Stealing the Alpha’s Heritage

Chapter 26

My sons' harmonized voices echo through the grounds as their power holds both Thorne and Evander captive. Kael's supernatural fire wraps around his father while Finn's shadows strangle Evander, their three-year-old faces twisted with ancient malevolence.

"I won't choose between them."

"Then watch them both die, Mama." Kael's red eyes burn brighter.

"The shadows are hungry," Finn adds. "They want Alpha blood."

I close my eyes, feeling both bonds pulsing in my chest—Evander's mark burning on my neck, and deeper, older, the original mate bond with Thorne that never truly broke despite my rejection. Two connections to two Alphas, both screaming in agony through our links.

"You want to hurt someone?" I open my eyes, meeting my sons' corrupted gazes. "Then hurt me. I'm the one who failed you."

"Aria, no—" Thorne gasps.

"Don't be stupid!" Evander chokes out.

But I'm already moving, placing myself directly between my sons and their victims.

"If you're going to kill, then kill your mother." I spread my arms wide. "Show me how strong you've become."

"Mama?" Confusion flickers across Kael's face, the red in his eyes wavering.

"Do it!" I scream, and then I pull on both mate bonds simultaneously, redirecting my sons' attacks onto myself.

The pain hits like a freight train made of lightning and acid. I'm burning and drowning and being torn apart at the molecular level.

My knees hit the ground hard, blood pouring from my nose, my eyes, my ears. The scream that tears from my throat doesn't sound human.

"Mama!" Both boys cry out in horror, their powers immediately retreating.

"Aria!" Thorne crawls toward me.

"What did you do?" Evander stumbles forward, the mark on my neck now black and spreading like poison through my veins. "You redirected our bonds—that's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible for a mother protecting her children." Blood bubbles from my lips as I speak. "Even if it means dying to save their souls."

"You're not dying!" Thorne pulls me against his chest. "I won't let you die!"

"The mark is killing her," Evander says, his voice stripped of all arrogance. "I can feel it through our connection. Her body's rejecting it because she forced unnatural power through it."

"Then remove it!" Thorne snarls at him.

"I..." Evander drops to his knees beside us. "If I remove it wrong, it could kill her faster."

"Mama, please don't leave us!" Kael grabs my hand, his small fingers trembling. "We're sorry! We didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"The shadows are crying," Finn whispers, tears streaming down his pale face. "They say we broke Mama."

My vision starts to fade, darkness creeping in from the edges. But through the agony, I feel something shifting in the bonds—Evander's mark pulsing with new understanding.

"Love means sacrifice," Evander breathes, his brown eyes wide with revelation. "That's what Elena tried to tell me. That's what you've been showing me all along."

"Evander?" I manage to whisper.

"I've been such a fool." He presses both hands over the dying mark. "I wanted to own you. But that's not love. Love is what you just did."

"What are you doing?" Thorne demands as Evander's hands begin to glow.

"What I should have done the moment she asked." Evander meets Thorne's gaze. "I, Alpha Evander Caldris of Moonveil Pack, formally release all claim to Aria Winters. I revoke my mark, my bond, and any authority over her or her children."

The mark on my neck burns white-hot for a moment, then suddenly the pain lessens. The blackness stops spreading, though I can feel my life still slipping away.

"It's not enough," Thorne says desperately. "She's still dying!"

"Then you complete the ritual," Evander says. "You already started renouncing your title. Finish it."

Thorne doesn't hesitate. "I, Thorne Blackwood, renounce my position as Alpha of Silverfang Pack. I choose love over power, family over position."

"I, Aria Winters, renounce any claim to Luna status in any pack." My voice comes out as barely a whisper, but I force the words out. "I choose my children over any title, their lives over any power."

The moment the last word leaves my lips, the world explodes into light.

Ancient magic swirls around us like a living thing. It tastes like moonlight and storms, like the first howl ever sung to the sky. The power lifts me from the ground, suspending me in threads of silver and gold.

"Mama!" The twins reach for me, but the magic encompasses them too.

I watch in awe as darkness lifts from Finn like smoke. The red fire in Kael's eyes flickers and dies. The curse—three hundred years of brother killing brother—unravels like a tapestry pulled apart thread by thread.

"The shadows," Finn gasps, his gray eyes clearing for the first time since the ceremony began. "They're leaving!"

"The fire doesn't hurt anymore," Kael adds, staring at his small hands in wonder. "It's... gone."

The magic gently lowers us back to the ground. I collapse immediately, but the pain is different now—exhaustion rather than death creeping through my bones.

"Aria?" Thorne pulls me against him, his hand checking for a pulse. "Stay with me!"

"I'm here," I manage, though my voice sounds like it's coming from very far away. "Just very, very tired."

"The curse," Elder Aldric approaches slowly, his ancient face full of wonder. "It's broken."

"Mama?" Finn touches my face with one small hand. "Are you okay? Are we normal now?"

"You were never abnormal, baby." I manage to cup his cheek. "You were just carrying something that wasn't yours to carry."

"We're sorry we hurt you and Papa," Kael says, his green eyes filling with tears. "We didn't mean to be bad."

"You weren't bad," Thorne assures him, pulling both boys closer. "You were sick. But Mama fixed it."

Through my exhaustion, I see Evander standing apart from our family huddle, his expression unreadable. Our eyes meet, and something passes between us—not love, not anymore, but understanding.

"Thank you," I tell him, meaning it completely.

"Don't thank me." He turns to address his pack members. "I should have done this the moment you asked. My pride nearly cost two children their lives."

"What happens now?" Marcel asks from among the Moonveil wolves. "A pack without Alpha?"

"The packs will choose new leaders," Aldric states. "But that's tomorrow's concern."

As the crowds begin to disperse, discussing the implications of what they've witnessed, I close my eyes and let exhaustion take me. My boys are safe, their curses lifted.

"Sleep, love," Thorne whispers against my hair. "I'll watch over you all."

For the first time in three years, I believe him.