The Alpha’s Greatest Regret

CHAPTER FOUR: THEA

The sunlight shone through the sky indicating that it was dawn. It cast a soft glow over the Crescent pack territory like a promise….a promise of hope.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn't wake up to the echoes of laughter directed at me or whispers of pity. It was just the sound of the beautiful birdsong, the crisp scent of dew, and the steady thump of my own heartbeat.

Lucien had been right. The pain of the rejection had not completely vanished, but it had dulled and was being replaced by something sharper and more fulfilling.

It was focus.

I got up from the bed and found a set of clothes folded neatly on the chair. It was dark training gear and boots. My fingers brushed against the soft fabric, the faint scent of lavender and pine clinging to it.

"Good morning," I heard a deep voice say from the doorway.

I turned to find Lucien casually leaning against the doorframe. He was dressed in a similar black gear with his damp hair falling over his forehead. He looked every inch like the Alpha he was; composed, controlled, formidable and quietly lethal.

"You're up early," he said with a smirk.

I crossed my arms. "You said training begins today."

He nodded approvingly. "Good. Follow me."

I did as I was told and stepped out with him. The Crescent pack spread across the ridge like something out of a fantasy story. It had wooden lodges surrounded by tall pines, mist curling low to the ground, and wolves in human form sparring in the clearing.

Eyes turned as I walked by. Some looked curious and others looked weary.

Lucien noticed my uneasiness. "They know who you are," he said simply. "Word travels fast here."

"Let me guess, they know me as the rejected she-wolf?"

He gave a small smile. "They know you as the one who glowed under the moonlight and flattened three rogues without touching them."

I blinked in shock. "They saw that?"

"Everyone did. Power like yours doesn't stay hidden long." He replied like it were the most normal thing.

We reached the clearing where the training grounds were marked. A beautiful tall woman with golden eyes and dark braids approached us.

"Alpha," she greeted, bowing slightly in respect. Then her gaze met mine. "So this is the Moon's chosen?"

Lucien gestured between us. "Thea, meet Sera. My Beta and one of our best trainers."

Sera's lips curved into a smile as she sized me up. "You've got a storm inside you, girl. Let's see if you can control it."

Before I could ask what that meant, she circled me like a hawk. "Your energy's unstable," she said. "Power like that needs focus, or it will destroy you before your enemies get the chance to do so."

Lucien folded his arms as he watched. "Start slow. I don't want her collapsing on the first day."

Sera smirked in reply. "No promises."she replied causing me to gulp.

The training began with simple movements. It was all about balance, breathing, centering. But nothing about it felt simple. Every time I tried to summon the strength under my skin, the glow grew too bright, wild and untamed.

The ground cracked open beneath my feet once. Another time, the air grew harsh, rippling like heat waves.

Sera raised a brow, watching me. " Your powers are Impressive. Dangerous, but impressive."

Frustration burned through me as I grew impatient. "I can't control it. It's like trying to hold lightning or rain in fact."

Lucien stepped closer, his voice was calm as he guided me. "Then don't hold it. Guide it. Energy follows intention. Don't fight what you are, just direct it."

He reached out and placed his hand gently over mine. The moment his skin touched mine, the world around me quieted down. The restless storm inside me stilled, focusing into a single, clear pulse.

"Breathe," he whispered.

I did. And for the first time, the glow didn't flare out, it flowed. Controlled. It was being controlled by me.

Sera's eyes widened slightly. "Well, that's new."

Lucien stepped back, his expression unreadable. "Good. Again."

We trained for hours. Each time I lost control, I forced myself to try again. Sweat soaked through my shirt, my muscles screamed in exhaustion and pain, but I didn't stop. I couldn't.

Every stumble and every fall reminded me of Kael and of how helpless I had felt when he turned his back on me. I want to never feel that powerless again.

When the sun began to set, Lucien called an end to the session. "That's enough for today. You're pushing your limits."

"I can go again," I protested.

He chuckled softly. "I know that look. You're stubborn."

"Determined," I corrected.

"Same thing," he said, his smile barely there. "Come. Dinner's ready."

The dining hall was filled with laughter and the chatter of flowing conversation. Wolves of all ranks sat together. There was no hierarchy, no tension. It was strange and comforting, even.

Sera waved me over, sliding a bowl toward me. "Eat. You'll need it. Training drains the body."

I smiled faintly. "You don't go easy on newcomers, do you?"

"Wouldn't be doing my job if I did."

Lucien took a seat across from us, watching the exchange with amusement. "You did well today, Thea."

I blinked. "You think so?"

He nodded. "Power is nothing without will. You've got both. You just need balance."

For a moment, warmth replaced the painful ache in my chest. No one had ever spoken to me like that, not even Kael.

When dinner ended, I stepped outside for fresh air. The moon hung high, full and bright. My skin tingled faintly beneath its light, and the crescent mark on my shoulder shimmered in response.

The forest whispered….soft, eerie, familiar.

Then I felt it.

A flicker in the bond I thought had been severed.

It was faint and distant… but real.

Kael.

My breath caught. I could feel his anger through the faint remnants of what once connected us.…a thread of power that hadn't fully died.

He knew.

Somewhere, somehow, he knew I was still alive.

Far from Crescent territory, Alpha Kael Draven stood before the sacred Moonstone, his jaw was clenched, his wolf restless in his skin as he paced.

"She's alive," he growled, voice low but angry.

His Beta frowned. "That's impossible. The rejection ceremony was witnessed—"

"I felt her," Kael snapped, eyes flashing gold. "Her energy was supposed to die with the bond, but it didn't. It's changed. Stronger."

He turned toward the window, where the moonlight cut across his face. "Find her. I don't care what it takes."

The Beta hesitated. "If the Crescent Pack is sheltering her—"

Kael's lips curved into a dark smile. "Then we'll burn the Crescent Pack to the ground."

Back in the Crescent compound, I shivered but not from the cold, but from the sudden weight of destiny pressing down on me.

Lucien's words from earlier echoed in my mind.

"You'll need strength if you ever plan to face the Alpha who broke you.

I looked up at the moon with a steady heart and fire burning in my veins.

"Then I'll get stronger," I whispered. "Strong enough to make him regret ever letting me go."

And as the wind rustled through the pines, I could have sworn I heard the moon whisper back a promise, or perhaps a warning.

Either way, I was ready.

Far away from the Crescent Pack, Alpha Kael Draven stood alone on the balcony of his lodge.

The night wind swept through his dark hair as he stared into the endless forest beyond the Nightshade borders. The moon hung high above him, bright and merciless, casting silver light across the land.

His wolf was restless. had been restless ever since the rejection.

For two days, it had paced inside him like a caged beast, refusing to settle no matter how many patrol reports he reviewed or how many warriors challenged him in the training grounds.

At first, Kael had ignored it, he had tried to suppress it but now, he could no longer pretend nothing was wrong because he had felt her.

Thea.

The moment the strange surge of power rippled through the bond, it had slammed into him without warning. It had been brief, lasting only seconds, but it had been enough.

Enough to make his wolf awaken instantly……..Enough to make him realize she was alive.

His fingers tightened around the stone railing.

“You should be dead,” he muttered.

Not because he wanted her dead but because that was how rejection worked.

A rejected omega rarely survived when the bond was fully severed under the Moon’s witness.

But somehow she had survived.

His wolf growled.

Ours.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “No.”

The beast inside him snarled louder.

Ours.

The word echoed through his mind, refusing to disappear.

For the first time since the ceremony, Kael allowed himself to remember the exact moment their eyes had met. The shock, the connection and the overwhelming certainty.

Mate.

The bond had been real and had never been any doubt about that.He had known it the instant he looked at her but the problem was not the bond, the problem was her.

She was an omega and a servant. Agirl with no status, no influence and no powe or at least that was what he had believed but now he wasn’t so sure.

The energy he had felt tonight was unlike anything he had ever encountered before.It was ancient, powerful and dangerous..

His wolf growled again.

Find her.

Kael closed his eyes briefly.

The frustrating part was that he could not stop thinking about her.Not the broken girl who had fallen to her knees after his rejection. Not the tears in her eyes. Not the way she had looked at him as if he had shattered her entire world.

The memory lingered and he hated it.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Enter,” Kael ordered.

Ronan stepped into the room immediately. The Beta studied him carefully.

“You felt it too, didn’t you?” Ronan asked.

Kael did not answer right away, instead he turned toward the moon.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Then he finally spoke.

“Something is changing.”

Ronan frowned. “The girl?”

Kael’s gaze hardened. “No.”

His wolf growled beneath his skin.

“The woman she is becoming.”

For the first time since the rejection ceremony, unease settled deep inside him and for the first time in his life, Alpha Kael Draven wondered if he had made the biggest mistake of his existence.