Taming His Fragile Alpha

"THE REBELS!"

A raw shriek ripped down the corridor.

It was instantly drowned out by the loud thuds of clashing steel and the sharp crack of gunpowder.

My eyes snapped open.

My body lurched forward in bed, chest heaving as a violent cough tore through my throat.

My limbs felt soft. Useless.

As if I was still trapped by the weakness of the chronic childhood illness that had locked me away in this palace until my eighteenth birthday.

For twenty years, I have been the hidden, fragile shame of the Royal Alpha family.

I am an Alpha prince with zero knowledge of politics, zero self-defense training, and zero understanding of how the court works.

I don't know why the kingdom runs the way it does.

I don't know why these Omegas are rioting.

I don't know what they're fighting for.

The only thing my father ever drilled into my head was a single terrifying truth.

''The rebels are wicked Omegas, and they want to kill you and our family.''

The word left a bad taste on my tongue.

This wasn't the first time they attacked.

But this was the first time they reached the inside of the palace itself.

"Hide the prince!"

Another shriek echoes right outside my door.

My blood ran cold. Chills rattled down my spine.

I scrambled across the mattress, but my weak legs buckled immediately.

I fell hard against the floor. The silk sheets tangled around my ankles like a trap.

Still, I forced myself up on trembling knees.

I dragged my body to the door and pressed my ear against the wood.

The scents mingling in the air were a mixture of intense emotions. Thick. Dizzying.

Terror. Fury. And blood.

So much blood.

But beneath it all...

A strange, blended aroma of hope.

'Hope for what?'

There is no doubt that the guards assigned to my door are already dead.

My teeth grit in absolute frustration at my own uselessness.

'If only I could fight like a true Alpha.'

Hurriedly, I pulled a decorative ceremonial sword down from the wall display. It was far too heavy for my hands, but its cold weight was the only shield I had.

I threw the door open and peered into the dark corridor.

'I am a true alpha. I won't hide anymore.' I screamed it in my mind.

But the sight outside my room made me freeze.

Bodies littered the hallway.

The carpet felt sickeningly wet beneath my bare feet.

Trembling, I trailed the blunt edge of my sword across the face of a corpse.

My face went pale.

It was one of our new Beta recruits. The one who had once clumsily spilled juice on my legs.

His throat was torn open. Blood pooled across the floor.

But right next to him lay other bodies, dressed in tattered, non-imperial gear.

A bitter laugh left my mouth as my eyes welled with tears.

Some of them were rebel Omegas. They risked their lives just to hunt us down.

'Why? What did we ever do to them?'

Realizing how vulnerable I was, I scrambled back into my chamber and locked the door.

'If those assigned to protect me were dead...

I am next.'

'Don't be a cowardly idiot. Protect the palace, you worthless prince.' My inner Alpha growled in my ears.

But I ignored him. My hands trembled as I locked the door.

But the moment it clicked...

A thick, unfamiliar metallic scent filled the room.

My body froze.

From the corner of my eye, a shadow moved behind my bed.

Before I could raise my weapon, a pair of rough, strong hands locked around my throat.

And with a terrifying ease, the intruder slammed me backward against the wall. The last of my breath was knocked out of my lungs.

My ceremonial sword clattered uselessly to the floor. I was entirely pinned, completely helpless against his dominant strength.

"Don't move." A low, dangerous voice.

The sharp, freezing edge of a silver dagger pressed directly against my throat.

I looked up through the dim light, heart pounding like a trapped bird.

The assassin wore a stark white veil, obscuring the lower half of his face. But his scent gave him away instantly.

A male Omega.

But he didn't smell like the weak, submissive Omegas my father told me about.

His scent was different. Predatory, and something... dangerous.

My breathing grew more labored.

'I'm going to die tonight.'

At the hands of a rebel Omega.

And, not just any rebel, but their leader. Judging by the tattoo on his dagger.

Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes; his grip was tight and strong.

Desperately, I writhed against him. Carefully, because I couldn't move recklessly. Not with his strength. Not with a blade at my neck.

But as I struggled, my hand slipped.

And brushed directly against the exposed skin of his wrist.

Pain.

A sudden, white, blinding flash of hot pain shot through my body.

It didn't strike my neck, or my hands. Instead, it pierced directly into my lower right ribs.

Searing into my flesh just above my waist. Like a branding iron.

Pinned against the wall, I let out a painful, breathless gasp.

Across from me, the dominant Omega rebel stiffened violently.

His grip on my throat vanished.

He stumbled backward, hand flying to his back.

A sharp hiss escaped from behind his veil.

He clutched his spine, eyes wide with an emotion I never expected to see in a rebel.

Shock and disbelief.

Neither of us moved. The air between us shifted, suddenly too hot, like the space itself had caught fire and was pressing down my ribs.

He looked down at me, knuckles trembling.

Staring at the fragile Alpha he just pinned to the wall.

He could kill me right now to end whatever this pain is. Or at least he should.

Instead, he slowly lowers the dagger. My throat tightened.

"W-wait," I try to stop him, carefully and nervously.

But he ignored me. Without a single word, he steps back into the shadows.

He threw open the balcony doors. And vanished into the chaotic, bloody night.

I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my burning waist. My heart roared in the silence of my room.

A bitter laugh escaped me as I hugged my knees. Staring at the now-empty balcony.

The universe and its sick sense of humor.

I, a fragile Prince who knew nothing of war...

Was now at the mercy of the rebel leader who just left me branded and burning in the dark.

I buried my face against my knees.

The realization made me weak.

'I finally found my mate.

And he was not someone I expected.'

The next morning, I stood in front of the full-length mirror.

My trembling hands slowly peeled back the edge of my silk tunic.

There it was.

Burning a fierce, angry red into the flesh of my lower right ribs.

Two crisp, permanent letters. K.T.

My heart beat violently against my chest.

The pain from last night had finally dulled to a rhythmic throb. But the reality of it froze the blood in my veins.

The assassin who had pinned me to the wall...

The Omega who was ready to slit my throat during the raid...

Was my fated mate.

A rebel.

A sudden, sharp knock on the door made me flinch.

"Prince Mace," a butler's muffled voice called out. "His Majesty has summoned you to the royal study immediately."

"I-I'll be right there," I called back, my voice cracking.

Panic surged inside me.

I quickly threw on my layers of royal clothing, desperate to hide the mark before anyone could see it.

Even as my hands shook from the terror of the night before. I forced my feet to move down the stone corridors.

***

Standing before the massive doors of my father's office, a heavy dread settled over me.

I clenched my fists to stop the shaking. Took a shallow breath and knocked gently.

"Come in."

The voice was cold.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the grand office. Behind the dark wooden desk sat my father. The King.

The deep, rigid lines between his brows told me everything I needed to know.

He was furious.

"F-father?" I stammered, keeping my distance.

I didn't dare take another step forward.

My father took a slow sip from his wine glass, his sharp gaze drilling holes right through me.

"You were lucky to survive the night."

A chill washed over me.

'Lucky?'

Yes, I really was. Luckily alive, but my mind was a mess.

My mate was out there.

He was one of them.

I wanted to scream, to ask my father why the rebels hated us so much, why they wanted us dead, and what drove them to attack

But I didn't. Because asking this would reveal the truth. And to reveal the truth is to seek death.

Images flashed behind my eyes: the cold weight of the dagger against my throat, and the strength of the rebel leader.

Instinctively, I reached up, my fingers brushing against the white bandages wrapped around my throat.

He had been so ready to kill me...

'What kind of Omega was he? How could an Omega be that terrifyingly strong?'

Father leaned back in his leather chair, his knuckles tapping a slow rhythm on the desk.

"You need to learn self-defense. You can't stay like this."

"I can't..." I whispered, looking down, fingers curling. "My body..."

"Your body is fine now." He cut my words off.

He pointed at me. "You've been fully healed for the last three years."

"But I still feel it, father. My body wasn't like yours or the other Alphas. Mine is weak-"

"You are an Alpha, Mace!" My father's voice boomed, his teeth gritting as he slammed his palm onto the desk.

"An Alpha is never weak."

I flinched. Remaining silent as he continued.

"You're a disgrace to this bloodline, crouching in fear like a damn bitch omega."

The humiliation sank deep into my bones, painful and rotting.l

He was right.

I was an Alpha.

Yet I was fragile, sickly, and utterly helpless.

A dark, intrusive thought whispered in my mind. 'You don't deserve to be an Alpha.'

"Who... who will teach me then?" I forced the words out, swallowing my pride.

"I have already arranged it," Father replied coldly.

"A Beta. He is the son of a legendary warrior from the neighboring province."

"Not only will he train your useless body in self-defense, but he will also tutor you on the politics and history of this kingdom. You will no longer remain ignorant."

I nodded numbly, staring at the floorboards.

I needed this. If I wanted to survive in this palace, I had to become strong.

"And... what about the rebels?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, terrified of the answer.

Father's eyes darkened with a savage light.

"We will drag them to the square and hang their heads on spears. There is no mercy for Omegas who forget their place as livestock."

A sudden fear struck my heart, so physical it made me gasp.

In my mind's eye, a horrific vision appeared.

I imagined him, the rebel leader.

I imagined his white veil torn away.

His cold gray eyes were lifeless.

Staring from atop a blood-stained spear in the castle courtyard.

"Control your pheromones!" My father suddenly barked, snapping me out of my nightmare.

Only then did I realize the air in the room had grown heavy. I was leaking.

But it wasn't a dominant, commanding scent from an alpha. It was sour, decaying, and reeked of absolute, unadulterated fear.

My father looked at me in disgust.

I choked back my scent, bowing tightly before fleeing the room.

The terror in my chest was blinding.

If the palace found my mate, they would kill him.

Which meant I had to get strong. I had to find him first. I can't let him die.

'Maybe I can convince him that we're not enemies?'

***

By midnight, the palace was dead silent.

Unable to sleep, I sneaked out of my room, wrapped in a dark cloak.

I had to see the outer walls. I had to find a way out, to look for him, to somehow make him see that we didn't have to be enemies.

We can just be mates.

But as I slipped down the eastern corridor, a movement in the shadows ahead made me freeze.

Two figures stood near the arched windows.

One was my father.

The other was a stranger. A man standing with his back to me.

Even from afar, his presence was undeniable.

His shoulders were incredibly broad, his posture straight and strong.

I pressed myself against a stone pillar, holding my breath as I listened to their quiet discussion.

My father was giving him strict instructions about my schedule.

Which means... This broad-shouldered stranger was the Beta my father hired to train me.

"I'll give you a year." I heard my father say, "You decide when he rests, you decide what to teach him first."

"I will do my best, your majesty."

After a few tense moments, the tutor offered a deep, respectful bow.

My father turned and walked away. His heavy footsteps faded into the western wing.

Left alone in the dim moonlight, I watched my supposed tutor begin to walk down the opposite hallway.

Curiosity gripped me, overriding my earlier goals.

Quietly and nervously, I began to tail him through the shadows.

When he passed beneath a flickering wall torch, my breath hitched.

I finally got to see his full face.

He was breathtakingly handsome.

Smooth, golden honey skin that caught the light. A sharp, narrowed golden eye.

He was tall, and beneath his light tunic, I could see the distinct, powerful build of muscles.

And he didn't move like a common servant; he moved with such confidence.

I decided that I wanted to follow him more. So I quietly quickened my steps.

But suddenly, in the middle of the empty hallway...

My tutor stopped dead in his tracks.

He didn't turn around. He just stood there, staring into the dark.

I tilted my head curiously.

"How long do you intend to follow me, my prince?" His voice echoed, smooth, calm, and entirely aware.

My eyes widened in panic. My heart leaped into my throat.

Instinct took over; I spun on my heel, tucking my cloak around myself, and tried to sprint back the way I came to escape.

"Running doesn't suit you," he commented.

His voice was closer now.

I paused mid-stride. My cheeks flushing a furious bright red.

Realizing I couldn't outrun him, I quickly whirled around, trying to pretend I was perfectly calm.

I clumsily put my feet together. Clapped my hands tightly in front of my chest and stared up at a random portrait on the wall.

Completely ignoring his gaze.

"Oh! What a... beautiful painting." I exclaimed, staring at a portrait of a plain white bird.

'What does this bird even mean?'

A subtle, amused sigh rippled through the quiet air.

"Your Highness, if you wish to play innocent, you might want to suppress your pheromones first. They are leaking entirely through the corridor.

My hands flew to my neck as my face turned hotter.

I had forgotten. In my panic, my sour, anxious scent had completely filled the hallway like a beacon.

Maybe that's why he noticed me...

But my inner Alpha didn't like it. 'You idiot! Stop filling the air like you're a dumb Omega!'

Defeated, I rubbed the back of my neck. Letting out an awkward, embarrassed grin.

I forced myself to step forward, clearing my throat to properly introduce myself to my new tutor.

"Right. Well... I am Prince Mace, and I just turned 20 last year. It's a pleasure to-"

I blinked.

The words died in my throat.

As the empty hallway stretched out before me. The cold air swaying my hair.

The golden honey-skinned Beta was gone.

There was no sound of footsteps, no creak of stone, no lingering scent.

He had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.

After just calling me out for following him.

I stood alone in the dark. My hand still extended into the empty space.

A chilling thought slowly crept up my spine.

'What kind of normal Beta can move that fast?'

TRIGGER WARNING: CONTAINS MILD SUGGESTED THEMES.

The next morning, I woke up drenched in a cold sweat with my chest heaving against the mattress.

The remnants of the dream still clung to my skin like sticky velvet.

Carefully, I peeked beneath the silk sheets, and my face instantly burned with heat.

My breath hitched in shame.

My clothing was a mess, the fabric twisted tight around my thighs. Damp and clinging.

A clear sign of a restless night spent trapped in my fantasies.

Biting my lower lip, I stared up at the ceiling. My heart thudded against my ribs.

The memories of the night before were a blur of shadows, sharp edges, and a desperate, uninvited heat.

Arching my back slightly, I stretched my legs out across the bed.

The friction of the sheets against my bare skin sent a sudden involuntary shiver straight up my body.

I couldn't help it.

My hand trembled as it slid beneath the cover.

Tracing the line of my hip before slipping lower, seeking a desperate release from the ache the dream had left behind.

I closed my eyes.

A soft, breathless gasp escaped me as my fingers moved. Trying to chase away the touch of my dream.

I was now sweaty and flushed, my skin burning everywhere as my hands traveled, sliding up and down.

I was caught between the lingering weakness that years of illness had left behind and this sudden, overwhelming surge of raw need.

Even now, I was already cured of the sickness that kept me in my tower. I still felt fragile, as if a strong wind might shatter me.

Yet there were these new feelings...

The way my body burned with a fierce need of its own.

My thoughts drifted entirely back to the encounter that had haunted me since last evening.

It was a memory I couldn't shake.

The sensation of being pinned against a cold stone wall.

The glint of a silver dagger pressed against my throat.

And the gray, piercing gaze of the Omega who had attacked the palace.

He was dangerous. A killer who had the power to end my life.

Yet he had chosen to spare me.

As a royal prince, I was used to a world of order and quiet rooms.

My youth had been spent under the watchful eyes of doctors, separated from the sweat of training and the realities of the kingdom.

So seeing someone so strong and capable... Especially an Omega who could challenge the palace guards and paint the hallway red...

It ignited a spark of intense curiosity inside me, something dark and shameful that I didn't know I was capable of feeling.

'He was a wicked Omega...' My inner Alpha whispered inside my mind.

I choked for breath.

Remembering the way he had looked at me with a desire to see my family fall.

The memory of that intensity made my heart race, a mix of fear and a strange, desperate longing to see him again.

My pace quickened beneath the sheets. My breath hitched in my throat until a sharp, sudden wave of heat crashed over me.

Leaving me trembling and spent amidst my messy bed.

"Ah-nghh!" I bit my lower lip to muffle the sound.

Panting and sweaty. I shut my eyes in disbelief.

'You fucking disgrace, touching yourself with the image of that wicked Omega who wants to kill us.' My inner Alpha didn't seem to like our mate much.

'But he was our mate, and he did not actually kill us...' I protested, defending our mate.

Suddenly, a sharp, rhythmic knock on the door shattered the silence.

I bolted upright.

"My prince?" A Beta maid called from the corridor. "His Majesty requested your presence in the study immediately."

I scrambled out of bed, my knees nearly buckling. I immediately dressed in my green formal royal garments. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely secure the clasps. I tried to smooth my hair.

My nerves were on edge as I walked down the long, echoing hallway.

The pheromones of my own sudden exertion clung to me like a second skin.

When I reached the grand doors, I hesitated. I carefully peeked through the small gap.

And froze.

My tutor was already looking straight at me.

I flinched. A shockwave of heat burned through my body.

Before quickly straightening my posture. Trying to maintain a princely composure as I stepped inside.

I bowed deeply to the king. "Good morning, Father."

I secretly peeked through my hair at my tutor.

He stood perfectly still beside the desk.

He was broad-shouldered, and he possessed an aura of disciplined calm.

His sharp eyes showed absolute coldness and seriousness. Tracking my every movement

His nostrils flared slightly the moment I drew near.

My father looked up briefly from his scrolls. "Mace, this is Kei. He is a master of the martial arts and strategy. From this moment on, he is responsible for your physical training and your education. You will follow his instructions as if they were my own."

"Yes, Father," I whispered

Feeling the burning weight of my now officially tutor's gaze.

"Dismissed," the King commanded.

Kei offered a brief, respectful nod before turning to leave.

I followed him. Feeling small and inexperienced as I trailed behind his tall, imposing frame.

We walked in silence through the winding corridors. Until we reached a familiar door.

'Oh. Did we have such similar styles of... Wait. Why are we standing on my own door?'

I looked up, confused. I opened my mouth to ask about our schedule.

But Kei spoke first.

"Clean yourself." His voice was cold and cuttingly loud in the quiet hallway. "Take a proper bath, Your Highness."

A sudden, sickening wave of self-consciousness hit me.

I instinctively checked my collar, wondering if my disheveled state from the morning was that obvious.

'Or, you just stink.' I blushed at my inner Alpha's sharp words.

"Is... is something wrong?" I asked my tutor shyly, my voice trembling.

Kei leaned in slightly. His expression hardened into a look of icy, absolute disapproval.

"Your scent is undisciplined, my prince."

I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

"Thick with the traces of your morning's... distractions."

"It is unprofessional. And frankly, it tells me exactly how you have been spending your time in your bed."

I stared at him, bewildered. He calmly stared right back at me.

My throat went dry. The realization hit me like a physical blow. Draining the warmth from my face. Before flooding it with a furious burning heat.

Of course. As a trained warrior, Kei's senses were far sharper than mine. Despite being a Beta, he was able to pick up on the most subtle shifts in the air.

And right now, he didn't just smell the lingering pheromones of an Alpha.

He recognized the specific scents of someone who had just lost themselves in their private fantasies.

And I happened to have such a lack of control over my own pheromones.

Which meant... he knew.

He knew exactly what I had been doing just minutes before.

"I-I can explain-" I stammered. My face flushed a more mortified red than ever before in my life.

Kei didn't wait for an explanation.

Instead, with effortless strength, he placed a flat hand against my chest and pushed me backward into my room.

I stumbled backward. My boots scuffed the floor. The heavy door slammed shut right in my face.

A second later, I heard the distinct, loud click of the lock turning from the outside.

I stared at the dark wood. My chest panting in disbelief.

'This is one of the worst days of my life.'

'To have my new tutor calling me out for touching myself!'

I groaned as I rested my forehead on the door.

Now my tutor didn't just think I was a weak, sickly prince.

'He must think I'm a pervert now?'

'An alpha who couldn't even control his own instincts.'

I buried my face in my palms, turning even hotter with shame.

Out of all ways...

Why did he choose to begin his lessons in the most humiliating way?

'Tsk. Idiot.' My inner Alpha smirked at me.