The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 86

Luci POV

She stood staring at Rafe and Jack. They were at her door. Jack had smiled right at her, a gentle smile that touched his eyes, and she’d had to steel herself against that look. It was almost the way he had used to look at her, those last few weeks, before everything had gone to s**t.

His smile had changed just a little after she’d gone into heat, became softer and gentler. Not so much as always hungry and desire filled, she could have sworn it was one of love. How wrong she had been. Pushed it aside, had to. She knew this was what she was going to have to deal with while here.

Rafe, on the other hand, was looking over her. It almost appeared as if he’d not seen her before now, was looking at her for the first time since coming back. Which was completely stupid. He’d laid eyes on her every single day since she’d been back.

It didn’t make any sense to her, but she could tell he was taking in her entire appearance, even her height seemed to register shock before he covered it quickly, her hair and her build now. It was weird.

She went from looking at him to frowning at him, and then saw his eye glaze over, looked at Jack and saw his were as well. It only lasted a moment, and then they were both just standing there smiling at her like normal.

“What?” she stated, hadn’t expected them here at this hour of the day. The sun was barely up. Didn’t they bother to train anymore? Is that why they were smaller, weaker?

“It’s nothing.” Jack told her reassuringly. “Are the boys here?”

She stared at him like he had gone dumb overnight, where the hell else would they be, but the two of them just still stood there. “Where else do you think they would be?” She shook her head annoyed. Like she, Kali and Alari would allow the boys to roam freely with their mates now inside the pack.

“May we see them? I know its early…” Jack asked.

“Boys.” She called out, cutting him off. Then she just turned and walked away from them, back inside the house. She really should have known this was about the boys and not actually herself. Why would they come here to see her when they had Mates? Were going to be coming by to see the boys all the time, not for anything else. Felt pain touch her chest as she walked away. Knew this was something she was going to have to deal with and wondered if that pain would ever just not be there.

She watched both her boys look right at her a little worriedly “You have visitors.” She told them, and waved them to the front door. Continued on to the kitchen.

“Mamma?”

“It’s fine.” She told them, it was something they’d have to get used to, she supposed, “Go say hello.” She told them and went to make herself coffee. Found her own mother looking right at her. “What?”

Saw her mother just shake her head, but say nothing at all. She knew what was wrong, didn’t need to be told. Luci could hear the boys talking to their fathers, but at least from here she didn’t have to see it, they were round the corner and down the hall slightly.

The sun was barely above the horizon, and she’d seen that they had driven a car down here, not walked or come in wolfen form. Jack was still dressed the same as yesterday. Odd. Rafe was not and when she thought about it she didn’t smell their Mates on them either. Should have done at this hour. That was considerate of them, she thought, must have showered before coming here.

Luci nearly sighed out loud a few minutes later when both her Alpha and Beta walked into her house. They were carrying the boys. Looked right at her and she wondered if now was the time to try and lay down some actual ground rules with them. If she was going to live here, and this was her house now.

Perhaps she should come to some sort of agreement. That those two stay outside when visiting, unless they were actually invited inside by herself, they shouldn’t just come in, like they had just done so.

That would limit her having to see them or deal with them. The boys could go and answer the door or her mother. She could also arrange times for them to come by and see the boys. That way she knew not to answer the door. Would also limit smelling the two of them inside her house after they left.

She did know and understand that they were going to want to spend time with the boys and be with them, knew the boys would as well. It would only be natural for them all to want to spend time together. She was going to have to replace some sort of schedule that suited her, and them, she supposed.

Watched her mother smile at both of them and greeted them warmly “Morning, Rafe, Jack. Would you like coffee?” she asked of them.

Luci wanted to kick her mother, but couldn’t, both her Alpha and Beta would see it, seeing as her mother was sitting right there at the island bench with her.

“I’d like that, haven’t had my morning coffee yet.” Alpha Rafe stated casually as he put little Rafe down, and then little Jack was down as well.

“Boys, why don’t you go and play, we need to talk to your mamma.” Jack told them and both boys looked up at her.

“Go.” She waved them off and watched them go down the hall to the lounge area. They were off to watch that giant wall TV they loved having so much. Really was going to have to get some toys, books and board games here for them to play with, or they were going to get square eyes from staring up at that thing all day long. Would have told them to go outside and play, but with the Luna here didn’t.

“Mother, we need to go shopping.” She nearly sighed.

Saw as her mother turned and looked at the boys, then just chuckled and nodded “Probably wise. We can do that later today.” she said as she got up to make coffee for both Rafe and Jack. She didn’t even have to ask how they took it.

Still remembered how, from all their visits to Nightfall, it was one of the things a Luna of a pack knew, what their guests liked to drink, both hot and cold, what they liked to eat and their snack preferences, so that it could all be prepared in advance and laid out within their suite when visiting. It was a mark of respect, and showed visiting packs that their allies not only knew them, but were happy to accommodate them.

“Luci.” Jack sank down on the stool next to her, “Rafe and I need to talk to you.”

“About?” she asked, absently staring at her coffee.

“Our Mates.”

She didn’t say anything at all, didn’t look at either of them, didn’t really care about knowing anything about those two women either. There was a long silence, she wasn’t about to start that conversation.

It was Rafe who broke the silence, he sank down on the stool on the other side of her. Why they had to be so close to her she didn’t know. “That fire last night.” He sighed heavily now “There’s no way to…” he trailed off.

“It was the cottage you and the boys lived in.” Jack finished for him with a sigh of his own.

“What?” her mother snapped, her happy demeanour gone and annoyance rolled off of her. Luci looked at her, she looked more than annoyed, angry even.

“So, it begins.” Luci muttered to herself. She knew those two Mates of theirs would not be happy about her being here inside the pack, guess it didn’t take them long to replace out who she was. Clearly had been told by them, they couldn’t very well keep it a secret from them forever. It would have been nice, but reality would not allow it.

“Luci?” it was Jack.

“What?” she stated without looking at him, as she sipped her coffee, just stared across the room.

She heard her mother sigh “Honey, it will be alright.”

“I’m not worried about my safety, Mother.” She answered honestly. “Alari is of the opinion, she’ll just kill them if they come here and try to hurt us or the boys. I’ll have no control over it.” She shrugged indifferently, and wouldn’t stop her either, not even try to.

Alari would not stand for it and, to be honest, neither would she or Kali, for that matter. There was nothing in this world, they loved more than their boys, they would die for them, they all knew it.

Defending them against two she-wolves, would be of little effort. Likely wouldn’t take more than one short sharp sonic whistle coming from Alari, and those two she-wolves would be dead in a matter of minutes, likely Alari would do that and walk away uncaring at all, not even stick around to watch them die. She knew how deadly she was.

“We will try to stop that from happening.” Jack told her.

She could expect nothing less of him, but to try and save his Mate, but who would they chose their children or their Mates, those two could replace themselves in one hell of a predicament that could tear them apart. Wondered yet again what they would do to her if she did kill those two she-wolves.

“Good luck.” She nodded.

“Luci, we haven’t told them about the boys being ours at this point,” Rafe told her.

“I don’t think it is wise or needed for that matter.” Jack stated calmly.

That made her eyes turn to him, looked right at him “Really? Not needed…being kept in the dark about important things…ticks one off.” She stared pointedly at him.

She knew exactly how it felt not to get that, all important heads up, on a life-changing situation, though she did know it wouldn’t have mattered for her. The only difference she supposed would have been, she’d have left earlier, before they had come home. Likely still would have ended up in the lake, just days earlier, she supposed. She would never have stayed here, couldn’t, didn’t particularly want to be here now.

“It’s a little complicated at the moment.” Jack sighed “As for your safety…They believe that you and the boys are now in your suite within the packhouse on the Alpha floor.”

“Mm, across from your suites…I wonder just how long it will take them to go barging in there, to get rid of me?”

“Wait a second”. It was her mother “Who set fire to the cottage? You never stated.”

“It was the Luna.” Luci answered her. She didn’t need to be told who it was, there was never a doubt in her mind.

She heard Rafe sigh “It was.” He acknowledged.

“And what did you do about it?” her mother grated out “Anything at all?” there had been no announcement of punishment, or even who had started that fire, something like that in Nightfall, Orien would have reported to everyone along with the punishment so the pack understood he wouldn’t stand for it. “A Luna does not set fire to their own pack.” Her mother finished angrily.

“At this point…nothing,” Rafe admitted.

Luci watched as her mother banged her coffee cup down in front of her as she glared right at Rafe. Incredulously, it appeared “Nothing?” she grated out, in her pack punishment would have been dealt out by now. No one would have escaped it, not even Orien himself, if she, as the Luna, deemed it a threat to the pack or a pack member.

There was silence from the man, it seemed her mother actually expected him to answer her, and nearly laughed. It didn’t matter to her mother that she was now a pack member and they her Alpha and Beta. It seems she still considered herself an Alpha or Luna and was now demanding answers of them. treating them just like she did Orien, a stubborn woman. “Do you really think that is acceptable?” she shot at them both, and looked from one to the other “to let that go unpunished? Just because she’s your Mate?”

“No, it’s a little bit complicated, Addi.” Rafe finally answered the woman.

“The hell it is.” She snarled at him and then stalked out of the kitchen.

Luci turned and watched her go, heard her bang right out of the front door of the house. These two likely only knew the sweet-natured side of her mother, not the cold-blooded Alpha female that lived within, that was currently on the surface and about to go and wage war on their own pack’s Luna.

“What rank is your Luna?” she asked casually.

“What?” Rafe frowned. She wasn’t looking at him but could hear it.

Luci sighed now, “Must I explain…Bloodline?”

“Alpha, Why.”

Luci stood up herself “Pure-blooded or not?”

“Not, why?”

“Because there is a full pissed-off, pure-blooded Alpha about to rip your Luna apart.” She told him “You might want to go after mother. You don’t actually know her true nature, only ever seen the sweet side of her.” she looked right at him and then at Jack. “Or do I have to go and stop her myself, from beating up the Luna that just tried to kill me and my children, mother herself.”

“She wouldn’t.” Rafe frowned right at her.

“Hmm, can you feel her?” Luci could, her mother was already nearly halfway to the pack house “You might want to get involved, because I don’t think you want Alari involved. It would only take a simple insult to her or mother to have her on the surface.”

She heard him sigh and then he got up and was gone. Luci looked at Jack expectantly, wanted him to go as well. He’d not moved at all was still just sitting there on the stool. Heard him sigh “Please don’t shut us out Luci. I understand this is difficult right now, but I promise you, everything will be alright. It might take some time yet.”

Luci just stood staring at him “Don’t bring them here, ever. It won’t end well.”

“We have no intention of telling either of them where you are.”

“It won’t take long for them to figure out, we’re not in the packhouse. They just have to walk into that room.”

“They can’t go into your room. Hannah and her sisters put a charm on it years ago. To keep them out of it, they have never been in your room, ever. Never will be allowed either.” He told her frankly.

Luci narrowed her eyes upon him. She didn’t understand that “Why not?” she wanted clarification. “It’s just a room.”

“She tried to gut it when she found out about you. Rafe and I would not let them. That is your room, always was, always will be. We never felt you sever from us, didn’t believe you were dead. Always hoped we could replace you and bring you home.”

“Didn’t look too hard, did you!” she commented dismissively.

“You look very different, smell different.” He sighed heavily “Something else has been happening here as well, while you were gone. We’ll talk to you about that later though. I’d better go.” He stood up. “We would, however, like you to be in the meetings over the next few days with us and Alpha West, Alpha Terence as well as Alpha Bradley and his Beta Cooper.”

“Why?” she couldn’t see why she would be needed for that.

“You know Victor better than we do, he’s been allied to Nightfall forever. Your opinion would be good to hear. You are also an Alpha and know and understand the planning of defences. We’ll want to take into account your, Kali and Alari’s needs and wants on this matter.”

“And if I don’t want to be in that room?”

“Why would you not?” he frowned right at her.

She raised an eyebrow at the man, it was bloody obvious to her why she wouldn’t want to be in there, but clearly not to him. She waited and when he stared right back at her, shook her head. “Did you lose brain cells while I was away? The Luna’s will be in that meeting.”

“Luna’s?” he was frowning at her now. “Oh,” he stated after a moment’s thought, “There is only one Luna to this pack.” He stated flatly “And neither of those she-wolves will be in that meeting, take no part in this meeting at all. It’s also not something they’ve ever done.”

Luci frowned now, that was odd.

“Things here are not what you would think, Luci. Not what it should be. Things changed after you left and not for the better, unfortunately…I’d better go. I can feel annoyance coming from Solar.”

“Good luck with mother…Orien couldn’t handle her at times like this,” she called out after him.

They did not know that her own mother had put her own Mate and Alpha of their pack on the shaming post once for a solid 10 days, that she had lashed him herself with the packs cat of three tails either. But Luci recalled it, vividly so. Likely, Orien has never forgotten it either.

Her mother could be as cold and heartless as Alari could be at times, had that Alpha Siren venom in her b***d. Had some of her Siren Mates temperament at times. Let it take over in times of true need to be cold and heartless. It was a sight to see, that was for sure.