The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 53

She sat and just watched the boys play with the other children for a long time, didn’t concern herself with the Alpha and Beta, or his Unit for that matter. She just sat there at the table and chatted with her mother, and watched the boys. It wasn’t just her watching them interact with the other children here in the room. Both Kali and Alari were interested in watching their boys, and the way the pack children were with them.

They were playing just like Allen had stated, freely with anyone that was around them. She got to watch them laugh and see the other children here in the pack shiver and then giggle at the sensation it caused in their own bodies. Shake it off even, she saw a few of the older ones really look at the boys, their curiosity pricked, it seemed, by the sound of their laugh. Some of the younger ones here were being watched by their teenage siblings. A few here had their wolves and would understand that the boys already had a beast within.

Realised that neither her Alpha and Beta had announced their boys to the pack. “You haven’t told the pack about them?” she stated.

“Not officially yet.” Rafe answered her. “We are waiting on that.”

“For?” she was curious herself,

“The reaction of our Mates?” he shook his head. “they don’t know yet, not being here. If it doesn’t go so well…” he trailed off.

It didn’t sound as though he thought it was going to go down so well. She looked from him to Jack and could see the concern in both of them over this. It was not likely a good idea for her or the boys, to be anywhere near the packhouse then. She didn’t want to be as close to it as she was now. She would have to see them with their Mates. But the concern coming from them over this, gave her even more reason to not want to be in that cottage, in line of sight of the packhouse. She also knew exactly where the Alpha and Beta Suites were in the packhouse. Both of them could step out onto their balcony and see her cottage, which meant that so could their Mates.

Didn’t really need time to think about it anymore, just voiced what she was thinking. “I’d like to look at a different house, something away from the packhouse.”

Watched as Rafe frowned at her now and knew why, he would want his son and Heir inside the packhouse. Where he was safe and could be protected in the event of an attack. Not anywhere away from him and the packhouse, as she had just stated. She, however, did not want to be anywhere near it. She also understood that she no longer belonged inside of it as well. Was nothing to them anymore, just the one that had birthed them children.

Luci certainly didn’t want to be insight of it, nor earshot of it either. If they left a window open, up in their suites during the night, she did not want to hear them with their Mates at all. She had a feeling both their Mates would do that as well, to try and show her who they belonged to. That there was no place for her, she was nothing to Rafe and Jack. Not that she needed to be told that, she already understood it. But she also understood a Mate’s possesivness.

“Luci!”

“Somewhere on the lake would be good, with all of us.”

“Luci, anything on the lake is too far for us to get to you, an hour at full wolfen run. We’d not get there, to you or the boys, in time if someone came for you.” Rafe shook his head.

“We can defend ourselves.” She stated simply.

“That is a given…but Victor still knew how to take you down, take Alari down, it is not something I am comfortable with.” Rafe was telling her with a deep frown.

She turned her eyes away from him, watched the boys for a long time as she thought about that, then stated simply, “I need somewhere for Alari. That lake is her home.”

“Here is her home.” Rafe told her.

“No it’s not. She was not born here into this pack. Was born out there in the middle of the lake. That is her home.” she stated flatly, a little annoyed with him, “You also can’t stop her from going there.” she half smiled to herself, knew he could not.

“But.”

Luci felt Alari push forward and stare right at him “Do you want to try? I don’t think you’d win.” She was not only asserting herself but challenging him, Alpha to Alpha, Luci thought, there wasn’t much she could do about it. Didn’t really want to either, Alari needed her lake, and they needed to learn Alari was not to be messed with.

“Let’s all just calm down, take a moment.” It was Jack and she heard him sigh “Alari, would you be willing to compromise? Just for now? What about a place along one of the creeks that lead to the lake?”

Alari turned and looked right at him. “I will be in the lake at my own choosing.” she informed him in much the same manner she had just spoken to Rafe.

Saw him just nodding “I’m not saying no to that. We’d just like you, Kali and Luci, as well as the boys closer to us, here inside the pack or the packhouse.”

“Luci and Kali don’t want that.” Alari stated flatly, telling him with full certainty what she already knew of her and Kali’s feelings about being this close to them. She then stood up still in full control as she looked right at him. Was about to make her point very clear to both of them. “Boys.” Alari called to them and both of them came right to her, “Let’s go.”

Alari understood her and Kali very well, but both she and Kali sighed now. Neither of them could really control Alari and she was, it appeared, ready to leave. Had enough of talking to them. Held her hands out to the boys as she looked right from Jack to Rafe, she was actually letting the two of them know that the twins would do whatever she wanted.

She was their mother and more bonded to them than they were, regardless of the fact they were getting along, they had no say in anything to do with the children, that it was her who was in complete control. Was an Alpha and was not going to be pushed around by anyone, not even the two of them.

They left the packhouse with Alari in full control and she walked them all back to the cottage that was theirs for the moment, didn’t even attempt to relinquish control until she was inside that cottage and the door was closed behind her.

Luci nor Kali didn’t really want their Alpha and Beta to know how they truly felt, it could cause them to question her. Make them curious as to why not. Though she guessed she could put it down to just being the twins and their Mates, surely they’d believe that? They had no reason not to at this point.

“Luci, perhaps we should let Alari wander around the pack, she might replace something that she likes, for now.” Her mother spoke to her.

“It is likely a good idea.” Luci nodded, though she could already feel Alari’s opinion, she wanted a house right on the lake. “Might not help though, she likes the lake.”

“I understand.” Her mother nodded “But she also has to take into account, you and Kali. You can’t all just live in the lake because she wants that. I understand Sirens’ love their bodies of water, but you’re not just a Siren, you are also a wolf.”

Luci thought about that. They could very well end up living in the lake all the time if that was what Alari wanted. She and Kali would have no say in it. Though Alari had never minded leaving Luci in control and only shifting at nighttime, neither did Kali, for that matter. She was generally in control of her own body most of the time. “Alari will do what she thinks is best for all of us.” Luci told her mother “It is what she does.”

“What do you mean by that, Luci? Explain it to me please.”

“She is our protector, all of the time.”

Watched as her mother frowned now “Explain that further.”

“It is just that. No matter what, Alari is the one to protect us, defend us, is the strongest of the three of us.”

“She has complete control, you mean, over you and Kali.”

“Yes, when she wants it. Though mostly they are inside my mind, and I am in control. Alari will assert herself and take control of the situation if she feels it’s necessary. That Kali and I need that, I suppose.”

“Is that just what happened, you and Kali weren’t coping?”

“No. That was just Alari trying to put them in their place, the polite way.”

Saw her mother nod now, smiled slightly even, “I do have a question, Luci. That I’m curious about?”

“Ask.” Luci nodded.

“You were pregnant when you left, yes? How far along?”

“A few weeks, why?” Luci nodded.

“Alari shifted to her Siren but it didn’t hurt the pups.”

“It did not. She protected them during the shift.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.” Luci shrugged, “we were able to shift the entire time we were pregnant, to both Alari and Kali.”

She saw her mother really staring at her now, “That is not normal.”

Luci shrugged, “Alari and Kali both knew the pups would be alright, it didn’t seem to concern them, I trusted them both on it.”

Watched as her own mother prowled about the cottage for a long time, she was thinking and trying to sort through her knowledge, Luci supposed, thought on it long and hard, looked at her many times, tilted her head a few times, then went back to pacing around until she stopped right in front of her and stared at her.

“Did anything unusual happen when you shifted while you were pregnant?”

“Um, I don’t think so.” Luci shook her head no.

“What about the first time shifting to Alari? Tell me about that.”

“Nothing to tell really. I went to the lake and was called by her siren song. Dived down into the water, couldn’t breathe, tried to and sucked water in, then it was just a whirling and tumbling sensation, before everything kind of blinded me, so very bright and then there was Alari.”

Saw her mother frowning now “Blinded you? very bright?”

“Mm.” Luci nodded “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head, “I might need a minute to think on that is all.”

“Alright.” Luci shrugged it off.

Though now that she was focused on that particular thought herself, when she thought about it, every time they shifted while she’d been pregnant there had been a glow about them. “Mother, if it helps, every time while pregnant and shifting, we glowed, I guess you could say.”

Her mother was really staring at her now.