Vindicator

Chapter 17

A very well-known fact about werewolves is that they're protective and territorial. This goes doubly for their mates and children, especially when it is a fated mate. This fact applies exponentially to Alphas, and the stronger they are, the stronger they protect what they see as theirs.

The Prince of all werewolves was an especially protective individual, and seeing his mate stabbed with a silver dagger sent him into a murderous rage. He let out a terrifying roar, leaping towards the culprit responsible for harming his mate.

As Chance flew through the air, clothing shredded to pieces from his instantaneous shift. He went from a very large, angry man to a gigantic, snarling black wolf in the blink of an eye.

In what was an impressive demonstration of his strength, and own desire to protect his family, though, King Reggie jumped to his feet and grabbed his son's ankles before he was out of reach. With a mighty pull, he stopped his son from pouncing on the rogue Alpha. Xander's jaws snapped down inches from the rogue's face before he was hauled backwards.

With a savage snarl, Xander turned to snap at his father's hands in an effort to free himself. He was desperate to get to his mate, the scent of his blood filling the air drove the wolf into a frenzy.

"Xander, stop this!" The King commanded. "This is precisely what he wants! You must control yourself, or I will have to do it for you!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, a very pale Theo was staring at the blade his father had plunged into his chest. He looked up at Russell with wide eyes, choking out "Dad?" along with some blood.

"You were a waste of an heir" the Alpha said with a shrug. "At least this way you're useful to me, and not a complete disappointment" he added with a mocking laugh. As an afterthought, he added "don't worry, I made sure to avoid anything vital. You're too useful to kill yet."

It was in that moment that his father's plan became painfully clear to Theo. Since the Alphas had pointed out the flaw in his own plan to abuse the Prince through sleeping around, the next best option in his father's eyes was to abuse the Prince's mate. The idea had never dawned on Theo before, though, because up until the dagger entered his body, he wouldn't have considered it possible for his father to do this to him.

Theo looked up to stare at the large black wolf flailing desperately, fighting a chokehold that the King had managed to start on him. Normally, the Prince would be no match for his father; however, the King was still recovering from the loss of a pack. As such, the King was beginning to lose hold of his son, being much weaker in his human form. Xander had also managed to catch his father with his claws a few times from his struggling, leaving the man with bloody gashes on his arms and legs.

While he still had no desire to mate with the Prince, Theo's heart leapt at the sight of Xander fighting for him. His mother had died, and his father had never been an affectionate man, so Theo wasn't used to acts of love. To see someone fighting their own family in a bid to save him was moving, even to his cold heart. Besides, he desperately wanted to live, and was hoping that the Prince would rescue him. The realization that his life was about to become one of torture terrified him.

As his mate watched on, Xander was gaining the upper hand when the Queen jumped in. With a horrible sadness in her eyes, she pulled her fist back and slammed it into her son's belly. Suddenly having another opponent, Xander's head whipped ahead to glare at his mother as her punch connected. He flailed limbs towards her in an effort to swipe his claws at her; catching her in the side with his back paw. She let out a yelp and tumbled down, but her distraction had been enough to give the King back the upper hand.

Reggie secured his chokehold on his son, and held it true as the wolf bucked wildly in a bid to break free. As moments ticked by, though, Xander's lungs began screaming for oxygen; his motions became weaker, until they all but stopped.

Together, man and beast sunk to the floor, until the King was certain his son was unconscious. Only then did he release his hold, letting out a huff of breath before turning his attention back to Russell.

Aless had already begun to heal, and was back on her feet to guard her family. She was glaring at the Alpha, now that her son had been subdued.

Surprisingly, the man was just taking everything in with a strange smile on his face. He was taunting them, really, seeing what power he held over them. It was true that, had the Prince come close enough, he'd have tried to kill him. That said, he had no desire to fight the Royal family on his own, even in their weakened states. He was just having fun, and testing the reaction of the Prince.

"Thank you, your majesties. The Prince would have been troublesome to deal with on my own" he said with a chuckle, and a mocking bow. "I will make my offer once more — hand over the Royal pack, and I will leave my son with you. Otherwise..." he added, looking at his son thoughtfully.

The King bristled at his words, and he spat out "you will never be given power over the Royal Pack."

Russell laughed, grabbing the blade in Theo's chest by the hilt. He twisted it in one swift motion, eliciting a scream of pain from the boy. "Very well, Theo and I will take our leave then" he said with a vicious grin. "Please tell your dear son that we will most certainly be in touch with him" he added with another laugh.

Theo let out a whimper when he realized he was going to be stuck with his father. The silver was burning him from the inside, and stopping him from healing. With the pain of the twisted blade, he started to drop to the ground but his father caught him and help him up just as the man finished his words to the royals.

"You sick son of a bitch, how can you do that to your own son?!" The King roared.

"Easily. The second I learned he was gay, he stopped being my son" the man said emotionlessly. Knowing that the King and Queen wouldn't leave their unconscious son, Russell ripped the silver blade out of Theo. The boy let out another holler of pain, sagging against Russell more as blood gushed out of the wound freely.

Aless looked at her husband, uncertain what they should do. She was disgusted by Russell, and wanted to save her son's mate; however, she was hesitant to leave her son.

The King felt his mates emotions through their bond, and was experiencing the same thing at that moment. He was beyond confused by Russell's actions, and didn't know if this was an attempt to lure them away from their son. Due to this, he was also leery of chasing the Alpha.

Instead, he just growled out his fury. "You're a pathetic excuse for a father."

Russell shrugged, hauling his son over his shoulder. "If it gets me power, I don't give a shit what you call me" he said, then stepped back to the open window in his office. He unceremoniously tossed the bleeding Theo out the window before turning back to the Royal couple.

"You have two days. After that, I start sending pieces of the boy to your son" he said with a cackle, then jumped out of the window himself.