Knotted By The Three Feral Alphas

Caius lifted one hand, palm out. "We’re not stupid enough to draw first. Not today. But the full moon is a couple of nine nights away. Think on it. Send word by raven if you change your mind. One child. Or the queen. Your choice.".

"This is a simple trade we’re proposing here so better think about it." Veyl chipped in.

"Yeah, way simpler than I’ve ever heard or given someone in years. You have less than nine days to choose." Torin said.

"Give us one child or the queen... Your choice." Caius finally said.

"Fuck off!," Darius snapped. "I will move these mountains and burn that entire lake over the passes before I let you have any of them!"

"That’s right. You would have to go through us first before you get to them." Kane added.

"Or kills us." Rylan said finally with fierce eyes.

Caius gave an evil smirk and turned his horse. Torin and Veyl both smiled soft and wicked and followed him without another word. The three of them rode back into the white, white cloth flapping once before they disappeared over the ridge.

We didn’t move until the last hoofbeat faded. My legs shook under me. The twins pressed so low I had to lock my knees to stay standing.

Darius was off his horse and at my side in one motion, arm around my waist. Kane took the reins of my mare. Rylan scanned the ridge line like he expected them to wheel back any second.

"We ride back," Darius said. His voice was ice. "Now."

The trip back blurred. Every jolt sent fresh pain up my spine, but I kept my eyes on the keep rising ahead.

Garrick was waiting at the gate, Lila on his shoulder. She spotted us and reached both arms out, calling my name in that clear voice that still cut straight through me.

Rylan took her first, then helped me down. My boots hit the snow and my knees buckled for real this time. Kane caught me before I dropped, one scarred arm under my shoulders, the other steady at my lower back.

The pack watched from the walls and the bailey. No one spoke. They saw our faces and knew something had changed.

We made it to the chambers before I let the full weight hit. Lila crawled into my lap the second I sat on the furs, small hands patting my belly like she could fix whatever was wrong.

The twins answered with a slow, heavy roll that made me hiss between my teeth. Darius paced. Kane barred the door. Rylan stood at the window, axe still in his grip.

"Nine nights," Darius said. "They’ll come at the full moon. They think the curse will make us weak. They think they can take one of the children. Or you."

I looked at the three of them and felt the bond pull tighter than it ever had. My back burned. My belly felt like a stone I could barely carry. But the rage underneath it all was sharper than any blade.

"They don’t get to decide what the North keeps," I said. My voice came out raw but steady. "We end this before the moon rises. We set the trap tonight. And when they step into it, we show them exactly what fire we carry."

Lila patted my belly again, eyes wide and serious like she understood every word. The twins kicked once, hard and together, as if answering her.

Outside, the wind picked up across the ridges, carrying the promise of more snow and whatever those three wolves planned to bring with it.

The keep was still ours.

But nine nights from now the full moon would rise, and the east would learn the hard way that some bonds don’t break.

And some queens don’t kneel.

The keep was still ours.

We did not wait for the moon.

**************************

The next morning I stood in the war room with my back braced against the table, belly so low the wood dug into it.

The twins had dropped even farther overnight. Every breath pulled tight across my ribs.

Garrick spread the map while the kings circled it like wolves who already knew the kill. Caius and his brothers had sent no raven. No warning. Just the promise of nine nights. We would not give them that long.

"Hit them at the dead pass before dusk," Darius said. His finger stabbed the ridge line. "Small force. Make it look like we’re stretched thin. Draw them in. Then close the jaws."

Kane nodded once, knife already in his hand. Rylan rolled his shoulders, axe resting against the wall. I felt the bond pull between us, tight and angry, but I kept my voice level.

"I ride with you."

Three heads turned. Lila sat on the furs behind us, stacking blocks and knocking them down with the same fierce joy she brought to everything. She looked up at the tone in my voice and said "Mama stay" like she already knew the argument.

Darius opened his mouth. I cut him off. "You want the pack to see strength. They see me hiding in the nursery while you ride out, they start wondering if the queen is already broken. I ride. End of discussion."

Kane’s scarred fingers flexed on the table. Rylan looked ready to argue until he saw my face. The twins rolled hard, a sharp kick that stole my breath for a second, but I locked my knees and stared them down. They knew that look. They had learned it the hard way.

We rode at noon. The snow had hardened into crust that cracked under the horses’ hooves. My mare felt the extra weight and moved careful, but I kept my spine straight and my hand on the pommel. The ache in my back had turned into a constant fire, but the latent alpha blood kept me upright. The bond held me tighter than any cloak.

The dead pass opened ahead of us, narrow and shadowed. Caius and his brothers waited on the far side, three dark shapes against the white. They had brought twenty men. We had twelve. The numbers did not matter. The bond did.

Caius lifted a hand when we stopped. "You came earlier than I expected. Did you come here to gloat or deliver what we asked?"

"Deliver what you wish?" Kane replied. "You have some nerve thinking we would just succumb to your wish so easily and so early you insolent fool!"

"You three bastards are bold I’ll give you that," Rylan gave a wild smirk. "Bold but stupid."

"You talked too much," Darius finally said. "And I do not like people who talk too much."

"Ohh, interesting," Torin grinned. "So what are you coming to do here?"

"Isn’t it obvious, Torin?" Veyl chipped in. "The bastards are here to fight us or kill us if we give them the chance."

"Hahaha you’re smart, Veyl, you’re not only ugly but you’re also smart." Darius replied.

Caius stepped forward with his sword out and pointed to Darius "You sure you want to do this here and now?, and so soon?"

"Oh yes indeed we do." Rylan replied. "We see you as a threat and we need to neutralize you for the safety of our pack and pride before you fools do something stupid!"

"Alright then let’s get the party started, this is getting boring." Torin snapped.

"Yeah, it we would do this, let’s do it now while my blood is still hot!" Veyl added.

One scarred huge and tall man with a black croak and a patched eye rose his sword up roared the sound of "let the fight begin" and his men behind him yelled in reply and agreement.

The fight came fast and brutal. Blades cleared sheaths. Wolves surged under skin.

The three brothers were strong and tough. They didn’t give up easily.

I stayed mounted, short blade in my grip, while the kings tore into the line. Kane moved like shadow and steel, knife flashing. Rylan’s axe sang through the air and took a man off his horse in one swing. Darius fought with cold precision, ice-blue eyes never leaving Caius.

I felt the first real contraction low in my belly when Caius lunged at Darius. It was not the rolling pressure I had grown used to. This was different. It was sharp, deep and painful so much that I winced out.

I immediately gripped the saddle horn and breathed through it while the twins kicked like they wanted out right then. The bond flared hot. Rylan glanced back, his eyes wide, but I shook my head once. Not yet.

Caius eventually went down under Darius’s blade a moment later after fighting and trying to secure the victory.

Torin and Veyl tried to reach their brother and also died trying. Kane and Rylan met them head on and cut their heads off.

The rest of their men broke and ran. The pass fell quiet except for the wind and the sound of my own breathing. The contraction eased, but another built right behind it, lower and harder.

We turned the horses and began to ride home. The ride back blurred. I counted the contractions in my head. Four minutes apart now.

My cloak stuck to my back with sweat despite the cold. Kane rode so close our knees touched. Rylan kept looking over his shoulder like he could will the keep closer. Darius stayed in front, clearing the path.

We made it through the gates just as the next contraction hit hard enough to double me over the saddle.

Suddenly, I felt my water broke.

"Ughh, they’re coming." I groaned weakly.