Semua Bab The Alpha's Regret : Bab 51 - Bab 60

I woke to moonlight streaming through the windows and Skyler's hand tracing lazy patterns on my shoulder. The bond hummed between us, alive and aware in ways it hadn't been before the ceremony."You're awake," I murmured."Couldn't sleep. Too busy feeling you." His fingers found the bite mark, and I shivered at the contact. "Does it still hurt?""Not hurt exactly. It's sensitive. Aware." I turned to face him. "Every time you touch it, I feel it everywhere."His eyes darkened. "Everywhere?""Everywhere." I ran my hand down his chest, feeling his sharp intake of breath through the bond as if it were my own. "This is going to take getting used to. Feeling what you feel.""Is it too much?" Concern flickered across his face."No. It's perfect. Just... intense." I pressed closer, and the bond flared golden. "I can feel how much you want me right now.""I always want you. But tonight..." He cupped my face gently. "Tonight you're my mate. Mine in every way that matters. And I need you to know

One week after the ceremony, the gallery officially reopened with a new exhibition—"Transitions," featuring my ceremony-inspired paintings alongside works from three pack artists I'd been mentoring. The opening was packed. Pack members mingled with human art collectors, the two worlds blending in ways that felt revolutionary for Ironvale. "This is incredible," Patricia said, studying my centerpiece—the painting I'd finished the week before the ceremony. "The emotional progression from your earlier work to this is stunning. Pain to hope to joy." "That's the journey." I touched the mating mark unconsciously, now faded to a silvery scar but still prominently visible. "Five years compressed into canvas." Skyler appeared at my side, sliding an arm around my waist. The casual possessiveness would have irritated me before, but now it just felt right. The bond had settled over the past week, becoming less overwhelming and more like background music—always there, always aware, but not c

One month mated.I woke to Skyler already awake, propped on one elbow, watching me with an expression so tender it made my chest ache."Creepy," I murmured. "How long have you been staring?""Only a few minutes. You were smiling in your sleep." He traced my jaw. "What were you dreaming about?""Us. The ceremony. Everything." I stretched, feeling the pleasant ache of a body well-loved. "One month today.""One month." He said it like a revelation. "Feels longer. Like we've always been this way.""And shorter. Like the ceremony was yesterday." I touched the mating mark, now a silvery scar that no longer hurt but remained sensitive to his touch. "How does it feel for you? The bond, I mean. After a month of living with it constantly."He considered. "At first, it was overwhelming. Feeling everything you felt, sensing you constantly. But now it's just... natural. Like breathing. I don't think about it unless something's wrong.""Same. Though I still catch myself projecting anxiety without m

Two months mated, and life had fallen into a comfortable rhythm. Until Marcus called an emergency pack meeting."Rogue activity has increased along the northern border," he announced to the assembled wolves. "Three incidents in the past week. They're testing our boundaries, seeing how we'll respond."I sat beside Skyler in the pack hall, feeling his instant tension through the bond. His enforcer instincts kicked in immediately."What kind of incidents?" he asked."Territorial markings. Deliberately crossing into our land and leaving signs—dead animals, destroyed property. No direct confrontation yet, but it's escalating.""Dominic?" someone called out."We don't think so. These rogues aren't organized enough to be his. Probably a new group looking for territory." Marcus's gaze swept the room. "I'm authorizing increased patrols. Three-day rotations on the northern border. Skyler, I want you leading."My stomach dropped. Three days. Three days of Skyler away from home, in potential dang

Four months mated, and Ronan's ceremony was a week away."I need your help," he said, appearing at the gallery unannounced. "Sarah's panicking about the ceremony and you're the only person who's recently been through this."I set down my brush. "What's she panicking about specifically?""Everything. The vows, the dress, whether she's ready for the permanence, whether I'm ready—" He ran his hand through his hair. "I told her we've been together three years and of course we're ready, but she keeps spiraling.""That's normal pre-ceremony anxiety. I had it too." I gestured for him to sit. "What does she need? Reassurance? Practical help? Someone to talk her through the fears?""All of it? I don't know. She won't really talk to me about it because she doesn't want to worry me." He looked genuinely distressed. "Can you talk to her? Woman to woman? Mate to almost-mate?""Of course. Tell her to come by after I close today."After he left, Skyler emerged from the office where he'd been pretend