All Chapters of The Alpha's Regret : Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

*Ten years ago...*I was sixteen the first time I saw Skyler Voss, and I knew—I just *knew*—that my life would never be the same.He rode into the pack compound on a motorcycle that growled like a living thing, all dark leather and dangerous energy. My brother Ronan was at his side, the two of them laughing about something as they dismounted, and I watched from my bedroom window like the pathetic teenager I was."Who is *that*?" I breathed.My wolf, barely awakened after my first shift three months prior, stirred with sudden interest. She pressed against my consciousness, curious and alert in a way she'd never been before.*Mine*, she whispered.I was too young to understand what that meant. Too naive to recognize the early stirrings of a bond that wouldn't fully manifest for another five years. All I knew was that Skyler Voss was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and I wanted him to look at me—really look at me—more than I'd ever wanted anything.He didn't, of course.I was Ron

*Present day...*The morning after my gallery opening, I woke to seventeen missed calls from my mother.I stared at my phone, a cold knot forming in my stomach. My mother had called twice a year like clockwork since I left—my birthday and Christmas—respecting my need for distance even though it clearly hurt her. Seventeen calls in one night meant something was wrong.Dread pooling in my gut, I hit the callback button.She answered on the first ring. "Wren. Oh, thank God.""Mom? What's wrong?""It's your father." Her voice cracked. "There was an accident. A motorcycle crash on Route 7. He's... he's in the hospital, sweetie. They're not sure if—" A sob swallowed the rest of her words.The floor tilted beneath me. I sat down hard on the edge of my bed, phone pressed so tight against my ear it hurt."How bad?""Bad." She was crying openly now. "Multiple fractures, internal bleeding, they had to do surgery. He's stable but... they're talking about more procedures. A long recovery. *If* he

I stayed at my parents' house that night, sleeping in my old bedroom that had been preserved like a shrine. Band posters I'd loved at seventeen still clung to the walls. My old sketchbooks lined the shelves, spines cracked from years of use. Even my threadbare stuffed wolf—a gift from my father when I'd had my first shift—sat propped against the pillows.It was like stepping into a time capsule of the girl I used to be.I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Skyler's face. The gauntness. The shadows under his eyes. The desperate hunger in his gaze when he'd looked at me.*He looked back.*His words haunted me. I wanted to believe he was lying, that this was some elaborate manipulation. But the bond didn't lie. Through that cursed connection, I'd felt his anguish. Real. Raw. Consuming.Good, the bitter part of me thought. Let him suffer the way I did.But another part—a part I tried desperately to silence—whispered that his pain brought me no satisfaction. That seeing him