The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 109

Luci POV

She was woken by her mother telling her she’d decided to go to Lucian’s Lake by herself, wanted to spend a few days there by herself, before Luci got to go there. Had even managed to wrangle herself a ride, that Alpha Terence was going to fly her out to the lake and then come back and pick her up in 3 days.

Luci was a little bit disappointed that her mother had wanted to go on her own, but she could also understand it at the same time. She did know that her mother missed Lucian, and had fled that lake at his insistence to protect Luci herself. Had to let her mother have this moment alone with her lake. She herself could go another time, though it was a nice feeling that her mother now knew where the lake was. To know that at some point she herself could go there too.

It was a good thing for both of them, they could go there anytime now. But it was good that her mother was going to get that feeling of being more connected to her Siren Mate. Luci did understand that her mother might just make herself at home there once more and decide to stay. She would not stop her, she wanted her mother to have that comfort after all that had gone on, and that Lake was actually closer to this pack, than Nightfall.

She had gone back to sleep after that only to be woken by Alpha Rafe’s voice inside her mind. It was a full-pack wide mind-link ‘This is your Alpha. First, my apologies for waking up so many of you. Pardon the intrusion Luci.’ He apologised directly to her ‘I would like to inform you that Melissa and Maria, the two she-wolves responsible for burning down of Alpha Luci and her family’s previous residence here within the pack. Tried to flee the pack and their punishment for their crimes.

‘Were caught and brought right to myself and Jack, are now being formally punished, have been placed on the shaming posts outside the front of the packhouse. No one in this pack is required to listen to anything either of them may have to say, yell about, beg or plead for. Simply ignore them for what they are. This is only the beginning; their punishment has not yet truly started.’ He closed out the link.

Luci had lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. He’d not added the twins to it. She knew that because they were still sleeping soundly. Though she doubted for very much longer. They hardly ever slept in. Today was a rarity and when they did sleep in, she just let them.

Her Alpha and Beta had actually put their Mates on those shaming posts out there, she’d not really expected them to do it. Had never seen anyone get put on them. Understood they were more there for the fear of it than actually using them. The Alpha and Beta usually just tossed people into their cells until they calmed down, could explain themselves and apologise to whoever they’d offended. Though she’d noted it was usually only ever drunken wolves, fighting amongst themselves over various things.

The Luna and Beta’s Mate’s out there on the shaming post, she saw shades of Orien and what he got. She recalled her mother putting him out there for punishment. Shook it off. She didn’t need to recall her mother’s pain that day.

Though she did know that was the very day she’d stopped thinking of Orien as her father, his words that morning had been too much, too cruel and she’d nearly lost herself to the darkness within that day.

She stopped and thought about that now, really thought about it, she had felt something inside of her, had been here in this very pack, and racing away through the woods, headed east. She frowned and sat herself up, as she realised she’d been heading right for the lake that day.

‘Alari?’

‘Yes, I nearly came that day.’ She was told ‘You were distracted or got scared by my presence I think. Then I just couldn’t.’

‘I was scared.’ Luci recalled that day ‘That I was going to be swallowed up by the darkness in me, that when it happened I’d kill Orien, I think.’

‘I’d have let you,’ Alari told her simply.

‘Jack and Rafe turned up, stayed with me.’ She sighed a little ‘Made me laugh and then the fear was gone, I was calm and happy with them.’ sighed much more heavily now as she realised that she could have gotten Alari that day, just a single day after she’d gotten Kali. If she’d not been scared. It could have solved a lot, she thought.

‘Maybe,’ Alari stated, but said no more.

She and the boys got up not long after that. They sulked when she told them their grammy had gone away for a few days. She’d never seen them do that before, but it was over quickly, with the arrival of their first lot of toys.

Then her boys were racing around the house on scooters trying to go faster than each other, yelling and laughing all happy once more, trying to be better than each other, a competitive streak it seemed.

A part of Luci, right this minute, wished she didn’t have super sensitive hearing, they were so very loud and excited by the toys. She was also getting constant shivers from all their laughing, it was actually hard to drink her morning coffee.

Didn’t exactly know what to do with them, they were all super wired and amped up and it only got more so when more things arrived, they were squealing and yelling and then off again. She’d tried to settle them down, not even telling them they could watch TV worked, and she knew that was their new favourite thing, or had been till this morning. Seems that novelty was out the window with all their new toys.

They were like kids at Christmas; she realised all hopped up about their gifts. Took them outside and before she knew it, Astral and Spark were just ripped out of them and running all over the place, jumping and tumbling over each other. Raced around the outside of the house a few times and banged right into her and her morning coffee was gone smashed on the ground. Not that they cared.

Kali shifted her and sent them off to run in the woods. They did not need more than a single ‘go run in the woods.’ Directed at them, they ran off into the southern woods with Kali hot on their heels, ran for a good hour all over the place, they were, it seemed, two little balls of energy and they were chasing everything that moved. Even pounced on a few patrolling wolves, she’d apologised instantly.

Got laughed at and told, ‘It’s alright Luci.’

Finally, it seemed, they got all their energy out; took nearly two hours, and returned to the house. They were all smiles up at her. “They like running, mamma.” She was told.

“I can see that.” She smiled at them, sent them off to get dressed, was going to have to talk to them about patrolling wolves and not disturbing them. She guessed they’d just seen other wolves and gone off to play with them uncaring.

Finally, they sat still long enough to eat something and sit still, were sitting and colouring on the lounge, they were talking to each other and laughing still, but much more settled. Kali and Alari seemed to be happy as well, had enjoyed the boys’ antics and liked watching their Siren Wolves run all over the place.

She was mind-linked to by Rafe once more ‘Luci, pardon the intrusion, the boys wolves were out?’

‘Yes, kind of just ripped out of them unexpectedly.’ She told him honestly ‘Are all, or were, all amped up.’

She heard him chuckle softly, sounded very happy, amused even, had thought she’d been about to be reprimanded about it, seems not. ‘Would they like to come to the entertainment zone and play with the other children, burn off some of that energy.’

‘Likely so…but I don’t know.’

‘You and the boys are perfectly safe Luci, I assure you, no harm will come to you.’

She didn’t really say anything at all, she would still have to walk past their mates. Didn’t really want to do that.

‘Melissa and Maria don’t know what you look like.’ He told her gently ‘Do not concern yourself with those two she-wolves Luci. They will not be coming off the shaming post anytime soon, are bound with silver as well.’

‘After lunch then.’ She told him ‘Perhaps send Allen to get them.’

‘You’re not coming down?’ he asked and she could have sworn that she heard disappointment in his voice.

‘You don’t need me there. Just the boys. So Allen as the Gamma can come and get them.’

‘Luci, Jack and I would like to spend time with you as well.’

She sighed ‘It’s not at all necessary, Alpha.’ She told him and closed the link herself. It wasn’t necessary at all, they had Mates, albeit on a shaming post right now, but they still had them. They did not need to spend anytime with her, just the boys was all.

Though it was curious to her that he had called both of them she-wolves this morning, he hadn’t used their titles, wondered why that was. He’d also done that again just now, wondered if he was simply trying to refrain himself from using the words Mates or Luna in an effort to try and not make her feel uncomfortable.

She had no idea about that at all, and wasn’t going to be asking him either. She told the boys that Allen would be here after lunch to take them to the packhouse to spend time with their fathers and play in the kid’s zone. They’d smiled right up at her, liked hearing that, and she knew it.

“You, mamma?” they’d asked right back.

“No, I’ll put your stuff away in your room and then Alari will go for a swim in the afternoon.”

They’d just stared at her for a moment and then nodded at her. It was a good idea. She could let Kali roam freely as well, stroll in wolf form all the way to the lake’s edge, even let Kali go for a bit of a swim before letting Alari out in the lake.

That would keep her busy all afternoon and being out there in the lake, she wouldn’t have to concern herself with hearing either Rafe or Jack’s voice inside her mind. Out in the lake Alari was in charge, she’d just disconnect herself from them in that way she’d always been able to do.

Maybe she might be able to get Hannah to come and help her with her witch abilities as well. Or perhaps she could do that tomorrow while the boys were at school all day and she herself had nothing to do.

Allen arrived just as Alpha Terence flew his helicopter back into pack territory. The boys were all excited to see it, yelling about it and then they were just gone, racing off down the driveway, shocked Allen more than a little as he had to shoot off after them. Luci chuckled to herself and mind-linked right to him ‘Good luck, Allen.’

‘I might need it.’ he shot right back.

She watched as the packs Gamma tried to keep up with her boys, fully excited and using their siren-wolf speed to run down that driveway, likely going to race like that all the way across the pack, chasing that helicopter; it was unlikely she thought that they would stop till they got to where it landed. Likely want to get in it and go for a ride. Felt Alari’s annoyance right away.

She, however, didn’t think Alpha Terence would allow that, not without parental consent, he seemed sensible to her. Wouldn’t she thought, just take another’s children up without permission. Alari seemed to settle with that thought.

She packed the boys’ things away and headed off into the woods, letting Kali roam about for the afternoon. Mind-linked to Allen to see how the boys were playing with the other children in the entertainment zone. Told him Alari was going for a swim and to let the boys have dinner with their fathers.

Felt concern come down the mind-link with his words ‘I don’t think that’s so wise, Luci.’

‘I’m going.’ She told him flatly and cut the mind-link, then Kali was out wading in the water until she was swimming, enjoyed swimming herself, dove under and Alri was out of them a moment later to swim in her lake.

I