The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 117

Addison POV

It was amazing to see Lucian’s lake from the air. She’d always said that it wasn’t large, but it wasn’t exactly small either, she now realised. 8 miles long, Terence told her, as he flew them all the way along it. Before swinging around to come back, it was only narrow, perhaps that’s why she’d never thought it was large.

It was only a mile wide, and surrounded by mountains, the trees went all the way to the waters’ edge in places along the lake. It was a brilliant blue in colour and there was not a ripple on the surface, it reflected the sky perfectly back at them.

She was looking at the water itself as Terence turned the helicopter round. He’d insisted on flying over the entire thing to check it for himself. She didn’t mind at all, it allowed her to see the entire lake from above, not something she’d gotten to see when living here.

Though looking down at the water itself, she couldn’t see anything at all, no signs of sirens swimming down there in the lake, but there could still be some of her pack on the very bottom sleeping, she supposed.

“Don’t try and land Terence.” She’d told him, and he’d not said anything at all, but she’d felt his eyes on her.

It really was a beautiful sight to behold, always had been for her, even down there on the ground, it was still mostly untouched by humans. She did see the cabin where she’d once lived, pointed it out to Terence, he’d smiled at her.

There was nowhere close to that cabin that he could put her down. It was right where the trees met the shoreline, though the jetty itself was still there. It only extended out into the lake about 3 meters. It still looked the same from up here, hadn’t been destroyed by the war that had come.

She pointed out a place a few kilometres from the cabin. “Drop me there.” She stated.

“No where to land, Addison,” he’d commented.

She’d turned right to him and smiled “I didn’t ask you to land.” She’d grinned right at him.

He’d half smiled at her as she reached over and opened the door herself, “Just get as low as you can, close to the shoreline.”

“Don’t you break anything now.” He’d laughed, knowing she was just going to drop out and hit the ground. “Addi before you go.” He’d called out.

She’d looked right at him, about to remove the headset, “Yes?”

“I’ll pick you up from the southern campsite.”

“No, just come here.” She’d noted all the gear in the back. “Drop me a line.” She pointed to the ropes, “I’ll call you in a few days, two or three, when I’m ready to be picked up.”

“Alright.” He’d nodded “If there’s any trouble, call right away.”

“Will do.” She’d nodded, removed the headset and dropped to the ground, it was only a 6 metre drop, nothing she and Fallon couldn’t handle. Had stood and watched him turn that helicopter of his in a tight circle, and looked for her on the ground. Making sure she was alright, she waved and smiled up at him, he’d smiled back, she’d seen him laugh and then just head on back to the pack.

Addi sighed as she looked at the lake, she was actually here, at the edge of Lucian’s lake, her lake, her home. The very first place she’d felt she’d ever belonged. Tor Vale Mere. She smiled to herself as she walked along the shore, towards her cabin.

Sirens had their own way of naming things. The pack’s name translated into Mountain Valley Lake. It indeed was just that, a lake in the middle of a valley between mountains. She wondered what Alari had called her lake, must remember to ask her when she got back.

It was a nice 2 kilometre walk along the shore line to her cabin, she didn’t rush it. There was no need, and it gave her time to take in everything and recall it from memory as well. She stood staring at the cabin that had once been her home. It was simple, two rooms only, a bedroom and a small living area with a fireplace to cook in. Nothing flashy about it. Kind of like a fisherman’s hut, she supposed. Sirens didn’t need anything on land.

It had a door to the left of the middle and one small window, on the right of the door. She knew there was also a small window in the bedroom. But that was it. She’d had nothing when she came here, not even clothes to wear. Though the sirens here didn’t have clothes either, Lucian had always just been naked.

He’d had some of his pack pilfer clothes from the humans in those closest campsites when they were there. Along with some bedding, he’d wanted her to be comfortable, he’d told her, though she had been happy to sleep in wolf form for the most part at the beginning.

This cabin of hers was on the southern side of the lake, right in the middle of the 8 mile stretch, it had been peaceful and quiet. Most humans hiked on the northern side of the lake. She had seen a few in her time out here, though for the most part, this particular place had been kept human free, by Lucian himself. He used that call of his to divert humans away from here and where she was.

She was still outside staring at the cabin, debating whether to go inside or not. She knew what was in there, or had been when she’d left. It had been 27 years since she’d left now, it might not even be in there anymore. Took a breath in and stepped over to the door, pushed on it.

It stuck a bit, and she gave it a good shove, both her and Fallon. It was worn with time and weathered over the years. Inside it was as it had been left, long ago. Two chairs that were now worn and decaying, just simple wooden folding chairs, something else Lucian had gotten for her.

As far as he’d been concerned, those humans were encroaching on his pack so he could encroach on them and take whatever he wanted. He’d never bothered the humans before she’d come along, just let them be. But with her being a wolf, he knew she needed things and wanted her to have them.

The floor was bare wood and the fireplace stood empty. Her eyes moved to the open doorway that led to the bedroom. The very room where she had scented out Lucian, the morning he’d told her he’d loved her, that he wanted her for his Mate. The very place he had marked and mated her.

The room where their daughter should have been born and raised in. She sighed sadly to herself, walked into her home, a place where she did not have one single bad memory. A place that was filled with love and saw right there next to the very decade mattress on the floor, the small hand-made crib where their daughter would have slept. It was still here.

Lucian had made that himself, it still sat exactly where he had put it, was bare and had never been used, but it had been made with love, so simple, a small rectangular bassinet, made from fallen tree branches, all smoothed out by him. He’d found ones that were similar in size and shape.

It was beautiful to her, had two curved feet even so it would rock side to side. The man had started making it the day that he’d known she was carrying his child. It only took him a week to build it. He’d spend hours every day sitting and carving and putting it together. Had smiled right at her, when she’d watched him, he’d seemed to know their daughter wasn’t going to be like him, would need to stay on land.

Also knew it was a girl in two weeks of knowing she was with child. He just knew things, only ever smiled at her when she asked how he knew those things. Had once stated “I just know.” Another time he had just pulled her right into his lap and murmured “Because our child will look just like you, be beautiful like her mother.”

Addi reached out and touched the tiny crib, felt tears well up, she missed him, had wondered what it would have been like to raise Luci here in this place. Had felt sad sometimes that she had not gotten to. Knew she had to protect her, just like Lucian had told her too.

Wondered what he would have wanted to call her. They’d not discussed names. He’d only said once “We’ll know what to call her when we see her for the first time.” It was the Siren way, no names given before birth. Looking at the child would grant you its name. She’d named Luci after her father, a name sake, had known she would before the girl was born, how could she not.

She walked back outside and down the jetty, stood staring out at the lake, sighed softly to herself, even here she had memories, sitting on this very jetty, with her feet in the water, Lucian next to her or his Siren Talon out there showing off for her, or just being with the rest of their pack.

Talon had been the one to approach her first, when Fallon had stopped and taken a drink here at the lake’s edge, he had told her it was his lake, before receding away and leaving Lucian to talk to her. Her beast had met his beast before she and Lucian had met. She’d been shifted back to human form, Fallon unable to communicate with him.

Talon looked much the same as Lucian, only minor differences. His eyes were all black like all Sirens were, and his skin had been opalescent compared to Lucian’s lightly tanned skin. They’d been a little afraid of the thing in the lake, and hadn’t really known what it was, not until Lucian had appeared and told them.

Addi sank down and dropped her feet into the water. It was cold as always, though not cold like in winter when it was covered over in snow and frozen in parts. She had arrived here at the lake just before winter had set in, and had fled it the following autumn. Not even a full year had past, 11 months was all she had gotten to spend here with her Lucian.

She sat and stared at the lake, watching for the tell-tale signs of Sirens swimming beneath the surface. She knew what to look for. Little bubbles that popped to the surface of the water for no reason, the occasional ripple of water with no signs of anyone out there to indicate the flicking of a tail which disturbed the water below. She just sat and watched for an hour, saw nothing at all.

Sighed, she had been hoping against all the odds that she’d see something, that even just one had survived. Leaned down and put her hand to the water, focused upon the surface and whistled low and deep the way Lucian had told her to, produced that ball of witch’s light and released it out into the lake. Just like she had done to call Lucian to her.

She would wait and see, it never took Lucian more than 10 minutes to come to her, and he always came. Though she knew he had died, had felt his death herself, had screamed in agony at being severed from him. Had stumbled and fallen over from the pain of losing him, she had felt many die that day, but didn’t know it if was all of them, with every severing compounding on Lucian’s death she’d not been able to keep track of them all.

Right now sitting here she was praying to Selena that not all of them had been killed, that some had survived, there had been a couple of Siren babies in the pack, though she also knew any siren old enough to produce a siren call was considered old enough to go to battle.

Those little ones had been old enough to sing and produce a call. She sighed heavily, one had been 4 and the other just 6, though there had been one pregnant siren here in the lake, who knew what had happened to her or her unborn.

She sighed heavily to herself when after 30 minutes there was still nothing at all. Sadness welled in her, all of them had been lost that day and she knew it now. She and Luci were all that was left of this pack. She was going to have to bring Alari out there. It was something she did want to do, but with Alpha Bradley having been attacked on the way, she knew it was too dangerous to have Luci leave the pack yet.

She, however, was going to spend a few days out here by herself, needed it, wanted time out here. It was a place where she’d only ever felt loved and cherished, where no harm had ever come to her, not a single harsh word had been uttered.

She leaned back on her hands and tried to relax, felt a sting in the centre of her back as she turned to see what had happened, felt burning through her body and was fuzzy around the edges of her eyesight, Wolfsbane and she knew it.

Saw a man walking towards her, as she fell all the way to the jetty, and darkness started to claim her, ‘Not safe.’ she thought. But how did anyone know she was here? She struggled against the effects for as long as she could, even felt that man rolled her over and bind her hands, then darkness claimed her as Fallon was gone from her.