The Silent Alpha

*** Trigger Warning: Physical and emotional child-abuse ahead*** 

***Zanet**

 It feels strange to see the man I've feared for so long kneel before me, trembling like all the times I stood before him while I recited my poems.

But even as he bleeds, even as he sits at my mercy, I still see the look of disgust flicker in his eyes when I speak to him for the first time in almost 20 years.

"H-Hello, father," I snarl, my fists clenching at my sides as I fight to contain my anger.

How can he hate his own son so much!? Around me, the Scarlett Haven wolves gawk at me, unable to believe I just called their Alpha, ‘father’.

"You’re....You’re no son of mine,"

Sebastian pants, his brown eyes turning blue as the wolf within takes over.

"You’re nothing more than a weak, pathetic-" I swing my arm back, punching him in the jaw and nearly knocking him flat on his back before he can finish his sentence.

"E-Enough!" I growl, my father’s mouth clamping shut while his eyes widen in shock that my commands work on him.

"T-that’s enough! Y-you think y-you’re so strong and so t-tough? W-well look at y-you now, father! Wh-what good is y-your strength now?"

"How dare you speak to me that way!"

Sebastian roars.

"y-you have silenced m-me all of my life.Y-you do not get to silence m-me before my own p-pack!"

"Your pack?" He scoffs.

The Ravenstone wolves growl at his disrespect, proving that they are now loyal to me.

"My p-pack," I repeat.

"De-despite how little y-you think of me, not only did I-I find a p-pack that accepts m-me as I-I am, but I-I also managed to ou-outlive m-my replacement."

Sebastian laughs and opens his mouth to speak only to be silenced by a slap to the face as Grayson takes over.

"Did I say you could speak?"

Grayson roars, Sebastian’s eyes widening in shock at Grayson’s confidence.

A cold amused smile curls on Sebastain’s lips.

"Pack?" he laughs.

"The man who stands beside you killed your mother and your brother and yet you proudly show your loyalty to him," my father scoffs.

"H-he didn’t k-kill Jonathan-"

That's when I see it, the flicker of fear in his eyes when I mention my dead brother.He's hiding something...Lowering my walls, I allow the river of thoughts to flow between us.He can’t know about Jonathan.

There’s no possible way he would know! I hear him say to his wolf.

"W-what don’t I know?" I ask, my father stiffening with surprise that I know what he’s thinking.

"What?" he asks, bemused by my question.

"I -I said, 'W-What don’t I-I know about Jonathan?"

I repeat, this time taking a menacing step forward.My father tries to crawl back but winces when he tries to move his legs.

"W-What don’t I-I know about Jonathan?" I snarl, dread settling in the pit of my stomach.

My father stares back defiantly at me, refusing to speak so I take matters into my own hands.

Closing my eyes, I listen in to his subconscious, following the voices in his memories.

A coldness envelops me in the darkness before a bright light blinds me for a moment.

Like a movie projection, Sebastian’s memories begin to unfold on the dock in front of him for all to see.

Scarlett Haven and Ravenstone wolves alike fall silent to watch, allowing me to focus on the many rivers of thought trying to drown me.

In the first memory I find, all I see is Sebastian sitting at his desk, staring at a hairbrush in his hand.He does not use it, just carefully caresses it for a few moments before stuffing it into a drawer and returning to his work.

For a moment, he almost looks human...until he carefully hides all his pain behind a mask of stone.I dig a little deeper, unlocking another memory where my father berates Wyatt for questioning him.

"Zane will not take the title because he doesn't have what it takes to look his opponent in the eye and lead his soldiers in war," he snarls.

"He will always be weak...He’s useless...I showed mercy to him as a favor for Elenore.He was her son, but he was never mine."

Despite the venom in his voice as he says those things, I feel a smile curl on my face and a sense of relief wash over me as I realize something amazing.

His words no longer hurt me and I am now free of the chains that bound me to him.We are not family, just two strangers at war.

I continue scouring his memories, stumbling upon memory after memory of him ignoring the cruelty of his own pack against Agnes and I.I travel back many years until I find myself seeing the night of my mother’s death through his own eyes.I stand back and watch my mother leave the car to grab a snack for me, trailing behind Sebastian as they enter the King’s party.

Together they greet guests and slowly make their way towards the snack bar, smiling and laughing like the perfect couple.

To an outsider, they look like your average, happily married Alpha and Luna, but on the inside, I know my mother was screaming.

"’I’m leaving you," my mother murmurs as she grabs a plate of food for me.

"And I’m taking my baby with me."

years, I have wondered why my mother never left Sebastian, believing perhaps their bond was just too hard to

fear of someone hurting your child.I was hidden

be hurt without Scarlett Haven’s

pride washes over me as I recognize my mother’s strength to choose me over

have been an

the things that I need

help me raise him.You never treated

he walks away, my mother turning back in the direction of

after, the attack begins and as the memory drifts away, I hear the most blood curdling scream, a scream that both shatters my heart and fills my soul

turns the other cheek and runs in the

howSebastian could abandon his mate when she called his

fighting back the angry tears that so desperately want to escape

mind-linked y-you for help...and

as I try to contain

her.I could have lived a good life with just my mom somewhere far from all the wars and abuse.I could have learned to

ounce of regret for what he did to my

"She was Wyatt’s responsibility,"

retorts in a low

who are you to judge me? You stand with the man who ordered her death.You are

to the surface, taking over

bullets in

horror as his hands move

"What- No! No!"

the command but failing, his fingers plunging into

agony, blood pouring from the

"Areal Alpha doesn’t scream,"

seething with rage and

Alpha never shows weakness.Isn't that what you always say to

his breaths ragged as he holds back his screams the further

Grayson snarls, taking a step back to let me regain

I get down on one knee so that our eyes

nothing like y-you," I whisper in a calm

eyes, once again finding myself in

but I stumbled upon one I have no memory

grandfather, Alexander, snarls as he looks down at

"It can’t even speak."

of the old

a name," my mother snarls, pushing me

do well to teach that b***h of yours how to address an

you want me to do

and I make a realization.He feared his father...just like I feared him.He hides it well behind an emotionless face, storming over to my mother and slapping her

face but she keeps

are spoken to," Sebastian growls, turning to face

My grandfather only grunts in response, an

it

"Yes sir,"

to see Sebastian cower before another Alpha.I had been too afraid my whole life to notice

grandfather's voice booms,

My father grabs my mother’s wrist and yanks her away from me, hissing in her

tremble as I take

younger me opening my mouth

boy!" he snarls, tears springing to my

"He-hello, gran-gran-grandpa-"

eyes glow turquoise, the look on

hands clawing at my

"Father- Sir, please,"

pleads as I collapse on the floor, writhing and kicking from the agony burning across

begging Alpha Alexander to let me go and pleading

"I-I’ll fix him,"

says, getting

promise, Sir.I’ll fix him.Just let the kid

self suddenly stops screaming, passed out from all

coldly at his kneeling son, disgusted by his

OFF YOUR KNEES, BOY!" my grandfather

Alpha never

booming voice, and he turns to

that

away into mist, morphing

in her rocking chair, nursing me while little Jonathan plays with

realize we are in the old cottage by the

pushing himself onto his feet and crawling over

Johnny

over his shoulder, my mother nodding haphazardly as

his youthful face.I had long forgotten there was once a man under all his bitter hatred.I follow them on their drive, watching my older brother play with a rattle in

of the road and by the time Sebastian sees them, it's already too late.He swerves off the road and into a ditch, the truck flipping over a few times before coming to a halt

is completely shattered and the smell of gasoline

around the truck, blood

cries in the back seat, little cuts on his face as

the wolves circle the truck, snarling and growling at Sebastian,

quickly discovering that it is stuck and

silver wolf snickers as he shifts into his human form,

panics at the sound of his father’s voice and claws himself out of his belt, breaking a window with his elbow to crawl out of

the blood from his nose, he presents himself before his father with his

mumbles, earning him a slap from his

your chest. None of this mumbling s**t," his father snarls, Sebastian nodding and standing up