Alpha’s Howl of Regret

I sent the divorce papers to the Alpha Council by email. For the first time in months, I could breathe properly.My mind went back to when I first met Marcus Stone.I was seventeen. My wolf was new and wild. I couldn't control her yet. During pack training, I ran into a trap made of silver wire. The metal was about to cut into my skin when Marcus found me. He pulled me out just in time.My wolf went crazy for him right away. We looked at each other for what felt like hours. Then I did something bold. I kissed him.He didn't move for a second. Then he laughed quietly. "Little one, you don't know how to do that yet."He put his hand on my neck and showed me how to kiss properly. My heart beat so fast I thought it might stop.That kiss felt like it went on forever. I couldn't breathe. Even now, it seems like something I dreamed up.I woke up with my face wet from tears.Morning light came through my window. I lay there for a long time before I called my dad."Dad, I sent in the divorce pa

I quickly pushed the medicine tray off the bedside table.The crash of pills and bottles hitting the floor made Marcus turn around fast. He forgot all about the doctor and rushed to my bed, looking scared and worried."Serena, you're awake? Are you in pain?"I shook my head a little and looked past him at the doctor's nervous face.Marcus relaxed then and turned back to the doctor. "Doctor, what were you saying before? I didn't hear you."He felt like he missed something important.The doctor was about to talk when I looked at him and shook my head just a tiny bit.The doctor understood. He just sighed and said, "The patient needs to rest more," then left the room.Now it was just Marcus and me in the hospital room.Marcus looked worried and tried to touch my face. I turned my head away.He seemed to get it and started saying sorry right away. "I'm sorry, Serena. This is my fault. It must have been people who hate me who put poison in the soup. They hurt you and Rose.""Thank God you a

After returning home, Serena began methodically packing her belongings.She sorted through everything that belonged to Marcus and the Bloodclaw Pack. The armband symbolizing her status as the pack's Alpha's mate, the mate ring worth 100 million dollars, and that mate bond dissolution agreement Marcus had signed himself—all laid out on the table like settling accounts for an absurd dream.Three days later, Marcus was discharged from the hospital.He'd returned to being the cold, commanding Alpha, appearing at the door in an impeccable suit with his tie knotted perfectly. He showed no signs of having been severely injured and near death."Baby, pack affairs have been so busy lately, I haven't had time to spend with you."He concealed his injury and hospitalization, approaching to embrace me while carrying the faint scent of medical treatment.I knew he was afraid of arousing suspicion, not knowing how to explain, which was why he'd rushed to discharge himself.But what he didn't know was

Marcus's head guard, an old wolf who had served him for years, finally couldn't hold back and spoke again, his voice filled with worry and deep disapproval: "Alpha, have you really thought this through? Holding a Mating Ceremony for a she-wolf poisoned with silver and dying? This... this goes against protocol, against your status and position! How will you explain this to your mate?"Marcus lowered his head, and after a long moment said, "Serena will understand. Rose was my childhood companion. We have deep friendship from growing up together. She's been poisoned with silver. She won't live long, and this is her final wish—a... insignificant wish. I can't let her leave with regrets." He paused, seeming to convince himself as much as giving the guard an explanation, his tone carrying a forceful, almost self-deceptive certainty. "As for Serena... she has a gentle nature and is most reasonable. She will... understand my difficult position. She'll comprehend."Seeing the guard wolves about

When I first got together with Marcus, my father had expressed his disapproval.Marcus was twelve years older than me, and the experience and cunning that time had given him worried my father. He'd always been concerned I would get hurt."Serena, you're just eighteen. You don't understand men like him," my father had said back then. "He's already thirty. He knows exactly how to manipulate a young girl's heart."I'd been furious at the time. "Dad, you don't understand. Marcus loves me. He treats me like I'm the most precious thing in the world.""That's exactly what I'm afraid of," father had replied quietly.Now, three years later, I finally understood what he meant.After receiving my last phone call, he'd been worried ever since. I could hear it in his voice when I told him I was coming home. The relief. The anger. The heartbreak for his daughter."Serena!"My father saw me walking out of the Northern Territories airport and immediately reached out to embrace me.His arms felt like h