The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations Novel Novels & Stories

“You’ve been here before.” “He’s the one who attacked Samuel,” Nash says. “Yes,” he says. “I’m a mercenary, and I was hired by the Flagstaff and Rogers Lake packs to spy on you, then assist in weakening your pack.” “In that case,” Nash snarls, “you are not welcome here. I should kill you where you stand.” Isaac shrugs. “You may well do so. But I pose no danger to you. My contract with Malcolm and Brandon has ended, since they stopped paying me. I only want to find Regan.”

"I was terrified, I was angry, I was blinded by my stupid pride—" "I don't care," I spat, my voice smooth, steady, and merciless. "Neither I nor my surviving baby will ever belong to you. We will never belong to a coward who wished his own blood into an early grave just to play house with another woman. You made your choice, Alpha Sinclair. Now choke on it." Marcus stepped forward from where the enforcers were binding the last groaning mercenary. His face was pale, his posture rigid as he looked between his weeping Alpha and me.

Grateful that someone was doing something, standing where I can’t. “This is an insult,” he said with undeniable anger. I wanted to hold onto his voice. To anchor myself to it. But everything was slipping fast from my grasp. “Then take it as one.” Alpha Theron stepped in, “Your daughter is not a suitable mate for Darius” I thought I was finally worthy, this was supposed to be the final step to my elevation. That was what I and Darius discussed. I felt a wave of pain in the pit of my stomach as the bond inside me twists. I fell on my knees unable to stand or walk straight. I heard the snapping sound crack and suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. But I couldn’t let it end there. I had to try. I had to

The same way he would hold me five years from now before killing me. "Let me go," I whispered. "Never." His lips brushed my temple, almost tender. "See you at the altar, darling." He released me and walked away, leaving me gasping against the door. My phone—the new one I grabbed—buzzed in my pocket. Marcus Zhao Capital. 2:00 PM tomorrow. Come alone. I did not remember sending any messages. But then I saw the draft folder, filled with texts I apparently wrote in my panic. Investment proposals. Business plans.

"Leaving the rear guard stranded." "Relax," the second man said. He flicked his cigarette butt into the brush. "We called it in. The retrieval team is an hour out. Besides, no one is following us. The Alpha is dead. The mercenaries are busy picking their teeth with the Council guards." "I heard the black wolf took a dose of the liquid bane," the third man laughed. "He was drooling on himself when we left. Pathetic." The rage that exploded in my chest was white hot. It blinded me for a second.

The fortress groaned, shaking violently, echoing like a death rattle through the underground chamber. I landed, breathless, energy thrumming, heart hammering. The collapse was spreading, faster, more violent than I anticipated. I had no choice but to flee, to leave behind the remnants of Rowan Mercer’s secrets, at least for now. But I would return. I would understand. I would control this power fully, and I would face him again.

I instantly felt a chill as several whistles sounded around us. Lester's gaze was dark and unfathomable as he looked down at me expressionlessly. Publicly humiliated by his actions, I was utterly enraged. I was just about to slap him when a deep voice came from behind me. "What's going on here?" At the sound of that voice, Lester instantly whipped around and approached the man with an eager smile. "You're here, Uncle Caspian. This bar singer broke the bracelet you gave Mable, so I was just teaching her a lesson…"

I didn't want her to have other thoughts, how was I to know my rejection would push her down the spiral? Turning to face the mercenary, “Is she alright could you buy her out?” The man shook his head with a mix of worry and confusion etched on his face, his next words made my blood run cold “I'm afraid I couldn't. When I arrived I found the camp raised to the floor, and everyone burnt to a crisp” The taste of blood flooded my mouth as I clamped down tightly to keep from showing my emotions, my eyes grew red, and the mercenary frowned, “I apologize Alpha, I failed you.”

The green light inside turned a deep, bruised violet before the entire machine shattered into a billion tiny, harmless crystals. The backfire was instantaneous. Without the central regulator, the other siphons began to vent steam into the Northern camp. The screams of the Mercenaries rose through the mist, a chorus of agony as their own corruption turned on them. I stood in the center of the wreckage, my breath coming in slow, white clouds. I looked at my hands. The violet scales had reached my shoulders now, creeping toward my collarbone. Kaelen walked toward me, her armor covered in grey sludge. She looked at the destroyed siphons, then at me. There was no doubt in her eyes anymore. Only a

NICO The flight back to Naples was a blur. I stared out the window at the endless blue, willing it to swallow me whole. But the plane touched down anyway, depositing me into the viper’s nest I'd fled not so long ago. The estate loomed at the end of the driveway—Giuseppe's kingdom, built on blood and betrayal. And now, mine to inherit. Today’s events are gonna piss me off, I’m sure of that. The gravel crunched under my boot as I stepped back, the enforcers flanking me instantly. Their eyes said what their mouths couldn't—the prodigal son.