The Lycan’s Regret

The aroma of smashed pine trees and blood was thick in the air in the Great Hall. The Blackwood Pack tonight celebrated their new leader - Alpha Kaelen Vance. Hiding in the shadows behind, Freya Rosewood gripped her gray dress that had seen better days. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and made pain in her body. She was an Omega, and her rightful place was working in the kitchen washing the dishes, not here. But a stubborn flame of hope burned inside her. "Now look at yourself, Freya. You are still hoping for the Luna throne?" An obnoxious but well-known voice spoke through the hubbub. Selene, the daughter of an Alpha from a neighboring pack, smirked when she walked into Freya's view. A red silk dress that outlined all of her beautiful and dangerous curves. Beautiful, deadly, and of noble birth. "I am only observing the ceremony, Selene," whispered Freya, looking down on the ground. An Omega would never meet the eyes of a noble wolf. As Selene drew nearer, the overpowering smell of her rose fragrance filled Freya’s nostrils. “Observing? Or are you hoping for a miracle? Tell the truth, you pathetic thing. Kaelen is the most powerful Alpha our pack has ever known. And he deserves a warrior queen beside him, not some whelp who can’t even change.” Freya didn’t say anything. As usual, she subconsciously moved her hand to cover her abdomen. No. You are wrong, Selene. He knows me. He loves me. Only two weeks back, before the elders staged this political farce, Kaelen had brought Freya to the secret lake near the border. There, under the starlit sky, he had held her close, tearing down her defenses in desperate need. “Wait for me, Freya. Once I claim my Alpha power, I will announce to the world that you are mine.” Immediately, the boisterous cheers coming from the hall were abruptly hushed. Kaelen Vance climbed on the stone altar. Six-foot-two, he seemed incredibly powerful in his black, fur-lined robe. He had an angry face and his golden eyes shone in the glow of the flames. The mere presence of his Alpha energy suffused the room, making each wolf kneel down. Freya knelt down with the others. Then, she felt it. It was like getting a brutal shock in her chest. The sparks. The bond between them of the Moon Goddess. She smelled the intoxicating mixture of winter mint and cedarwood around her. On the altar, Kaelen shivered. His golden eyes moved urgently around, trying to find the source of the sweet smell of peaches and vanilla which was her scent. When his eyes met hers, Freya held her breath. He saw her. Her tears of relief brimmed in her eyes. However, the softness in Kaelen’s gaze evaporated almost instantaneously to be substituted by an icy and calculating one. He glanced at her worn-out clothes. He glanced at her Omega marking. After that, he glanced at the elders of the Pack who observed his every move. Sharp breath broke their eye contact, making him seem like a man washing away some dirt from his face. “People of the Blackwood Pack!” thundered his resonant baritone voice throughout the whole hall. “I have gained strength of our ancestors tonight! And tonight, a strong pack needs Luna to give birth to warriors!” Smiling, Freya got ready to present herself. However, the next words made her heart stop beating. “I declare that the Luna of the Blackwood Pack, who will reign by my side, is Lady Selene of the White Fang Pack!” Applause filled the room. Selene smirked and started to ascend the stairs of the altar. She took his hand and held it tightly. Freya’s world fell apart. Her bond tore her heart. Not thinking of anything else, she tried to get to the altar through the crowd of wolves. “Kaelen…” she gasped, her voice breaking. “Kaelen, look at me… You know that we are mates. You promised me…” The guards of the pack were already there, holding her down and forcing her to kneel on the steps of the altar. “She looks at you in such an insolent way,” snarled Selene, giving him a nasty smile. “Get this Omega away! How can she be so rude and ruin the night of Alpha’s coronation?” “Wait,” said Kaelen in an even voice. He let go of Selene's hand and went down the stairs. Each step was like a walk to death for him. He stopped right in front of Freya, who was crying and kneeling in front of him. “Why, Kaelen? Two weeks ago… you said…” “Two weeks ago was a mistake, Freya,” said Kaelen, interrupting her. His voice was a whisper, but still very cold and sharp. “Now I am an Alpha. My first priority is the future of our pack. Blackwood does not need a wounded Omega for a Luna. This mating… is the mistake of the Moon Goddess.” "A mistake?" Freya shook her head, not believing what she heard. "But I love you... we..." Kaelen took a step back, his eyes becoming a hard block of ice. His Alpha presence crushed her, squeezing her lungs. Raising his right hand, Kaelen made sure that he was heard all around the empty hall. "I, Alpha Kaelen Vance of the Blackwood Pack," he said clearly, each word filled with chilling force, "reject you, Freya Rosewood, as my mate." SNAP. Freya gasped, holding her chest. A blinding, burning pain as if her heart was torn in two exploded inside of her. Their bond broke. In her soul, her inner wolf gave its last cry and fell into the darkness of unconsciousness due to the trauma. "And because you decided to embarrass my decision publicly," Kaelen continued, without a shred of mercy, "you are expelled from the Blackwood Pack. Go out of my territory before sunrise, or you will be dead." Complete silence filled the hall. Rejection and expulsion. At such a time of year, this was a death sentence for an Omega. Freya gazed at the man before her. The very same man who had kissed her with reverence suddenly seemed to view her as garbage. Gradually, the painful ache in her heart solidified into something more. Freya wiped away her tears with the palm of her hand. She forced herself to stand tall with legs that trembled with every step. For the first time in pack history, an Omega stood before the Alpha with a stare that did not falter. "Fine," Freya's voice no longer quivered. Her words were devoid of feeling and eerily calm. "I accept your refusal, Alpha Kaelen." She turned around and left the Great Hall, not bothering to look back once. Outside in the storming blizzard, Freya walked alone in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Her hand moved to protect her belly, which now carried a baby, through the delicate fabric of her dress. She cried tears that weren't meant for Kaelen; they were for the new life inside her. “I am sorry, little girl,” Freya whispered into the biting wind. “Your father discarded us. But mark my words, someday they will all grovel at your feet.” The biting coldness of the blizzard felt like needles pricking Freya’s skin, but nothing was more painful than the roar that ripped her insides apart. Each footstep away from the Blackwood territory felt as if she was walking on broken glass with a wounded soul. Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps made her stop in the midst of the snow. Freya felt her hand clench on her stomach. Three huge figures stepped out from the thick layer of falling snow. They were not rogues. They wore leather armors with silver crests – the sign of the White Fang Pack Selene’s private guards. “Ah, look what the wind blew in.” The leader of the guards, a scarred warrior known as Titan, taunted with malice in his eyes. He pulled out a hunting dagger with a shining silver blade. “The Lady Selene is a perfectionist, Omega. She dislikes any loose ends, and your pathetic ex-lover is definitely one of them.” Freya took a step back until her spine was pressed up against the frosty bark of an old oak. "Kaelen has exiled me, I am going, let me leave." "Alpha Kaelen couldn’t give a s**t if you live or die, but our future Luna wants to make sure that you stay dead." The guard named Titan advanced on her while his two comrades surrounded her. "So don’t worry, it won’t take long. The smell of your blood will be lost in the cold of the winter anyway." Freya felt her heart beating in her chest at a terrifying speed. Her wolf spirit remained dormant in the induced coma caused by her shock and rejection. She had neither claws nor teeth to defend herself. No, she thought as her jaws clenched, desperation turning into determination. I am not going to die here, in this humiliating way. "Touch me," Freya said in a dangerous whisper. "And by God, I swear to you, it will be the very last thing you ever do." The guards laughed hysterically. "Oh, an Omega trying to scare Alpha-blooded warriors? Priceless. Cut her throat, boys." The guards who were surrounding her attacked her, turning their hands into claws. Freya braced herself, preparing to fight with nothing but her bare hands BOOM. Pressure enveloped the area in a heartbeat. The air grew thick almost instantaneously with an oppressive and tyrannical force that sucked the oxygen right out of Freya’s lungs. This wasn’t an alpha’s aura, but it was far, far more dangerous than that. This was the aura of a creature that liked to hunt alphas for its own amusement. Both guards stopped mid-air and fell brutally to the snow ground, their knees collapsing under the sheer force of the pressure. Titan gave an eerie gasp, dropping his dagger to the ground as he collapsed to his fours, spewing blood on the snow. “What… what is this…?” Titan asked, his eyes staring with sheer terror at the darkened trees in front of him. The darkness seemed to extend as though devouring the moonlight, only to reveal the outline of a man. Impossible height; wide shoulders covered by thick, black velvet coat which was edged with pure white fur. Silver-white hair flew in the wind, but his eyes froze Freya in place. They were neither black, nor brown, nor the golden color characteristic to Alphas. They were crimson red, deadly and luminant. Lycan. Not just any Lycan. Three White Fang soldiers trembled violently with their heads pressed against the cold ground. "Y-Your Majesty..." Titan stammered. "It is the Lycan King..." Xavier, the Lycan King, didn't even spare a glance for the trembling men kneeling before him. His deadly crimson eyes were fixed on Freya alone. He raised his head slightly, catching her scent in the wind. "Fascinating," said Xavier, his voice velvet-like and deep, making Freya tremble all over. He took a careful step forward. The three guards attempted to crawl away, but with one carefree wave of Xavier’s hand, a pulse of unbridled kinetic energy sent them flying back and smashing into the trees, breaking their backs as their bones snapped under the strain. The cracking sound of bones filled the air, followed by absolute silence. They did not move anymore. Freya slid down the tree, completely drained of energy. Her vision started to blur around the edges from the cold biting at her. She expected to hit the frozen ground, but instead, felt herself being caught by two surprisingly warm hands. Xavier lifted her small, trembling frame and pressed it close to his chest, where his body heat made her forget about the frostbite eating away at her. He stared down at her, idly brushing aside a stray lock of her perked silver hair with his thumb. Then, he narrowed his gaze as his hand passed over her belly. A knowing smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “A broken mate bond… but your soul bears the scent of a noble bloodline,” Xavier whispered into her ear, his voice resonating with her as Freya’s eyelids drooped. “And a little surprise that you carry inside yourself.” Freya attempted to get away from him, but she did not have enough strength for that. “Wh... who... what do you want from me...?” she managed to ask before being overwhelmed by darkness. Xavier lifted Freya into his arms as if she was as light as a feather. He returned into the unknown depths of the mountainous area, a spark of danger and thrill dancing in his eyes. “I want to give a broken little wolf a choice,” Xavier whispered to the unconscious girl, covering her with his cloak from the storm. “Sleep well, my little weapon of the future. When you wake up, I am going to destroy the Blackwood Pack.”