Stronger- #Wattys2019

Part 52

The drive back to the royal pack was tense.

Prisoners needed to be escorted back to his prisons where they could be properly interrogated and then put on trial. He had spread his forces thin by planning the coordinated attacks. But it was a risk he couldn't allow to continue for too long. It made more sense to regroup, and work on interrogating members from all packs in one place, getting a better picture from all.

Heavy fingers drummed on the interior door frame of the vehicle. Impatience and concern not letting him calm after the fight. Alexander wanted nothing more than to get out and run back. He had so many thoughts burning through his mind, memories, questions, dark answers, and one petite girl with silver hair that kept sneaking up in between.

Shaking his head, he had to refocus. The Bogomil beta said that the two deceased alphas had been getting orders. And he pointed his finger at a man Alexander had thought was dead and gone years before. Was it possible he survived? How?

Long forgotten memories shook off the cobwebs of disuse and roared back to carry him away...

**********

Screams filled the hall outside of Alexander's room, stirring him from sleep. He didn't know what was going on, but he could hear his father's voice and his uncle's... fighting over something.

Small feet slid out from his warm covers to quietly pad across his room and crack the heavy wooden door open, hoping to spy on the events. However, the scene he saw shocked him so much he gasped, drawing his father's attention.

"No, Alexander. This isn't for you." Titus said calmly as he marched over to the door and pulled it closed with a snap.

"Your Majesty, please see reason." The beta's voice echoed down the hall before his father's angry growl ended the conversations entirely.

Young hands pounded on the door, pleading to be let out and told what was going on, only to be met with silence.

He couldn't return to sleep, visions of his uncle Timur was covered in blood while royal guards had him pinned to a wall; his mother on the ground, holding a woman who was obviously hurt badly; his father was more angry than Alexander had ever seen him.

None of it made sense to the young prince.

**********

Loud banging drew his attention to the front of the room as his father was announced to the hall. The whole pack was there, he was supposed to be waiting in his room. Whatever was happening, he wanted to know. The palace had been tense since his father's fight with Timur. And he wanted to know why.

"The Wolf King, Titus; and the Luna Queen, Grace."

The room went quiet as they entered.

Once seated with the Elder's Council, Timur was pushed through the door, in chains, with guards at each side.

What? Why was he being treated as a prisoner? His hair greasy and matted, his face covered in bruises.

The boy couldn't stop himself as he climbed out of his hiding spot and ran to his uncle. "What happened? Are you ok?" Little arms wrapped around strong legs as he worried over his father's twin brother.

However, all he received was a sneer of hatred from the man he loved as family.

Quickly, his mother pulled him away and carried the prince out of the room while he cried over frustration and confusion of what was going on. He only calmed once back in his room and curled up in his mother's arms.

"What is happening?" He asked through ragged breaths.

His mother smiled down at him, a sad smile that seemed to have lost the brightness he knew from her. "Sometimes people can be selfish, think that other people should only be there to give them what they want, or should be removed if they are in the way. To the point of being mean and hurting other people." Her fingers combed through his dark hair.

"But how can you ever be happy like that? What about people to talk to, play with, laugh with?" The prince wondered.

The Queen nodded. "A very good question, from a very smart little boy."

"What happened to uncle Timur?"

There was a long pause. "Your uncle will not be here anymore." She finally said, looking him straight in the eyes. "He was selfish and hurt people. And your father and I need to protect everyone from that.

**********

Alexander watched the snow covered hills pass by as the vehicles continued toward the royal palace. He had always assumed his uncle had been executed. However, with the new accusations, he suddenly wondered if his father had taken pity on his twin brother and banished him instead?

Fuck, if that was the case, then suddenly, everything in his past twisted into a new focus... the rogue who attacked his mother, the underlying hatred of his father's beta, the manipulations of his fake mating bond, the loss of his parents, all of it.

At first, he thought the beta had simply lost his mind, twisted by the greed of his mate's ambitions for their daughter.

But looking back, he had been close friends with Timur.

The gossip around the palace, the stuff people tried not to say around the King or Queen, he heard bits and pieces as he wandered around. Talk about how Prince Timur claimed that he should have been king all along, but the twins' father chose Titus to succeed him because of Timur's abusive behavior.

Information that made no sense to a boy around 5 years old, but made a lot more sense now.

Even if Timur had a claim to the throne, he obviously didn't have public support to try a coup. That would take time. He had to groom it, manipulate it, and get rid of the competition.

What he hadn't been prepared for was Alexander being stronger than even his father. Perhaps slower to grasp the crumbs left before him without context, but stronger. And in saving his mother from the rogue attack as a boy, he gained far more of the warrior's support. His father and mother were loved by most of the packs, many still supported Alexander. However, the warriors of the royal pack were an integral factor that couldn't be ignored. And Alexander had their complete loyalty.

So, that must have been the reason for his fake mating. It wasn't the beta female's ambitions that drove the plot, but the beta male's idea to start with. A fake mating and then watching Alexander fall apart once it was revealed to be a sham, would have weakened him. His shame could have shattered the warrior's trust and loyalty in his ability to make choices.

The only thing that stopped it was Claudia's sacrifice. Her death. Her letter. His swift justice. Everything remained a secret other than his grief, which only added to their loyalty.

Drawing a deep breath, Alexander had to admit to himself, for the first time in a long time, he was suddenly grateful for Claudia's choices and could see the bravery of her actions. Despite her guilt, her fears, her grief and cowardice in some respects, there was no denying that she sacrificed her own life, the life of her child, and the life of her mate, to end her parents' plans. She protected Alexander, and in doing so, she protected their people.

What a complicated mess.

Then walks in the female alpha who remained hidden as an omega. A glaring cluster of contradictions who is simultaneously winning over everyone who still supported Alexander; while giving everyone who Timur had been able to manipulate, a reason to attack.

The brave, fierce, strong, independent, alpha female who championed the very same people Timur and his followers sought to abuse. The woman who pulled the rug back to show the horrors that had gone unseen while he focused elsewhere. Never had he imagined packs like Bogomil who abused pack members to such a degree.

Alexander was so lost in thought he almost missed the sounds of other vehicles racing down a road just ahead. He had just enough time to brace before the two roads crossed and the impact hit.

The sounds of crushing metal, shattered glass, screams, and growls were all he heard before the world was drowned out by blinding pain, then the world went black.