The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 45

Rafe POV

He saw Luci walk into the room and Jack was right behind her. Rafe knew Jack had likely come downstairs and waited for her out there in the foyer. He watched as she took in the room, as her brilliant green eyes moved about, the way her family were all sitting. Didn’t say anything at all, just went and sat right next to her mother. There was a clear-cut divide in their family.

Though Luci, he knew, was only related to Addi and Thatcher, something he and Jack had always suspected, they’d never truly believed Orien was her real father, now they knew it. She’d never looked anything like him, never even had any of the man’s traits either, and those brilliant green eyes, neither were Orien or Addi’s. Those eyes of hers had been what made them think it in the first place.

He saw Jack follow Luci all the way to the lounge and take up a seat right next to her on the arm of the chair. His choice was already made. His stance was clear, after Orien’s claims that there had been no proof, that some of the things that had gone on weren’t of Victor’s doing. That the man didn’t even believe it was Victor that had tried to take Luci, had hurt her son. It did not surprise Rafe in the slightest that Jack sat himself right next to her.

“What is going on?” Luci asked. He knew she was not addressing him but her mother instead. Had yet to really say anything much to him or Jack, she was still quiet around them.

But he was the one to answer it, got up from his desk and walked around it as he did so, to turn the chair on the other side of his desk around, to sit down on and face them all. “Luci, Orien is of the opinion you’re to go back to Nightfall with him.” he stated clearly, making sure that everyone in this room, understood the nature of this meeting, and who had called it.

He saw Luci frown right at him and his words, it was the first real direct eye contact she’d given him, didn’t look happy at his words. Thatcher frowned deeply as well but said nothing. He saw Jack stand up slowly and a low menacing growl was issued from him. He’d not liked hearing that one little bit.

Luci looked away from him, to Jack and then to Orien himself, narrowed her eyes right on that man. Rafe, however, was the first to speak. “Luci, you are not a member of the Nightfall Pack,” he told her. “I’m certainly not going to make you return to it. I and Jack are of the opinion you belong here. You are still a member of the Black Forest Pack; we’d like you to continue to be.”

“She is my daughter; I have the right to take her home,” Orien stated.

“Your daughter!” It was Luci.

He heard her voice drip with sarcasm and saw the Luci, he’d once known for the first time, since they’d found her. She and Orien had never really gotten along, and sarcasm was something that had always been rolled out of her where he was concerned. It was good to see she was still in there. She had been quiet and withdrawn yesterday.

“Yes, Luci. I raised you. Your mother and I would like for you to come home with us.” He could see that Orien was trying to present a united front to her, using his own Mate to cajole her. It seemed he really had thought about how to approach her.

“I never said that.” Addi stated, contradicting him right away “Not once, have I asked for her to be returned to Nightfall. I also don’t believe you and I have had that discussion, for you to state we or us.”

“It is what you want, Addi, I know this.” Orien frowned at her, didn’t like her standing up to him, contradicting him.

“Do you?” she snorted, didn’t sound like she thought he knew anything at all about her.

“Yes, it’s why you fought so very hard to come here.”

“No, it wasn’t.” She stared right at him “That is what you thought. I only wanted to help search for Luci. I would never willingly bring her into your pack again. After your treatment of her!” Addi shot right at him.

Rafe watched as Jack finally sat back down. This was going to be a family battle. They likely wouldn’t have to step in at all. He seemed comfortable with letting them argue it out for now. Would, Rafe knew, step in if he thought it was warranted.

“I’m also not your daughter, Orien.” Luci told him. “Never was. I now know this is why you treated me so differently to Thatcher.”

“I treated you no differently. Just had high expectations was all.”

“Oh really. High expectations. Did you hold Thatcher to those same expectations you held me to, did he have to stay pure till he found his Goddess Gifted Mate?”

Rafe had to hold in the chuckle of amusement, she was not going to be any different with Orien now than she had been as a teenager. She still liked putting that man squarely in his place, it seemed.

“That’s different Luci, you’re an Alpha female.”

“It’s bullshit is what it is.” She shot right at him. “I heard you clapped Thatcher on his back and congratulated him on f*****g a she-wolf for the first time.” Nope, he was wrong. She was way more direct than she used to be. “How old was he? I’m curious. I waited till I was eighteen, did he?”

“Watch your tone, Lucian,” Orien snapped.

“Why? What are you going to do about it? I’m not yours to boss around anymore. You can’t make us do anything.” She now sounded more than a little amused to his ear. There was a slight smirk on her face, she knew he couldn’t. But then it was gone a moment later. “How old was he?” she grated out once more.

“It’s different for females, Luci, I always told you this.”

“Is it now? So that she-wolf, he” she pointed right at Thatcher, “f****d, did you admonish her, punish her for not waiting on her Goddess Gifted Mate?” she was staring him down now and, after a good fifteen seconds of silence, snapped “Answer the question, or can’t you. because it was just me, who wasn’t allowed to have s*x.”

“He’s Alpha-blooded Luci, has needs, it’s very different.”

Rafe watched Luci look right at her mother with a raised eyebrow. Incredulously, he thought. “I’m Alpha-blooded, am I not?” she asked, though even Rafe had to smile, everyone in this room knew that. Orien was doing what he always did with the girl, contradicting himself.

“Yes, Luci on all sides, mine and your father,” Addi confirmed for her.

Luci looked back to Orien, “So then by your own statement just now. It should have been fine for me to go out and sew my wild oats. Like Thatcher has, I’m sure. Like you did, I’m guessing.”

“You’re female, were the Heir to the pack. You needed to present yourself as respectable. So, I could replace you a good Mate.” Orien stated flatly.

“f*****g hypocrite.” She shot right at him. “As for the Heir, no I wasn’t. Maybe only until Thatcher was born, then it was all just pretence on your part. Couldn’t wait to get rid of me and, yes, Mate me off. Not wait on my Goddess Gifted Mate. Mate me off you stated, so under your own rules, I could f**k someone you chose but not someone I chose. A f*****g hypocrite is what you are.”

“You were twenty and had no Mate. It was my job to replace you a good Mate.”

“Twenty.” She nodded, rolled her eyes “I believe you tried to Mate me off at nineteen to Victor. A man I detest and refused. Then, at twenty, you tried to give me to him again, knowing I hated him, didn’t want it.”

“He’s a good strong Alpha Luci, he would have been able to handle you, your rudeness, pull you into line.”

“After what he did to me yesterday. You can still call him a good man, you still think that! Have you even cancelled your alliance with him, after he tried to kidnap me yesterday? Hurt my son, struck him so very hard, he was rendered unconscious, his little brain swelling inside his skull. He would have died if Alari had not forcibly been woken by a shot of adrenaline, after he sedated me. And you still call him a good man?”

“I’m certain, Luci, there is a..”

“Oh, f**k you, Orien.” Luci snapped, all anger now. “You clearly are no better than Victor himself.”

Rafe watched her reach out and pick up her mother’s hand, waved it right at him “Hurt your own mate, bound her with silver for your own selfish needs.”

“Luci.” Orien roared at her, his temper flaring.

Rafe watched her stand up, dropped her mother’s hand. “You want to take us all on, my Wolf and my Siren. Let us go outside and see who wins. I hope Thatcher is all trained up to take over, cause Alari is going to explode that pathetic brain of yours, make it swell inside your skull till it POPS.” She roared right back at him.

Rafe sighed and stood up. Jack was also on his feet now, if she got any more ticked off, that man was gonna die right here in their office. In a bloody mess by the sound of it. He had no idea if she could do that but it was by the sound of it very likely. “Everyone just calm down.” He’d been going to stay out of it, as had Jack, but Luci clearly wanted a piece of Orien. She had a right to he thought.

He couldn’t really blame her, the man was rude and arrogant and so disrespectful and unwilling to believe anything about Victor being the one to attack her or her children. He walked over to her and stepped in front of her. “Luci, please sit down.” He asked her gently.

Those eyes of hers turned right on him so full of anger, then she sat a little reluctantly, from what he could tell, sat himself on the coffee table in front of her, “You can stay here, Jack, and I want you here. Addi is also welcome to stay here as long as she likes. Please calm down just a little. I do understand your anger. Jack and I feel it too.” And they did. It was their children in harm’s way, and she had been missing from them for so very long, he wanted to fix that as well.

They both had many regrets where Luci was concerned, had made mistakes themselves with her and hurt her. But they also knew better than to tick her off. Orien should do, but just couldn’t’ it seems, put his Alpha mentality aside.

“I know for a fact he has not cancelled his alliance with Victor,” Jack stated flatly, “won’t, not even after this. He only wants you, Luci, because of what you are now. Sees your true power and wants it for himself.”

“Oh, and you don’t?” Orien shot at him. “Anyone that knows what she is will want her now. I can replace her a good Alpha. Strong with a large pack to be Mated off to.”

“Get yourself a new alliance. Still want to Mate me off, not replace my Goddess Gifted.” Luci spat at him. “Does anyone here but mother care what I want?”

“We care.” Both he and Jack stated at the same time.

He saw her look from one to the other and then just say nothing at all about that, and he wondered if she didn’t believe them, that they cared, likely at this point had no real reason to believe they cared about her at all. They had to work on that, were going to, would show her that they not only cared about their sons but her. She was important to them.

“For your children.” Orien spat.

He was trying to get her to not want to be here with them. To see that he was the better of the two options that were in front of her right now.