Alpha's Regret: Return of the Rejected Mate의 모든 챕터: 챕터 381 - 챕터 390

Nick’s POVI stood in the alcove near the west staircase and I pressed myself into the shadows. People kept running past me carrying supplies for the healers. Nobody looked at me. They were all too focused on Dominic dying upstairs.The wolfsbane was working faster than I’d planned. I’d heard someone say his heart had stopped twice already. Good.I needed to find Kelsey first. Make sure she knew where Debbie was supposed to be so I could take her without anyone noticing right away.I found her crying in the hallway near Dominic’s bedroom. Her makeup had run down her face in black rivers and her hands were shaking.“Kelsey.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crowd. “Where’s Debbie right now?”She blinked at me like she didn’t understand the question. “What?”“Debbie. Penelope’s daughter. Where is she?”“I don’t know. With Natalie somewhere. Why does it matter?” She wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Dominic is dying up there and you’re asking about her?”“Just tell me where Nat

Penelope’s POVDominic’s study felt too small for all the people crammed inside. Maps were spread across every surface. His desk. The side tables. Even parts of the floor. People kept talking over each other and the noise made it impossible to think clearly.“We found tire tracks heading west,” someone said.“More fabric near the eastern border,” another voice added.I stood at the window and stared out at darkness. Somewhere out there my daughter was alone and scared. Every second I spent standing here was another second she was suffering.“Penelope.” Dad’s voice cut through the chaos. “We need to organize this properly. Create a command structure—”“I don’t care about structure.” I turned away from the window. “I care about finding my daughter.”“And we’ll find her faster with organization rather than everyone running in different directions.”He was right but I hated it. Hated that finding Debbie required planning instead of just running out the door and searching until I found her.

Penelope’s POVThe groundskeeper’s cottage sat at the edge of Darkwood territory looking like it might collapse if someone sneezed too hard. Vines crawled up the walls thick enough to hide entire windows. The roof sagged in the middle where rain had rotted through old shingles nobody had bothered to replace in probably twenty years.But there was a car parked behind it, and light leaked through one of the grimy windows.I left my truck hidden in the trees and crept through the overgrown garden on feet that barely made sound. Weeds reached past my knees. Thorns caught on my jeans but I ignored them. My enhanced hearing picked up voices from inside the cottage before I was even close.Nick’s voice came first. “We need to be smart about this. Dominic’s recovering but he’s weak. This is our window.”“Our window for what?” Kelsey sounded scared. Desperate.I pressed myself against the wall beside the broken window. From here I could see them both. Nick paced back and forth across the small

Dominic’s POVThe search team had forced me back to the packhouse an hour ago. Julian, Nathan, and two dozen fighters were still out there combing the forest for any sign of Debbie, but the healer had insisted I needed rest after nearly dying from wolfsbane poisoning.I was sitting on my bed trying not to think about my daughter being out there somewhere when Penelope burst through the door.Soot covered her face. Burns marked her arms. Her eyes blazed green.“What happened?” I pushed myself to standing even though my legs shook. “Did you find her?”“No.” She crossed the room in three strides. “But I found something else. Something you need to hear right now.”“Penelope, if this can wait—”“It can’t.” She grabbed my shoulders. “Alexander isn’t your son.”The words didn’t make sense. Like she’d spoken backwards or in a language I’d never learned.“What are you talking about?”“Nick is Alexander’s biological father. Not you.” Her grip on my shoulders got tighter. “I overheard him and Kel

Kelsey’s POVMy phone rang at midnight. An unknown number lit up the screen, but I knew it was Nick.I almost didn’t answer. After what happened at the cottage, after watching him try to burn Penelope alive and then leave me to deal with her, every instinct screamed to ignore the call.But I pressed accept anyway.“We need to meet. One more time. I can explain everything—”“There’s nothing to explain. You left me there. You ran.”“I had to. If Penelope caught both of us—” He paused. “Please. One final meeting. Then I’ll disappear and you’ll never hear from me again.”Something in his voice made me agree. Maybe I needed closure. Maybe I was just stupid.“Where?”“The woods beyond territory borders. There’s a clearing near the old oak. You know the one.”“When?”“Now. I’ll be waiting.”He hung up.I should have stayed in my room. Should have pulled the covers over my head and pretended none of this was happening. Instead I dressed in dark clothes and snuck out through the kitchen door n