Knotting His Rejected Breeder

The royal doors opened without drama.

Dane had expected music, announcements, a procession designed to make the room hold its breath, Instead, the Luna of Silvercrest stepped through first, and beside her walked a young woman who did not look like she needed any of it.

Aurora moved with the kind of calm that made noise feel unnecessary. Dark hair was arranged simply rather than extravagantly. Her gown was elegant without trying too hard. She was beautiful in a way that did not ask for attention—clear features, steady eyes, a mouth that held no practiced smile for the crowd. She looked across the hall the way a person evaluated a room, not the way a girl hoped to be chosen from one.

Henrik’s voice stayed low beside him. "She’s not what I expected."

Dane kept his eyes on her. "Neither am I."

It was not attraction, not yet but It was interest, sharp and unexpected. He had prepared himself for a spoiled royal surrounded by servants and soft expectations. What he got was composure that felt harder to read than most Alphas he had faced.

The Lycan King presented her formally. Princess Aurora of Silvercrest, the woman who would eventually choose a husband from among them. Candidates bowed and Dane gave the required gesture and nothing more.

When Aurora’s gaze passed over the line of men, it landed on him for a brief second. She did not smile, he noticed. Most women in rooms like this worked to be seen, she seemed uninterested in performing for anyone.

The King explained the rules next. There would be no simple competition of wealth, titles, or pack strength. Evaluations would continue over the coming days. The first test would begin tonight.

Confusion moved through the candidates. One of them asked what kind of test.

The King only said, "You’ll know when it begins."

That was enough to tighten the air.

During the reception that followed, Adrian found Dane near one of the long tables. Charming as ever. Competitive underneath it.

"It must be difficult arriving here so soon after inheriting your father’s position," Adrian said, as if offering sympathy.

Dane understood the cut immediately. Inexperienced. Unsteady. Easy to dismiss.

He did not raise his voice.

"Bloodmoon did not become weak the day my father stepped down. If that disappoints anyone here, they are welcome to test the assumption properly."

Adrian’s smile stayed pleasant. The point had landed. When he moved away, Henrik exhaled a quiet breath that almost sounded like approval.

"You handled that better than you would have six months ago."

"I’m trying to avoid starting an international incident."

"I’m proud of you."

Dane shot him a look. Henrik only shrugged, unrepentant.

Across the hall, Aurora moved through conversations with the same controlled distance. Candidates approached her one after another. One spoke of military strength. Another of wealth.

Another of bloodline and legacy. She listened to each of them with polite attention, then asked a simple question that stripped the performance down to motive. Dane watched the pattern form. These men wanted what she represented. She was listening for something else entirely. He still did not know what.

Eventually she came to him.

Not with warmth but with curiosity.

"You don’t seem interested in being here," she said.

Dane saw no reason to decorate the truth.

"I’m not."

That earned the first real flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"Then why did you come?"

"Because I’m Alpha of Bloodmoon."

She studied him more carefully now.

"So if you weren’t Alpha, you wouldn’t be here?"

"Probably not."

Instead of taking offense, she almost smiled. The expression was small and gone quickly, but it changed the air between them. This was nothing like the sharp collision at the market. This was calm. Measured. Harder to dismiss.

"And if I chose you as my husband, what would you expect from me?"

Dane studied her for a moment. He had expected a question about Bloodmoon, his strength, or what he could offer Silvercrest. Instead, she was asking what he expected from her.

"Honesty," he said.

Aurora’s brows lifted slightly.

"Only that?"

"And the freedom to tell you when I disagree with you."

For the first time, something changed in her expression. It wasn’t quite a smile, but the corner of her mouth moved before she caught it.

"Most men would promise to agree with everything I say."

"Then they are probably saying what they think you want to hear."

Aurora held his gaze for another second.

"You don’t seem interested in impressing me."

"I came here because I’m the Alpha of Bloodmoon, and not because I expected to meet a princess."

Her expression became unreadable again.

"Perhaps that’s why you are more interesting than you realize."

Before Dane could answer, she turned and walked away.

Henrik appeared beside him almost immediately. "You realize you just told the princess you would argue with her."

Dane glanced at him. "She asked a question."

"You could have lied."

"You want me to start a potential marriage with a lie?"

Henrik considered that for a moment. "Fair point."

Dane shook his head, but a small smile tugged at his mouth.

"I’m not marrying someone just because everyone else wants me to."

Henrik’s expression softened. "Good."

Dane looked at him. "Why?"

"Because I’d rather drag you home myself than watch you spend the rest of your life miserable."

Dane stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh. "You’d actually do that?"

"I’d complain the entire way."

"I knew I could count on you."

Henrik smiled. "You always could."

Dane watched her go and was irritated by how much of the conversation stayed in his head afterward, he told himself it was strategy. Understanding the person at the center of the gathering was useful. Nothing more.

Later, the King summoned every candidate to the training courtyard.

Warriors lined the edges, Elders watched from raised positions. Members of the royal family stood where they could see clearly. Dane understood at once that this would not be a simple display of strength. The King announced the first test: judgment. Each candidate would receive a pack crisis and decide how to answer it. Leadership first. Violence second, if needed.

When Dane’s turn came, the scenario was deliberately complicated.

The King presented him with a border dispute.

A neighboring pack had crossed into Bloodmoon territory with armed warriors. They claimed their people had been driven from the land generations ago and had returned to reclaim it. Bloodmoon elders were demanding immediate retaliation. The neighboring Alpha refused to withdraw.

Then came the part that made the decision harder.

The neighboring pack had suffered a failed harvest, and several families were already close to starvation.

Dane listened without interrupting.

"Your warriors are armed," the King said. "Your elders demand that you remove them by force. What do you do?"

The obvious answer would have been to attack.

An Alpha who allowed another pack to cross his border without consequence risked looking weak.

But Dane had learned something during his first two days in the position.

Strength wasn’t the same as anger.

"I negotiate first," he said.

A few murmurs moved through the courtyard.

The King watched him carefully. "And if they refuse?"

"Then I give them one final warning and make it clear that Bloodmoon will defend its territory."

"And if they attack your people during the negotiations?"

"Then I respond."

"How?"

Dane’s jaw tightened. "Quickly enough to stop the threat. Not so quickly that I turn a border dispute into a war."

Silence followed.

Dane continued before anyone could interrupt.

"If their families are starving, I can provide temporary food while the land dispute is investigated. That doesn’t mean I surrender our territory. It means I refuse to kill people simply because their Alpha made a desperate decision."

Several elders exchanged looks.

One of the candidates scoffed quietly.

Dane ignored him.

"The border remains closed until the dispute is settled. Their warriors leave. Their civilians receive enough food to survive the investigation. If their Alpha attacks Bloodmoon while we’re negotiating, then the negotiation ends."

The King remained silent for several seconds.

"And if your own people accuse you of weakness?"

Dane thought of Ramon, he thought of the Alpha band around his wrist.

Then he answered.

"Then I’ll remind them that I am responsible for bringing them home alive, not for proving that I can start the most wars."

Something shifted among the elders.

Ramon remained completely still, but Dane knew his father well enough to recognize the quiet approval in his eyes.

Henrik’s mouth curved slightly.

Aurora did not smile.

She simply watched Dane for a moment longer than she had watched the others.

Dane couldn’t tell whether that was approval.

He wasn’t sure he wanted it.

Just as the first round of tests seemed finished, a royal guard entered the courtyard at speed and dropped to one knee before the King.

His expression was tight. "Your Majesty."

The King turned. "What is it?"

The guard lowered his voice, but the courtyard had gone still enough for Dane to catch every word.

"We found a trail, Your Majesty."

"A trail of what?"

The guard swallowed. "Blood."

Silence fell across the courtyard as Aurora’s expression changed.

It was small, almost imperceptible, but Dane saw it.

Not fear.

Recognition.

His instincts immediately sharpened.

"Whose blood?" the King demanded.

"We don’t know."

The guard lowered his voice. "But the trail begins near the eastern boundary and continues toward the old forest."

Dane’s stomach tightened. The eastern boundary.

The same direction the hooded man from the market had disappeared.

He glanced at Henrik, his brother had already reached the same conclusion.

Neither of them spoke.

The King stepped forward. "Did you find anyone?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"What about tracks?"

"Yes."

The guard’s face tightened. "There were several sets."

Dane’s eyes narrowed.

Several.

So the man from the market hadn’t been alone.

The King looked toward the eastern forest, his expression hardening.

"Seal the area."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guard turned to leave.

Then Aurora spoke. "Father."

Everyone looked at her.

She was staring toward the eastern corridor.

"What if they weren’t trying to enter Silvercrest?"

The King frowned. "What do you mean?"

Aurora’s gaze shifted briefly toward the gathered candidates.

"What if they were trying to get out?"

Dane felt the hairs rise along the back of his neck. He didn’t know what was happening in that forest.

He didn’t know who had crossed the royal boundary.

But suddenly, the market attack no longer felt like a random act of violence.

Someone had been watching.

Someone had been moving toward Silvercrest.

And now someone was bleeding in the eastern forest.

Dane had a feeling they were about to discover why.

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