The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 129

Jack POV

He didn’t like it, understood why Rafe was man-handling him, he was more than agitated about Luci being mad at them, and he wanted nothing more than to calm her down. To pull her into his arms and hold her tightly to him, tell her he loved her and that everything was going to be okay.

It wasn’t just him either. Flare was more than anxious, wanted out of him to get to her as well, and even though they both knew that deep down they had to calm down themselves, every part of them was screaming right now to lay hands on Luci, comfort her as a Mate would.

Was only a little surprised by Rafe’s very personal display of calming him in the middle of the packhouse for all to see, the way he was holding him and pressing his face into his own neck, telling him to breathe, knew that man was doing exactly what a Mate would do. Using his own touch and scent to calm him down.

Slid his arms around him and let Rafe calm him, just stood there also uncaring as to who saw the two of them and the display of affection that was going on. He breathed in deeply, and more than once, as he felt Rafe slide a hand up and down his back, as the other brushed through his hair softly.

‘I’m sorry, I don’t…’ he mind-linked to Rafe.

‘It’s alright Jack. Just take this moment to calm down.’ His voice was soft and gentle, and Jack hugged him, needed him right this minute. So did take comfort in him. Closed his eyes and just stood there until he was calmer.

Had to wait there, but couldn’t, it seemed, stand still as Rafe headed off to talk to Luci. At least one of them was under control right at this very minute and level-headed. How he could do that Jack didn’t know, was stronger willed and more disciplined, he supposed.

Watched her come out of the indoor pool room, in fully wet clothes, and understood right away why she was there. Alari was testing the water in the pool, to see if it was suitable for her needs.

Saw those brilliant green eyes of hers turn on him, he’d stopped pacing the moment he saw her, she looked right at his neck and he knew she was trying to understand and figure out what was going on, what had happened. Realised she’d not felt Melissa sever from the pack. Because she had not actually been the Luna, realised none of the pack members would have felt it.

Heard her words about being lied to and then how she felt, had tried to replace out if Maria and Melissa were on the shaming posts, but because they had been turned rogue, they weren’t part of the pack anymore and so she’d not been able to feel them out there. Which led her to believe, they’d not punished them at all and had gotten mad about it.

Stood there and wondered if she thought she’d allowed the boys to come and roam in the packhouse unescorted with Maria and Melissa roaming freely as well, wondered if she thought they had introduced them to those two even. Who knew where her mind went over it?

If that was the case, then it was no wonder she was mad. The minute she stalked off, he was on the move. Wanted to clear that up and explain to her, needed her to know that it was not like that. So, she could calm down and see the truth of the situation. Rafe stopped him yet again, and he didn’t like it at all.

Hearing him ask the very question about feeling Melissa sever from the pack and getting a no, as confirmation, he was right. The pack had not felt it.

“Do it now, Rafe. Announce it, fix this.” he demanded, all his Beta aura flowing out of him.

Rafe stared at him for a moment at the aura that Jack was pushing at him, likely shocked him. It was not something either one of them had ever done to the other, but his need for her to understand was killing him.

There was no need to hide it from Luci. They’d not meant to either. Had been dealing with their own issues on the matter, and just not realised the pack didn’t know. He wanted her confusion cleared up right this instant.

Rafe nodded “Relax.” And then he felt Rafe open up a pack wide mind-link, even connected Luci to it last so she knew it was for the entire pack and likely wouldn’t shut him out before he could get the message out.

‘I, your Alpha, have an important announcement to make regarding the leadership of the pack. Myself and Beta Jack have rejected Melissa and Maria. I have also banished them from this pack and turned them rogue. It has come to my attention that there was no actual feeling of severing, of the so-called Luna from the pack itself.

‘I will explain that in detail when I have all the details myself.’ He heard many shocked gasps and one pack member asked why?

‘They are traitors to this pack, tried to kill the heirs to the pack, their mother and their grandmother.’ Rafe stated firmly but simply. Then the link was let go.

Jack knew there was a full pack meeting coming, everything would have to be disclosed to the pack once the truth came out. Jack sighed, he knew Luci had listened to the message, he’d been feeling for her and she’d not disconnected it from her end, likely she wanted an explanation herself as to what was going on. Now she had one, though it was late and she’d been mad with them.

He was hoping now she had an explanation, she would calm down and not be so mad at them, maybe even want to come and talk to them. That was what he was hoping for. That she knew they were no longer Mated and come back to them.

He also wanted to go outside and rip Maria and Melissa’s heads off, couldn’t yet, didn’t have all the information at this time. He tried to mind-link to Luci himself as Rafe steered him back through the packhouse, towards their office, felt it connect and only managed to get her name out before it was severed from her end. Did not like it at all.

“Leave her Jack, you’re getting all worked up again. I need you to stay calm. Please…I know it’s difficult and Luci being upset is really hard for you and Flare to handle. I don’t much like it myself. But we need all the answers, to tell her the truth. Partial truths are not good enough, you know this will leave unanswered questions.”

He did know that, just hated it completely, wanted to be with her. A part of him needed to be with her, if she was in pain, so was he right this minute, and though normally he was patient and level-headed, he was really starting to lose it and he knew it. Something was wrong with him.

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Rafe stated as he walked him into their office “You love her Jack, Flare loves her. You both want to Mark and Mate her, so your reaction is perfectly acceptable, you’re just reacting to her mood, because you love her.”

“You’re not like me,” Jack stated.

“I’m not at all happy Jack, I can guarantee you that, but one of us needs to be in control. You and Luci were always that little bit closer as well.” He sighed “You always knew what she wanted, how she felt. Annoyed me sometimes, how you just always knew what to do or say where she was concerned. Your connection to her was and likely is still, just like yours and mine.”

“I know.” Jack nodded and it was true, when she’d been here, he’d had no trouble knowing what was going on with her, even now a part of him understood her, his bond to her even back then. Rafe was right. It was kind of like his and Rafe’s, the closeness. He felt them equally the same, most of the time.

“You need to calm down is all. It’s all going to be fine. You and Luci, you’ll be okay, both of you will mark each other soon.”

“You?” Jack frowned at him, sounded almost like he wasn’t going to.

“Oh, she’s not getting away from me, anymore than she is you.” Rafe smiled at him “We’re going to tell her we love her, we’re going to tell her that we want her to be our Mate, ask her to accept us.”

“When?” Jack blurted out, couldn’t bloody help it, he wanted to know when. He wasn’t the only one either. Flare also wanted to know.

“I don’t know.” Rafe sighed a little heavily, “Maybe when Addison comes home, and Luci has emotional support, I don’t know what she will feel or do, or say, how she’s going to react to all of this.”

Jack didn’t know either, sighed and could only pray it would be alright, “I think it’s best don’t you Jack, if Addi is here, for Luci, be with her maybe even when we tell her.”

Jack sighed, “That’s three days away.” He muttered. “I don’t know if I can actually make three days, without telling her everything. How I, Flare feel, we both want her to know.”

“I understand.” Rafe nodded with a sigh, “We need to give her a bit of space and perhaps we can get her to come talk to us, tell her about Orien today, that he is helping us. It’s a good reason to see her, yes?”

“Yes.” Jack nodded, they’d wanted to do it yesterday but she’d not stayed in the pack, gone swimming and not come back till after dinner. So today was as good a day as any.

He could feel her out there in the woods behind the packhouse, walking north and realised she was heading for Hannah and her sisters place, sighed again to himself. “Going to see Hannah I think.” He told Rafe. “Do you think those three are going to teach her to tap completely into her witch side?”

“Yes.” Rafe nodded “I also think it’s Luci that is the witch.”

“What?” Jack frowned at him,

“Is a Triune, three completely separate but also together. Wolf, Siren, Witch. Kali is the Wolf, Alari is the Siren, that means Luci is the Witch. She just never knew it. Is learning about herself, becoming whole now. I guess all three parts of her are coming together as one. The definition of a Triune.”

“Leave the Triune alone, her time will come.” Jack huffed as he repeated Hannah’s words.

“Likely Hannah is going to teach her Jack, and we should let her, I think. Luci might not feel whole at the moment. Remember the boys both laughed and said ‘Mamma’s happy’, that was when Luci used her witch craft for the first time. It made Luci happy.”

“Probably made all three of them happy.” Jack nodded.

He turned at the sound of Terence’s helicopter flying over the pack, could feel Allen as well. Both he and Rafe connected to him ‘How’d it go?’

‘Smooth flight, though Piper is hard to feel out, a bit weird to me.’

‘What do you mean?’ Rafe asked right away.

‘I don’t know, it just feels odd to me is all. Only when I’m directly focused on her can I actually sense her out.’ Sounded a bit confused.

‘You and Eddie?’ Jack asked.

‘He’s very unhappy, to say the least. Piper is upset about something, I’d say more than upset, distressed at times, it’s not good for her in her condition, she wants Brad himself. Had no issue getting her on the helicopter. She wants to be here, with him, from what I can tell. So that’s a good thing. Though keeping her 20-woman unit home and Eddie, a massively heated discussion. It took a call from Brad and him talking to them all. Telling them she would be fine, before Eddie would let her get on the helicopter by herself.’

‘Alright. I’m guessing Bradley will meet you at the training grounds.’

‘Yeah, I can see him and Cooper already waiting on us to land.’

Jack looked at Rafe after the link was cut. “Her condition?”

Rafe thought about it for only a moment. “Pregnant I’d say.”

“I didn’t think they were having anymore.”

“Neither did I. Just Brandon and Winter.”

“Maybe something did happen?” he sighed “I bloody hope not.” He murmured a little worriedly.

“I don’t think it’s that, Cooper said, as far as he knew nothing was going on back in their pack and if it was that, there is no way Brad would be here, while Piper was dealing with something like that.”

Jack nodded, Rafe was right. No Alpha would leave their Mate with something like that to deal with.