The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 50

Rafe POV

He could understand where Jack was coming from, wanting Orien out of their pack. He was in complete agreement with him and Jack knew it. Orien was going to be gone and quickly, right from the moment that he had stated he was going to take Luci back to Nightfall just to mate her off.

What the hell kind of stepfather was he? He didn’t want her in his pack, but wanted her back, just to mate her off to make himself an alliance with some unknown Alpha. Even Rafe knew that the man did not care whether it was something Luci wanted, hadn’t even asked her, just stated it like what he wanted was all that mattered.

Not even he would put it past Orien, he realised, to have him go home and call Victor and tell him to just come and get her once more. He hadn’t once even looked at all concerned, only continued to state there was no proof it was Victor, until they had produced Gary’s body itself.

Even then, the man had only frowned, yet still hadn’t pulled out his phone and called that man. He could have taken that hour before this meeting was had, to call Victor and ask him what was going on. Why he’d tried to take Luci, get an explanation, but he had not.

Rafe sighed, Luci could never ever go back to Nightfall, not even to visit her brother. It wouldn’t be safe not ever. Orien, it seemed, was not to be trusted at all. Not even Addi seemed to trust him anymore. Even Thatcher didn’t think so right that minute, he’d shown some real Alpha qualities today in that room.

He’d not liked being shoved aside by Thatcher or being told to move out of the way, but today Thatcher had read the room right and made the right decision, to try and intervene, even against his own father and Alpha’s wishes. Showed good growing leadership qualities.

He might just make for a good Alpha himself one day. If Orien ever gave control over him, that was. That man could well reject his own son for the disrespect he had shown in that meeting. He’d certainly rejected Luci for less. Rejected her not for her lack of Alpha training or leadership skills. She’d had those, did her training. Though as he thought about it he didn’t recall Luci having been sent off to Alpha College, like Thatcher had been.

Though he believed that was more to do with Luci never being, in Orien’s eyes, the actual future Heir to the pack. So he’d simply not bothered to send her, didn’t waste a single cent on the girl if he didn’t have to. Likely, Rafe thought now, that man had always had the intent to just mate her off out of his pack.

Luci was right, Orien had not even given her the chance to replace her Goddess-Gifted Mate. Two years was nothing. Not enough time to replace a Mate. Not when he never let her out of the pack to go to mating balls, which Rafe did know he’d not done only ever allowed to attend those in their home pack. It was weird.

When he really thought about it now, Orien himself hadn’t met Addison till he was 26, that was an 8 year wait for a Mate and he and Jack had not met their Mates for 21 years. They had been 39 when they found their Mates. It took time and years of patience to replace one’s Mate if you weren’t one of the lucky ones to replace one right away.

He sat with Jack, waiting for Orien to pack and come downstairs to leave. He did not like Jack suddenly cutting himself off from him, neither did Solar, who snarled his annoyance right inside Rafe’s mind. Not once in all their lives had Jack ever cut himself off from them. Whatever he’d been thinking about, he didn’t want Rafe or Solar to know about it, that was not who they were.

They had always been connected, strongly bonded together, not even their Mates had been able to stop the connection between them. Though he was certain that Melissa hated how close he was to Jack and wanted them not to be like that. Knew Melissa wanted nothing to do with Jack.

He knew she would be happy if Jack up and left the pack, even. She’d once threaten Jack, to sever his tie to her twin. This only made Rafe wonder what she thought would happen if she did that? She probably thought or expected him to get rid of Jack. Little did she know that would never happen. Her twin would be the one expected to leave.

Though it had been Jack’s reaction that solved that issue, he’d simply laughed right at her, knew Rafe would never ask him to leave. Told Melissa he’d banish her twin the instant she did. He’d seen Melissa’s mouth snap shut that day, and she’d stalked away, ticked off her threat had meant nothing.

Realised he thought that she would end up worse off than Jack was. She had snapped at Rafe later on that night. “How can you let him speak to me that way?”

Rafe had looked right at her “How can you think to threaten my Beta’s bond?” he’d asked right back.

“She’s my twin.” She’d shot at him.

“Jack was born here, on the same day as me. Belongs to me.” He’d told her.

“He’s just a man. I’m your Mate. You should want what I want.” She’d yelled right at him.

He’d smiled right at her, “Really, as your Mate. I should want what you want?”

“Yes, of course you should.” She’d yelled.

“So, by that reasoning, Melissa. You should also want what I want.” He’d told her and she knew exactly what he’d meant. Jack in their bed.

Had seen her glare right at him, she had not misunderstood his meaning, had turned and stalked away from him, he’d called out after her “So, that’s only a one-way thing, is it?”

“You should want me to be happy.”

“And so should you where I am concerned. Jack in our bed would make me happy.”

She’d stalked back to him and screamed right in his face “You’re not getting that, Jack will never touch me, I hate him.”

He’d stared right at her “Right.” He’d snapped himself and left the suite, had gone right to Luci’s room that night and slept there, had slept damned well in there too.

She’d been so pissed off when she’d seen him coming out of Luci’s room that she’d gone home that day, back to her father’s pack, had taken Maria with her and not come back for a week. Had never apologised to him or to Jack for that matter, just ignored what she’d said, to the both of them, blipped over it like nothing had ever happened.

He watched as Jack sat with their boys on his lap, one on each knee, smiling at them, talking to them. Watched him just hug them both and knew instantly Jack was bonded to both of them. Both he and Solar were happy to see this. The two boys calmed Jack and his wolf right down and he was once again open to them.

His eyes, though, moved to little Jack and he understood why, suddenly, though she had twins, one to each of them, or it appeared that way, both were considered his and Jacks. He realised they both had two sons each, not one.

Felt happy about that almost right away, reached out a hand to touch little Jack’s arm and the boy looked at him and smiled up at him, held out both his arms to him. He’d not held little Jack yet, and wondered if the boy would come to him. He watched with happiness as little jack smiled right at him and then moved over to sit on his knee. Let Rafe hug him, ruffle his blonde hair. Liked that he could feel connected to both the boys in the same manner. They were both his as they were both Jacks.

He hadn’t realised it until this very minute, not until he saw Jack with the two of them, how connected he was to little Rafe as well as little Jack. It was likely that the boys would call them both dad, when they were comfortable here inside the pack. He was more than a little excited for that to happen.

Though the boys did appear to already be happy here, he got the impression this was their normal state. Likely they were always happy and smiling. Despite how they were raised, with almost nothing. They knew what love was, that their mothers loved them, it was easily seen by all how much Luci, Kali and Alari loved them.

He found both Allen and Ian sitting down to watch them with the boys. “You two look really happy.” Ian smiled at him.

“The happiest I’ve seen the two of you in years.” Allen agreed with him.

Rafe reached out a hand and put it on Jack’s shoulder. “I am happy,” he stated, and he was.

It was the happiest he had felt in a very long time. Even felt his bond to Jack was stronger than it had been since they’d spent the night together here in the pack. Jack just nodded and went back to talking to the children.

Though he did see him check his watch several times, and nearly chuckled as he realised Orien was on an actual count down and that Jack was going to hold him to that sixty minutes, to get off pack territory.

It wouldn’t take that long to pack, likely ten minutes if that. But it had been nearly 30 now, wondered just what he was doing up there, was he trying to call Victor and get answers to save his alliance with them. Or was he just trying to see if Jack was bluffing? Rafe knew Jack wasn’t.

“Allen, could you please go up and let Orien know he’s down to thirty minutes, and remind that man just how long it takes to get from here to the front gate as well.” It was a good 20 minute drive, so that gave him just ten minutes to get his a*s in his car and leave.

He saw Allen nod and get up to go and do just that, knew Orien would understand him sending Allen, it was a veiled threat, to leave or Allen might just lay hands on him. No one wanted that, certainly not Orien. He would just become a bloodied red mist, make one hell of a mess in the packhouse.

Then Allen’s Mate’s would all turn up to see what the hell had happened to their Mate, and could well take it out on the rest of that man’s unit. Making for even more mess up there on the first floor.

He watched as Orien, Chad and Milton came down the stairs. Orien looked more than ticked off, Thatcher and Cathy strolled along behind them, he was chatting to Allen, picked up on that he was wanting the man to look out for Luci and any signs of unhappiness, to please call him, he wanted to know.

“You’re being completely unreasonable Jack.” Orien snapped right at him. Didn’t even care that their children were here with them.

“Am I?” Jack stood, shifted little Rafe to his h*p but didn’t put him down. “I don’t think so, Victor is now our enemy. He should also be yours, as your own Luna stated, yet you don’t consider him that.” Jack was speaking quite calmly.

Orien looked right at him now. “You’re just going to let your Beta tell me, an Alpha, what to do? Sever our alliance, your Beta?”

“I am.” Rafe nodded without getting up. “Because Jack is not just the Beta, we run this pack together. You are fully aware of that. I am also in complete agreement with Jack, with Addison, with Thatcher himself. Victor would be your enemy if it was Thatcher or even Cathy there, if Victor tried to take either of them. Yet you don’t show the same courtesy to your own Luna’s daughter. That you helped raise her from the day she was born, no one outside of your pack, not even Thatcher here, knew she wasn’t yours. Till today. I understand that Luci is not your flesh and b***d. That you kicked her out at twenty and for what? Not wanting to be mated off to Victor at your insistence.”

“Your cruelty to your own stepdaughter is unbelievable. Thankfully,” Jack stated, “she now knows you’re not her father, and has no tie to you.” Rafe even heard the smile in Jacks voice. “She’ll never go back to Nightfall, has told me so already.”

“Wait and see Beta, Luci won’t stay here with you once your Mates come home. Where else would she go, but to her mother?” Orien stated, sounding a little smug.

“Who is here, for the foreseeable future?” Rafe commented, a smile now on his lips. “We’re happy to have her as well. Please leave Orien.”

“Our alliance?” he grated out.

“It is going to be all up to Luci,” Jack told him. “What she wants, we’ll give to her.”

Saw anger flare in Orien before he stalked from the packhouse. He understood Luci would likely sever ties with him, and that would leave Addison here for the foreseeable future, as Rafe had stated.

“Thatcher, you’re still welcome here.” Rafe told him. “As is your Mate.”

“Thank you.” he nodded before leaving as well.

Allen and Ian saw them out. He looked up at Jack, both he and Jack had remained amicable, didn’t want to get all angry in front of their boys. Didn’t know how they would react to that, both of them had come to Addison’s aid yesterday.

It was not nice to sever an alliance, but it was likely going to happen, they would actually let Luci decide. Addison could well go back to Nightfall after some time. Her son was there after all. Severing ties might not be something Luci wanted, she might just decide never to go back there and have nothing to do with Orien. But she might want the affiliation because of her brother and mother.

He didn’t know, only time would tell.