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Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha's Regret After I Canceled Our Marking Ceremony: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

1

Caine had a secret diary that he always kept locked in his desk drawer.In seven years of being together, I had never once looked at it.Not until the day he told me the Ice Plains had called an emergency Alpha summit.Caine rushed off in a hurry, but forgot to lock the diary away.I respected his privacy and hadn't planned to read it.But while I was tidying his desk, the diary slipped off and fell to the floor, and a pale pink note fluttered out.A line of elegant handwriting ran across it."Caine, do you still remember our promise? I'm waiting for you on the Ice Plains."The name signed at the bottom was Leora.She was Caine's first love.I held that note and stood there for a long time, then opened Caine's diary.The most recent entry was dated three days ago."Leora and I made a promise when we were eighteen, that one day, no matter what, we would hold a marking ceremony of our own under the northern lights on the Ice Plains.""All these years, I thought she'd forgotten. I didn't

2

"Have you lost your mind?"Norah slammed her coffee cup on the table, dark liquid splashing over the edge and soaking into the tablecloth."The marking ceremony is tomorrow, and you're saying you want to cancel?"Norah was my closest friend.She knew every detail of how Caine and I had gone from getting to know each other to falling in love.She knew how much we loved each other."Eileen, are you sure you've thought this through? I don't want you doing something you'll regret.""I've thought it through."My voice was steady."Moon Goddess above, what happened? Does Caine know?"Please tell me he already knows. Eileen, you're not running a fever, are you?"Norah pressed her hand to my forehead."No, I need to get ahold of Caine. He needs to talk some sense into you! This is about both of you!""He's busy completing a marking ceremony with someone else."Norah's hand froze.Her mouth opened, then closed, and finally she stammered out her question."Eileen... what... what did you just say

3

Early the next morning, I gathered a few things to bring to the ceremony venue.A way to close the chapter on my seven years.I had just reached the entrance to the main hall when I heard Maeve's voice inside."You two! How could you keep something this big from me?"If Eileen finds out, she'll lose her mind!"I stopped in my tracks and heard Maeve continue."But I always knew you couldn't let Leora go."When I tried to give the bracelet to Eileen last time and you stopped me, I knew you still wanted to save it for Leora.""Mother!"Then came Caine's stern voice."Enough. Don't give Eileen the wrong idea."I had always known that Maeve wasn't entirely happy with me.The first time we met, she'd greeted me with a smile.Said that Caine finding a mate like me was a blessing for Black Rock Pack.But I'd overheard her sighing about it behind closed doors.She'd told her friends exactly what she thought."It's a shame. Eileen is too headstrong, too independent. She's not right for Caine's L

4

Caine told Maeve and Leora to go ahead.He looked at me, something apologetic in his expression."I'm sorry, Eileen. Maeve didn't mean it."She just hasn't seen Leora in so long, she got carried away calling her family."I didn't argue with him.There was no point.I changed the subject."The friend who had the ceremony on the Ice Plains, that was Leora?"Caine was quiet for a moment, then nodded.I asked again, "And the party favor, she told you to bring it to me?""Yes. She said it was for good luck."I laughed."Good luck from your first love's ceremony?"Caine froze."I didn't think about it that way..."He hadn't thought about it.In seven years together, I'd heard that line countless times.He forgot our anniversary. "Things have been crazy in the pack. I didn't think about it."I was sick and everything tasted bitter, so I asked him to bring me something sweet on his way home. He brought back something spicy. "I just remembered you wanted soup. I didn't think about it."Even the

5

There was no priest.There was no music.There were no lights.Not a single member of Eileen's pack had come.Only a hall full of flower arrangements and cascading drapes, silently reminding everyone that a ceremony was supposed to take place here.Caine stood at the front, a bouquet of red roses, Eileen's favorite, cradled in his arms.The smile on his face faded, piece by piece.A nameless dread crept over him.He suddenly remembered what Eileen had said to him two hours ago."Caine, if you want to back out of our marking ceremony, there's still time."He should have known something was wrong!"Maybe Eileen just isn't ready yet? That's why she hasn't come?"Zane, Caine's best friend, ventured carefully.Someone else pushed back."But the priest wouldn't just be gone too!""Caine, please don't tell me you got into a fight with Eileen on the day of your ceremony."Maeve spoke with a frown, her voice sharp with displeasure."She's probably just throwing a tantrum. Unbelievable. No matte

6

Caine paid no attention to Leora, even as she stood there drowning in the crowd's stares.He stumbled up to the altar.And then he saw the stone I had left behind.The ordinary little stone lay there quietly.Our names were still carved into it.Caine & Eileen.That stone was the reason Caine and I had met.It was back at the Imperial Academy.I'd done poorly in a field exam and picked up a rock to throw in frustration.It hit Caine.I kept the stone afterward, and Caine teased me for being childish.I'd been carving our names into it without even looking up."Stones don't change."I want it to prove that we'll be together forever."Now the stone was on the altar, right where I'd left it.Caine knew then. I had truly left him behind.Caine ran his fingers over the carved letters, his hand trembling."How..."His voice cracked."How could Eileen not want me..."He pulled out his phone and started calling me, over and over.The line was busy.He called again.The line was still busy.He

7

I didn't witness that scene in person.But Ella had secretly recorded everything with a memory crystal.She was clearly still fuming, sitting beside me, watching the footage back and cursing the whole time."Those two shameless lowlifes. One had the nerve to invite his side piece to the venue, and the other actually showed up?"If those people hadn't held me back, I would've slapped Caine and Leora ten times each!"At the end of the recording, Caine stormed out, leaving Leora and Maeve behind.The whispers around them grew louder, and every member of the pack was looking at them with the same damning expression.Maeve was still trying to hold her ground."Everyone, please don't overthink this. Eileen is just being dramatic."Caine and Leora simply had a ceremony. It wasn't a real marking. It doesn't count."But when she saw the contempt in everyone's eyes, the smile she was forcing finally crumbled.Leora was still trying to maintain her image in front of Maeve.Her eyes were red, her

8

The day after the ceremony was canceled, Caine tracked me to the gates of Moonshade Pack.He was still wearing yesterday's formal suit, unshaven, his hair a mess.Nothing like the composed, meticulous Alpha he used to be.I turned to leave, but Caine caught up.He stood in front of me, his eyes filled with desperation."Eileen, I was wrong. I was so, so wrong."I shouldn't have agreed to do it. I shouldn't have gone behind your back to have that ceremony with Leora."But you've been the only mate I've ever wanted. From the very beginning."The words tumbled out of him, frantic, as if he were afraid I'd walk away mid-sentence."I only agreed because I wanted closure with her."I'd already made up my mind."Once the ceremony was done, I was cutting ties with her for good."After that, I was going to give you everything. All of me."Eileen, please give me one more chance. Just one chance to make it up to you."I listened quietly, then smiled."Caine, do you think I left because of the cer

9

I heard from Ella later that Caine had kicked Leora out."Caine just stood there, completely stone-faced, and told Leora to leave the pack."He said, 'The ceremony is done. I kept my promise. Now please leave Black Rock Pack.'"Ella was in front of me, pulling faces and mimicking his voice."Leora started crying right there! She said Caine had promised he would never make her leave."Eileen, you know what Caine said?"He said, 'I also promised Eileen I would take care of her.'"Hilarious, right? He couldn't keep either promise."I let out a small laugh and said nothing.I thought that was the end of it.But I'd underestimated Leora.A few days later, she posted a long essay on social media.She titled it "A Sincere Heart Deserves Better."She said she and Caine had known each other since childhood and had been each other's first loves.She claimed that unfortunate circumstances had made them miss their best years together.She said the ceremony had only been about keeping a youthful pr

10

Time moved quickly.After graduating from the Imperial Research Institute, I became the Alpha of Moonshade Pack.I still heard news about Caine from time to time, but it didn't stir anything in me anymore.I heard he and Leora had a bitter falling out.The day Leora left, she screamed at Caine through her tears."You regret it now? Who was the one who promised me a ceremony in the first place?"Did I force you? Did I drag you to the Ice Plains?"Caine, stop pretending you're some devoted lover!"You don't love anyone. You only love yourself!"Caine didn't say a word.Later, I heard he kept volunteering for the most dangerous assignments the pack had to offer.He packed his schedule so tight there wasn't a moment to think, trying to numb himself with anything he could find.Then, on one of those missions, exhaustion caught up with him. A blood leopard tore off one of his legs.He was left a broken man.What came after was silence.I never heard anything about Caine again.That silence l

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