His regret

The courtyard was now almost empty. After Celeste was banished from the Pack, the crowd slowly reduced. People walked away in groups, gossiping about the barren Luna and how her Mate had no choice but to banish her. Surely this will be the talk of the Pack for months to come. 

Kharl Blackthorn stood alone in the silence in the same position he had banished his beloved mate, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. He could still hear her voice echoing in his head, Celeste’s voice, trembling, breaking.

“I loved you.”

The words hit him harder than any blade. His wolf was restless inside him, pacing, howling, clawing at the edges of his mind.

Go after her, his wolf growled, desperate and pained. She’s ours. She’s our mate. Bring her back, Kharl!

Kharl gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, pressing a hand against his temple. His wolf’s agony was unbearable. The mate bond wasn’t something that disappeared instantly; it bled, slow and torturous.

No!  he thought firmly. I can’t. I did the right thing. I had to.

Celeste was gone. Banished. And it had to be that way.

He forced his breathing to slow, trying to calm the storm inside him. He had to be strong. He was Alpha, the protector of the Blood Moon Pack. Every decision he made had to serve the pack, not his heart.

Even if it tore him apart.

He opened his eyes and stared into the dark woods beyond the courtyard. Somewhere out there, she was running. Alone. Fragile.

His chest tightened painfully.

She will survive, he told himself. She’s strong. She will survive.

But the doubt lingered like a shadow in the back of his mind.

Ten minutes passed. Still, Kharl stood there, unmoving. The voices in his head warred against each other, his wolf howling for their mate, his mind screaming that he couldn’t undo what was already done.

Then he heard her voice.

“You did the right thing, Kharl.”

He turned sharply to see Lydia walking toward him, her expression soft and falsely sympathetic. The moonlight made her blonde hair gleam like gold, but to Kharl, it only reminded him of everything cold and false in his life.

She stepped closer and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You did what you had to do,” she said softly. “For the good of the pack. The Seer confirmed it; she was dangerous.”

Kharl stiffened. The touch made his skin crawl.

“Don’t,” he muttered, shrugging her hand off and stepping away. “Don’t touch me.”

Lydia blinked in surprise but masked it with a gentle smile. “I’m only trying to comfort you.”

“I don’t need your comfort,” Kharl snapped. His voice echoed harshly across the courtyard.

Lydia’s smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, lowering her head in false submission. “Of course, Alpha,” she said, her tone smooth again. “But you did the right thing. Everyone agrees.”

He glared at her, his eyes flashing gold for a brief second. “Then maybe everyone is wrong.”

Without another word, he turned and strode away, his boots heavy against the stone.

As he walked toward the pack house, the night seemed to grow colder. The guards bowed as he passed, their faces unreadable. To them, he was the Alpha who had made a hard but necessary decision. To him, he was a man who had just destroyed his own soul.

The Seer waited at the entrance, her ancient eyes glimmering under her hood. “You did well, Alpha,” she rasped. “The witch’s presence was a curse on your bloodline. The Goddess will reward your sacrifice.”

Kharl forced a nod. “I hope you’re right.”

“You’ll see,” she said, her cracked lips curling. “The new Luna carries life. The pack will thrive.”

His jaw tensed. He didn’t reply. He brushed past her and climbed the stairs to his private quarters.

Inside, the silence pressed against him like a weight. The fire in the hearth had burned low, leaving only glowing embers. He sank into the chair beside the window, resting his head in his hands.

Everyone kept saying he did the right thing. Lydia. The elders. The Seer.

So why did it feel so wrong?

Why did his chest ache as if someone had ripped out his heart?

Kharl’s wolf whimpered inside him, broken and angry. You banished her. Our mate. Our Luna.

“Enough,” Kharl hissed under his breath, but his voice trembled. “I did it for the pack. For all of us.”

She was never a witch! His wolf roared. You know it. You felt her purity. Her heart.

Kharl gripped his hair tightly, his breathing rough. He hated this weakness. He was Alpha. He wasn’t supposed to question his choices. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face. Her tears. The way her voice cracked when she called his name.

He pushed to his feet, pacing the room.

Where would she go? Could she survive out there alone? The wild lands were merciless, full of rogues and hunters. Even the strongest wolves rarely lasted long without a pack.

But she was smart. She was strong. He had to believe that.

You should have gone after her, his wolf whispered bitterly.

Kharl clenched his fists until his nails cut into his palms. “No,” he muttered. “I can’t.”

He had to stay strong. He had to protect the pack. He couldn’t let his heart cloud his judgment.

And now, he told himself, there was something else to protect.

He turned toward the window, staring out into the night. His reflection glared back at him, a powerful Alpha, a man bound by duty. The pack came first. Always.

And now Lydia carried his child.

At least, that’s what everyone believed.

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t even sure it was true. Three months ago, the night of that cursed meeting…

He remembered it clearly.

The elders had cornered him in the council room, their old faces full of scorn.

“The pack needs an heir,” one of them had said. “Your Luna has failed to conceive.”

Another had added, “It’s been three years, Alpha. The Goddess does not bless barren unions. You must choose another mate.”

Kharl had clenched his teeth that night, anger surging in his veins. He had defended Celeste until his voice broke, but deep down, fear had begun to creep in. What if they were right? What if the Goddess had turned her back on them?

He had stormed out of the meeting and gone straight to the bar in town, drowning his doubts in whiskey.

The next thing he remembered was waking up in a stranger’s bed, Lydia’s bed, naked, with her lying beside him, smiling faintly. His head had pounded, his memories foggy.

“What happened?” he’d demanded.

Lydia had brushed her hair back, looking innocent. “You don’t remember? You came to me. You said you needed comfort.”

He hadn’t believed her. Not fully. But there had been no proof otherwise.

He had threatened her to keep it quiet. And she had until yesterday.

Until she stood before the elders with a trembling hand over her stomach and announced, “I’m pregnant. It’s the Alpha’s child.”

Kharl had felt the ground shift beneath his feet. He couldn’t deny it. Not in front of them. Not when they all looked at him like hungry wolves waiting for an excuse to tear him apart.

They wanted an heir, and Lydia had handed them one.

He was trapped.

Now, as he stood in his quiet chamber, the weight of it all pressed down on him like a curse.

Celeste’s face flashed in his mind again—her tear-streaked cheeks, her trembling lips, her broken voice.

“You were a mistake.”

He had said it to wound her. To make her leave quickly. But now, those words burned inside him like fire.

He pressed a hand to his chest, the bond aching deep within him. His wolf whimpered again, curling into silence.

He walked to his bed and sat on the edge, staring blankly at the floor.

Maybe the Seer was right. Maybe Celeste really was cursed. Maybe her blood would have destroyed the pack.

But if that was true… why did it feel like he was the one dying instead?

Kharl leaned back, closing his eyes. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to forget.

But the moment his lids shut, he saw her again. Standing in front of him, eyes full of pain and disbelief.

He heard her soft whisper, replaying in his head like a ghost.

“I loved you.”

And then his own cruel reply, the one that would haunt him for years to come—

“You were a mistake. I will forever regret the day I mated with you.”