The Alpha's Rage

Ragnar's POV

The Alpha's Rage

I watched my pitiful omega wife, Astrid, as she clutched Rolo, whispering her final words to him. I didn't care. She meant nothing to me. Without a word, I drew my sword, ready to drive it into Rolo's chest, but the sudden, sharp howls of two familiar wolves stopped me.

I turned to see who dared interrupt me, and there they were—my daughters. What were they doing here? How did they know where to find me? I then noticed my nephew, Thorstein, perched upon his dragon, hovering not far away. Of course, he was the one who led them here. The entitled brat—wasn't it enough for him to claim the dragon of my deceased wife? Now he followed me as well.

The girls sprinted toward me in their wolf forms, shifting back to their human forms as they neared. They begged me to stop.

"Why should I stop?" I growled, irritated by their insolence, the audacity to think they could command me simply because they were my daughters.

"He is a loyal guard," Thyra pleaded, her eyes wide and desperate. "He protected your omega, even when it wasn't easy. You will be Alpha King someday. Shouldn't a king show mercy? His only crime was loyalty."

"Do not confuse mercy with weakness," I snapped. "A king must be feared as well as respected, and his loyalty should belong to the king alone." Solveig, my other daughter, spoke up.

"Father, the princess is only confused," Solveig interjected, trying to soften the moment. "You've never been bonded to an omega before. Mother was a delta. But we are omegas too. It's common for us to be unsure of our place in the hierarchy. If one day I were to marry and attempt to flee out of fear, would you want my mate to pursue me, kill me, or destroy anyone willing to help me?"

I seized her shoulders. "If you run from your alpha, he has every right to do with you as he sees fit," I snarled, and Solveig cursed under her breath.

"Mother wouldn't want you to kill out of anger," Thyra added, meeting my gaze steadily. "Rolo is not your enemy, Father."

"Why have you come here to save him?" I demanded. The girls looked down, hesitant to speak. "Answer me now!" I roared. Astrid tried to crawl over to shield them, her frail body trembling with fever and pain. She hadn't even managed to protect herself, and yet she thought she could protect someone else.

"Queen Freydis begged us," Solveig admitted, her voice trembling with fear of my wrath. "She has been kind to us."

"And she sent her son to bring you here," I muttered, glancing at Thorstein, who stood at a distance. Thorstein respected the hierarchy; if it were up to him, Rolo would die. But his mother had sent him here, and he would watch, unwilling to intervene.

"This is my fault," Astrid sobbed, her voice breaking as she defied the omega norm of submission before her alpha. "Punish me for my betrayal, but spare Rolo. He only tried to help me, and your daughters are innocent. They are just children."

Thyra wrapped her arms around her, soothing her. "Father," Thyra said, pushing the hair away from Astrid's face. "The princess is sick. Her mark is bleeding. She could die."

"No one forced her to flee," I growled, my eyes on the bleeding mark on Astrid's neck.

"Father, she has a high fever. She's trembling," Solveig added. At that moment, Rolo, the dying dog, looked up at me from his soon-to-be grave.

"Punish me, kill me if you must, but please save her," Rolo begged. I almost ended him right there, but the mark on my own neck flared with a burning fury. I touched my neck, bewildered, and saw Astrid's tear-streaked face.

She was genuinely suffering, weeping for Rolo, and the weight of her guilt pressed on me through our bond. If I killed Rolo, I would condemn her to a lifetime of torment—and myself to share in her anguish.

"Get this parasite out of my sight," I commanded. "If you want him to live, take him to the healer." The girls rushed to help Rolo stand, and Thorstein offered his hand.

"You should be dead for your betrayal," Thorstein spat at Rolo.

"I agree; I don't know how I'm still alive," Rolo replied, half-laughing through the pain. The girls giggled despite themselves. Somehow, Rolo had survived; he was lucky, for now.

"The princess will need me; he could harm her," Rolo insisted, attempting to stay.

"He won't hurt her," Thyra said, though uncertainty lingered in her voice.

"Thank you," Astrid murmured, looking into my eyes, but I glared back with fury.

"Was this your brilliant plan? To die on the beach, murdered by the mark?" I mocked.

"Anything is better than being your captive," she snapped back. I raised my hand as if to strike her, but I paused as she flinched. What was I doing?

"Go on, hit me. Kill me for my betrayal. I'm just an omega; what do I matter to you?" she taunted, her voice defiant. I grabbed her and hoisted her up. She gasped in pain, her fever making her weak and frail.

"Do not push me, Astrid. Don't," I growled, carrying her toward my dragon. Her fear made something inside me twist. I am an alpha; I am not supposed to feel this weakness. But her terrified eyes... they made something within me scream.

Whatever it was, I hated it. I hated the guilt. I no longer loved this woman. I had lost all feelings for her when I fought her father and she married another. I had moved on with Freydis. I felt nothing for Astrid anymore.

Her sad eyes should not affect me. She was merely my omega, meant to bear my children and nothing more. So why did my blood roar otherwise?

I forced myself to forget the way her eyes had once sparkled at me when I gifted her jewels from my conquests. I would forget how she begged me to marry her, to run away together. Those were the distant past.

Now, my only goal was to become the Alpha King. When her father, Harald, stepped down, I would rule, and the kingdom would expand. For that, I needed heirs, and my omega would provide them, no matter how much she resisted. That was why we married, after all.

Astrid trembled in my arms, her fever worsening as I lifted her onto my dragon. I wanted to leave her like this, let her suffer because no one forced her to escape. She had chosen this fate for herself. But that weakness flared up again, and before I realized it, I found myself licking the wound on her neck to heal it.

She passed out in my arms, but she would recover. My alpha's saliva would do its work. She would remain weak for a few days, but she would survive. I returned to the palace with her and laid her in bed. As we arrived, Freydis Bloodaxe, the Queen, rushed over. She bowed deeply, waiting for my permission to enter.

"Come," I commanded. Freydis seemed pathetic, bowing without even a hint of defiance in her eyes. Why did I find her so pitiful? This was what omegas were supposed to do. So why did I crave the fire I saw in Astrid's gaze?

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. What Freydis did was the correct way an omega should act before an alpha. It had been that way since the beginning of time. So why did I love Astrid for her defiance? Cursing my own mind, I left to drown my thoughts in drink.

I fished Freydis Eiriksdottir's wedding ring from my pocket, the one I always carried, and shut my eyes. I missed her. I couldn't help it. So many good memories. Freydis had always admired Astrid, but I pushed that thought away and sank deeper into the bottle. I needed to stop thinking. It would be easier to stop thinking.

Freydis Bloodaxe took Astrid's hand as she stirred awake, her eyes wet with tears.

"You are safe. Thank the goddess you're alive," Freydis murmured, but Astrid only sobbed.

"I'm not fine. I'm just back," Astrid cried, knowing that now I would make her life unbearable.

"I warned you not to defy an alpha," Freydis said quietly, and Astrid remained silent. She knew; she knew all too well.