Chapter 13: The Stranger

Dexter stepped out onto the terrace just as the morning light fully cleared the eastern trees.

He had not slept. None of them had. The hours since Levi was dragged to the lower cells had been a grinding stretch of failed arguments, cold refusals from their father, and the constant, stretched-thin pull of the claim on his own neck. Aaron had finally snapped and gone to scout the dungeon corridors, muttering about breaking the omega out himself if dawn arrived with no change. Kai had remained with their father, still trying to carve some political opening out of stone.

It had been a rough night for him, and it was exactly why he had gotten up early, hoping to speak with his father and hopefully convince him to change his mind. He walked down the corridor leading to his father’s room, and that was where he saw them. ℯℯ𝑙.

Levi stood in another Alpha’s arms, his face buried against the man’s broad chest, fists curled in a dark coat, shoulders shaking with the aftermath of tears. The man holding him was tall, dark-haired, and carried himself with the easy authority of someone who had never doubted his right to take up space. His hand rested low on Levi’s back, possessive even in comfort. Levi, who had flinched from Kai’s grip and frozen under Aaron’s temper, leaned into this stranger as if the world would end if he let go.

Dexter stopped walking. For several long seconds he simply stared, Jealousy and confusion almost making him lose his senses. Levi was being vulnerable. The same omega who had looked at the three of them with fear and reluctant submission was clinging to this man like he was the only solid thing left in the world.

Who was he? And how was Levi even out of the cell?

They had tried everything. Arguments, threats, Cold logic, and their father had not bent. Aaron had been prepared to commit treason at sunrise. Yet here the omega stood in the open air, unmarked by new bruises, breathing free, held by a man Dexter had never seen inside these walls.

He did not interrupt, just stood there and watched, every muscle tight, as the stranger murmured something against Levi’s hair and Levi nodded weakly.

Only when the two of them finally turned back toward the hall doors did Dexter move.

He stepped directly into their path.

Levi saw him first, and the omega’s eyes went wide. All the fragile relief drained out of his face in an instant, replaced by raw fear. His body tensed as if he expected violence to erupt between the two Alphas at any second. Dexter watched the change with a bitter twist in his chest. Levi was afraid of him.

Dexter kept his voice low and flat.

"Levi. Come here."

Levi hesitated. One step toward Dexter would have been enough, but he did not take it.

Elvis’s hand settled more firmly at the small of Levi’s back, stopping him without apparent force. The older Alpha looked Dexter over with mild, almost polite interest, as if a territorial young prince was an expected inconvenience rather than a threat.

Dexter’s eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Elvis smiled. It did not reach his eyes. "Elvis. Alpha of the Eastridge pack. And Levi’s lover." The word was chosen with care. "The one who intends to take him away from the three of you."

The terrace seemed to shrink. Dexter’s gaze cut to Levi, searching for denial, for correction, for anything that would make the claim less true, but found none of that.

Dexter knew about Eastridge pack, it was probably the only pack that rivaled theirs in power and wealth, and after the death of the old Alpha two years ago, his son had taken over, he was guessing that son was Elvis. It was no wonder his father had freed Levi, Elvis had probably pleaded on the omega’s behalf.

Dexter reached for Levi, determined to wring his mate out of Levi’s charms. His hand closed around Levi’s wrist, or would have, if Elvis had not moved first. The older Alpha’s fingers locked around Dexter’s forearm in a grip that was pure controlled strength, stopping the contact cold.

Their eyes met over Levi’s head.

"I’ve noticed something," Elvis said mildly. "You’re the one who marked him." His gaze flicked deliberately to the bite on Levi’s throat. "That was careless of you."

Dexter did not pull his arm free. He let the pressure sit there, answering with quiet steel. "And what if I am?"

Elvis chuckled, low and unbothered. "Then I plan to get rid of that claim. Do you know how that’s done, little prince?"

Dexter’s control snapped. He wrenched his arm free and stepped in close enough that Levi was forced sideways between them. Every instinct he had screamed to put the other Alpha down, to drag Levi behind him, to make the challenge physical and final before the sun climbed any higher.

He never got the chance. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stone at the far end of the terrace. Aaron appeared at a near-run, dark hair disordered, clothes still marked with the damp and dust of the lower levels. He had clearly come straight from the dungeon corridors, ready to force a breakout if the death order still stood. He took in the scene in one sharp sweep, and his expression flashed from relief to immediate aggression.

"What the hell is going on?" Aaron demanded, striding forward. "Levi was supposed to be in a cell. Who is this?"

No one answered him because the Alpha chose that moment to step out onto the terrace.

Their father’s presence rolled across the open space like a drop in temperature. The two enforcers straightened. Elvis released the last of his hold on the situation and inclined his head with perfect, unthreatening respect. Levi seemed to shrink into himself. Dexter and Aaron both turned, and only after seeing their father did the bloodlust in the air die out.

The Alpha looked at the gathered group with cold satisfaction, as if the morning had arranged itself exactly as he preferred.

"There will be no further theatrics," he said. His voice carried without effort. "On behalf of Alpha Elvis’s petition, and in the interest of avoiding unnecessary instability, I am willing to let the omega live."

Aaron’s shoulders loosened a fraction. Dexter did not move. Levi’s head lifted, hope and dread warring in his face.

The Alpha continued, gaze sweeping over his sons with deliberate weight.

"Do not mistake this for leniency. The claim remains an insult. From this moment the omega will be placed under continuous heavy suppressants, strong enough to smother every trace of the bond until it withers and dies. No contact with my sons beyond what is strictly required for household function, and no private audiences." His eyes settled on Dexter, then Aaron. "If any of you attempt to interfere with the suppressant regimen, or if the bond shows signs of strengthening rather than fading, the original death order will be reinstated without discussion. Am I clear?"

Nobody answered him, they all just stood as though neither of them had heard those rules.

The Alpha turned back toward the hall, no longer willing to stress himself further than necessary. This time, he would act rather than just making threats.

"Bring him inside. The suppressants begin today."