The Alpha’s Regret

CHAPTER FOUR

SERA

The hall emptied with the scrape of chairs and the shuffle of boots, my rogues scattering after I dismissed them. Only Elias and Adrian lingered, Rowan perched on the edge of the table, swinging his legs as he nibbled on a stolen piece of bread from Adrian’s plate.

“I won’t be long,” I murmured, smoothing a hand through Rowan’s hair. His dark eyes met mine, sharp, knowing more than a child his age should.

“You always say that,” Rowan muttered.

“And I always come back.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead, breathing him in like I was storing him inside my lungs. “Stay with your goduncles, alright? Don’t give Elias trouble.”

Rowan snorted. “Uncle Elias doesn’t talk enough to get in trouble.”

Adrian burst out laughing, nearly falling out of his chair. Elias only gave a low grunt, crossing his arms.

I kissed Rowan again, then forced myself to let go. My chest already ached with the distance.

The driver waited outside, black SUV idling, the pack insignia of the rogue crest painted across the side. I slid in without another word, shutting myself behind steel and tinted glass. The world outside blurred as the car sped toward the neutral lands where the council convened.

By the time we pulled up to the mountain compound, my mask was firmly in place. Not Sera, not mother, not the girl who once ran bleeding through the woods—only Commander.

Inside, the air was thick with power. Ten chairs shaped in a half circle, each occupied by the Alphas of the strongest packs left standing. Men and women whose names carried weight in every territory. Their gazes shifted as I entered.

The eleventh chair, mine, waited at the center of the curve. I sat, the leather cold under me, and crossed my legs slowly. A hush fell over the room.

“Commander Sera,” Alpha Darius greeted first. His voice was low, commanding, his sharp silver eyes cutting. “As always, we appreciate your presence.”

“Get on with it,” Alpha Kallan muttered, leaning back. “We’ve wasted enough hours already.”

The elder presiding over the meeting, a wiry wolf with snow-white hair, tapped his cane against the floor. “There has been a distress call.”

Murmurs erupted instantly.

I didn’t move. “From where?”

“Patience,” the elder said. “First, you should hear the request.”

A young wolf entered, clearly not an Alpha but a messenger, shaking as he bowed. “Honored council. My pack has been under siege for months. Our warriors have been slaughtered, our defenses broken. We beg you for aid. Soldiers, resources—anything to hold the line. If you do not, we will fall.”

The council chamber buzzed with low conversation.

Alpha Mirella scoffed. “Every weak pack wants to be spoon-fed. Why should we sacrifice our people for theirs?”

“Because if they fall,” Alpha Darius cut in, “the enemy gains more ground. And the fire spreads closer to our borders.”

“Then let them burn,” Kallan snapped. “The strong survive. The weak perish. That’s the law.”

I listened, silent. My fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of my chair.

The messenger’s voice cracked as he dropped to his knees. “Please. I am begging you. My Alpha—my people—we cannot last another month without help.”

“You should have trained better,” Alpha Mirella said coldly.

“Or forged stronger alliances,” Kallan added.

The elder rapped his cane again. “Enough. The question is simple. Who among you will send men?”

Silence.

Every Alpha’s gaze slid away, lips pressing shut.

“I will not risk my warriors,” Mirella said.

“Nor I,” another echoed.

The excuses rippled around the room.

And then the silence shifted.

One by one, their eyes turned to me.

I didn’t blink. “Why me?”

“Because you command the largest rogue force in existence,” Darius said evenly. “Because your army is trained, disciplined, and loyal. And because,” his eyes cut sharp, “you have more to prove than any of us.”

Murmurs of agreement followed.

Adrian’s voice echoed in my memory, teasing me about terrifying people. But here, among these wolves, there was no teasing. They feared me. They respected me. And they wanted to use me.

I leaned back slowly.

“You all refuse,” I said flatly. “Yet you want me to be the one who sacrifices.”

“Call it balance,” Kallan said with a smirk. “You built your power on our broken castoffs. Time to return the favor.”

My nails dug into the armrest, but my face gave nothing away.

“What’s the name of this pack?” I asked at last.

The messenger lifted his head. His lips trembled as he spoke.

“The Storm Pack.”

For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe.

Storm.

My old pack. The one that dragged me in chains, called me traitor, watched as my father’s blood soaked the earth. The one led by the man who had once touched me like I was his, then looked me in the eye as he shattered me.

Rhys.

I forced my jaw to tighten, to hide the tremor threatening to break through.

“Commander,” the elder prompted. “What is your answer?”

Every eye in the chamber pinned me, waiting for my decision.

“No.”

The word left my lips before I even thought it through. Every Alpha in the chamber went still.

The messenger blinked at me in shock. “Commander, please—”

“I said no.” I rose from my chair, the legs screeching against the stone. My eyes swept the council one by one. “You want to send me back to the wolves who chained me, who slaughtered my father, who branded me a traitor? You expect me to bleed for them?”

Alpha Kallan leaned forward, smirking. “So the fearless commander still holds grudges.”

I ignored him. My pulse roared in my ears as I turned on my heel and walked out. The heavy doors slammed shut behind me, cutting off their whispers.

The driver scrambled to catch up, but I waved him off. “Take me to Halden.”

He hesitated. “Commander—”

“Now,” I snapped.

The drive blurred. My chest was tight, my throat burning as I fought the storm pressing inside me. By the time we pulled up to Halden’s packhouse, my hands shook.

The guards at the entrance bowed low, recognizing me instantly. They didn’t stop me.

Inside, I saw him.

Theo.

Adrian’s father. The Alpha of Halden.

He stood tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair streaked with gray at the temples. His presence filled the entire room, commanding but not crushing. And when his eyes met mine, sharp and knowing, something inside me cracked.

“Commander,” he greeted, voice deep. “This is unexpected.”

My lips trembled before I could stop them. “Theo, Sera please.…”

He studied me quietly, and then his expression softened. “What happened?”

The words broke me open.

“They called me back,” I whispered, my throat raw. “The council. They want me to send soldiers, resources…to save them.”

Theo didn’t ask who. He only waited.

“The Storm Pack,” I spat, the name bitter as blood.

For the first time in years, my knees gave out. I sank onto the chair opposite him, my head in my hands. “Seven years ago they destroyed me. They tied my father down and cut him open in front of me. They let them call me w***e, traitor, worthless—and Rhys, he stood there, and he—” My voice broke into shards.

Theo crossed the room in three strides. His hand was firm on my shoulder, steady, grounding. “Breathe, Sera.”

I tried, but the sob ripped through me anyway. “Why should I save them? Why should I save him? They took everything from me. They made me nothing. Why should I lift a single finger?”

Theo’s hand tightened, then slid until he pulled me into his chest. My body shook against him.

When my sobs finally eased, his voice came low, calm, in my ear. “Because this isn’t about him.”

I jerked back, eyes wet, furious. “It is about him. Everything is about him. Rhys is the reason I lost my father, the reason I had to run, the reason I—”

Theo’s gaze cut through mine. “And you think refusing will undo that? You think watching innocent children starve, women slaughtered, men butchered—you think that’s revenge?”

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.

“They are his people,” I hissed.

“They are your people too,” Theo said firmly. “You grew up among them. You know their faces, their names. You think they were the ones who ordered Kael’s death? You think they were the ones who forged lies? No. That was the council, that was Rhys, that was Althea. Not the farmer’s child, not the healer’s son, not the warrior who would die for his pack.”

I shook my head. “I can’t go back there.”

Theo’s eyes softened. “Yes, you can. And you should. Because the best revenge isn’t refusing them. The best revenge is walking in with twenty thousand soldiers at your back and letting them see the girl they called nothing now commands everything.”

My throat closed.

“You want Rhys to suffer?” Theo asked. “Show him what he lost. Show him the strength he threw away. That will cut deeper than any blade.”

I looked down, pulling in a shaky breath. “Theo…”

He rested a hand against mine. “This is your choice, Sera. But if you ask me—go. Not for him. Not for your old pack. But for the ones who don’t deserve to pay for his sins. And for yourself.”

Finally, I pulled out my phone. My hand didn’t tremble as I unlocked it.

Theo’s gaze held mine. “Sera?”

I lifted the device to my ear. My voice was steady, lethal calm.

“I’ll do it.”

Theo didn’t let go. His arms locked around me, steady, warm. For years, he’d been more than Adrian’s father, more than an Alpha. He had been a father to me, and a grandfather to my son.

He kissed the top of my head. “You’re not alone, Sera. You’ll never be alone again.”

A shaky laugh left me. “You only spoil Rowan and me because you never got a daughter.”

He smirked, brushing my hair back. “That boy is my heir’s godson. He’s mine to spoil. Don’t argue.”

I rolled my eyes, even as my chest eased a little. “You’re impossible.”

“Good,” he said simply. .

We walked out together, Theo’s hand heavy on my shoulder. But before we could reach the door, a familiar voice called out.

“Is that—Sera?”

Adrian’s older brother appeared from the corridor, tall and broad like their father, his dark hair falling into his eyes. The firstborn, the next Alpha, Theodore II. He didn’t hesitate. He pulled me into a tight hug.

“Gods, it’s good to see you,” he said, squeezing me. “It’s been too long.”

I let out a small laugh and pecked his cheek. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”

“Barely,” he teased. “What are you doing here? Adrian doesn’t stop talking about you—”

Theo cleared his throat. His son shut up instantly, but not before giving me a knowing smile.

I shook my head. “We’ll talk later.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Then I left.

The ride home was silent. By the time the driver stopped in front of the estate, I was already out of the car. I stormed inside, past the guards, past Adrian calling something behind me, straight into my office.

The door slammed shut.

I pressed my palms to the desk, inhaling deep, before opening the link. My mind stretched wide, touching every soldier under me. Twenty thousand rogues. My army. My people.

“This is your commander,” I said, my voice ringing sharp through the bond.

“Five hundred,” I continued. “Prepare to march. Full gear. Full discipline. You leave by nightfall.”

“Yes, Commander!” twenty thousand voices thundered back.

“Division heads,” I snapped and cut the link.

The door opened almost instantly. Ten of them filed in, men and women who had fought with me since the beginning. Their eyes burned with loyalty.

“Commander,” they greeted in unison.

I straightened. “Listen carefully. I won’t repeat myself.”

They leaned in.

“First Division—hold the northern borders. No breaches. I want constant reports.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Second and Third—double the watch around our territory. No one enters, no one leaves, unless cleared by me.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Fourth Division—you’ll oversee training in my absence. No slacking. Break them if you must.”

“Yes, Commander.”

I turned to the Fifth. “You’re in charge of supply lines. I want every soldier armed, fed, and clothed for battle. If a single piece of steel goes missing, I’ll have your head.”

He bowed. “It will be done.”

I continued down the line, giving each precise orders. My voice cut through the room like a whip. They didn’t argue. They didn’t question. They listened.

A knock interrupted. My PA rushed in, breathless, tablet clutched in her hand.

“Commander,” she said quickly. “We have to leave immediately.”