Chapter 90: Father Figure.

Ten years ago…

“Ezra Belloren, come here right now!” Aamon’s voice rang through the room.

Ezra, fourteen years old and stubborn as ever, was crouched behind the bed.

“No!”

“Don’t make me drag you out of there,” Aamon warned.

“Then drag me!” Ezra shouted back.

He pulled his knees tighter to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

’I am not coming back out there.’

For a moment, everything went quiet.

Ezra heard Aamon sigh.

Then footsteps.

Ezra tensed immediately.

’He’s actually going to drag me…’

But instead of hands grabbing him, the mattress shifted.

The bed dipped slightly.

Aamon had sat down.

“Hah,” Aamon muttered. “Ezra, you beat those kids up. Their parents are complaining. They want you punished.”

Ezra buried his face against his knees.

’They deserved it.’

“I can’t keep covering for you,” Aamon continued with another tired sigh. “And you can’t keep fighting every squire that pisses you off.”

“Then don’t!” Ezra snapped, lifting his head. “You’re not responsible for me. Why do you keep acting like you are?”

Aamon was quiet for a moment.

Then he spoke again.

“Whether you admit it to yourself or not, I am responsible for you.”

Ezra clenched his jaw but didn’t answer.

“Now tell me,” Aamon said more gently. “Why did you beat those kids up in the first place?”

Ezra stayed silent.

The silence stretched longer than either of them expected.

His shoulders slowly began to tremble.

A few tears slipped down his face before he could stop them.

“Tell me so I can understand, Ezra,” Aamon said.

Ezra sniffled.

“They told me I was nothing,” he muttered.

His voice cracked.

“That I didn’t have parents because they probably didn’t like me.” His fingers tightened against his sleeves. “That I was probably a mistake they couldn’t—”

He choked on the words.

His breath shook as the tears finally fell freely.

“That they couldn’t abort.”

The word felt ugly in his mouth.

“A baby boy that looks like a wussy,” Ezra continued bitterly. “An alpha that looks like an omega.”

Ezra had always known he was different.

Even before anyone said it out loud.

He knew he might have parents somewhere.

Parents who didn’t want him.

But hearing it over and over again…

Being reminded that he might have been a child they had tried to erase…

It hurt.

More than Ezra ever admitted.

’It shouldn’t matter,’ he told himself.

But it did.

Maybe his parents knew.

Maybe they had known the moment he was born.

That he wouldn’t grow into the strong Alpha everyone expected.

That he would be an Omega instead.

A defect.

Something unwanted.

And maybe that was why they never kept him.

Aamon didn’t speak again.

Not immediately.

But Ezra felt movement.

He knew the old knight had shifted closer.

Ezra braced himself, expecting Aamon to grab him by the collar and drag him out from behind the bed.

’Here it comes…’

But it never did.

Instead, Ezra felt a hand rest gently on his head.

Warm.

Careful.

Aamon’s fingers moved slowly through his hair, patting it in a quiet, steady rhythm.

Ezra froze.

’…What?’

“I know you’re aware that I’m a noble,” Aamon said softly. “The son of a duke, actually. One of the powerful families in the kingdom. Since I’m the eldest, I’m supposed to inherit everything.”

Ezra frowned slightly behind his knees.

’Is he… boasting?’

“My father,” Aamon continued calmly, “is a classified asshole.”

Ezra blinked.

“He whipped me and my brothers whenever we didn’t follow the traditional expectations of nobility,” Aamon said. “Sometimes he would starve me just to prove a point. All because he didn’t approve of my decision to become a knight.”

Ezra’s head lifted slightly.

His eyes widened.

’That’s horrible.’

“My mother wasn’t any better,” Aamon went on. “She kept our sister away from us most of the time. Forced her to behave like the perfect noblewoman.”

His voice carried no anger.

Only quiet resignation.

“She wanted to sell her off to one of the king’s sons someday. Or maybe a noble from another kingdom. A good political marriage.”

Ezra slowly lowered his arms from around his legs.

He listened.

“And those children you beat up?” Aamon added. “Their parents came here demanding that you be punished.”

Ezra’s jaw tightened again.

But Aamon continued before he could say anything.

“Do you know what they did when they saw their sons?”

Ezra didn’t answer.

“They scolded them,” Aamon said simply. “For being weak. For embarrassing their families.”

He shrugged lightly.

“They didn’t care if the boys were actually hurt.”

Aamon’s hand continued to rest on Ezra’s head.

“It was their pride as nobles that had been wounded.”

Ezra slowly turned his head and looked up.

Aamon was watching him with a small, gentle smile.

“Kid,” Aamon said quietly, “having parents isn’t always what people think it is.”

Ezra sniffed and wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his tunic.

“Yeah…” he muttered.

Aamon’s smile turned into a smirk.

“And you know,” he added casually, “you could always have a parent if you just let me adopt you.”

Ezra stared at him.

Then he pushed himself up from the floor immediately.

“Are you seriously still saying this?” Ezra demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just have your own wife and kids, old man.”

Aamon laughed.

Before Ezra could step away, Aamon reached out and gently placed a hand against his cheek.

The gesture was unexpectedly soft.

“Ezra,” Aamon said quietly.

His voice lost its teasing edge.

“I have no plans to have children.”

Ezra blinked.

“But if I ever did,” Aamon continued, his thumb brushing lightly against Ezra’s cheek, “I would choose you.”

Present…

Ezra sighed.

“Of course I remember that,” he said. “My memory isn’t that poor. I just don’t understand why you keep bringing it up.”

Aamon looked entirely unbothered.

“The position of being my son is still open,” he said lightly. “No matter how old you are now, Ezra, I will always see you as that little kid.”

Ezra snorted.

“You’re probably going to die soon with how old you are,” he muttered.

Aamon laughed.

But despite the jab, Ezra felt something warm settle quietly in his chest.

He would never admit it out loud.

Never.

Still, he knew the truth.

Aamon had stood by him when no one else did.

Raised him.

Taught him everything he knew.

If Ezra had any good qualities as a parent now, if he knew how to protect Lior the way he did, it was because of the way Aamon had once protected him.

’…Old man.’

Of course, Ezra would rather die than say any of that aloud.

Aamon’s head would grow so big it might actually explode.

“You’re going to fight again soon after a long time,” Aamon said.

Ezra glanced at him briefly.

“I know you’re worried about that kid,” Aamon continued. “But don’t worry. I will make sure no harm comes to him.”

Ezra nodded once.

“I know.”

Then he turned and began walking back toward the edge of the woods.

The sounds of the camp were faintly returning now.

Behind him, Aamon spoke again.

“In exchange for protecting him,” Aamon said casually, “I would love to know what you have been doing for the last five years.”

Ezra didn’t respond.

“I have known you longer than anyone else,” Aamon continued. “And if you think Prince Helios was the only one who felt lost when you disappeared…”

His voice softened slightly.

“…then you’ve grown quite foolish, son.”

Ezra stopped walking.

For a moment, he couldn’t move.

’No…’

He stared ahead at the trees.

’Don’t you dare say things like that.’

Something tight twisted in his chest.

He was an adult now.

A captain.

A knight.

He shouldn’t feel this affected by Aamon’s careless words.

And yet—

Ezra exhaled slowly.

“Whatever,” he muttered.

He resumed walking.

Then he paused just long enough to add,

“And his name is Lior.”

Ezra took another slow breath as he stepped out of the woods.

Behind him, Aamon remained where he was.

Along with Helios, Aamon was the person Ezra trusted most in this entire kingdom.

The man who had saved him.

Raised him.

Guided him.

Accepting Aamon as family would have been easy.

Tempting, even.

But there was always one thought that refused to leave Ezra’s mind.

’He’s kind to me because he thinks I’m an alpha.’

An alpha who just happened to be smaller than most.

’Would he still treat me the same way…’

Ezra clenched his jaw slightly.

’…if he knew I was an omega?’

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