The Rebellious Omega

King Braedon POV

My voice was filled with bitterness and fury. I felt my fists clenching as I swung my hand down and hit the floor with frustration. Blair put a hand on my shoulder but I could not be comforted. Even now, the pain of what my mother had been forced to endure, just so she could be with her son and daughter, hurt me more than I could bear.

"She loved you Braedon. She was willing to sacrifice herself for you. That's love" Blair said quietly.

"But what about her?" I choked out "She deserved to find happiness as well. Instead, all she had was years of misery and..." my voice broke and my shoulders slumped "And eventually it didn't even matter," I said gloomily "because there's only so much you can do until eventually it becomes too much for that person to cope with. There were so many signs" my voice dropped to a whisper "and I missed them all. Each and every single one of them."

Blair creased a brow. She was struggling to comprehend what I was saying. I didn't blame her. I was struggling with the words myself. After all this time, I understood why my mother had taken the path she had chosen, but it hurt. It hurt unbearably to know she had been driven down that road by matters outside her own control. To know that my father had driven her that far. I blamed myself. I should have seen how much she was struggling. I should have taken steps to stop her. But I was so obsessed with thoughts of overtaking my father and forcibly taking his title as Alpha King that I never envisioned what she would do until it was too late and I couldn't take it back.

"Braedon, how did she die?" Blair asked gently.

I looked her in the eyes "My mother killed herself."

Blair's eyes widened and she looked at the gravestone with suspiciously shiny eyes. I took a deep breath "She couldn't take it anymore. All the cheating over the years, the ignoring from her mate. The depression and her moods grew into one long cycle and not even I could break through to her. I thought she would snap out of it like she had all the times before, but this time was different" I said hoarsely "This time she had had enough. She walked up to the top of the pack house, climbed onto the roof with a silver dagger, and slit her wrists while I watched from the ground, begging her not to. Then she looked my father right in the eyes, while he stayed silent and mouthed "Go to hell" and "I love you" to me and then threw herself right off. She didn't survive the fall, not with the amount of blood loss she had on top of the broken bones. She died in my arms as I ran to her. I was too late. She found her own way to end her pain."

Blair's eyes shimmered with tears as she reached out and took my hand. "I'm so sorry Braedon" she whispered, as I swallowed hard "Your father must have taken it hard" she added and I gave a ferocious growl.

"My father?" I said incredulously "That bastard walked away, leaving me to deal with her death. I was eighteen at the time and I was furious at him. My mother's death was on his hands and he didn't even have the decency to pretend to be saddened at her death. On the day of her funeral, he didn't even attend. I stood there, while pack members gave me their condolences and Sarah cried on my shoulder."

Blair sniffed, looking disgusted. "How did you become Alpha then?"

I flattened my lips. "I'm not proud of it," I said glancing at her "but my rage boiled over when I found him f*****g some omega instead of being at the funeral. I dragged him out with his trousers around his ankles onto the grounds and challenged him for his title right then and there, while the pack members looked at him with revulsion. The i***t accepted" I said with a hard look on my face. "I've never felt so bloodthirsty and so desperate for revenge. I didn't just beat him in the fight, but I tried to kill him. I almost tore his throat out. I would have too, but he turned tail and ran, blood trickling from his many wounds. I followed, but he knew the forest too well and managed to get onto neutral territory, even as wounded and bloodied as he was. I shifted back to human form and as he limped away, I told him in no uncertain terms that if he ever stepped back on this land again, his life was forfeit."

Blair looked back at the gravestone, "I'm sorry that you had to do that to your own father" she said, standing up as I did the same "but you did what you had to do. You can't keep blaming yourself for your mother's death" she said lowly.

"My mother was an omega," I said, looking at her "and I always thought that maybe if she had been stronger, maybe higher in rank that..."

"She might not have taken her life?" Blair guessed, shaking her head at me "No Braedon, it wouldn't have mattered. She was trapped in an endless cycle of abuse and pain. She had reached a point where she felt there was no way out. Her rank wouldn't have mattered, because the pain was in her heart. All you can take from this is that she loved you fiercely and she held out as long as she could for your sake. She loved you enough to do that. She held on for you, for both of you" she repeated.

"I wish I'd killed him" I growled, "I wish I had done it sooner. I was ready, but I kept telling myself I needed more time. If I had just been a little quicker..."

Blair put a finger to my lips "If you keep thinking what ifs, you're going to drive yourself mad. You couldn't anticipate your mother's actions, let alone your father's. You take care of the pack now and it's better now it's not under your father's rule. You're proving to be a kind and compassionate ruler Braedon, that's your legacy from your mother. Keep her in your memories but don't take the bad with you. Remember the good" she said, embracing me "and let that guide you in your words and your actions when it comes to ruling. Not to mention" she said with a smile and a nod towards her burgeoning stomach "the way you father your children."

"What if I'm like him?" I said suddenly, the fear washing over me "What if I have his genes and I become him? Blair you can't let that happen" I said, my eyes darkening "If I so much as start behaving like my father Nikolai I want you to kill me. I won't be my father, I won't hurt my children. I would rather die than let that happen. Promise me you'll do it."

"I promise," Blair said and then c****d her head "but you're different. Do you think you're father would have asked such a promise from your mother?" she asked serenely as I pulled back and stared at her "I know you Braedon and you're nothing like the man you described. You're a good man, a good king. You put the pack first."

She turned and put her hand on the gravestone "Thank you" she said quietly "for raising such a good man and mate for me. I wish you great happiness in the afterlife and may you be blessed by the moon goddess."

I touched my mother's gravestone one last time and then turned and walked away, heading to the pack house with Blair silently following behind me.