The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 49

Jack POV

He stepped out of his office and looked right at Orien the moment he clicked the door shut behind him. How that man could say ‘It’s not that easy.’ Was beyond him. Addison was completely right, and he also knew it. Jack knew that Orien was not going to sever ties with Victor over this. It was pretty clear to all. Not even his own son thought that he would do it.

Any loving Mate, regardless the relationship was nonexistence, between him and his stepchild, should want to sever ties with anyone hurting his Mate’s offspring. This man had no regard for Luci, even though he had just tried to lay claim on her. If she accepted him, Jack just knew that man still wouldn’t sever ties with Victor.

He mind-linked right to Rafe ‘I want Orien gone from this pack. Now.’

‘Agreed.’ Was the simple reply.

The man was prowling only a few feet away from them, waiting for Addison and Luci to come out of the office. He was probably out here hoping that Addison was in there trying to sway Luci into returning to Nightfall. The man had no idea he was s**t out of luck, still thought that because Addison had yet to sever ties with him and break their bond, he was going to get what he wanted.

Jack hoped that both those women stayed in that office all day, it would keep them both away from the selfish a*****e that Orien had turned into. He’d always known he was a chauvinistic pig, but now he was seeing the a*****e he truly was. He did not want Luci anywhere near this man at all.

“Orien.” He snapped, allowing his anger at the man to be heard by everyone. Saw the man stop walking and look right at him. “Go and pack, I want you gone from my pack within the hour.”

Saw the man’s eyes widen momentarily. “Be reasonable Beta. My Mate is here, Luci…”

“Luci is not your concern. She hasn’t been since she was 20. Seven years now, I believe.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Oh, yes you are.” Jack rapped out “Or I’ll be ejecting you myself. Addison stated she was not going to go back with you. Wants you to leave herself. So leave. I don’t want you here in the pack anymore. Your allegiance to Victor will not be tolerated by me, by this pack.”

“I’ve yet to talk with Victor.”

“I don’t care. Pack and go.” Jack snarled right at him, felt Flare push his Beta Aura at the man and found Rafe’s hand on his arm.

“Calm down a little.”

“I will not. It is clear he’s not going to sever ties with Victor and the Bloodless Moon Pack. Is likely in league with him, would willingly hand Luci over to him just like he tried to do before.”

“I would not hand her over to Victor,” Orien protested.

“Flare and I think you lie.” He shot right at the man. “I will give you one hour, starting from now. If you’re not gone, it will be war.”

Now he saw Orien’s eyes go really wide, and then move to Rafe. Knew that he was going to try and have Rafe over rule his decision. What Orien didn’t seem to understand was that Rafe wouldn’t do that. He didn’t want Luci leaving this pack anymore than Jack did right this minute.

She would not only be safer here in their pack, neither of them trusted Orien anymore, and they seldom argued about alliances or the ending of one. If one of them wanted out of an alliance, was unhappy with it for whatever reason, then the other simply agreed. It usually meant that they were both unhappy about it, but one had voiced it earlier than the other was all.

He didn’t even look at Rafe, didn’t need to. Moved his eyes right to Thatcher, he’d actually been a good brother in there. “You can see your sister and mother anytime you wish. Your father, however, is no longer welcome here in the Black Forest Pack. Unless he proves his allegiance to this pack, by severing all ties with Victor of the Bloodless Moon Pack. For not only that attack on this pack, the attack on the future Heirs to this pack, for the attempted k********g of their mother, an Alpha female that resides within this pack of her choosing.”

His eyes moved back to Orien “59 minutes and counting. You might want to move your a*s.”

He saw that man’s wolf surface and snarl right at him. Flare snarled right back, as did Solar, for that matter. Orien wouldn’t win this one. He heard Thatcher sigh and then the boy stepped between them: “Father, go. We don’t want a war with Rafe and Jack. It would only take Allen to lay hands on you, you’d die instantly.”

“Your mother is here.” Orien grated out.

“Yes, and going to stay here from what I can tell. You have not helped the situation. Just move.”

Watched as Orien glared right at his own son and then just turned and stalked away up to the first floor. “You’d better bloody pack.” Jack snarled after him.

“Calm down Jack. He’ll go.” Rafe stated calmly “He can’t win against us.”

“Yes he will go.” Jack muttered “Or I’ll have our witches teleport his a*s into the middle of the lake and sic Alari on him.” He turned and looked at Rafe. “How can he still want to stay allied to that savage?”

“I don’t know, Jack.” He sighed, “They were allied long before we were. We’ll cut our alliance as you wish. But remember your words. Thatcher is Luci’s brother. Perhaps we should ask Luci how she feels about severing ties to Nightfall.”

“I doubt she’ll care. Doesn’t like Orien.”

“But she loves her brother, and he’ll take over one day,” Rafe reminded him.

Jack frowned. “Well, perhaps we can reinstate it when Thatcher takes over, but not before. If Thatcher is not allied to Victor, that is.”

Rafe nodded. “A good idea, but let’s actually ask Luci, what it is she wants when she comes out of our office, hey.”

His eyes moved to their offices closed door, “What do you suppose they are talking about in there?”

“I don’t know. It is private, hence the use of our office, something from mother to daughter. But it could be almost anything at all.” Rafe looked right at him, then stepped over and hugged him “Everything will be alright, it’s just a hard right now. Time is needed.”

“I don’t know.” Jack sighed and he didn’t. He felt so very different right this minute, all he could think about was Luci. It was almost like he was all consumed by her, and it wasn’t just him, it was Flare as well. Flare wanted her from the moment they had laid eyes on her. Something in them had changed and he knew it. Flare knew it.

Neither of them even liked being away from her right this minute. Just having that closed door between them was bothering him. Neither he nor Flare wanted even that between them. It was weird, to say the least.

Heard Rafe sigh “Breathe Jack, your starting to get all worked up.”

“I know, something is different. Even Flare is agitated and can’t calm down. Orien’s blatant disrespect and disregard for Luci is ticking him off. Then he dares to try and claim her. It’s not just me that’s pissed off. Flare is furious with that man.”

“I can feel it. Come on, let’s get you a drink. Calm you down.”

“No.” he shook his head “I need to see Luci.”

“Jack, you and Flare have a Mate. It’s not Luci, yet you’re acting as though she is your Mate, getting all worked up like she is. You need to take a breath and try to settle yourself.”

Jack nearly glared at Rafe, Flare damned near snarled at Rafe, that she was his Mate or would be. Jack had to check himself and take a minute to actually try and calm down, sighed at his own wolfs thoughts. Rafe was not wrong, he was becoming possessive of her, but he couldn’t seem to help it. It wasn’t just him though, it was also Flare that missed her and wanted her. They both wanted to lay eyes on her right this minute.

He didn’t feel connected to his Mate at all, she was not here in the pack and she didn’t even like him. He didn’t believe their bond was ever going to be what it should be. It was broken and practically non-existent at this point. Both he and Flare’s interest had been raised the moment they’d seen Luci in the lake, and they’d not even been a hundred percent certain it was her.

Once it had been confirmed, nothing else mattered to him or his wolf. He hadn’t touched Maria since laying eyes on Luci and Kali, and he had confirmed it himself, she had no interest in touching him before she’d left. They were done and he knew it.

Regardless of what Rafe wanted, he and Flare knew deep down that Luci was it for them, she always had been, he’d always wanted her and only held back because Rafe had never agreed to claiming her. They’d always wanted a mate to share, he knew he should have just claimed her for himself.

That way Rafe wouldn’t have had a say in the matter. If Jack had claimed her for himself it was likely Rafe would have too, and then none of this would be happening. She would have been theirs, and both their boys would have been born here inside of the pack as well. Raised the right way, by all three of them.

He felt Rafe walk him to a chair and practically pushed him into it. “Just sit, Luci and the boys, we’ll protect them Jack. I don’t think she’ll willingly leave here to go back to Nightfall.”

“She won’t, already told me, before I left the room,” He commented. She’d looked right at him and known what was wrong with him, could still read him. That was a nice feeling.

“What?” Rafe blinked.

“She mind-linked to me.”

“That is good Jack. It’s the first time she’s actively connected to either of us.”

“She knew I was worried. Was trying to reassure me. Why she would do that? After what we did to her, I don’t know. It really should be the other way around. Don’t you think?” He sighed.

“Yes, it should.” Rafe agreed as he sat next to him. “We’ll talk to her, you and I, you know this. We’re still just trying to give her a bit of time to settle back into the pack once more. She needs that, we both saw it, know this.”

Jack did know that, but he hated it at the same time, having to stay away from her when all he wanted to do was hug her, comfort her. Right from the day he’d met her he’d wanted her. Not been able to stay away from her, hadn’t wanted to. Didn’t want to now either.

The minute Orien was out of this pack, he was going to be looking at better accommodation for her and the boys. There was something itching at him and Flare, another thought about where she should be. But he knew he couldn’t act on that without Rafe knowing. Perhaps plan it on his own. Both he and Flare knew it was a given, just a matter of time.

He saw Rafe frown right at him and realised that the man could feel something of what he and Flare were thinking. Closed himself off to that train of thought for now, Rafe was too close to him for him to think about things like that without him picking up on it. Watched as Rafe’s eyes went wide “Jack?”

“It’s nothing, don’t concern yourself with it.” he murmured. But it wasn’t like him to cut Rafe off from his thoughts, or Solar from Flare for that matter. But the things inside his and Flare’s mind were going to make changes within their pack and he knew it. Also knew it would be he who started those changes, not Rafe. Wondered how that was going to affect his and Rafe’s bond to each other.

He looked at his watch and mind-linked to Allen and Ian about Orien being evicted from the pack, that the man only had 50 minutes to leave or it was all out war. Neither of them sounded particularly surprised by his remark, and they appeared in the packhouse foyer a few minutes later with both the boys.

He felt a calm wash over him at just the sight of them, they were both laughing and smiling. He smiled at them both, their boys so perfect, it filled his heart with love and joy and not just at the sight of little Jack but at little Rafe as well. They were walking between Allen and Ian, clearly had no concerns about either of the men. Allen held little Rafe’s hand and Ian had little Jack’s hand as the boys walked between them.

Little Jack smiled right at him and Jack, on pure instinct, held his arms out for his boy. Both he and Flare wanting nothing more than to hold their pup right now. Saw his own son run right over to him and picked him up and settled him on his lap, started talking right away about all the things he’d seen and done down in the entertainment zone.

Such a natural father-son moment to have, little Jack had no hesitation at all in being with him here. He understood not only who he was, but that his father loved him as well. Was happy to know him and be around him.

Jack encouraged him to tell him about all the things he’d seen, what he’d done and who he’d played with down in the kids’ zone of the packhouse. Offered to take him and little Rafe on a full tour of the pack later today or tomorrow.

That not only made his boy smile up at him, but little Rafe as well, felt his hand on his arm. “Is it big?” little Rafe asked.

“It is.” Jack smiled down at him, little Jack was sitting on one knee, he pat the other and felt even happier to have little Rafe climb up onto his lap as well. Felt even Flare be happy with having the two of them on their lap. Smiled from one to the other and then just hugged them both to him before settling back on the couch and into a conversation with them both about all the things that they would get to see.

Both he and Flare were more than settled by having the two boys on his lap. It made both of them happy and Jack realised as he sat talking to them and listening to them talk to him and each other that he didn’t just consider little Jack his, but little Rafe as well.

Both of the boys were his as far as he and Flare were concerned. They had not one son but two.