The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 125

Luci POV

She didn’t sleep much that night, tossed and turned, her annoyance was more than normal, and she had gotten up early and made the boys breakfast, got them ready for their first day of school. They were excited to be going to the new school. Liked being with other children.

She’d left the house a good 15 minutes before anyone could get here to her place, had decided she didn’t want to walk the boys to school with everyone else. This was something she’d always done on her own. Why should she just give them what they wanted at every turn?

The twins could feel her annoyance rolling off of her. She’d told them she’d simply not slept well, which she hadn’t, and told them she was just tired and cranky, which was actually true, just to ignore it. They seemed to just do so. Alari told her they could choose not to feel what she did, and were learning to do this.

Luci, right at this minute, was of the opinion they needed to do it all the time. She didn’t want them feeling every time she felt agitated, sad or angry about something, and she was glad they were actively switched off to her right this minute, it might lead them to being cranky and ticked off themselves.

She’d told the boys it was just going to be herself walking them to school, they’d stared up at her for a long moment, they knew everyone was supposed to be coming to walk them to school that morning. She told them she wasn’t in the mood for company and they had just nodded slowly. It was also something they were used to just her and them going to and from school.

She knew where the school was, was strolling along through the woods on a path heading for the centre of the pack, they were barefoot and she was carrying their shoes, they were squishing their bare toes in mud puddles and enjoying the muddy track. She’d wash their feet and put their shoes on at the school.

The boys didn’t mind, they liked being barefoot in the forest, it seemed. They were, as always chatting to each other happily, as she walked along behind them, was not thinking about anything, trying to keep her mind clear.

Felt a mind-link connect to her from Jack and nearly snarled all aggression at the man, knew he would feel her annoyance and anger, but for the first time since being here, didn’t bloody care what he felt come from her, told that man, ‘I changed my mind.’ Thought almost bitterly, just like you and your Alpha, but didn’t say that, snapped instead, ‘just like others do.’ And severed that connection to him herself. She didn’t even need Alari to do it for her, she was not the only one annoyed right this minute. Even Kali was frustrated at the lack of punishment those men’s mates had received over the attack that would have been if they’d been in that cottage; not only on herself and her mother, but the boys, their own sons. It seemed their mates were more important to them, that those two she-wolves couldn’t even spend one night out in the rain.

She didn’t want to be around them at all, didn’t care to hear either of them inside her mind, wasn’t bloody going to either, she could not only cut them off but also deny them in establishing a link to her. Alari could hold them all at bay, and currently Luci was telling her to do so, because both she and Kali were ticked off.

She walked the boys through the pack town, to the school, walked them through the gate. It was a lovely white picket gate, just like the fence that ran the entire edge of the school zone. Felt eyes on her and ignored it, knew who it was, the Alpha and Beta. Simply ushered the boys over to the bathroom and had them wash and dry their feet, put their shoes and socks on and headed for the schools office.

They were shown around and then walked to the boys’ classroom, nearly snarled at the smell of her Alpha and Beta. As they walked over, could hear their footsteps coming this way. Looked to her boys as their eyes moved passed her to their fathers.

“Boys.” She stated firmly, cutting off their happy smiles. Both of them looked right at her before they could greet those two men, saw their eyes meet hers, almost worriedly, “I’ll be picking you up when school is finished.”

“Yes, mamma.” They both stated.

“Go.” She waved them off, knew they wanted to say hello to their fathers, something right this very minute she did not want to do herself. She turned and walked away without so much as looking at either of them, even as she heard the boys greeting them, happy to see them.

“Luci?” it was Rafe. She ignored him.

Walked away altogether, he might not like what he got if she stopped to talk to him. If either one of them tried to stop her at all, she might just punch them both into next week. If she’d learned anything from her mother, it was that one could and had the right to punish anyone, regardless of rank, over treatment and disrespectful behaviour to one’s own children.

Which is what they’d shown, by not punishing those two women as they had stated they would, over the threat to their own children. It was completely disrespectful, and showed her how little they cared. If this was how it was going to be, then perhaps she would just out her shame and reject them.

Then she was free and clear of them, would take her boys away, bloody far away. She’d always thought the Alpha and Beta were fair and just, but it seemed their Mates were all that mattered to them. One could punish a Mate. She knew that, had seen her own mother punish Orien in many different ways during her childhood, more than once for his treatment of her, she wasn’t even the mans true flesh and b***d, but her mother wouldn’t stand for him hurting her feelings, if tears fell from Luci, that man was punished by her mother.

She pulled her phone out and tried to call her mother once more. It had been 24 hours now since she’d left. She sighed when she just got the message bank, there mustn’t be any service out there at all. She didn’t like it, but couldn’t do anything about it at all.

She was headed for the packhouse herself this morning, didn’t much care right this minute for anyone or anything at all, had shut off her emotions, like she’d once used to do back in Nightfall, when dealing with Orien and his treatment of her. Likely had a bland I don’t care expression, the mask she’d learned to use when unhappy and didn’t want others to know about it.

Or had a hard f**k off expression on her face, she saw a few pack members just step aside as they saw her coming, and thought absently, ‘Must be my f**k off expression.’ Stalked more than walked up the main pack road to the packhouse, saw it come into view.

Frowned at the two shaming posts, there were two rogue females from what she could smell on them, they looked to be freezing cold, were butt a*s naked at that, didn’t think that was normal. Female rogues were not a normal thing inside this pack, let alone to be chained up like that.

Rogue females from her knowledge were invited to stay here, given the opportunity for a better, safer and more secure life within this pack. It was an odd thing to see, that was for sure.

Saw one of them look right at her and stopped walking at the realisation that it was Rafe’s own Mate. Frowned right at that she-wolf, turned her attention to the other shaming post and she was not wrong, the other she-wolf out there was Jack’s Mate.

Didn’t actually understand what was going on, got yelled at by Rafes’ mate, “What the f**k are you looking at!” Saw that woman lift her chin as though she was still in charge around here. But was of rogue status, so couldn’t hold that title right this minute.

“Nothing.” Luci stated as she realised there was no filagree on the woman anymore. She shook it off, didn’t understand anything that was going on right this very minute, it seemed. No wonder she’d not been able to feel those two out here, both of them had rogue status, which could only mean, they’d been banished and rejected by her Alpha and Beta.

Didn’t understand that at all. Rafe had not mentioned it when telling her they were on the shaming posts. She’d not attached herself to the packs Luna, when they’d come back to the pack, actively ignored it, in fact. Hadn’t felt them sever from the pack either, though she should have, she supposed, in some way. Normally, all pack members would feel the Alpha or Luna get severed from the pack.

Walked away from them and through the ground floor of the packhouse, heading for the indoor pool, was intending on letting Alari feel it, perhaps swim in it if it was to her liking, of course. The anger she had been feeling all morning she now knew was displaced and she felt very confused herself about what had happened. Was also still mad at them, as well as now confused.

Walked into the indoor pool and over to it, several people were in here already this morning. There was a group swimming laps taking up four of the lap lanes. The life guard on duty, she knew, was watching over a group of mums and dads with toddlers learning to swim. It was busy in here at this hour. Those swimming laps were training and building their endurance, she knew.

Walked over to the stairs and slipped her shoes off, stepped in and let Alari feel the water. Salt water pools didn’t dry her skin out anywhere near as much as the chlorine ones did. She had swam in this pool more than a few times while living here. Though she was a much stronger swimmer now than she had been growing up.

Allowed Alari to push forward and test it herself, was actually stepped right down into the pool fully clothed, dropped down under the water and swam out and away from the stairs, felt a burning sensation in their lungs and she was shot up to the surface. An irritated snarl erupted from her beast, ‘no’ was the answer, the saltwater pool was not to her liking at all.

Alari relinquished control back to Luci and she sighed. Her throat and lungs felt itchy and hot, could feel Kali healing her already. Looked down at the state of her now soaking wet clothes, and realised the room was relatively quiet, looked around to see several pack members staring at her a little wide-eyed, and realised it was the snarl Alari had let out, likely shocked them, “Sorry.” She commented and walked over and got out of the water. She didn’t actually know how many here in the pack knew she was a double shifter.

Stood just past the stairs into the pool ringing her hair out, when she watched Rafe walk into the room, nearly sighed out loud, she’d not only taken the boys to school by herself, she had not allowed either of Rafe or Jack’s parents to walk to school with the boys either. Something she did know that they had all wanted to do. Had been ticked off with Rafe and Jack and taken it out on all of them, now for no reason at all, it seemed.

She watched him walk across the room towards her, likely wanting answers about her behaviour, saw him pick up a towel from the stack by the door after seeing her state, he wasn’t striding like he was pissed off, casually strolled over to her, handed her that towel. She took it, and dried her long hair with it.

“Luci, is everything alright?” he asked.

“Alari does not like the pool.” she stated, “Salt water does not suit her.”

Saw him blink as she stepped around him, “I could likely change that for her needs. I just need to know what her needs are.”

“Fresh water,” She stated simply.

“I’ll look into it.” He fell into step with her. “About this morning?”

She frowned but said nothing.

“Luci, I don’t understand what happened.” He prompted a moment later she didn’t offer anything up.

“I was mad.” She said and walked out the door.

“Oh, I understand that much. But I don’t understand why. Were you mad at everyone or just myself and Jack? If so, may I ask why?”

Luci turned and looked right at him, saw Jack was prowling in the corridor not that far away. Moved her eyes to Rafe’s neck, there was no filigree there above his collar, turned and looked at Jack. He’d stopped prowling now, was just standing down there watching her, stayed down there though. But she and Kali could see his neck was also bare of filigree, they were no longer Marked and Mated to those two outside, it seemed.

“You lied to me.” She shot at him and turned and walked away from him towards the mudroom. She needed clean dry clothes to put on, and knew she could replace them in there. There were shelves upon shelves of clothes neatly folded in that room for all to use after shifts.

“Luci, I’ve not lied to you.” he stated.

“Didn’t tell me the whole truth though, did you.” Stopped at the door and looked right at him “Left me feeling you’d not punished those two for trying to hurt my sons, I couldn’t sense them out there on the shaming posts, where you said they were.” She stated flatly and pushed into the mudroom, and banged the door shut behind her to replace dry clothes.