Defy The Alpha(s)-Chapter 512: Where Is My Son?

Henry Nightshade had not been the most likeable person, but seeing the empty position where he should be seated still put a heavy mood over the meeting room. The chair sat there untouched, reminding everyone what had happened. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Alpha King’s residence was never the kind of place where people showed grief, but the air felt colder today. Even the sunlight through the tall windows looked weaker, like it didn’t want to come in, mourning for the Alpha’s loss.

Alpha Irene sat straight with her arms folded, staring past the table. Aeron had broken away from her as soon as they arrived in the city, heading to find their son and protect him if push came to shove.

Across from her, Alpha Caspian leaned close to his wife, Zara, whispering in a hushed voice, as if anyone in the room couldn’t hear them with their werewolf hearing. Their eyes kept flicking toward Henry’s empty chair and then away again.

Leon Draven sat like a statue, Henry’s death hitting him the hardest considering the two of them had been closest. His wife, Alexa, sat beside him with her hands loosely locked together, her gaze giving nothing away.

All of them had arrived early that morning from their various packs after the unfortunate incident had reached them.

The door opened right at that moment and Alpha King Elijah walked in.

The room didn’t relax at his presence, it tightened. Conversations stopped at once and no one dared look at him for too long, bowing their head in respect instead.

Elijah walked to the head of the table, but he didn’t sit. His eyes moved slowly over each person before stopping at Henry’s chair.

"Henry Nightshade is dead," he announced, his voice calm but cutting. "This is not just an ordinary loss, but one that changes the balance in this council and beyond."

No one spoke.

"I won’t waste time with sympathy," Elijah went on. "His absence leaves cracks in the West Pack, which is why Asher Nightshade, his heir, has traveled down before those cracks can be exploited by our enemies. That means he won’t be available to tell us what really went down in that unfortunate accident.

"However, it’s a good thing Alaric Storm had the sense not to go AWOL like the others."

At that announcement, the door creaked open and Alaric quietly stepped into the room. All eyes were pinned on him but he didn’t falter one bit.

When he reached the center of their attention, he inclined his head first toward Elijah, then toward the other Alphas.

"Your Majesty. Alphas," he greeted, his voice carrying just enough deference to match the room’s gravity.

Zara was the first to rise from her seat. She didn’t hesitate, crossing to her son and pulling him into a fierce embrace. It was the kind of embrace that said she’d imagined every possible worst case until she had him in front of her. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling back just enough to scan him, her hands moving over his shoulders and arms as if checking for hidden injuries.

"Thank the goddess you’re safe, son," she breathed, the relief clear in her voice.

Caspian followed her, standing at her side until she stepped back, then pulled Alaric into a firm hug. There was no words, just a father grounding himself in the fact that his boy was real and alive.

Zara’s questions came the moment Caspian let go. "What in the world happened? What were you doing outside of school?"

"I think all of us are curious to hear about that," Irene’s voice cut in from her seat, her voice calm but edged. "So if you don’t mind taking your seat and not hovering over the boy, he has been through a lot. All of our children have been through a lot in one night."

Zara turned to her with a pointed look that said she had something ready to fire back, but Irene met her stare without flinching, daring her to try.

"You’re right. Our sons are all in this together, and since Alaric is here, we can hear from the horse’s mouth," Caspian said quickly, stepping in before either woman could push further.

Tight-lipped, Zara went back to her seat, the scowl still on her face. Caspian sat after her. Zara and Irene had never been best friends, but Alaric and Griffin’s closeness had made them relate with each other. However, that tolerance had thinned lately, especially over Violet and the unusual way she fit into both their sons’ lives.

The Alpha King watched the exchange, then sat down with an amused scoff. He could already tell he was going to enjoy himself. His council and pack wardens were never short on drama.

"So, how did it happen? Tell us all," he said, nodding toward Alaric.

Alaric licked his lips, mentally bracing himself. "I was the one who booked Pine Ridge Lodge. I just wanted to get away from everything."

"Get away from what exactly? I don’t recall anything unsettling happening that would make you skip school, Alaric," Zara cut in.

His jaw tightened. "Since you’re not interested in your son’s love life, I’ll remind you that your workaholic of a son was in a polyamorous relationship with Violet until the goddess decided to mate her with Griffin." He said it flat, not flinching from the anger in his mother’s eyes.

"I think we should let the boy speak without interrupting him," Alexa said, her words laced with meaning. "I get that mama bear wants to protect her cub, but the heart wants what it wants."

Unlike Irene, whom she tread carefully around, Zara met Alexa’s eyes with open disgust. How dare she compare her adulterous lifestyle to her son’s... her son’s ...

Zara drew in a slow breath. Goddess help her.

Alaric went on. "The others found me at the lodge with Violet, and we decided to spend time together."

"Spend time together how?" Elijah asked this time, his gaze narrowing on him. "You’re telling me you all decided to pursue a relationship with Violet despite knowing she’s mated, and Griffin agreed to that?"

"Exactly," Alaric answered, bold and without hesitation.

The sharp intake of breath from Zara and Caspian was loud enough to carry across the table. Zara especially looked like she might collapse any second, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief. Was her son out of his mind? How could he go after a mated female? What had that girl, Violet Purple, done to him?

Irene didn’t look even mildly surprised. Leon Draven raised his brows, but there was no judgment in his eyes, nothing like the way Zara stared at her son, as if his words had just split her heart in two.

Alaric continued, his tone heavier now. "That particular day, Violet went into heat. It hit all of us, Roman especially lost it. We didn’t know it was the signs of the second mate bond snapping into place. He’d gone feral, so we chained him up. That meant Griffin and Violet were alone when Patrick’s men showed up. Griffin got injured trying to protect his mate, but Adele’s arrival with Micah saved them.

"Unknown to us, Alpha Henry had tracked us down too. He must have been worried about Asher after the way he vanished from the hospital. Henry was the one who found Violet first before we got there..."

Alaric’s heartbeat stayed steady, a conscious effort in a room full of werewolves who could hear a lie before it was spoken. For Violet’s sake, he didn’t slip once.

"It was an intense fight. Patrick wasn’t playing because he came to kill us. We had no idea what kind of weapon they had until it was too late for Micah to stop it. Henry was busy fighting them off, and he couldn’t reach the device before the explosion. Micah barely managed to teleport us to Hell, but we weren’t welcome there either. We had to come back and when we did, there was nothing left but destruction. That’s when it dawned on us, we lost Henry."

Alaric let a single tear slip down his cheek, and he didn’t bother to wipe it away. "Henry fought like a true Alpha that day," he said with a shaky voice. "He didn’t back down, not once. It... it kills me that we couldn’t save him."

The silence that followed was heavy. Even Irene couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Henry.

Alaric hadn’t thought he was capable of pulling it off, but his performance was flawless and no one doubted him.

Elijah announced. "Henry Nightshade will be buried as a hero. The mourning bells will be sounded in every territory under my command, and his name will be etched in the Hall of Alphas. No one will forget the way he fell defending his own."

No one objected to that. As horrible as Henry had been, that was a honorary way to die as an Alpha.

Leon asked next. "What about my son?"

Irene followed. "And my son? Where is he?" She leaned forward, looking him in the eye. "Where are they?"

Alaric answered them. "Roman is now mated to Violet as well, and he’s in the middle of the mating fever. I have no idea where they are but they’ll return when they’re ready."