Chapter 10: The Regret

Adonis.

It has been several months since Charlotte disappeared. I have searched every possible place, even turned the woods inside out, but she is nowhere to be found. Kiana keeps insisting that she is probably dead, but I refuse to believe her. The footage I watched showed Charlotte looking happy and healthy, which hurt me to see after she rejected me. I know I have no right to blame her; I was the one who pushed her to her limits. If I were given another chance, I would make things right.

 A sudden knock on the door interrupted my gloomy thoughts. I looked up to see my beta, Nicholas, entering the office. "What do you want?" I asked, not pleased with his visit. Without my mate here, nothing seems to make sense anymore. I find myself losing interest in being the alpha. Choosing Kiana was not worth it, and I regret my actions. But it is too late now, or maybe it isn't. If only Charlotte would show up.

"Good afternoon, Alpha," Nicholas greeted with a respectful bow. He is my beta, but there was no closeness between us, and I am to blame for that. However, I have no intentions of fixing things. "Get straight to the point," I demanded, not even bothering to look at him. He was probably here to report something insignificant, as he always does. The only news I long to hear is about Charlotte's whereabouts, but there has been nothing for a while now.

He cleared his throat, preparing to speak. "There have been recent complaints about a group of female warriors causing chaos deep in the woods. They have claimed an island as theirs, even though it belongs to no one, and they go as far as punishing intruders with death. Very little is known about this group, but it is widely known that they have a queen and no males are part of their group. They are known to be vicious and completely ruthless. Several members of our pack have fallen victim to them, and the people are demanding action."

A hiss escaped my lips, and in an instant, I grabbed the file from the table and flung it towards him. However, he quickly ducked to avoid it. "Is this the nonsense you have to tell me? It's just a group of females, how strong could they be? Take a few men and eliminate them. I don't want to hear any more news about this unless it involves Charlotte. Don't bother reporting to me if there is an attack on my people, do something. You're the beta, for crying out loud. Do I need to read everything out loud to you?"

"I apologize, Alpha. I will attend to it immediately." He turned around and left the room. I sank back into my chair with a sigh. When will she return? Will she ever come back? The day passed by quickly, just like every other day I spent in the office, pretending to be the alpha. In reality, I had mentally checked out of this position a long time ago.

 I retired to my room, with a gloomy expression as soon as the door swung open. To my surprise, Kiana was lying on the bed completely naked. I glanced at her for a moment, but no matter how seductive she tried to be, I couldn't find her attractive. I looked away, not even remotely interested, and sternly told her to leave.

 She got up from the bed and approached me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a seductive manner. "Baby," she purred against my chest. However, I found this gesture repulsive and pushed her away. "Are you deaf? I said, "Get out." She did this every night, and I wondered when she would finally understand.

After Charlotte left, my relationship with Kiana quickly turned sour. I no longer bothered pretending, and I regretted every action I had taken. Seeing her was a constant reminder of my mistakes. However, she refused to accept this and continued to make advances at me, which, of course, did not work in her favour. Since I refused to fall for her tricks, a frown appeared on her face, and I could sense what was coming next. Just as she was about to speak, I interrupted her. "Aren't you tired of this?"

"What do you want me to do, Adonis?" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "You won't even look at me, let alone touch me. It's been years since we last had sex. You, of all people, know that a woman who can't bear a child is useless to the family. I only have one request from you, and that is to get me pregnant."

To me, it seemed like a simple task, but for her, it was an impossible mission. I never find her attractive, not even in the slightest way. Ever since the day I marked her, I made a conscious decision to never touch her again. Even being alone with her that night was pure torture to me. I desperately wished for it to end, and when it finally did, I had to scrub myself vigorously to get rid of her unpleasant scent. However, I am no longer willing to pretend.

"Since you know that you are of no value to the pack, I suggest you find another man to cling onto." I hoped she would take my advice, but Kiana was stubborn and refused to give in. 

She laughed and arrogantly stated, "Do you really think you can easily get rid of me? Let me tell you something, you have no idea what I went through to win you over. I even lost my best friend, someone who was like a sister to me."

 I rolled my eyes at her comment and sarcastically replied, "Sure." 

But she didn't stop there. She continued, "No matter how hard you try to push me away, we are bound together in this marriage. Whether you like it or not, you will be mine."