Alpha’s Howl of Regret

I quickly pushed the medicine tray off the bedside table.

The crash of pills and bottles hitting the floor made Marcus turn around fast. He forgot all about the doctor and rushed to my bed, looking scared and worried.

"Serena, you're awake? Are you in pain?"

I shook my head a little and looked past him at the doctor's nervous face.

Marcus relaxed then and turned back to the doctor. "Doctor, what were you saying before? I didn't hear you."

He felt like he missed something important.

The doctor was about to talk when I looked at him and shook my head just a tiny bit.

The doctor understood. He just sighed and said, "The patient needs to rest more," then left the room.

Now it was just Marcus and me in the hospital room.

Marcus looked worried and tried to touch my face. I turned my head away.

He seemed to get it and started saying sorry right away. "I'm sorry, Serena. This is my fault. It must have been people who hate me who put poison in the soup. They hurt you and Rose."

"Thank God you and the baby are safe. If something happened to you, I could never forgive myself. I promise this won't happen again. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"

I looked into his eyes. They looked really scared and sorry.

Right then, I felt like laughing at how fake everything was.

Everything he said sounded so nice, but what was real and what was lies?

"I'm tired."

I pulled my hand away and closed my eyes. I didn't want to play this stupid game anymore.

While I was in the hospital, Marcus stayed with me all the time.

He made food for me himself and fed me with a spoon. He came to every doctor visit and wrote down everything they said. If I moved even a little at night, he'd wake up and ask what I needed. He rubbed my back and arms to make me feel better.

But all of this just made me remember what Rose said before: "Yes, Marcus always looked after me when we were kids..."

Even the nurses said they never saw a husband take care of his wife so well.

But I stayed quiet and sad, looking out the window a lot.

Marcus thought it was because of being pregnant and tried even harder to take care of me.

On the day I left the hospital, Marcus had made big plans.

He had closed off his private hunting area so no one else would be there. His guards stayed far away so I could breathe the clean mountain air freely. In the afternoon, he walked with me through the whole forest. When I looked at pretty flowers for more than a few seconds, he secretly marked the spot. He said he'd move those flowers to my garden the next day. When it got dark, lights suddenly lit up the open area by the rocks. They spelled out "My Only Love" in the dark sky.

"Do you like it?" Marcus held my arm from behind.

I looked at all the lights in the sky and for a moment felt like I was back in the old days.

Back then, Marcus did things like this to make me happy. I felt like the luckiest person alive.

But when my hand moved to my empty stomach, all the good feelings went away.

"What's wrong?" Marcus felt me get tense and turned me around to look at him. "You've been sad lately. I'm really worried."

He held my face and rubbed it gently with his thumb. "Should we talk to a doctor about your feelings? Being sad when you're pregnant is normal. You don't have to handle it alone. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Looking into his honest-looking eyes, I suddenly asked, "If I tell you the truth about something, will you tell me the truth too?"

Marcus looked surprised for a second, then smiled. "Of course, baby. We're married. We should always be honest with each other."

I took a deep breath. "Then let me ask you something. I heard you have someone who really matters to you. A woman you've been close to for a long time."

I looked right into his eyes. "So why did you end up marrying me instead of her?"

Marcus's expression instantly froze.