Thanks for your support through reading my book Alpha Draven's Regret: The Return of His Rejected Mate. I really appreciate your time and support.
Nyra's POVI didn't mean to eavesdrop.The corridor was quiet—still tinged with morning calm, and I had only meant to peek into Auren's room to check on him, maybe sneak a few more moments of watching him sleep before the day demanded too much of me. The floorboards beneath my bare feet were cool, and motes of dust danced in the slanting morning light that filtered through the half-drawn curtains.But I stopped just shy of the door-frame.I heard Draven's voice.Low. Frayed. Vulnerable in a way I hadn't heard in years."I'll never let anything take you. I swear, Auren. Even if it costs me everything."The breath caught in my throat, hot and painful.Something in his voice—raw and broken—wedged itself beneath my ribs like a splinter I couldn't extract. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling whatever sound threatened to escape.He wasn't putting on a show. He didn't know I was there.For once, he wasn't the Alpha, the warrior, the man who'd once broken my heart with such precision it felt l
Draven’s POVI knew she was slipping from my grasp, but I thought I had more time.The moment Nyra and Auren returned, something shifted in Selene. Not that she was ever balanced to begin with, but I saw it in her eyes, a glint of something sharp and poisoned. Resentment. Possessiveness. A hunger that had very little to do with family and everything to do with control.I let it slide. I told myself she was just adjusting, feeling replaced, maybe, but nothing she couldn’t handle. I thought, She’s Selene. She throws tantrums, she pushes boundaries, and then she comes back when she’s calmed down.But this… this was something else.I stood outside the chambers I’d given her not three weeks ago, private, spacious, and far more than she deserved. The guards looked nervous when they saw me approach, though neither dared meet my eyes. The door was already cracked open. Strange.I pushed it wider, a pit forming in my stomach.Empty. Completely and utterly empty.The bed was stripped. The wardr
Draven’s POV“Send word to the elders and council,” I growled at the guard by the eastern corridor. “Now. Tell them it’s an emergency meeting. Every seat in that hall had better be filled within the hour.”He bowed, eyes wide with barely concealed fear, and rushed off without a word.I didn’t have time for careful strategies anymore. Things had shifted beneath my feet, and if I didn’t reestablish control now, I wouldn’t just lose influence, I’d lose everything.Selene’s betrayal wasn’t a petty rebellion. It was a message.She was declaring herself separate from me. From the pack. From the power I carried. And judging by the silence in the corridors this morning, by the way my guards avoided my gaze and the staff hesitated before answering my questions, she wasn’t alone.A rot had begun spreading through Crescent Moon. One I hadn’t seen. Ones I hadn’t wanted to see.I turned away and headed toward Nyra’s chambers.I didn’t knock.Our doors are connected now, the lock between our rooms
Draven’s POVI had just sat, letting the weight of my words seep into every corner of the great hall, when one of the elders stood.I wasn’t surprised it was Elder Varek. The boldest among them. Proud. Sharp-tongued. Loyal to the old ways, but only when they served him.He didn’t bother with formality. “With all due respect, Alpha,” he said, lifting his chin, “you speak of betrayal, but didn’t you abandon Selene the moment Nyra returned?”A few heads turned. A few eyes widened.Varek continued, undeterred. “You could have kept her as your mistress, your private consort, if you were so determined to mend what was broken. Selene has ruled beside you for years. She’s earned her place. She was our Luna in every way that mattered. The pack loved her. Still loves her. And yet you discarded her the instant Nyra came back into the picture.”I leaned forward slowly.Every word he’d just spoken was a dagger. He knew it.But I was the one holding the sword.“I didn’t abandon Selene,” I said cool
Draven's POVThe room had never been so quiet. Not even during the final rites of the last Alpha. Silence had weight here, a sharp-edged reverence that seemed to press against my skin, filling the spaces between heartbeats. The grand council chamber, with its ancient wooden panels and high ceilings, normally buzzed with whispers and shifting bodies. Today, it held its breath.And Nyra had become the storm they never saw coming.I looked at her. Not just looked, really looked.The sunlight streamed through the tall windows, catching her dark hair, highlighting the fierce determination in her amber eyes. She'd never looked more beautiful to me than she did standing there, owning every inch of the space she'd been denied for so long.This was no longer the woman who walked back into my territory three weeks ago with caution in her eyes and pain barely stitched beneath her skin. The woman who flinched at sudden movements and kept one hand always protectively near her side, as if ready to
Nyra's POVThe moon was full tonight, and it was casting an ethereal glow over the clearing where generations of our pack had celebrated the Blood Moon Festival. Tonight, the air thrummed with magic and possibility.Everyone was gathered, chit-chatting while the music kept playing. Aroma of sweet food filled the air, but the nerves flaring in my stomach didn’t give it a chance.I stood at the center of it all, smoothing down my dress that I'd spent weeks selecting. My dark was all down and adorned with the traditional silver leaves that marked me as a potential Luna. I was also wearing the silver necklace with a pendant that Draven gave me on my eighteenth birthday when we first acknowledged our bond."By the Goddess, stop fidgeting," Selene chided. She's been my best friend since childhood, almost like a sister. Her green eyes sparkled with warmth as she adjusted one of my silver leaves. "You're going to wear a hole in that beautiful dress.""I can't help it," I whispered, watching t
Nyra’s POVIt’s been seven years. Seven years since, what broke me, endangered me, made me become a survivor and now a strong business-woman in the human world.I was no longer that naive and weak Nyra. No, things have changed, and they’ve changed for the better.The sleek glass floor to ceiling window of my office glimmered in the afternoon sunlight and below was the bustling city streets. There were piles of contracts and design sketches filling up my desk, but my focus wasn’t on the life I had built, it was elsewhere.My focus was on the mischievous six-year-old currently spinning my office chair.“Auren, stop that before you break something,” I warned, arching a brow.He grinned, his wild curls bouncing. “But I’m bored, Mom! You said we’d go shopping after this meeting.”I sighed, pushing my laptop shut. “I did say that, didn’t I?”Auren’s face lit up. “Does that mean we can go now?”“Yes, but only if you promise to behave.”He held up two fingers in a solemn salute. “Scout’s hono
Nyra’s POVThe moment we got back home, I secured the lock, I dashed to my bedroom with Auren right behind me. My hands were shaking so hard as I stuffed the suitcase with clothes. It was like an automatic action because my heart was beating fast from the attack earlier.The apartment quietness that I usually loved felt choking today, making it hard for me to breathe.Auren sat on the couch near the bed, his face was pale and confused danced in his eyes. He held on tightly to his favorite toy, an old action figure he had owned since he was a toddler. He never slept without it.“Mom,” he said in a soft tone, breaking the heavy silence. “What happened back there?”I zipped the suitcase with a sharp tug, trying to steady my voice. “Nothing you need to worry about, baby.”He frowned. “But I didn’t mean to do that. The wolves were coming, and I was scared… then it just happened.”I walked to where he was sitting and knelt in front of him, cupping his face in my hands. His hazel eyes that a
Draven's POVThe room had never been so quiet. Not even during the final rites of the last Alpha. Silence had weight here, a sharp-edged reverence that seemed to press against my skin, filling the spaces between heartbeats. The grand council chamber, with its ancient wooden panels and high ceilings, normally buzzed with whispers and shifting bodies. Today, it held its breath.And Nyra had become the storm they never saw coming.I looked at her. Not just looked, really looked.The sunlight streamed through the tall windows, catching her dark hair, highlighting the fierce determination in her amber eyes. She'd never looked more beautiful to me than she did standing there, owning every inch of the space she'd been denied for so long.This was no longer the woman who walked back into my territory three weeks ago with caution in her eyes and pain barely stitched beneath her skin. The woman who flinched at sudden movements and kept one hand always protectively near her side, as if ready to
Draven’s POVI had just sat, letting the weight of my words seep into every corner of the great hall, when one of the elders stood.I wasn’t surprised it was Elder Varek. The boldest among them. Proud. Sharp-tongued. Loyal to the old ways, but only when they served him.He didn’t bother with formality. “With all due respect, Alpha,” he said, lifting his chin, “you speak of betrayal, but didn’t you abandon Selene the moment Nyra returned?”A few heads turned. A few eyes widened.Varek continued, undeterred. “You could have kept her as your mistress, your private consort, if you were so determined to mend what was broken. Selene has ruled beside you for years. She’s earned her place. She was our Luna in every way that mattered. The pack loved her. Still loves her. And yet you discarded her the instant Nyra came back into the picture.”I leaned forward slowly.Every word he’d just spoken was a dagger. He knew it.But I was the one holding the sword.“I didn’t abandon Selene,” I said cool
Draven’s POV“Send word to the elders and council,” I growled at the guard by the eastern corridor. “Now. Tell them it’s an emergency meeting. Every seat in that hall had better be filled within the hour.”He bowed, eyes wide with barely concealed fear, and rushed off without a word.I didn’t have time for careful strategies anymore. Things had shifted beneath my feet, and if I didn’t reestablish control now, I wouldn’t just lose influence, I’d lose everything.Selene’s betrayal wasn’t a petty rebellion. It was a message.She was declaring herself separate from me. From the pack. From the power I carried. And judging by the silence in the corridors this morning, by the way my guards avoided my gaze and the staff hesitated before answering my questions, she wasn’t alone.A rot had begun spreading through Crescent Moon. One I hadn’t seen. Ones I hadn’t wanted to see.I turned away and headed toward Nyra’s chambers.I didn’t knock.Our doors are connected now, the lock between our rooms
Draven’s POVI knew she was slipping from my grasp, but I thought I had more time.The moment Nyra and Auren returned, something shifted in Selene. Not that she was ever balanced to begin with, but I saw it in her eyes, a glint of something sharp and poisoned. Resentment. Possessiveness. A hunger that had very little to do with family and everything to do with control.I let it slide. I told myself she was just adjusting, feeling replaced, maybe, but nothing she couldn’t handle. I thought, She’s Selene. She throws tantrums, she pushes boundaries, and then she comes back when she’s calmed down.But this… this was something else.I stood outside the chambers I’d given her not three weeks ago, private, spacious, and far more than she deserved. The guards looked nervous when they saw me approach, though neither dared meet my eyes. The door was already cracked open. Strange.I pushed it wider, a pit forming in my stomach.Empty. Completely and utterly empty.The bed was stripped. The wardr
Nyra's POVI didn't mean to eavesdrop.The corridor was quiet—still tinged with morning calm, and I had only meant to peek into Auren's room to check on him, maybe sneak a few more moments of watching him sleep before the day demanded too much of me. The floorboards beneath my bare feet were cool, and motes of dust danced in the slanting morning light that filtered through the half-drawn curtains.But I stopped just shy of the door-frame.I heard Draven's voice.Low. Frayed. Vulnerable in a way I hadn't heard in years."I'll never let anything take you. I swear, Auren. Even if it costs me everything."The breath caught in my throat, hot and painful.Something in his voice—raw and broken—wedged itself beneath my ribs like a splinter I couldn't extract. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling whatever sound threatened to escape.He wasn't putting on a show. He didn't know I was there.For once, he wasn't the Alpha, the warrior, the man who'd once broken my heart with such precision it felt l
Draven’s POVThe house was too quiet. I walked towards the bedroom slowly, careful not to let the old wood creak under my boots.The silence pressed in from every direction, suffocating and intentional, as if the house itself knew how fragile this moment was.Nyra's words still clung to me. Heavy. Suffocating. Like chains, I could not break free from them, no matter how hard I pulled against them."You think you can just walk back into our lives?" she had whispered, with her voice like ice.She did not trust me. Maybe she never had. Not completely. Not with everything. And after everything that had happened between us, the promises broken, the truths concealed, I could not even blame her. If our positions were reversed, I would not trust myself either.The hallway seemed longer tonight, the shadows deeper. Each creaking floorboard was a warning. Each shadow is a reminder of what I had once let slip through my fingers.As I moved close to the door, I hesitated, my hand hovering near th
Nyra's POVThe kitchen was quiet. Too quiet. Morning light shone in, and it felt like the world was holding its breath.Sunshine reflected through the windows. It caught the dust floating in the air and warmed the rough wooden counters.Everything looked golden. Soft. I stood by the stove stirring oatmeal. I held the wooden spoon too hard.Behind me, the house was still silent. Auren was in bed, tangled in blankets. His chest rose and fell in that sweet rhythm of deep sleep.His face had finally relaxed. God, he looked so much like his father, but still so much himself. The nightmares had left him alone, at least for a little while.I wanted to stay with him forever. Hide away from everything waiting outside these walls.Freeze this moment before it breaks apart. But there were things that needed doing. Questions that needed answers. And there was Draven, still too much a part of my heart, no matter how I tried to hate him.A floorboard creaked behind me. I heard the soft press of wei
Nyra's POVThe hallways were quiet when Draven and I got back. The kind of quiet that settles thick and heavy after a storm. The silence hung in the air.I moved like a shadow. Silent. Invisible. Careful not to draw any more attention. I needed to see him.No, I ached to see him. To hold him. To remind myself that he was still here, still mine. Every step toward his room felt both too slow and too fast.The door was slightly opened. I saw Lydia walking towards me with a warm smile that showed the corners of her eyes."He is an amazing kid," she said, her voice soft with genuine affection. "I monitored him as he made his food that evening. He is brilliant."Her words warmed my heart. Someone else saw what I had always known. "Thank you for looking after him while we were gone," I told her.She gave me a knowing nod, then she excused herself for the night. Her footsteps faded down the hallway as she walked.I shut the door gently behind me. Just enough to step inside without waking him.
Nyra’s POVThe door had not even shut behind me before I felt Draven's presence moving in like a storm.“Nyra,” he said, with his voice low and controlled in a way that only spelled trouble. “Who is Zaira?”I did not answer. I kept walking, pushing past the wooden corridor toward my chambers. Toward Auren. Toward anything but this.But Draven was not the type to let go easily. His hand was placed gently and firmly around my wrist, making me face him. His golden eyes were filled with too many questions."Don't," I said sharply, putting my arm back. "Not here, Not now.""Then when, Nyra?" His voice cracked, as if he was barely holding himself together."You called her name like a bomb in the middle of everything, and you really expect me to just forget it?"I placed my arms over my chest, grounding myself. "It does not concern you.""It concerns Auren, that means it concerns me," he said.My heart twisted violently. Damn him. Damn his ability to always hit the parts of me that were alre