BOUND BY THE ALPHA BROTHER'S

The sound of steel rang through the training yard. Ivy’s blade trembled in her grip, too heavy, too slippery with sweat. One wrong step and she was on her back again, dirt covering her skin.

Liam’s shadow came close to her. His breath was heavy, not with exhaustion, but with fury.

“You are weak!” His voice tore through the night, sharp as his sword. His blue eyes burned down at her, not with hatred, but with something worse. Disappointment.

Ivy gripped at her side, trying to pull breath into her aching lungs. The stars above blurred as her vision blurred. Weak. He was right. She could barely last three minutes sparring with him.

What did he expect? He was stronger, more experienced, and had awakened his wolf long before she did.

“For an Alpha, a pure breed, you are worthless,” he spat. His words struck harder than any blade. “You wouldn’t last a second in war.”

She swallowed hard, dragging herself up onto her elbows. “You think I don’t care? You think I don’t want revenge?” Her voice cracked against the night air, firm but small.

He didn’t answer. His jaw tightened as he turned away, his eyes fixed on the silver moon, the way men look when hope is gone.

Anger burned through the shame in her chest. “Say something, Liam!”

But he only clenched his fists. Then, as if struck by a memory, his face shifted. Without a word, he seized Ivy’s arm and pulled her to her feet. His grip was iron, his steps fast, almost possessed.

“Where are you taking me?” She stumbled, struggling to keep up.

“To the truth,” his voice was a low growl.

The path cut through the woods until the trees opened into a quiet clearing. And there, Ivy’s heart broke. Rosa. Her mother. Her face was pale, her eyes were shut, and her body was glowing beneath the moonlight.

The world tilted. Ivy’s knees buckled. “Why, why would you make me see her?” Her throat burned as the words tore out of her.

“You promised not to bring me here,” she whispered.

Liam’s gaze hardened. “Because you’ve forgotten who you are. My promise only made you weak.”

Tears blurred her vision. Rage clawed its way out of her. “I know who I am! I know the Alpha is the reason she’s dead!” Her voice cracked, sharp as glass.

“Enough!” His roar silenced the trees. He seized her shoulders, shaking her until the world stilled. “This isn’t about him. Not tonight.”

Ivy froze. His eyes glowed under the moonlight, fiercely filled with unsettled resolve. Slowly, he lifted his hand, pressing it against her temple. And then memories not her own surged through her.

Her mother laughed, her hair loose in the wind. Her mother whispered lullabies to the swell of her stomach. Her mother, standing on her throne, her eyes strong and unyielding, ready to face the world that could turn against her.

Pain seared through Ivy. Her chest ached with it. Her breath broke into sobs.

“She wasn’t weak,” Liam said softly. “Neither are you.”

The weight of his words pressed against the ache inside her. For the first time, she saw Rosa not as the broken woman who fell, but as the fire they tried to extinguish. And for the first time, Ivy felt that fire inside her.

“Are you ready, Ivy?” Liam asked, his voice fading into quietness. She found herself staring at a memory: her mother hugging Damon, the man who was supposed to be her father. Rosa’s eyes were filled with love, with warmth.

Ivy had always thought memories were whispers, faint echoes from the past. But when Liam dragged her to Rosa, it wasn’t whispers she heard; it was her mother’s heartbeat, her breath, her fear, and her fire. Like it was her own.

She was inside her. Reliving her past.

The air was heavy, filled with the strong scent of sage and pine. Rosa sat alone, hands trembling over her swollen belly. She pressed her palm against the curve of it, and Ivy felt the shudder in her chest, the terror that the child within her was a girl. Not because she didn’t want her, but because she knew what her husband would do.

“They won’t accept her,” Rosa whispered to herself, her voice breaking. “They’ll mock her. They’ll try to erase her. Goddess, give me strength.”

“Moon goddess, my lineage has served you diligently. Please, save my daughter. She is stronger than the rest.”

And then the door opened. Damon’s parents entered, their lips curved like blades. Her grandmother’s voice dripped poison.

“The doctor told us it’s a girl,” she sneered, her jeweled fingers clutching her purse. “You dare carry weakness into our bloodline. You insult the prophecy itself.”

“You know she is going to end up like the rest. Three pregnancies, and all girls,” her grandfather growled.

“I will call the doctor. You will have the operation done tonight,” her grandmother snapped.

Rosa straightened, her fear melting into fury. Ivy felt something snap within her mother, replacing her trembling with fire. Her hand curled protectively over her stomach.

“This kingdom is mine,” Rosa spat, her voice loud enough to shake the windows. “My father built it, and his blood runs through my veins. Do not forget whose soil you stand on. Not prophecy, not your arrogance, can take that from me.”

For a moment, silence filled the room. Then, mockery. Their laughter tore at her. Their words painted her as fragile, foolish, and unworthy.

And Rosa fought back. Every insult she hurled at them carried her pain, her desperation, and her pride.

Then Damon entered. Ivy’s father. His blue eyes were cold, unreadable. Rosa’s hope flickered, though Ivy could feel it inside her, the desperate longing that maybe, just maybe, he would stand by her.

“Give her a chance,” Damon said. His voice was calm, almost soft. “Let her grow. Perhaps she will be powerful. Perhaps the goddess favors her.”

Rosa’s relief washed through her. Tears burned in her eyes, but her shoulders loosened. She believed him. She wanted to believe him.

But Ivy, standing inside the memory, knew better. Rosa’s refusal to abort had already sealed her fate. It was their plan from the beginning.

She knew the very next day that relief would shatter by their betrayal.

Ivy watched as Damon’s mask fell away. His hand on Rosa’s arm was no longer gentle but cruel and unyielding. His voice dripped venom.

“You’ve already lost, Rosa,” he hissed, dragging her to the balcony. The height made Ivy feel her mother’s fear.

Rosa clung to the railing, desperate, her eyes wild with betrayal. “You swore, you swore you would protect her! To love me!”

Damon leaned close, his smile sharp enough to cut. “I will save you if you answer me one last time. Will you go through with the abortion?” His soft tone mocked her, knowing her answer before she gave it.

“Then I never swore to protect weakness.”

And then came the push. Sophia’s cold hands first, and when Rosa refused to fall, Damon’s boot pressed down, pressing until bone cracked and fingers slipped.

Her scream carried into Ivy and pierced through her soul.

And then, nothing.

Nothing but earth closing over her. Nothing but Ivy’s soul splitting open with her mother’s.

The woods returned. Ivy gasped, stumbling back into herself, back with Liam.

“How? How could I see a dead wolf’s memory?” She asked, tears streaming down her cheeks, her vision blurred.

“Your mother isn’t dead,” Liam answered. His voice was steady, his eyes burning into hers.

“You think I would let her die so easily? I was not just the kingdom beta; I was He paused; the rage in his eyes melted to something else, something different, something Ivy had never seen before.

Then, he paused, giving Ivy his hands, pulling her to see his own memories. Memories of Liam meeting Rosa for the first time and his father being the king's beta and adviser. Liam and Rosa drew close, but while he loved her, Rosa only saw him as a friend, an ally, and someone she could rely on. The last memory shows Liam leaving the day Rosa got married, despite her plea not to. “You loved my mother,” Ivy whispered, almost breathless. “My mistake was I shouldn’t have left, but we can still save her,” he muttered.

“She needs the blood of her mate, Damon’s blood, to wake her up.” The hurt in Liam's voice is now being replaced by rage, his eyes dark and cold.He stepped closer, his voice heavy with meaning. “You have your goal set, Ivy. Bring your mother her mate’s blood, and end his reign. That throne is yours. You were discarded because they called you weak. Don’t prove them right.”

“Don’t prove that you are weak, Ivy,” He roared.