The Silent Alpha (Natalia)

*Zane ***

“What is your name?” my father’s voice booms, my shirt balled up in his fist as he holds me up against the wall.

 I swallow the sob caught in my throat and blink away my tears as I try to concentrate on my words. “Z-Z-Za-“

 Before I can finish my attempt, my father’s fist races towards my face, the blow connecting just below my jaw, sending a surge of pain to jolt my small body. I taste the blood instantly, the metallic flavor all too familiar against my tongue.

 “Sebastian, please!” my mother cries pathetically, grabbing at my father’s bicep to pull me free from his grip.

 “Try again!” my father growls, slamming me against the wall.

 Fear bubbles in the pit of my stomach as I stare at my father’s cold eyes looking back at me with so much hatred, so much shame at having me for a son. My mouth suddenly feels extremely dry as it hangs open. I could feel my name at the back of my throat but try as I might, I simply could not utter a single coherent sound.

 At 6 years old, my stutter was no longer a cute little phase but a problem. No matter how hard I concentrate, no matter how hard I try, I find stringing together a single sentence a daunting task, something not within my reach. I knew my father grew embarrassed every time I struggled to pronounce my own name even to the maids.

 It was not a hard name either. Zane White. Simple, or at least it should be.

 To fix this problem, my father, the Silver wolf Alpha of the Scarlet Haven Pack, had the best speech therapists flown in, but none were successful in curing my defect. I was incurable and in my father’s eyes, this fact was unacceptable.

 I had yet to be presented to the pack as the next Alpha and so far only two maids, the beta and my mother’s Gamma knew what I looked like. I was the hidden Heir of Scarlet Haven, locked away within the Pack mansion. The one no one had ever seen before and for good reason too.

 My father had a lot of enemies. His first son, Jonathan, had been killed by our silver wolf rivals, the Ravenstone Clan just a few days shy of his first birthday and my father feared someone would try to kill me before I could take the title. My incurable stutter only added to his need to hide me; for how could the next Alpha of one of the most prestigious Silver Wolf Packs on the West Coast have a stutter?  

 Having given up on the professional therapist, my father took matters into his own hands, literally.

 And that’s where I currently find myself now, in his hands and at his mercy.

 Mom tries to help me, but she is too weak to stop the furious Alpha from taking out his frustrations on my face.

 My jaw burns as I open it once more. Pushing through the pain, I close my eyes and concentrate on my name dancing on the tip of my tongue. I try to make a sound but the fear of my father’s fist makes my throat run dry. Rather than my name coming out, a small squeak escapes my lips.

 Infuriated, my father’s brown eyes begin to glow blue as his wolf makes his presence known. His piercing eyes look at me with disgust and I suddenly fall to the ground as the Alpha turns on his heel.

 “He’s not even worth my time,” the Alpha snarls over his shoulder. He turns to my mother.  “Pick up your son and keep him quiet during the party.  Make sure he doesn’t embarrass me any further.”

 He slams the door on his way out and the sob I had been holding in finally breaks free. My mother gently picks me up, cradling my head as she whispers soothing words to me.

 “It’s okay, Zane,” she coos. “I know you’re trying…”

 “I-I’m s-s-orr-y,” I hiccup. “H-he ha-tes me!”

 “No he doesn’t,” My mother protests, smoothing down my hair and kissing my forehead. “He’s just a little frustrated. There’s just a lot on his plate right now.” She helps me to my feet and dusts me off. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

 After getting dressed , my mother walks me down to the car where my father waits impatiently for us. It was the King’s birthday today and all the Alphas of the Crescent Mane Kingdom and their families would be attending. Unfortunately for me, this would also be the day my father officially presented me to the Kingdom as the next Alpha of the Scarlet Haven pack. 

 I go over my lines in my head as we drive to the King’s territory where we find several guests already mingling outside of the King’s Mansion.

 “Hi, my name is Zane,” I mumble to myself over and over again until I feel I could say nothing else.

 My father stops the car and stares at me through the rearview mirror, his cold eyes boring holes into my head.

your name?” he asks through

if I kept staring at

I stutter, my body stiffening in

it never comes. Instead, I’m met with cold silence. Mustering up some courage, I open one eye and steal a glance at my father. His jaw is clenched but he says nothing as he

disappointment,” he growls as he steps out of the car. “Don’t

myself and my voice. My mother

and hang out for the rest of the evening. Just the two of us? I’m sure your father can handle the other

as I wipe my tears and

love,” she chirps, reaching for the door handle. “I’ll go fetch us a snack and we’ll hide out

tinted windows of the car, I squint my eyes and stare at the guests as they arrive, trying to figure who was who. I memorized all of the packs in the

onlookers in awe and wonder. He had the gift of gas manipulation. His body could morph into

 I could only hope on the night of my first shift that I would not disappoint my father and have a decent gift

distance. I scramble to the back of the car and peek through the rear view window just in time to see a large pack of

 Ravenstone wolves…

away by their gammas to safer locations. Our

attack. Frightened by the terrifying screams,

it is I

and there amongst the trees, I hear a sickening scream. My body stiffens with fear but upon hearing my mother’s voice, I force my legs to move onward. That’s when I see the

beneath a Ravenstone wolf,

I whimper, my eyes filling with

her neck now perfectly exposed to her attacker. Terror fills her blue orbs as we make eye contact while the wolf sinks his teeth into her throat. I open my mouth to scream but my voice never leaves my lips as I watch the

…

of my mother’s lifeless body and fall off the edge of my bed with a thud. My roommates groan in annoyance and I quickly scramble to my feet. The clock reads

my skin, the room quickly filling with steam. I count my scars as I scrub my body, a habit

20 years since the attack and my life is starkly

both my mother and I had died in the attack. Gamma Wyatt and the maids who knew of me were sworn to secrecy while I was locked away in my room, left to mourn the loss of my only companion in silence. My father never came to visit me and the maids were told to never speak to me when they attended me. My world became silent

A son to whom he would be passing his title to when the time came. I was formally stripped of my rank

rogue was spotted near the western border and brought before the Alpha. Agnes was a small woman, no more than 5 feet tall and quite beautiful. Her

I met her. It was the only time my father came to see me before I left the

.

….FLASH BACK….

.

my father’s voice echoes

unsure if I heard him correctly. The look of disdain in his eyes for me hadn’t faded after all this time we spent apart. My legs shake as I stand before the man

moving to the Omega house with her,” he adds. “She’ll help you pack your things.” He growls when both Agnes and I remain frozen in place. “Do I have to repeat myself? Get moving!” he commands,

looks around the room frantically. I reach over to help

look over at my father, but he’s already

over again and tap her shoulder, offering my hand to help her up. Seeing that

places her hands in front of her face, thrusting them forward.

a finger at me. When I don’t understand, she pulls out a pen

ears and

.

.

.

and get dressed before the rest of the Omegas come rushing in to

large building just south of the main Pack house where the Alpha and the Higher Ranks live. The Hive houses nearly 70 Mated and Unmated Omegas, and despite its size, is severely overcrowded. I share my bedroom with three other omegas, Simon, Luca, Timothy, all of whom are around my age, unmated, and under evaluation for Warrior status. Once every year, Omegas are allowed to