The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 98

Jack POV

He was walking back with everyone to the packhouse when Gloria mind-linked to him ‘Beta?’

He could hear the concern in her voice ‘Are you alright Gloria?’ he asked right back.

“Um, yes.’ She answered tentatively, but didn’t really sound it, he added Rafe to the mind-link and put a hand on him to stop him from walking.

‘What is it, Gloria? Just tell me.’ He asked gently.

There was silence for a long moment and he could hear the emotion in her voice when she finally spoke to him ‘The Luna…she struck me.’ She half whispered.

He heard the snarl rip out of Rafe near instantly, and felt anger roll off of him, heard all foot fall stop and sighed to himself now. Gripped that man’s arm tightly so he couldn’t go running off to confront Melissa. He’d likely just lose his memories all over again.

‘I’m sorry Gloria.’ He stated and he was sad that this had happened, she’d been struck by Melissa and it was his fault. ‘I did not intend for that to happen, please go to my office, we’ll meet you there.’ He murmured.

‘Yes Beta.’ She replied and he closed out the link.

He saw that everyone was staring at he and Rafe, West and Terence, Brad and Cooper, Allen and Ian even. They were looking at the angry expression on Rafe’s face.

“You can’t go, Rafe.” Jack told him flatly.

“I’ll bloody slap her into next week, myself.” He snarled.

“It’s my fault, I’ll explain.” Jack sighed “I didn’t mean for Gloria to get hurt.”

“What is going on?” Bradley asked with a deep frown.

“The Luna struck a pack member,” Jack sighed.

“What? Why?” nearly all of them asked, sounded more than shocked.

He looked at Rafe and wondered just how to explain this. The fewer people that knew, the less of a chance that Luci would replace out the wrong way. But they weren’t going to be able to keep it a secret for long. All of them were here inside the pack, and not one of them had yet to see Melissa or Maria. It was an odd thing to happen. The pack Luna would normally stand and greet the arriving packs Alpha’s on the arm of her Mate.

West and Terence knew the Luna had tried to hurt Luci, the boys and her mother already. They would likely think it was related to that. “Let’s not discuss it out here.” Rafe stated, “Our office, behind closed doors, would be best.” He muttered.

Jack just nodded and watched Rafe look at each of them. It wasn’t often that any of them would have seen Rafe in a temper, he was generally a happy man, calm most of the time. Out of all of them here standing around, West had been the surly one, not so much anymore. But not much actually ticked Rafe off. Outside of their pack he kept his calm demeanour when visiting others. So, his sudden all aggressive snarl and anger on the surface would be a shock to them all.

Jack could feel that both Maria and Melissa were still in the packhouse. He was keeping tabs on them. He wanted to know when they moved about, so he could go off and play that game of his with them, keeping them in fear of his reaction to that spell and those petals.

This he was hoping was going to contain those two, to the Alpha floor. To his suite in particular, effectively away from Luci and the boys as well. If they moved about, leaving that suite, he had every intention of hunting them down to play that all aggressive need to not just mate Maria now, but Melissa as well.

It had not escaped his attention that Melissa had not gone to Rafe about what he’d done. Jack didn’t think she knew if she still had control over Rafe anymore, he’d not returned to her bed. Had stayed with Jack and she would know he’d believe Jack’s words. Hell, how stupid was she. The house fire alone proved she’d ripped his memories away from him.

Though he’d not gone and confronted her about it either, and as the Alpha he should have, it was treason to try and harm the Alpha, but he couldn’t send Rafe back in there. Not for anything at all. The man would surely end up forgetting all over again and he couldn’t have that, also knew that Rafe didn’t want that either.

They all walked back to the packhouse and into the Alpha’s office. Gloria was already waiting for them, he sighed at the reddened mark on her face, likely had actually been bruised and her wolf had been healing her all this time.

He apologised again, right away at seeing the hand print and motioned for her to go into the office, along with everyone else. Everyone sat bar Rafe, he was standing staring at the mark on Gloria’s face. This she-wolf had been around inside their pack for her entire life, had worked hard for the pack, was a diligent and loyal wolf, and she had been their head omega up on the Alpha floor for as long as both he and Jack had known her, since they were children. Rafe was clearly not happy about this. Both he and Jack treated their omega’s as respected and valued pack members.

Neither one of them approved of omegas being hit or treated terribly, for it was in fact omega’s that kept the pack in good condition. They were the ones to maintain everything, did all the chores, so to speak, and if not for them, no pack would run smoothly and be clean or well fed. Their omegas were treated with respect and paid good wages, lived in nice homes.

Could train and, if they so wanted to, could go off to university and study whatever they wanted as well, get an education of the highest degree. Nothing was denied to them here in their pack.

Some of the most intelligent pack members were in fact omegas. They had two omegas that were doctors in training, and two that worked at the local university had PHD’s in physics and chemistry, one was out there, a model, in the human world and two were songwriters.

There was nothing they couldn’t do if they put their minds to it, and here in the Black Forest Pack they were all encouraged to chase their dreams. Obtain a degree and make a good living for themselves. Though he did know that more than half of them were just happy working here inside the pack, to make it what it was, a pack to be proud of.

“Did it bruise?” he heard Rafe ask, a deep frown was marring his face.

“Yes, Alpha.” Gloria nodded “Mini is working on it.”

“Did you get hurt anywhere else?” he asked.

“No Alpha, I stumbled but didn’t fall, just…fled the room.”

“Jack explain to me what is going on.” He snapped, looking right at him. He’d not forgotten his words.

Jack sighed and nodded “Gloria, you may go. Take tomorrow off. In fact, no one should work on the Alpha floor for the time being. Let your staff know this. You can all just take time off.”

“Yes, Beta.” She bowed slightly and left the room.

He watched her close the door and apologised to her once again via the mind-link, before turning to Rafe. “I had the omegas remove all the aroma sachets from the packhouse, from my room last, being that was where Maria and Melissa are. To tell them they were filling them with the new petals, just helping their Luna out, at my request.”

“Why?” Rafe asked now.

“Playing my own game…” his eyes moved to the rest in the room. Luna Jo-anne was not here, had gone off on her own, it seemed. Something was going on there, but what else was knew inside this pack? It seemed there was so much going on all over the place, even inside other packs. All packs had their own secrets, even from their allies, until it needed to come out, that was.

“Our Mates, we believe, are not actually our Mates at all.” He told those in the room simply, “They used witchcraft we think to bind us to them, not that we have solid evidence yet, still working on that.”

He watched as all of them stared at him and then after a moment they all just frowned much the same way Rafe was doing. He saw a look go between West and Terence and then heard Terence mutter a string of curse words.

“More is going on here than just Victor,” West stated.

“Yes.” Rafe nodded “This pack is…” he seemed to think about it for a long time before speaking again “under the influence, I guess. Of those two upstairs.”

Jack noted he did no longer call her the Luna or his Mate either.

“The house fire?” Terence asked.

“We think it was a way to get us both into our suites so they could redo to us whatever it is that keeps us under their control.” Rafe stated.

“Melissa used some sort of scent on petals to diffuse Rafe’s anger at her setting fire to that house, where Luci, the twins and Addison had been staying until just a few hours earlier.” He sighed heavily “Then…” he looked at Rafe who just nodded his head “He lost all his memories of it, this was just last night, lost all his memories of Luci and the boys as well.”

Everyone in the room was just staring at Rafe now, he just nodded at them. “It was not nice.” Rafe sighed “Jack spent the entire night filling me in and getting me up to date. Took me to see Luci first thing this morning. That helped me a lot.”

His eyes were on West and Terence, though West appeared calm, Terence was now pacing around the room in long purposeful strides. “Witchcraft. You say? Your own witches?” he asked.

“No,” Jack shook his head, “But they will not get involved.”

“Witch’s don’t interfere with witch’s.” Rafe finished for him.

“Yes, they bloody do.” Terence muttered “Never in a good way, from my understanding.”

“Not our witches.” Jack stated “We have to sort it out ourselves. They won’t get involved.”

“You’re the Alpha Rafe,” Bradley frowned “They pledged their loyalty to you. Tell them to get involved.”

“It’s not that simple.” He heard Rafe sigh.

“It should be,” Bradley muttered.

“I’m their Alpha, likely only because Allen is their Mate. They have a coven and a leader of their own.” He watched Rafe look right at West as he did, and they both saw West frown himself. They’d all see it, those witch’s pledge to serve his own Mate and Luna. Call her your highness.

Though not one of them had said anything at all about it, they’d just stared at each other for a long moment and let it go.

“Alright fellas, what else is going on here that I’m missing.” It was Bradley once more and when Jack looked at him, he and his Beta Cooper, he noticed were both watching the way he and Rafe were looking at West and Terence. He was not dumb, understood, they knew West had something to say on the matter of Witch’s.

Everyone watched on as West and Terence’s eyes glazed over, a private conversation between the two, likely about outing his Luna and what she actually was to every one inside this room.

They just stood and waited. There was nothing other than that to do. Only they could make that decision. It was several minutes before West and Terence came back to the room and looked at everyone. It was West that spoke.

“Jo-anne is okay with you all knowing so…” he took a deep breath in, “My Luna, is a royal princess. Terence’s little sister, in fact. Born to his mother after she was taken away by force and brutalized for years, Jo-anne is the product of that union. Her father is, or was, a very powerful Warlock. His plans for Jo-anne, not so nice.”

He heard many sighs throughout the room, and Jack realised she was just like Addison, born of a forced mating, her father a Warlock, and wondered if those two were related in any way.

“Our witch’s bowed to your Luna.” Rafe commented.

“I saw.” West nodded.

“Called her your highness,” Jack stated.

“What?” it was Allen, he’d not been there for that had been with Addison.

“All three of them,” Rafe said. “Jo-anne is the head of their coven, I imagine.”

“It does look that way,” West nodded, “though not even she understands that. She is only 31 and they are older.”

“How is it possible then?” Bradley asked now.

“We don’t know, she only came into her powers 3 years ago.” Terence answered him.

“Was bled into another’s line, which masked who she was,” West stated, “It’s complicated to say the least.”

“Where is Jo-anne now?” Jack asked, she wasn’t here, and he couldn’t keep track of her not being a pack member.

“Gone to get answers.” Terence muttered “I’m not happy about it.”