The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 59

Rafe POV

Rafe stood watching Jack search through his own suite, for something that was only going to be obvious to him. Rafe didn’t think he was going to replace anything. He couldn’t understand the man right this very minute. Here in the Beta Suite he couldn’t seem to feel anything of what Jack was feeling.

Also didn’t understand the man. He clearly recalled going to the Wolf Valley Pack, to assist with rogue attacks. It was the first time they’d been called by Alpha Colby, who had pleaded for assistance. They were not affiliated but their pack was small, only 200.

He also recalled being there over a two-week period, which crossed over the full moon, which had allowed him and Jack to scent out their Mates. Even recalled that both girls had been in the same place. That he and Jack actually scented them out at the exact same time.

It was a clear memory even to this day. He could recall in vivid detail the pure excitement of finally replaceing their Goddess Gifted Mates. It had taken them a very long time, 19 years in fact. They had been 39 when it happened.

Even though the two of them had expected to have one Mate between them, the girls had been twins, not identical, but even that had excited the two of them, the thought of getting to share the two women between them. They’d both liked that idea, twice as much fun, they had joked with each other.

He remembered what Melissa had been wearing that day, a pair of white slacks and a soft blue, off the shoulder top, her hair had been all swept up in a lose bun with a few curling tendrils framing her face. She’d had long dangly gold earrings in, that had a tiny white pearl at the bottom. Had been wearing a matching necklace and bracelet. She’d even been wearing make-up, it was almost as if she’d been waiting for him.

He’d spied a belly button piercing with a bright blue stone in it. He’d really liked that. Though she didn’t have it anymore. Thought about that, as he stood staring at Jack making a hell of a mess in his suite. Melissa didn’t have that belly button piercing anymore.

He recalled the day he realised it was no longer there. She’d stopped wearing it about a month after they’d gotten back to the pack, and he’d asked her about it. She’d shrugged and said ‘I don’t want it anymore.’

He’d murmured ‘I really liked it, a bit of a turn on.’ All seductively at her, hoping she’d put it back in.

Frowned now as he stood there, remembering her reaction, she’d raised an eyebrow at him and stated, ‘I know,’ and then had just walked away from him. He really frowned now. That had been the first time she’d walked away from him. He thought about it, she had known he liked it and had removed it, and now he was curious as to if she had done that on purpose? As he pulled on the memory, really recalled it.

It kind of sounded to him that she had taken it out on purpose, and just because he liked it, shook it off. Chastised himself, what was he thinking, Melissa wouldn’t do something like that. “Jack stop, I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” He reached out and tried to grab on to Jack.

Jack shoved his hand away, “You will.” Was all he said.

“Jack, I remember meeting them, then scenting them out on the full moon a few days later, Marking and Mating them.”

“So do I.” Jack stated, “but I’m certain that there is no way, Rafe, we, both of us would have just completely forgotten about Luci and how it would affect her. How she would feel with us bringing home Mates. Not telling her, warning her, she loved us, you know that. Both you and I knew that.”

Jack had him on that one, he had known that. “There is no way, Rafe.” Jack went on as he moved to another room to start searching for what Rafe didn’t know “that we just forgot to tell her. Both of us, at the same time.”

Rafe frowned at him as he thought about it, saw Jack turn and look at him pointedly “Do you recall Luci at all over those two weeks we were there in the Wolf Valley Pack? I don’t. I don’t even recall thinking about her when we got home, not when we crossed into the pack, not when we walked into the packhouse. Nothing until our border patrolman stated her name in a panicked tone, and then and only then do I recall thinking about her, that we’d forgotten to tell her.”

Rafe sighed, “Jack, it was the Mate Bond. We were excited and happy, and…”

“No,” Jack cut him off, “it’s all wrong Rafe. Even with a new Mate Bond, we wouldn’t do that to her. How is it possible that we could just forget Luci? She was everything to us. Goddess Rafe, how many times did we talk about claiming her.” Jack was glaring at him now. “I know I was in love with Luci, so there is no way I would just completely forget about her. A Mate Bond does not obliterate love for another, hinders and halts, confuses one, but it doesn’t make you forget them completely. And I’m not that much of an a*****e.”

“Jack?”

“No.” Jack yelled right at him “They did something to us. Still are doing it, I bet.”

Rafe was really staring at Jack now, he could feel so much anger coming from not just Jack but Flare as well. He realised, they both truly believed something had been done to them.

“They won’t let us share them.” Jack snapped, “A true Goddess Gifted Mate, would be made for us, would crave us both. Not deny us our needs.”

Rafe sighed heavily. He couldn’t argue with that statement, even he believed that was true. It had been six and a half years and they still denied them. He didn’t understand Melissa or Maria on that account. “But why would they?” he asked, instead trying to replace any kind of logic to Jack’s thinking.

“I don’t know. But look at us, Rafe. We are weaker, and were at odds with each other. They are not even here and we’re practically fighting, its…” the man was quiet all of a sudden, thinking and Rafe knew it. Then he looked right at Rafe “It’s almost as if that’s what they want, us separated and apart.”

“Jack?”

“No, think about it, Melissa hates it when we are out in the woods together, even when Solar and Flare spend time together. She verbally threatened to strip Maria’s bond from me, thinking you would toss my a*s out of the pack, I bet. Got in that fight with you about it, and you told her Maria would be the one to go, not me. If I recall what you told me correctly.”

Rafe nodded, that was the truth. “What would that achieve, Jack?” Rafe sighed, he couldn’t see a reason for it at all.

“Addison said we were dying. What if separating us does that…Who would get the pack if we died?”

“The twins.” Rafe answered simply.

“Before we knew about the twins?” Jack asked him.

“Melissa would.”

“Yes.” Jack nodded “She would.”

“Jack, stop it, I seriously doubt that they are trying to kill us. Hell they could have done that years ago in our sleep. Anytime they liked, don’t you think?”

Jack was glaring at him now, snapped his mouth shut and Rafe knew why, he had been about to state the Luna was trying to kill the Alpha in a long drawn-out manner. It was treasonous, is what it was. To think of the Luna in such a manner. He felt his own anger well up and boil to the surface.

Turned and banged right out of the Beta Suite, he didn’t want to hear anymore and get into a full-on fight with Jack, and he could feel it coming to that. They’d never, not once lashed out at each other, never come to blows and right this minute Rafe wanted to beat him one for thinking that about his Mate, about the Luna to the pack.

Stalked down through the packhouse, Melissa had never once tried to hurt him or harm him, Jack was up there completely losing it and all because Luci was now back inside the pack. The man was Mated and yet, it seemed, completely infatuated with Luci.

Rafe understood that Jack had guilt, that he’d always blamed himself for Luci’s disappearance. But he wasn’t the only one to feel that. Rafe had that same guilt. Which was now even worse, seeing her and knowing that she had borne them children.

Jack was clearly confused and his attachment to their sons was filtering to Luci and making him feel things that he shouldn’t feel. Stalked himself all the way to his office and banged that door shut as well. Looked up at the ceiling, he might not be in the same room as Jack, but he could still feel the man’s anger towards him.

He sank down in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. He and Jack were never at odds, sighed a little on the sad side, they were always on the same page. Until today, it seemed. They had been on the same page this morning, they’d both been happy today. That thought made him frown, he’d been as mad as hell up there in the Beta Suite.

Now here he was in his office and he wasn’t mad at all, recalled Jack’s words and knew he should be, but he wasn’t. He thought about that, he was actually worried about Jack as he sat there in his office. There was no anger anymore. Frowned, that was odd.

Mind-linked to Jack only to be shut out by him completely, it shocked Rafe. Jack never shut him out, they didn’t ever fight over anything, were always on the same page. He’d kissed the hell out of Jack here in this office just over an hour ago. Hadn’t even known where that had come from himself.

Rafe stood up and walked out of his office, looked up at the fifth floor. He wasn’t angry at Jack now, but he had been and now right this minute he wasn’t. Turned and looked at his office. Walked back in there, looked around. It was as it always was. He’d never let Melissa change it, not one thing. She had an office of her own. This was his and Jack’s office and he’d told her no.

She’d wanted to though, to put her personal touch on it, as had Maria for that matter. He’d told them both no, stated “I like my office as is, redecorate your own all you like.” Recalled she’d actually not been happy about it at all.

His and Jack’s office was off limits to her, in the decorating department, as was Luci’s room. Yet he and Jack did get annoyed with each other outside in the corridors and up on the fifth floor hallway as well. Frowned as his brain started ticking.

What if Jack was right? Jack was currently upstairs in his suite, a place Rafe rarely went in to, Maria didn’t like it, much the same way Melissa didn’t like Jack in the Alpha suite. He was up there searching for something that Maria had in their Suite to harm him, not physically, but maybe mentally. Rafe didn’t know.

He headed back upstairs and pushed into the Beta Suite, found Jack pulling things out of his draws. He turned those green eyes on him, they were still filled with anger, felt his own anger rise near instantly, and doubt suddenly crept into him. Maybe the man was in fact right.

Grabbed Jack by the arm and hauled him out of the Beta’s Suite, Jack was yelling at him to bloody let go the whole way. Pulled that man all the way down the corridor to Luci’s suite and shoved him in there. Followed him inside, this place had always had a calming effect on the pair of them. He closed the door and felt a wave of calm wash over him.

Watched as Jack stopped fighting, after he’d taken all of three steps into the room, watched him very closely. It took all of a minute for Jack to scrub a hand over his face and then just look at him, seemed to be confused. He was also no longer closed off to Rafe. He could feel the man’s utter confusion about what had just happened.

Jack was going to be right, something was wrong. “Alright,” Rafe nodded. “I agree, something is off. We never fight, and I was ready, itching to beat the hell out of you in there. Took myself to my office to stop myself, and once there, I was just worried about you, not angry with you. I walked back into your Suite and was angry with you again, but in here, even you calmed down.” Rafe sighed, his thoughts were starting to line up.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“Where are the two places inside this pack, our Mate’s are not allowed to either go or redecorate?”

“Here in Luci’s room and our office,” Jack answered without hesitation.

Rafe nodded. “I was calm but confused downstairs, you’re calm and confused now, here in Luci’s room.”

“So, you’re thinking?”

“Your room is toxic to us. Mine not so much. We stayed in there together, didn’t get upset or fight at all.”

“So it’s my mate not yours?” Jack muttered.

“I’m not saying that.” Rafe shook his head, and he wasn’t “Come with me.” He walked out of the room and headed for his own suite. Those girls were twins and real damned close, if it was one trying to harm them or separate them as Jack stated. Then it was both of them doing this, whatever it was. They were in on it together.