The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 135

Jack POV

He wanted to tell her everything, could see she didn’t really understand what had been said. He’d watched her look at the clock and realised Luci actually needed to be elsewhere, or on the move to walk from here to the packs school, which took a good 25 minutes from here.

She needed to leave and, shortly, to go and pick up the boys from their first day of school. “Can we sit down properly when Addison comes home? We would like to explain everything to you.” he told her, “All of it, once we know the whole truth.”

“But, we’d like to wait till we have all the answers, so we can answer all of your questions.” Rafe told her, “We don’t want to only be able to give you half answers.”

“Why do you need to discuss it with me at all?” She asked. “It’s your life, I have no say in what you do.”

Jack sighed, “Luci, you were affected by this as much as Rafe and I were. So were Kali, the boys, Solar and Flare. All of us deserve to know what actually happened.”

“The how and the reason why?” Rafe commented. “We want that, not just for us, but for you as well.”

He watched her eyes move to the clock again, had other pressing matters than them, it seemed, or them trying to explain to her why they wanted to talk about it. Did she not want that, he wondered. Did she not think it concerned her at all?

“May Rafe and I come with you? to pick up the boys, Luci.” He offered, changing the subject. He could see she really wasn’t interested in talking about what had happened.

But at least she was here and talking to them, calmly. That it was Luci herself, there was no Kali and no Alari on the surface here in this office. Just Luci dealing with them herself, like the other morning, though he’d realised she shut them out that morning, she was not doing that right this minute. She was sitting there openly talking with them and he was glad to see it. She was being more like her old self, he thought.

Having her like this was also helping him to stay calm and in control, allowing him and Flare to be in the same room with her and not lose it and try to claim the woman for themselves.

He couldn’t sense any anger or pain in her, she just mostly looked a bit on the confused side, and her statements led him to believe she either didn’t think she had a right to an answer or just didn’t care to have one at all. Jack wasn’t exactly sure which it was at this point, knew she could look impassive when she wanted to. He’d seen it a lot with Orien when she’d been 18, hid her emotions well when wanting to that was.

He watched Luci look right at him and then moved her eyes back to Rafe, saw her just sigh and then nod, stood up, “It’s fine…you can understand my anger though, yes?”

“Yes.” Both he and Rafe stated together “We are sorry Luci.”

She turned and walked away out of the office and they both followed her, fell into step with her as they crossed through the packhouse foyer, heading for the front doors which both stood open at this hour of the day.

He watched her look right at him, he was on her right, smiled at her, how could he not, when he was itching to not only walk with her but touch her as well. Hadn’t yet been able to, not even so much as hug the woman or touch her face, or her hair even. Not even hold her hand, put a hand on the small of her back, all things he’d once been able to do with her.

Luci turned and looked at Rafe, who’d stepped to her left but was also now walking directly next to her. It was how they’d always walked with her, never in front of her as her Alpha and Beta, but always on either side of her as her equal. They’d loved having her between them, even just walking around, or sitting around for a meal.

It was them and their way of showing her they respected her, she’d never had to knock to enter their office and had the codes for both his and Rafe’s Suites, so she could come and go as she pleased at all times, choose where she wanted to sleep.

They’d treated her like the woman that was going to be their Luna, he realised, had always done so. “This is weird.” Luci murmured after returning her attention to where she was walking.

Jack just chuckled softly, “Like old times.” He couldn’t help but say.

Watched her shake her head, but say nothing and he could see several of their pack members watching them all walking together. Smiled at them even, they smiled at him as well. Knew it was what they would have seen with the three of them the last time she’d lived there.

‘Jack don’t do it.’ Rafe’s voice came down the mind-link to him and his hand was suddenly on Jack’s wrist. He’d not even realised he’d been about to put a hand to the small of her back as they walked.

Looked at it and sighed internally, such a natural thing for him to do, he’d not even known he’d been about to put a hand to the small of her back as they were walking, had been thinking about the things he missed and that was all.

Looked at his own hand, it had just been a purely natural instinct, he’d not even known he’d done it. Pulled his hand back and put both of them in his pants pockets, ‘Sorry.’ Was his only reply to Rafe.

He even understood why he’d done it. The pack members were actively looking at the three of them all walking together, like they’d once used to and he’d been trying to display his claim on her, show them who she belonged to. It was typical Mate behaviour.

Walked with her right out the front doors and down the packhouse front steps heading for the school. When he heard a female voice yell out, “Is that your w***e, Rafe?” he knew it was Melissa. That she-wolf just didn’t know when to quit, couldn’t accept that they had lost.

He stopped walking, because Luci had stopped walking, turned and looked at her. He knew she hated that word. Orien had used it before, it likely caused her painful memories of her own past history with Orien, when she still believed that he’d been her father.

Jack watched as Luci’s eyes moved to those two on the shaming post, “Ignore it Luci, it is not what you are. Never were.” Rafe told her softly, almost gently.

He saw her eyes move right to his neck for a moment and then she just walked off over there to the shaming post herself. He had no idea what she was going to do at all. This was new to him.

Saw her stop right in front of Melissa and look down at her. “Do you not understand the rules of being on a shaming post?”

Jack nearly burst out laughing, also felt pride roll off of Rafe as they stood there and watched Luci, remain calm in the face of the two women who had ruined all their lives.

“f**k you.” Melissa snarled.

Luci’s hand struck her before Melissa could get another word out, a full slap to her face. He heard Melissa cry out in pain, before she turned her angry eyes on Luci.

“The rules are simple enough, 1. You don’t talk to anybody in the pack while on the shaming post.”

“I’m the Luna…”

She was struck again by Luci. “You should really practice rule 1. I’ll be happy to stand here all day and punish you for every word you utter to anybody.” Luci stood staring right at her, daring her to speak again. When she didn’t and seemed to understand, Luci would actually do what she’d stated, she continued. “Rule 2. You don’t look at anybody within this pack, you’re being shamed keep your eyes on the ground where they belong. Are lower than the lowest of omegas when on a shaming post. Though by the stench that comes off you. I’ll rephrase that, I don’t mean to offend the omegas here. You are just a disgusting rogue with no status at all within this pack. Eye contact is also worth extra punishment.”

Melissa was still glaring up at her, she’d taken many hits over the past 24 hours, had a bruised and swollen face, and clear bruising to her rib cage from the hit Addison had landed.

She had now been struck by the previous Luna, his own mother. The future Luna’s mother, also a Luna, ranked Wolf and now Luci herself . The future Luna to this pack, not to mention himself.

It kind of amused him a little, and he was glad he’d not just ripped her head off. Was being punished a little every day by all Luna-ranked wolves, which were of equal rank to that of Alpha’s. So each hit was in fact like being hit by an Alpha himself.

“Drop your eyes or I’ll slap you once more, though, where I grew up.” Luci commented, and then he watched her kneel down and stare right into Melissa’s eyes, “You’d get a full lashing with the cat of three tails. One lash for every word you spoke.” Saw her turn and look right at Rafe, “Do you have a cat to lash your pack members with Rafe?”

She addressed Rafe for the first time since coming back by his name and not his title, showing full familiarity.

“Yes Luci. Would you like me to have it brought to you.” Rafe asked her, and Jack could hear the smile in Rafe’s voice, and also felt happiness roll off of the man at the way she’d used his name.

Jack nearly laughed as he saw Melissa’s eyes widen and she opened her mouth to say something, “Really! You’d break rule number 1. So quickly.” Luci stated, “Yes, please do, Rafe, bring it.” He watched her stand up and looked down at Melissa. “I’ve not had the pleasure of using my Alpha strength in years. Mother always enjoyed a good lashing and taught me well on how to handle a cat of three tails. How to make it rip through the skin and scrape across bones.”

He watched her roll her shoulders, put her hands together and c***k her knuckles as she stared down at that she-wolf. He just wanted to hug her so badly right this minute. Because before him was Luci.

The woman they had fallen in love with, there was no fear in her of repercussions, she was all alpha female with an attitude of ‘I don’t give a f**k.’ Something she’d mastered due to the way Orien had treated her growing up.

Flare was suddenly up inside his mind all attention as they both watched her, ‘Mate.’ He suddenly growled, in a soft deep rumble inside Jack’s mind.

‘Yes.’ Jack told him, ‘Soon.’

‘No, is our Mate.’ Flare stated, and Jacks head tilted to the side slightly as he looked at her. He really thought about those words and he realised it was true. Recalled it was true, was flooded with the memory of mating themselves to her, in a weak moment during that one time she’d gone into heat, he and Flare had Mated themselves to her, they had barely been able to contain themselves in order not to Mark her at the time, had barely held that back.

He found Rafe’s hand on him ‘Breathe Jack’, he murmured down the mind-link ‘I know…I understand, it’s why you react to her, as you did this morning, we’re going to fix it.’

His eyes moved to Rafe. ‘Breathe, you can do this. Pull yourself together or she’ll see it. Know something is off with you.’