Miles pov

It was pure torture. I hated doing the regular household chores. I was not built for this. I was born to rule and be a leader. Not a follower. When I was informed that the queen had arrived and that I needed to clean the grand room for the royal couple, I felt as though I would lose an eye from rolling it.

Why in the world was she coming here? Hadn’t she taunted me enough? However, I knew I didn’t have a choice except to obey, since the orders came from my father.

I dusted the room and vacuumed the floor with a heavy heart. Yet, I did a relatively good job. It hurt so bad that my parents were avoiding me like the plague and giving out orders through other omegas. Maybe I should beg for forgiveness. Maybe then, they would go easy on me.

Nonetheless, I was not going to go in front of them while she was there. I was not going to belittle myself in front of her and her chosen mate. So I kept peeking at them while they spoke over a cup of coffee in the meeting room. Normally, it would have been me and my beta who met the important visitors. However, ever since I was suspended from my alpha position, I haven’t been allowed anywhere near the work I loved doing.

As I peeked into the meeting room, my eyes widened when I noticed the crook of her neck. She was marked! Already!

I gulped and slowly backed off. I didn’t want to make another mistake. She was right when she said that our bond was broken. It was as if it never existed.

If even the tiniest bit of connection was still left of it, I would have felt it when they mated and especially when they marked each other.

My mate was now no longer mine. I had lost her entirely and there was no hope of getting her back. All that remained with me was regret and a whole bunch of ‘what ifs’.

Sighing, I walked towards the exit of the packhouse. A whole new feeling filled my heart. Dejection. Something I had never felt in my life.

“Where are you going, alpha?”

An omega asked as she vacuumed the carpet. She was so used to addressing me as alpha l that even after being ordered not to call me alpha, she tends to address me as her alpha by habit.

I sighed. I was extremely tired, physically and mentally. I needed to have time to myself.

“I…just….” I paused. “I hope all the work is done for now?” I asked and she nodded in response.

“So I guess it is going to be okay for me to go near the lake? I just need some fresh air,” I told her.

“Oh yes. Alpha. I would mind link you if we need your help. It is really lovely to have you help us around,” she smiled sweetly.

I looked at her. Why was she being so nice to me all the time? I was nothing but a proud wolf who treated my omegas like trash. They would greet me every single day, regardless of how I treated them, yet I ignored them every single time and I did that on purpose.

My dad wouldn’t allow me to ignore them completely, so they did have access to good food and other facilities. However, I knew I didn’t want to.

Despite my low treatment, they would give me their utmost respect and even now, when I had fallen from my father’s favour, they didn’t seem to mind.

Especially this young she-wolf, who had lost her mate during a rogue attack.

“Uhh…. don’t call me alpha….” I muttered and lowered my gaze.

“I am not your alpha now. My father has ordered you to stop calling me that, hasn’t he?” I told her. I saw her lips pause in a grim line.

“But … he is your father. He will forgive you whatever you have done,” she said.

Chuckling, I shook my head. “He isn’t easy to please. Especially if you have fallen out of his favour,” I told her and walked away.

Without the companionship of Nolan and Castor, I felt so lonely. And without the love and support of my parents, my life was different. I despised my life. As I walked past the training ground, which at the moment was empty after the morning training session, I paused for a while and sighed.

I have watched Nolan and Castor train them a couple of times. Unlike me, he handled them without yelling at them all the time. Hence, they seemed to enjoy the session. They were right. All of them were right. I was being too hard on my men. I was being pushy and annoyed all the time. I was more like the trainer who they hated. I thought I was doing that for the betterment of the pack. But it looks like they work harder when they like their trainer.

Damn! I was such a sore loser. I was nothing but a permanently irritated wolf who was hard to deal with. No wonder they dragged themselves during the sessions I conducted.

I walked right over to the lake located on the outskirts of the pack. It was deserted, perfect for me to think and breathe. My heart was heavy as I threw pebbles into the water, causing ripples on its surface.

Mom was right. Although I was young by age, I was a grumpy old man on the inside. I chuckled sadly at the thought. Tears gathered in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry out loud, because I had trained myself to hold in my emotions. I had always thought that crying was for the weak. And me, being an alpha, should never cry. However, finally realising how wrong I had been, was extremely heavy on my heart.

They were all right and I was wrong. I shouldn’t have rejected her. I shouldn’t have hurt her like that. And now, regardless of how much I yearn for her, I wouldn’t be able to have her. She now belonged to someone else.

For the first time in my life, I swallowed my pride and accepted that I was wrong. I let the tears roll down my cheeks.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep, shaky breath.

I wonder if I could change. I most certainly didn’t want to go rogue. I have been wrong my entire life. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t correct myself, does it? I could try to be a better person, regardless of what people think about me. I nodded to myself and opened my eyes.

The afternoon sun made the lake water glimmer and shine. The bright blue sky and the greenery of the trees made its beautiful scenery. It has been a while since I last came here. Ever since I had become alpha, I never took a break. I had those working non-stop, thinking it was good for everyone. I was wrong about that too. It only made me a bitter, overworked alpha, who my pack members didn’t like to be around.

I guess being suspended from duties was a good thing. The pack members seem to be happier, perhaps I should give up the title forever. Nolan would be a better alpha. Besides, I don’t have my mate beside me, and that means I wouldn’t be able to produce an heir anyway. So the future of my pack lies with Nolan.

I ended up spending the entire day in solidarity. I didn’t receive a mind link informing me that I was needed at the packhouse. I watched the fish swim and the ducks waddle. It gave my lonely heart contentment to some degree. I would rather spend my entire day here, all alone. It was better to be by myself here than to be alone among all the others.

Suddenly, my senses started to heighten. My eyes dilated and my breathing hitched. No! It cannot be!

I thought. Although I was denounced from the alpha position, I was still an alpha wolf and my senses were telling me that we were in trouble.

I sprung up from where I was seated and dashed towards the borderline. When I got there, I saw three lycans were already tearing through the army of rogues showing no mercy.

I gulped. I knew who they were.

I shifted to my midnight black alpha wolf and joined the fight. The battle was easily won. And as soon as I was certain that we had won, I silently left. I didn’t dare to face any of them. And I certainly didn’t dare to face my ex-mate with her chosen one.

I ran in my wolf form deep into the trees. At least I did something good today. I had joined the battle to help my pack. I was about to go back to the packhouse when I heard a whimper.

I halted. A little boy was surrounded by three rogues. He was trembling in fear. I knitted my eyebrows. What were they still doing in our pack premises?

I guess they were unaware of my presence, they started to shift to their human form one by one.

“We can take this lad and threaten them to give in.” One of them chuckled.

“Yeah. That is a great idea.” The other one agreed.

“You know, pup? You shouldn’t have wandered off into the wild, especially when a battle is going on.” The third one responded.

“Look at what happened now. The big bad wolf got you.” The first one laughed and he high-fived his companion.

The little boy was crying and trembling in fear until his eyes landed on me. His eyes lit up with hope. I knew I had to take these losers by surprise.

After letting out a ferocious growl, I pounced on them, killing one of them instantly and injuring the other. The third one was about to run away but there was no way he would get away from me. I jumped at him, catching him by his throat. His b***d tasted sweet to me.

I threw his lifeless body to the side and sauntered over to the injured one, who was now whimpering in pain. The boy who was a few feet away looked eager to watch me kill him off.

I didn’t delay. Using my claws, I slit through his neck and he was gone.

I scanned the area to make sure that no other rogues were hiding in the woods and gestured to the pup to climb on my back so that I could carry him to a safer area faster.

As soon as I arrived at the packhouse, I let him climb down and shifted back to my human form. After that, I hastily covered my nude body using a sheet that was hung on the drying line. Looks like the omegas had washed the sheets. I hope this won’t cause trouble.

“What were you doing out there?” I asked him.

“I….I am sorry alpha….”

I frowned and waited for him to say something.

“I was so eager to see the fight…” he was so agitated as he spoke that he didn’t even look at me.

“Kids your age don’t do that. Do they? They play games and have fun….you shouldn’t be worrying about war.” I sighed.

“But I don’t like games. I want to be a warrior when I grow up.” He puckered his lips, making me laugh.

I crouched down to his level.

“You can start to train when you shift. I am sure you will be a great warrior.” I told him, ruffling his hair.

“Oh, there you are! Where have you been? I was so worried!” The omega who I had spoken to earlier, came rushing out of the packhouse and took the little boy in her hands.

“Oh thank God you are safe. With the war, I was…. Oh my God, don’t do that again Cade,” she gasped through her tears.

“It was so cool sissy! I saw them fight! Mr Alpha even saved me from the big bad wolves!” He told her enthusiastically.

She froze.

“You went there!” She exclaimed. “Oh, Cade, you could have died!”

“I will grow up and become a warrior. Then I can protect you from the big bad wolves. I will fight them and then they won’t be able to kill me as they killed……”

She quickly covered her brother’s mouth. I suppose he was about to say something about her dead mate.

“That is enough Cade.” She whispered as her eyes glossed with tears.

“I honestly don’t know if omegas could join the army…..” she added solemnly. She was trying to be strong, however, she was fighting a losing battle against her tears.

“Why not?” I shrugged, surprising her.

“I think my dad wouldn’t mind. Besides, Nolan and Castor wouldn’t mind training anyone. I think he could try. I can see that he is enthusiastic enough already.”

“Yay!” Cade punched the air and ran inside. I smiled and started to walk away from her so that I could freshen up. I was feeling better than ever. I guess doing the right thing did help.

“Alpha?”Original content from .

I halted when I heard her call me.

“Thank you for saving my brother,” her voice was barely above a whisper. Perhaps she was still overwhelmed.

I smiled. “It was an obligation. And uh…don’t call me alpha,” I said and walked away. I knew what I wanted in life. I will remain like this and be where I am needed. I was thankful that I had realised how wrong I was before I caused more trouble.