had grown up with. The man who had stood beside him through wars, betrayals, and losses. The one person who had never asked him to explain himself before offering his sword.

Liam lifted his weapon. "Stormridge pack stands with Ramon!"

The warriors behind him roared.

Fenris looked around the battlefield. More enemies were pouring into Silverpaw, and with this, smile disappeared.

Then a third horn sounded.

This one was louder.The ground trembled beneath the approaching army.

MoonRay had arrived. Stormridge had arrived. And now the army of Ironfang came through the western forest.

At the front rode Alpha Erling.

The moment his eyes landed on Ivy, his entire expression changed.

She was already on the battlefield.

Blood covered one side of her face. Her clothes were torn, and a sword hung in her hand. She had been fighting beside the others without hesitation.

Erling’s gaze moved over her body, searching for injuries.

Ivy noticed him, and for one second, they stared at each other.

Years had passed but his feelings had not. He had loved her once. He still did. Even after she had chosen someone else.

Even after he had tried to bury the feelings and pretend they no longer existed. He had still come.

Not for Silverpaw. Not for politics. Not for Ramon but his sister, Ivy.

Erling lifted his sword. "Ironfang fights with Bloodmoon!"

Ivy’s lips trembled.

Then she turned and struck down the warrior rushing toward her.

Erling’s expression hardened. There would be time for everything else later. If they survived.

Another roar came from the southern side. The Moonfire Army had arrived. At the front was the pregnant princess.

Jed’s mate.

Fenris’s son had placed a child inside her, and despite her pregnancy, she had refused to remain behind.

Jed turned sharply when he saw her.

His face went pale and he mindlinked her. "What is she doing here?"

The princess raised her sword. "Fighting."

"You’re pregnant!"

"And your father is murdering people!"

Jed’s mouth opened. No words came out.

The princess looked at him from across the battlefield. Her hand rested protectively over her stomach.

"I will not sit in a palace while the grandfather of my child destroys the world around him."

Jed stared at her. His heart twisted. He wanted to run to her. He wanted to drag her away from the battlefield, but he knew her.

"Stay behind the front line!" he shouted.

She gave him a furious look. "You are not my king yet."

Then she turned and joined the battle. For the first time that night, Jed looked terrified.

Not for himself. For her. The battlefield exploded.

Warriors from MoonRay crashed into the Silverpaw army. Stormridge joined the fight from the eastern side.

Ironfang tore through the western flank. The Moonfire warriors attacked from the south.

The Blood Moon women moved through the chaos like shadows. Pregnant or not, they had come.

No one had been able to stop them.

They fought with knives, swords, claws, and the kind of rage that came from having something worth protecting.

Blane fought near the center of the battlefield. Daniel was beside him.

Lewis and Jenner fought behind them, covering the wounded whenever they could.

Ivy moved through the warriors with deadly precision.

Every time someone came near Ramon, she was there. Every time she was nearly surrounded, another warrior came to her aid.

The battle had stopped being about packs. It had become personal. They were not fighting for territory.

They were fighting for Ramon.

Across the battlefield, seven men stood apart from the slaughter.

Cade. Seth. Jed. Wolf. And the triplets.

They watched as their father fought Ramon. Fenris moved like something born for war. His sword cut through the air with terrifying speed.

Ramon blocked the blow. The impact forced him backward. Fenris attacked again.

Ramon ducked beneath the blade and drove his elbow into Fenris’s ribs.

Fenris staggered.

Ramon did not give him time to recover.

He grabbed Fenris by the collar and slammed him into the ground.

The earth cracked beneath his body. Fenris lay still for half a second. Then he laughed.

Ramon’s eyes narrowed.

Fenris’s fingers curled into the dirt. "Is that all you have?"

He pushed himself up. The muscles in his arms tightened. Then he grabbed Ramon by the leg and threw him across the battlefield.

Ramon hit the ground hard enough to roll several times.

"Father!" Cade shouted.

Fenris turned toward the voice.

Cade stood frozen. Their eyes met. For the first time that night, Fenris looked at his sons.

Cade swallowed then mindlinked him. "Stop this."

Fenris stared at him. "You came to watch?"

"No."

"Then why are you standing there?"

Cade looked around. Warriors were dying everywhere. Some were screaming. Some were crawling across the ground.

Others were holding the bodies of people they loved.

His eyes lowered. "I don’t know."

Wolf let out a bitter laugh. "You don’t know?"

Cade turned toward him. "Do you?"

Wolf’s jaw tightened. "No."

Seth stepped between them. "Then we need to figure it out before everyone here dies."

Wolf looked at him. "You still want to stop this?"

"Yes."

"You defended him."

"I defended us."

Wolf’s eyes flashed. "Let’s say the truth, let’s admit to it that father killed Mother."

The words silenced them. Even Jed looked away. Their mother.

The woman who had once held all of them. The woman who had made them feel like they belonged somewhere. The woman whose death had shattered their family.

Cade closed his eyes. "I know."

"No, you don’t," Wolf said.

His voice cracked.

"You always stand there like you are better than us because you are the heir. You think being quiet makes you strong. You think carrying Father’s crown makes you different."

Cade looked at him. "I never said that."

"You didn’t have to."

Seth stepped closer. "We are fighting each other while Father destroys everything."

Wolf’s breathing grew heavier. "Father destroyed our family long before tonight."

Jed looked toward the Moonfire army.

The princess was fighting near the back of the formation. A warrior rushed toward her. Jed started forward. Before he could move, she drove her sword through the warrior’s chest.

Jed stopped.

His hand went to his stomach. "She’s going to get herself killed."

Seth looked at him. "Then go get her."

Jed shook his head. "She’ll hate me."

Wolf stared at him. "She already fights better than you."

Jed glared at him. Wolf almost smiled.

Almost.

Then a horn sounded from the northern ridge. Every head turned. An army appeared.

Alpha Daisy’s army. They had arrived before her. Their banners moved in the wind as they descended toward the battlefield.

At the front of the army, the soldiers raised their weapons.

Ramon looked toward them. His expression changed. Daisy was not there.

The brothers watched the army enter the battle.

Cade’s gaze moved from them to Ramon. Then to their father.

Then to the dead scattered across the field.

"What are we doing?" he whispered.

Wolf looked at him. "Fighting."

"For what?"

Wolf did not answer.

Seth looked at the battlefield. "For a man who killed our mother?"

Cade’s expression twisted.

"Or against a man who killed our mother?"

The silence that followed was heavier than the sounds of war.

Jed looked at his brothers. "Mother wouldn’t want this."

Wolf’s face hardened. "You don’t know what she would want."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don’t!"

"She wanted us together!"

Jed’s voice broke.

The words hung between them.

"She used to say that all the time. Do you remember? She said it every time we fought. She said we were brothers before we were his sons."

Cade lowered his head.

He remembered. He remembered her sitting between them when they were children.

They had once been a family before their father turned love into fear, before their mother died, before every one of them began blaming someone else.

Seth looked at Cade. "What would she say if she saw us now?"

Cade stared at the battlefield. "I think she would tell us to stop."

Wolf’s fists tightened. "I don’t know how."

"Then we learn."

Another explosion shook the ground. They looked toward the center of the battlefield.

Fenris had Ramon by the throat. Ramon’s feet barely touched the ground.

Fenris’s arm was tense as he held him up.

"You are weak," Fenris growled.

Ramon’s hand closed around Fenris’s wrist.

His eyes burned. "Then why are you breathing so hard?"

Fenris’s face twisted. Ramon drove his knee into Fenris’s stomach. Fenris released him. Ramon landed on his feet.

He swung his sword. Fenris blocked it. Their blades collided again and again.

Ramon was powerful but Fenris was stronger, and Ramon was faster.

Every time Fenris tried to overpower him, Ramon slipped away. Every time Ramon tried to finish the fight, Fenris forced him back.

Neither man was willing to fall.

Then Ramon heard a voice. "Ramon!"

He froze.

Sonia.

His head snapped toward the sound. She stood at the edge of the battlefield.

Daisy was beside her.

They had arrived. For one second, Ramon forgot the sword in Fenris’s hand.

He saw Sonia heavily pregnant, carrying their pup. He saw Daisy.

He saw the people he had spent so long trying to protect.

His expression changed.

Fenris saw the opening, Then, silver blade drove forward.

It entered Ramon beneath the ribs. Ramon’s body jerked.

Sonia screamed. "RAMON!!!"

Everyone turned.

Fenris pulled the blade free, and blood poured from the wound and then his mouth. Ramon stumbled backward, his hand pressed against his side.

The silver burned through him.

Fenris stepped toward him. "You should never have looked away."