Alpha's Regret, Queen's Revenge

LONG WAY TO GO

HAILEY

Alexia's giggles were a soothing balm on my exhausted soul as her little fists clutched the ears of her stuffed wolf and she toddled across the pack office floor. She had no clue about the tempest raging on around her. Truly, for a pup of her age, ignorance was bliss.

I leaned back in the armchair, my eyes trained on her, but my senses stayed sharp. Across the room, Ryan was seated on the couch, his gaze fixed on Alexia as though she held the answers to all the questions haunting him. I know he wonders why a child that isn't ours could be so attached to me, I pondered on this also for a long time before I gave up.

He looked different, older and more burdened somehow, more desperate. His eyes flickered to me searching, but I refused to grant him the satisfaction of meeting it. Let him stew.

"Hailey," he finally said, his deep voice breaking into the silence.

I didn't say a word; I didn't owe him that much.

"Can we talk?" he tried again, softer this time.

Alexia crawled over to me at that moment, arms raised, and I scooped her up without any hesitation. The weight of her in my arms centred me and reminded me of the life I'd built sans him.

"What is there to talk about, Ryan?" I said, calm but cutting. "You made your choices. You left. Now you're here, what? Looking for redemption?"

"I didn't

A sharp rap at the door cut him off, and before either of us could answer, it burst open, and Lucy stepped inside, her heels clattering against the wooden floor.

The atmosphere in the room altered in an instant.

Lucy was sporting one of those getups that just about screamed calculated elegance, each wave of hair perfectly in place and her lips painted blood red. Her smile was all jagged edges, her eyes flashing between Ryan and me.

“Well, well,” she said, her voice dripping with faux sweetness. “Isn’t this a quaint little scene? The Alpha King and his… entourage.”

Alexia turned her head toward the unfamiliar voice and immediately burrowed closer to me.

I kissed the top of her head before fixing my gaze on Lucy. “You have terrible timing.”

“Oh, I’m not interrupting anything important,” she said, ignoring me entirely as she sauntered toward Ryan. “Am I, Ryan?”

Ryan's jaw flexed, but he didn't say another word.

"I just wanted to check in," Lucy said with a voice like sugar. "You have been so busy since you returned. Thought maybe you had forgotten all about me.

Alexia squirmed in my arms, sensing the tension. I set her back on the floor, watching as she toddled over to her toys. Then I stood, slow and deliberate, letting the chair creak under the shift of my weight.

"Lucy," I said, stepping between her and Ryan. "I'm sure you have better things to do than loiter in an office where you're not welcome."

Her eyes narrowed, her smile turning brittle. "You don't get to decide where I'm welcome. I have as much history with Ryan as you do. Isn't that right, Ryan?"

I didn't look at him. I didn't need to. This wasn't about him, not anymore.

"History," I said, tilting my head, "is what you cling to when you have no future. And you, Lucy, have no place in ours.

For a moment, Lucy's mask slipped, and she laughed a high, forced sound. "How cute, do you really think you are irreplaceable? Newsflash: Ryan and I have something that you will never understand. I carried his child."

I stepped closer, my voice dropping to that dangerous low. "And for this, you expect what?

Her eyes flashed with anger. "You think you're so perfect, don't you? Playing the martyr, acting like you're untouchable. But let's not forget Hailey—you weren't here. I was. I kept Ryan company when he thought you were gone for good. I—"

Her words cut off as my hand moved faster than her mind could process. The sharp crack of the backhand reverberated through the room, silencing everything.

Lucy reeled, her hand flying to her cheek, her eyes wide with shock and fury.

"How dare you—"

She turned to Ryan, expecting an ally. "Ryan, are you just going to let her—"

"She's your Luna," Ryan said, his voice even, his gaze steady. "You disrespected her. You should have known better."

Her face went red, the fury bubbling just beneath the surface. "After everything we—

"Leave," I cut in, the single word a s***h in her protest.

Lucy's pride warred with anger.

"You heard her," Flora said as she came into the room, calm and authoritative as always. "Out. Now."

Lucy's head snapped to Flora, but the Beta's mate wasn't one to trifle with. She glared a moment, then spun on her heel, storming from the room and slamming the door behind her.

The silence that followed was almost as loud as the slap had been.

"Was that necessary?" Ryan asked, the first to break the silence.

I turned to him, my expression unreadable. "If you're asking whether I regret it, the answer is no."

His lips twitched, almost like he wanted to smile but knew better. "You've changed."

"I had to," I replied, crossing my arms. "Because of you."

His shoulders sagged and a flicker of guilt crossed his face. "I know. And I'm sorry, Hailey. For everything."

I didn't let the softness in his voice affect me. "Words are easy, Ryan. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm staying," he said, his voice firm. "For the pack. For us."

"For the pack," I corrected. "Don't assume there's an us anymore.

Alexia toddled over then, holding her stuffed wolf up toward Ryan. He looked at me then, for permission. I nodded once, and he crouched to her level.

"Hey there, little one," he said in a soft tone.

She looked at him with wide, wary eyes before tentatively handing the toy to him. When he took it, she giggled, and that seemed to cut some of the tension in the room.

I watched them, my emotions tangled in a web of resentment and hope. He's trying to form a rapport with her because he knows how much she means to me, but that didn't mean I was ready to let him back into my life.

"I'll be outside," I said, stepping toward the door. "Don't push her too fast."

Ryan nodded, his attention still on Alexia as she babbled something unintelligible.

Outside, the cool night air wrapped itself around me like a cloak, and I exhaled deeply. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was in control. Ryan's return might have disrupted my world, but I wasn't going to let him or anyone else for that matter-dictate how I lived it.

I exhale, relieved that I am not marked by him; I would have neither clarity nor rationality if I had been. The mate bond would have grown far too strong, and during the full moon, my heat would have had me crawling right back to him. In two months ahead, another full moon. Thankfully, I am not supposed to be marked, and hence I must be alright.

Inside, he was trying to rebuild what he'd broken; outside, I made a silent promise under the quiet expanse of the stars.

I would protect the thing I built, no matter the cost to myself.