Killian
The throne roomseemed less grand as Killian grew older. As a young pup, it was huge and looming with its pale stone pillars and pure white carpet leading to the throne itself. Every inch of it was an artistic expression of wealth and grandeur.
Now, it was just a dreary reminder of his fate.
His father pinched the bridge of his nose again. Killian noticed he did that a lot when they spoke lately.
The captain of the royal guard, another alpha by the name of Stark, hesitantly began to speak.
“Shall I tell Prince Killian the news, sir?”
“No, Stark,” the king said, his eyes still shut in irritation. “I will do it myself.”
Killian waited. He had been out hunting when he heard the summons — a long, low wolf’s howl, one that he would recognize from miles away. It was a traditional howl used only to call the prince.
“What is it?” Killian asked. He was getting impatient. He and his father had been on shaky terms since the death of his mother — the queen — and the escalating conflict with the surrounding packs only made it worse. It was one bad thing after another.
Quite frankly, Killian was sick of it all.
The king finally spoke. “We’ve lost more of them today, Killian.”
“Them?” Killian asked.
“Haven’t you been paying attention at all?” his father snapped. “Silvercreek has stolen our omegas again. They’re targeting our breeding stock. Even with all the defenses and the 24/7 security, they’re still getting through. We can’t spare our strongest alphas to do this full-time.”
Killian was tired of hearing it. He was an alpha, and a prestigious one at that, but he hated when his father spoke about the omegas as if breeding was all they were good for — especially when in the same breath, he admitted not to spending the best resources on protecting them.
“So put more alphas on guard,” Killian said. He knew his father would argue, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to spend time and energy debating problems he couldn’t fix.
“We can’taffordto put more alphas on guard!” his father roared, slamming his fist into the throne’s armrest. His anger even took Stark, the captain of the royal guard and his right-hand man, off guard. “Don’t you understand, Killian? They’re whittling us down! They’re killing our alphas, stealing our omegas — soon Whitewood pack will have nothing left!”
Killian growled. Once again he was in the same bind he always got into with his father. He had suggested moving the pack before, but his father adamantly refused, crying about the sacredness of the pack’s ancestral grounds -— it was a load of horseshit to Killian.
When he realized his father was waiting for an answer, he muttered, “Then we have to fight.”
The king nodded. “Correct.” His eyes narrowed. “And therein lies the next problem.”
Killian fought the urge to turn on his heel and run out the door. He knew where this conversation was going. Italwaysended up this way.
“Our bloodline cannot end, Killian,” the king said.
“Here we fuckin’ go again,” Killian spat. “I don’t want to hear this!”
“It is yourresponsibilityto carry on the Whitewood bloodline,” the king continued, stressing the word. “I’m not the young wolf I used to be, and your mother — ”
“Don’t bring my mother into this,” Killian growled.
The king spat back, matching Killian’s intensity. “Youwillfind an omega, and youwillcarry on our legacy. This is not up for debate.”
Omega. Mating. Legacy. If Killian never heard those words again, it’d still be to soon. He didn’t give two fucks about finding an omega. Having a family was a huge responsibility, and being forced to start one just so their precious Whitewood heritage didn’t die out made Killian furious. Did he really have no choice? Did his father seehimas “breeding stock,” too?
In his fervor, the king had stood, but the stress and the weakness in his old knees forced him back to his seat.
“Sir?” Stark said.
“I’m fine,” the king said, waving him off. He glared up at Killian. “Although I’ll be much better once my son finds a mate.”
Killian bared his teeth. Guilt-tripping was one of his father’s favorite strategies.
