Chapter 311: Threatened
****************
~Dristan's POV~
Alpha Alexander chuckled, and the sound came off low and cruel. "Bold little cubs," he muttered. His cold eyes settled on me. "Valerie?"
I said nothing. My fists clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palm. The rise and fall of my chest must have given me away, because the others stilled too.
"You think I and the other Alpha Kings don't know about your little whorish mate?" my father sneered.
"She's no—" I barely got the words out before my father's Alpha aura slammed into the room like a tidal wave.
It crushed at my chest first, then my knees. The others lowered their eyes instinctively, shoulders buckling against the weight of it.
"Know your place, mutt!" Dad snapped. "Without me, without my title and rank, you are nothing. When I speak, remember who it is you're talking to."
The walls vibrated. The silence in the study became deafening.
"If she is no whore," my dad continued, his voice becoming steel, "then how come she is shackled to all four Alpha Heirs... and the twin Lycans? Don't you see this is a disaster waiting to happen?"
"And says who," Alpha Draven added calmly, "that just because the Moon Goddess 'bestowed' a mate upon you, you must be tied to her? Do you take the Goddess' will as gospel now?"
"We've heard the whispers," Alpha Xavier chimed in. "We've seen the reports. And I must say— I am deeply disappointed. All of you, heirs to powerful regions, wrapping your entire future around a girl with no Alpha lineage, no noble title. A nobody. This is not how heirs behave."
"But Father…" Xade stepped forward. "I… I love her."
Alpha Alexander's head slowly turned. "Love?" His scoff was sharp. "What do you know of love, boy? How do you expect her to return that love to six men? Are you that naive? Or just desperate?"
Xade's jaw tightened, but he didn't back down.
Dad wasn't finished. His attention returned to me. "And you… you promised me she was just a fleeting distraction. A toy. That she would never interfere with your duty. But what did I hear? You skip class for her, taint your records with detention for her, get into fights for her and..."
"And I'd do it again," I growled, cutting him off. "If it meant protecting her, I'd fight ten times harder."
Silence engulfed the room all of a sudden.
The room froze, stunned. Even the other Alphas went still as the air sparked with defiance.
Most of the Alpha Kings stared at me as though I had grown two heads.
I was always the model Alpha King's Heir. I did what my father wanted, carried out his orders, and led by example, and here, right now, I was openly defying him.
"I love Valerie," I said, voice level but steady with emotion. "And I'll always protect her."
My father's nostrils flared as he took a step toward me. "Do I need to remind you what happened last time you let the wench cloud your judgment?"
I didn't flinch. I met his gaze head-on. "No. I hear you loud and clear. But unlike last time… I won't sit back. I won't let you touch her. Not again. This time, I'll protect her. No matter the consequences."
The others moved in, stepping up beside me like a wall. Kai. Axel. Xade. Their loyalty was wordless, but it burned bright in their eyes.
"As will we," Kai said darkly.
Alpha Draven narrowed his eyes. "Then thank you for the confession…"
"Because now, Valerie's life isn't safe anymore," my dad completed.
My blood turned to ice.
"What?" Kai growled. "What the hell do you mean?"
I exhaled slowly, barely keeping the rage in check. "The simulation attack… the one Valerie barely survived? That wasn't an accident. And the one involved was none other than my beloved father."
All their heads whipped in my direction.
"That was you?" Axel said, disbelief burning in his voice.
"I warned you what would happen if she got in the way," Alexander said, unmoved.
"I told you she was not in the way."
"Then," my father cut in. Now look at you, throwing away all we've worked for. That was only a taste."
"You tried to kill her?" Xade roared, stepping forward.
"And I'll do it again," Dad said coldly, "if any of you heirs defy our will."
He turned to the others. "Do I have your support?"
The three Alpha Kings shared a glance, then gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"You do," they chorused.
A dead, hollow beat of silence followed and when no one thought we'd actually defy them further…
"Then I quit," Xade snapped. "I reject my title. Father, you have another son. Make him your puppet."
"Xade…" Alpha Xavier started.
"No." His eyes gleamed with raw fury. "If this is the legacy you want… the lies, the control, the bloodshed—then count me out."
Alpha Alexander growled. "You would walk away from everything we built… all the sacrifices made, your powers?"
"I'd burn it all to keep her safe."
Axel stepped forward next. "Same here. I'm done playing heir to a throne built on manipulation."
Kai's hand clenched around the side table, cracking the wood. "If you touch her again—if anyone touches her—we won't be heirs. We'll be your fucking enemies."
And this time, the Alpha Kings truly looked shaken because, for the first time… their sons weren't boys anymore.
They were Alphas in their own right, and we had chosen their war.
But just before any of our fathers could speak, the door opened and two ladies walked in, while the third clapped.
Every one of them was Luna in their own right, one person who had the power to command and manipulate Alpha Kings.
"Mother," Kai breathed when his gaze landed on Luna Diamond.
She ignored him and walked over to stand with her fellow ladies in front of all of us.
"Alphas, boys," Luna Crystal, Xade's mother, mentioned and glanced at all of us.
And then finally, the last lady to enter, Luna Aurora, Alpha Zeno's wife, Axel's mother.
"Remind me again why we are letting teenage hormones decide the fate of the werewolf kingdom?"