The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 154
The Alpha & Beta's Regret
Jack POV
He woke up to the twins stating âDaddy?â
His eyes flicked open and to the bed and he sat up, realising Rafe was not there in the room with him. Though he could feel him downstairs in the packhouse, he realised he could also feel Addison down there. She was back, it seemed.
âMorning boys.â He smiled at them, knew they must be confused about waking up here and it was morning. They hadnât even had dinner, but he was also happy as this was the first time he was there with them, when they woke up.
He and Flare both liked being here with them first thing in the morning. A real family moment.
Luci was still asleep, she didnât even so much as flicker an eyelid at the sound of his voice in the room or the boys getting up and out of bed. She was really out of it, utterly exhausted, he realised. He didnât know what it was like for her to use her powers as she had for hours upon hours.
Likely never would.
At least she wasnât injured, or not that he had seen or smelled when collecting her âAre you hungry?â he asked the boys, though he also knew there was no food here in this suite. It had not been used in all the time he and Rafe had been in charge, and he didnât think Rafeâs mother had ever used it either.
He understood what a Luna Suite was for; Lunaâs that were not ready to be Marked and Mated by their Alpha. Or when one was ticked off with their Alpha Mate and didnât want to be near him; not that heâd ever seen that inside this pack.
He knew Addison had used her Luna Suite to stay in when ticked off with Orien, Luci had told them once.
âYes.â Both boys stated and looked around âItâs day time.â
They stated.
âMm, you fell asleep very suddenly. Slept all night.â Jack told them. He didnât know if telling them the truth was a good idea. Left that alone. He mind-linked to Nadia to have food brought up.
Blinked as he felt several others suddenly be brought into the pack.
. Initiated by Rafe, it seemed, something was going on and heâd clearly slept through Addisonâs return, likely sheâd brought others with her.
He wondered if shed found surviving Sirens up there at her lake and brought them here, then frowned at that thought.
No, she wouldnât have Rafe initiate them, heâd heard what Luci had said yesterday. So, no, she would want any and all Sirens bound to Luci, who would be their Alpha. He moved his eyes to Luci there on the bed. She was wearing a green and white dress which had a hollowed out back and hood like what Hannah and her sisters always wore.
It was probably one of their dresses, not that heâd ever seen them in anything other than blue, but he liked it on Luci.
That hollowed out back had given him skin on skin contact with her all the way back to the packhouse. Heâd liked that a lot.
Even just carrying her back here, shed curled right into him in her sleep, when heâd picked her up, a natural instinct on her part. That had made him really smile, that in her sleep she still wanted to be close to him. Jack had strolled back with her at a nice casual pace, so that he could spend more time with her.
She was his Mate, not that she knew that, but he did and that had been the first time heâd gotten to touch her, smell her up close and just really look at her since shed come home. He wanted to claim her more than he did Rafe and he knew it. Loved them both, but was already bonded to Luci, had Mated himself to her, as had Flare.
They just needed to get her permission to complete the bond, to Mark her and he was going to do that. It was no wonder he felt like he was going insane at times over the past few days. His body understood what she was to him, where his mind had not. Sighed a little, he hated that they had been torn apart for so very long. His body had understood that it belonged to her, so craved to comfort her, be with her and didnât like her distress at all or her being angry with them.
He sat with the boys and ate breakfast when it arrived, and realised that the boys didnât seem concerned at all about Luciâs state. That made him curious, and asked them if they knew she was alright.
âSleeping.â Theyâd both told him after looking at her for a long moment. Heâd watched them both tilt their heads in the same manner, assessing her hed thought.
âYouâve seen her like this before?â he asked now.
They both nodded âWhen you were in trouble,â Little Rafe told him with a nod.
âShe came back and slept a whole day.â Little Jack told him.
He nodded, that could only have been when Victor attacked the pack, let it go.
He turned and looked at the door as Rafe walked into the room, followed by Addi and another woman. Addi smiled right at the boys.
âGrammy.â They both exclaimed excitedly and were up and off to hug her. He smiled watching her hug them right back and then saw them as they looked at the new woman, stared right up at her and tilted their heads as they looked at her.
Rafe took the piece of toast he was eating right out of his hand and bit into it, smiled at him as he sat down next to him. Jack shook his head, got the feeling he was displaying to Jack that what was Jacks was now his as well.
Moved his attention back to the boys once more after picking up another piece of toast to eat, âRafe, Jackâ He heard Addison address the twins, âThis is Silla, your Aunt, my new daughter.â
âSiren.â They both stated and stepped towards the woman.
Heard the woman, Silla, laugh and then she just sank down to the floor and held her arms out to them. He knew Sirens loved other Sirens, watched on as she giggled and hugged them when they hugged her. She looked very happy to him, saw that Siren of hers push forward and look right at the boys. They did not perceive her as a threat at all. She bowed her head to them and smiled at them. Took right to her, she was one of them, just more family for them to love.
Jack looked at Addi, he was happy for her, that she had found a Siren up there at her lake. There were survivors.â You found a survivor.â He smiled at her.
âNo, this is the Bloodless Moonâs Siren, or was.â She chuckled âIs my daughter now.â
âWhat?â he frowned.
âA long story short. I was taken by Victor, released a few of his prisoners, claimed his Siren as my own child and then left, taking his goddess gifted with me too.â She chuckled â Heâll be really ticked off when he wakes up this morning.â
âVic Vic is sleeping.â Silla smiled.
âYes he is, you sedated him good you did.â He heard Addison laugh now. âHeâs also about 100 warriors down now too. I knocked off a dozen or more and Silla.â He watched her turn and smile at the girl. âSo very strong, saved many women and got them out of his pack.â
âGone to Kitsune pack.â Silla smiled.
âWhat?â Jack blinked.
âConner and Eliza, I called them before coming up here to make sure they made it there safely, all of them have.
Women and children, all of them were granted sanctuary.
Apparently, Silla here knows Sloan, Elizaâs grandmother. I was also informed that Alpha Austin is on his way here to speak with Zoe, Lidia and Rhyse. Silla as well if shell allow it.â
âSloan coming?â Silla asked
âYes, I hear Sloan is coming and wants to see you.â Rafe smiled at her and he saw Silla nearly beam with happiness. âTheyâre coming tomorrow. Austin is stopping in to pick up Sloan and drop off other council members at the Wandering Moon.â
They allowed Addi to take the boys back to the Forest Creek house, explained to her that they wanted to be here when Luci woke up, so that they could all talk and sort this mess out. Silla had touched Luciâs sleeping body, clearly knew what she was, but didnât really understand why she was sleeping like she was. Addison was going to explain that to her.
He and Rafe sat back down after seeing them out. They were not going anywhere until Luci woke up. He didnât think that Rafe would have left the suite if Addi hadnât come home and requested it directly.
He sat there with Rafe and wondered how long it was going to take, muttered at Rafe when he took food right from his hand at lunch time âDo you have to eat everything Iâm trying to eat?â
Heard the man chuckle softly âYes, whatâs yours is mine now.â He stated simply. âSo, IâIl eat what you eat.â He bit right into that sandwich and smiled at Jack, fully amused it seemed.
âWhy are you so happy?â Jack muttered and took his sandwich back.
âIâve figured it out is all.â
âFigured what out?â
âUs, you and I.â
Jack frowned at him. âWhat are you talking about?â
âItâs likely Jack, you and I will scent each other out now, on the next full moon, now that we have a Mate or right after, we both claim Luci. Itâs one of those things a double bond requires. Where one of us has to scent out or claim, in our case. The one we want, before we come together officially as Mateâs ourselves. Before we could scent each other out.
We are Mates you and I.â his eyes moved to Luci âWe just needed the connecting factor for our bond to snap into place.â
âSo, we both need Luci to accept us, to realise our own bond.â
âYes.â He nodded âShe connects us to each other, makes our bond stronger and I think weâll likely scent each other after we both claim her.â
âIf she says no?â Jack worried now.
He heard Rafe sigh and looked at him âWeâll not get connected, gifted to each other as Mates. Remain separate ..like when an Alpha scents his Goddess Gifted Mate but she has two mates to connect with and be with, the other would usually be the Beta, and the other can only scent her after she accepts the first one. If she doesnât accept him, rejects him, the second Mate never knows what she was to him, and the Alpha and his Beta never connect to each other either.â
âI donât want that.â
âTIl be claiming you regardless, Jack. I love you, you belong to me, Flare to Solar. Weâre not losing you any more than I am going to lose Luci. Weâll be fighting for her with all we have if she is hesitant.â He leaned over and kissed Jack all soft and slow.
Jack sighed and leaned into the k**s, kissed him back and murmured âI love you too, Rafe.â When the k**s ended âI want all of this to work out, all of us to beâ¦â his eyes moved to Luci on the bed âHappy.â He stated, only to realise she was not only awake in that bed but looking right at the two of them.
He sat up instantly. He had no idea how long sheâd been awake, though he didnât think it could have been all that long, a minute, maybe two. What had she heard?
âLuci.â He stated softly and watched her sit up slowly, look from him to Rafe and then around the room, before back to them, he stood and she put a hand out to stop him. He stilled at her unspoken request, but felt Rafe also stand there next to him.
This was it, the moment heâd ached for, for days only fear was starting to creep into him, he was actually scared that she was going to reject him, reject them both. He watched her get out of the bed and frown, âWhere am I? Where are the boys?..Hannah?â she gasped.
It was Rafe who spoke first: âYouâre in the Luna Suite, the boys are with Addi, sheâs home. Hannah is okay, sleeping it off like you were. But okay.â He told her, answering all her uestions, trying to reassure her. âAre you alright?â Rafe asked now a little quietly.