Stealing the Alpha’s Heritage

Chapter 20

POV Thorne

"Thirty-one days since the ceremony, and they haven't opened their eyes once."

My voice echoes through the medical wing as I stand vigil beside my sons' beds. Kael and Finn lie motionless, their small chests rising and falling in perfect synchronization. The curse symbols have faded from their skin, but something darker lingers beneath—a power that pulses with each heartbeat.

"The nurse says their bodies are healing from the trauma." Aria sits between their beds, her fingers intertwined with both boys' hands. "Whatever that ceremony started, stopping it mid-ritual sent their abilities into dormancy."

"At least they're alive." I move closer, studying their peaceful faces. "Though I wonder what price we'll pay when they wake."

"Don't talk about prices." Aria's voice carries an edge that wasn't there before. "Not when your mother nearly murdered one of them for some ancient curse."

"My mother sits in chains three levels below us." The words taste bitter. "Imprisoned for treason against her own blood. The pack elders wanted execution, but I couldn't—"

"She's still your mother." Aria's understanding surprises me. "Even monsters have children who love them."

"Speaking of monsters, we need to discuss our arrangement." I pull the contract from my jacket, setting it on the medical table. "You've been here a month without signing anything. The pack grows restless."

"What are your terms?" She doesn't look at the papers, her gaze fixed on our sons.

"You remain here as their mother, nothing more. You'll have your own quarters in the east wing. Full access to the boys at all times. In exchange, you don't challenge my authority or attempt to leave with them."

"And us?" Her fingers tighten on Finn's hand. "What about us, Thorne?"

"There is no us." The lie burns my tongue. "You made that clear when you rejected me. Then again when you took Evander's mark."

"A mark you haven't tried to override, despite your threats." She finally meets my gaze, and something unreadable flickers in her brown eyes. "Why is that?"

"Because forcing you would make me no better than him." I lean against Kael's bed, watching his face for any sign of consciousness. "You'll come to me willingly, or not at all."

"That's unexpectedly noble of you."

"Don't mistake restraint for nobility." My voice drops to something darker. "I want you, Aria. Every minute of every day. But I want you to choose me, not submit because you have no options."

"I had options. I chose our sons." She signs the contract without reading it. "That's the only choice that matters now."

That night, I find myself standing outside her quarters. The need to claim what's mine burns through my veins like liquid fire. Three years of searching, of rage, of emptiness—all leading to this moment where she's finally within reach.

"Come in, Thorne." Her voice carries through the door. "I know you're there."

She sits by the window, moonlight painting her in silver. The mark on her neck seems to mock me, another Alpha's claim on what should be mine.

"You shouldn't be alone tonight," I say, moving into her space.

"I'm not alone. I have guards at my door and our sons three rooms away." She doesn't move as I approach, doesn't flinch when I stop inches from her chair.

"You know what I mean." My hand reaches for her face, fingers ghosting along her jaw. "Three years, Aria. Three years of an empty bed and bitter memories."

"Your bed wasn't empty. Serena made sure of that." She catches my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong.

"Serena was a placeholder." I lean closer, close enough to smell the jasmine in her hair. "You were everything."

"Were." She emphasizes the past tense. "Things change, Thorne."

"Not this." I press closer, caging her against the chair. "Not what's between us. You can wear his mark, you can pretend indifference, but your body remembers me."

"My body remembers pain." She pushes against my chest, but I don't budge. "It remembers loneliness and rejection and being locked in a basement while you fucked another woman."

"Let me make it right." The words come out rough, desperate. "Let me show you what you've been missing."

"No." The simple word carries more power than any Alpha command.

"You're mine, Aria." My hands grip the chair arms, trapping her. "You've always been mine."

"I'm not property, Thorne." She meets my eyes without fear, and something in her gaze makes me pause. "Touch me without permission, and I'll make sure our sons know exactly what kind of man their father is."

"You wouldn't dare—"

"Try me." Her voice carries a strength that wasn't there three years ago. "I'm not the broken Luna you locked in a basement. I survived without you. I thrived without you. I'm here for Kael and Finn, nothing more."

The rejection stings worse than any physical blow. I step back, my hands clenching into fists.

"This isn't over," I growl, moving toward the door.

"It's been over for three years." Her words follow me into the hallway. "You just refuse to accept it."

***

The next morning brings chaos. Serena stands in the medical wing, her hands trembling as she holds a syringe over Finn's IV line.

"What are you doing?" Aria's voice cuts through the space.

"Administering their morning medications." Serena's smile is too bright, too desperate. "The healer asked me to help since she's running late."

"Step away from my sons." I move between her and the beds, my instincts screaming danger.

"Why? Afraid I'll contaminate your precious heirs?" Serena's laugh cracks, brittle as dried leaves. "They've been unconscious for a month, taking up resources, keeping you both hovering here like ghosts."

Thorne's jaw tightens. The instinct rises before thought catches up—a visceral rejection that coils in his chest. Serena has never lifted a finger for Kael or Finn. Not once in the weeks since they arrived at Silverfang has she offered anything but thinly veiled resentment, sharp glances at their still forms, muttered comments about wasted healers and dwindling patience.

"I don't need your help with my sons," he says, the words low and final. "I never have."

Serena's painted smile falters. "Thorne—"

"Papa?"

The small voice freezes everyone. Finn sits up in his bed, his gray eyes unfocused but aware. "The shadows are screaming. They say the desperate woman wants us gone."

"Finn!" Aria rushes to him, pulling him into her arms. "Baby, you're awake!"

"Where's Kael?" Finn looks around, his voice distant. "They say he's coming."

A crash sounds from the bed beside us. Medical equipment scatters as Kael suddenly sits up, then stands with unnatural grace, his eyes burning red, his small hands clenched into fists.

"Someone tried to hurt us," Kael says, his voice carrying that disturbing undertone. "I can smell it."

"It was her!" Finn points at Serena. "The shadows show me her face, pushing poison into our veins while we slept. They say she wants us dead so Papa will love her."

"That's ridiculous!" Serena backs toward the door, but Kael moves faster than any three-year-old should.

"You wanted to kill us." His hand closes around her wrist with enough force to snap bones. "You wanted Mama to find us dead."

"Kael, let her go," I command, but he doesn't respond.

"She needs to pay." Finn's eyes turn pure black. "The shadows agree. They're hungry for her fear."

Together they advance on Serena. Kael's strength and Finn's shadows working in terrifying harmony. She screams as invisible hands tear at her hair, as my three-year-old son lifts her off the ground with one hand.

"Enough!" I roar, grabbing Kael while Aria pulls Finn back. "Let her go, both of you!"

"She tried to kill us!" Kael struggles against my grip, his strength nearly matching mine. "She deserves to die!"

"Maybe." I set him down carefully. "But not by your hands. Not like this."

"Get out." Aria's voice cuts through the chaos, directed at Serena. "Leave this pack and never return, or I'll let them finish what they started."

Serena flees, her sobs echoing down the hallway. The twins stand together, their hands linked, power crackling between them.

"The curse," Aria whispers, meeting my gaze over their heads. "It's not dormant anymore."

"No." I watch my sons, seeing the darkness that lurks beneath their innocent faces.

"Papa, the shadows say this is just the beginning." Finn's gray eyes seem to look through me. "They say the moon showed us what we really are."

"What are you?" Aria asks, her voice trembling.

"Hunters," Kael answers, his red eyes finally fading back to green. "We're hunters, and everyone else is prey."