CHAPTER 28: FOUND

"Alpha! Alec has been found."

The patrol guard burst through the clearing, his chest heaving as he stumbled forward. His knees hit the ground before his Alpha, his head bowed low, already trembling as though he expected punishment.

He dared not look up. The news he carried was not a good one. Though the young Alpha had been found, the state he was in... was far from well or something joyful.

Alec Soier was unconscious, muttering broken words in his sleep, his face pale and his body shivering with a fever that no one could explain. The state in which he had been discovered weighed heavily on the guard’s mind.

The man swallowed hard. There were no wounds left on Alec’s skin that could reveal the truth-only the faintest scars that had already sealed over. The wolves healed fast, their bodies refusing to hold onto damage for long. But from what the healers had been whispering, Alec had likely been torn apart by rogues before his body had forced itself back together. The thought alone made the guard’s shoulders quake from the sheer terror of being subjected to that kind of abuse.

Beside Alpha Soier, Prince Zen shifted at the words.. His hand came down lightly on the bowed head of the kneeling Omega. At the silent touch, Emira lifted her gaze, confused by the sudden gesture. Zen’s dark eyes met hers, steady and unreadable.

She froze. Then, when his lips curled faintly, a single look was enough to make her breath catch.

Her chest tightened. She remembered his words earlier, when he had dragged her into the courtyard- the same place where she had once been mocked and disgraced before after telling her she would receive a gift.

At the time, she had not believed him. She had thought it a cruel jest, just another way to remind her of her place. What gift could a man like him give to a nobody like her?

And yet... now, as she stared into his eyes, her stomach fluttered.

The last two days had been a storm inside her. Every moment, her mind returned to that night-when Alec had almost broken her, when she had almost lost everything. She had thought herself clever, strong, different from the other Omegas who bent and obeyed without a fight. She had dreamed of defying fate, of slipping free from the chains of the world that demanded she be claimed and owned by an Alpha.

But that night had been a harsh reminder. She was weak. Her body was frail compared to theirs. No matter how clever she was, her strength would never match an Alpha’s command. For years, she had despised the other Omegas. She had mocked them in silence for their trembling obedience, for the way they accepted their submission as if it were carved into their very bones. She had told herself she was different-that she would never yield. And she hadn’t.

Yet in those moments, when Alec Soier had pressed down on her, intending to ra*e her, she had found herself helpless. Weak... Because she did not have the physical strength to fight back.

She had no idea how she found herself safe in Prince Zen’s room after that. No recollection of what happened after that horrific moment.

Her reverie was once again broken by the Alpha as he stood up hurriedly to go and see his son. But before he could, a disheveled Alec ran into the courtyard, followed by a harried-looking Beta doctor and nurse.

Alec’s sudden entrance froze everyone in the courtyard, even Emira who had not expected him to show up looking like that. She had thought that she would feel scared or disgusted when she saw him again. But as she did, she felt an excitement at his state. His hair was drenched in sweat, his clothes torn, and his eyes darted around like a hunted animal.

"Father!" His voice cracked as he stumbled forward, shoving past the Beta doctor. "Father, save me! They are trying to hurt me!"

He clung to Alpha Soier with both hands, burying his face against his chest. His whole body shook as he spoke in rushed, desperate words. "They want to kill me. They dragged me away. They tore me apart. Do not let them touch me again."

Alpha Soier placed a steady hand on his son’s back and even from a distance Emira could see the alpha’s anger rising at his son’s state. "You are safe now, Alec. No one will harm you."

But Alec flinched at the touch and looked up with wide, fever-bright eyes. "Safe? You call this safe?" His voice rose into a shout as he twisted out of his father’s arms. "They are here, all of them. Look at them!"

He pointed at the guards, then the doctor, then even at Emira. She froze as his gaze locked onto her. "She is with them too. They all want to see me broken. They want me dead!"

The guards shifted uneasily, but none dared move without their Alpha’s word. The Beta doctor raised a hand, trying to calm him, but Alec let out a sharp growl and lashed out. His fist slammed into the doctor’s chest and sent him stumbling back. The guards rushed forward, but Alec spun on them with bared teeth, ready to strike.

"Alec!" Alpha Soier’s voice boomed, commanding him to stop. He had raised his son to be strong and not look show weakness. But now, the boy was embarrassing him in front of his pack. "Stand down."

The air went heavy under the weight of his authority. The guards lowered their heads, their bodies instinctively submitting. But Alec did not. His chest heaved as he straightened, eyes blazing with defiance. A growl rumbled from deep within his throat, and his muscles tightened as if he were preparing to attack his own father, an alpha who was a threat to him.

Alpha Soier’s jaw set. His voice deepened, sharper, filled with raw power. "Alec Soier, submit to me!"

But Alec only stepped forward. His hands curled into claws, his lips curled back in a snarl as he half transformed, letting his wolf show, "You are with them too. You want to silence me." His voice shook with fury. "You will not control me!"

The guards gasped, unable to believe what they were seeing. A son challenging his own Alpha father was unthinkable. Yet Alec moved as if ready to strike, his body trembling but refusing to bend.

Then Prince Kael stepped forward. He reached out and placed one hand firmly on Alec’s shoulder.

The change was instant. Alec’s body stiffened. His breath caught, and his eyes rolled half-shut. Within moments, his strength drained away, and his eyelids fell. He remained standing, but his body slumped into a deep, forced sleep.

The courtyard went silent.

Alpha Soier’s eyes narrowed. "What did you do to him?"

Kael drew his hand back and looked down at Alec’s slack form. "I put him to rest. He will not move until I release him. But this is not a matter of exhaustion or injury." His gaze was sharp and unyielding. "His mind has been disturbed. Something happened to him while he was gone. Let me find out what was done, or you may not recognize your son for much longer."