All Chapters of Once His Mate, Now His Regret: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Aurielle DuVallCassiel needed to go into the council today for a meeting, and I agreed to accompany him. I can’t go into the main room where they’ll be having the conversation, so I decided to linger around the building. I avoided people who thankfully had no clue who I was. Cassiel said I could stay in his office here at the building, but he’s been in this meeting for thirty minutes now, so I’m walking. I got to the bottom floor via elevator. It was busy, it’s always busy here. The few times i showed up while trying to get my divorce done, i found that out. And the times cassiel brought me with him, it was even more busy at that time. I didn’t expect to see anyone i knew. But there she was. Matthias’s mother. Meriam Crowe. She was seated amongst a group of people waiting for their number to be called. I thought of just walking away since she hadn’t seen me, but I don’t have any problems with Meriam. No hate at all. She was a good person. Sure, she had wanted me to stay with Matth

The entire case screamed suspicious death. But there were no leads. I glanced at the door as the bell rang. Cassiel walked in, a smile on his handsome face.Just when I think I’ve got him figured out, something like this happens. He stopped in front of me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What’s wrong?”I pointed at the seat Meriam had once occupied, and he sat. Keeping his gaze on mine. He didn’t look worried, but curious. I thought about my question for a while. I wanted to know if it would be rude to ask him something so personal. But if Rhysland had left the ravager pack to harass Meriam and her husband, then I needed to know. Not because I could do anything. No, because it’ll involve Cassiel at the end of the day. I finally decided it was best to just be straightforward about it. “I think Rhysland is in the moonveil pack. He showed up at my ex-mother’s law’s home claiming her husband is his father.”Cassiel blinks once and hums. He calls for the waiter, and that’s it. No sign o

I expected a lot from Rhysland, including this. I never had that much expectation for him, and I’ve grown accustomed to life without family. I will mourn our relationship the same way I mourned our parents' deaths. With thoughtful contemplation of what my next move should be. Aurielle is compassion for a hard life that wasn’t hers. She seems sad for me when I’m not sad about it. It’s not a sob story. It’s something I don’t carry in my heart even when the nightmares come. Which they rarely do since I’m very busy. Well, I was busy until lately when I’ve gotten entangled with the love of my life.Still, thinking about something that happened years ago isn’t relevant to my life. If Rhysland makes a public mistake from now on, I will simply say he’s gone mad. It’s not hard to prove. Something in me did ache seeing Aurielle’s reaction when I talked about my past. I wish for that level of compassion. People die. We lose things. I never hold onto it. My great care is in running the pack, b

We walked up the long stairs leading to the main ballroom. There was a purple crested carpet over the steps. I tried not to think about the people looking at me, the cameras taking a million photos as they were not allowed into the ballroom. The guards at the doors pulled them open, giving us both a bow. Cassiel nodded to them. I was able to breathe and compose myself.“Nervous?” Cassiel whispered. I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak. The hallway was empty. Large portraits were on the walls. All of them were of Regina with a different man each time. The dates were under each of them. Each one a year apart. Wow. I didn’t ask Cassiel how often she had these balls to celebrate not being with someone. I’ve heard she throws a lot of parties. People talk about her a lot. She’s fabulous, fun, no responsibilities to weigh her down. The two golden doors at the end of the hallway held two more guards, who also bowed.I saw the hundreds of guests in the massive room. Some were talking,

There’s a first time for everything. That’s what I’m learning with Aurielle.Normally, my routine at a ball is predictable. I show up alone, exchange hollow greetings with the important guests at any event like all the council members do, nurse a drink, then slip out once I’ve been seen by enough people. That’s how each night has been. None of them ever changed until the night I saw her again. Hanging onto the arms of a husband who didn’t deserve her. Tonight was so much better than that one.Dancing with her cracked something open in me I hadn’t realized was sealed. It wasn’t just the music or the movement, it was the way her eyes found mine and stayed there, as if she was daring me to forget every responsibility waiting on my shoulders. For the first time in longer than I can remember, I wasn’t the Alpha, the strategist, the man with a hundred burdens. I was just… a man holding the woman who made my wolf ache with longing.I fought it, of course. That feeling of wanting to mark he