Alpha's Regrets Are Too Late

I was panting hard, my vision blurring from blood loss. I had barely escaped the hunters from the rival packs, but I knew they were still on my trail. If they caught me, it would mean life or death. Desperately, I tried to mind-link my mate, Alpha Caelan of the Bloodmoon Pack, but he never responded.

In my weakened wolf form, blood gushed from my neck, and I couldn’t heal myself. Just as my strength waned, our pack’s warriors found me while patrolling the woods. They brought me to the infirmary, where I finally had a moment to call my mate. He still didn’t answer.

Curious and worried, I checked my social media. There, I saw a post from Alpha Caelan's childhood friend, Liora. She had shared a photo of him shielding her with his body, captioned, "From the beginning to the end, you are the only one."

After facing death, I realized I couldn’t stay any longer. This was what he wanted, after all.

However, the formidable Alpha Caelan searched for me everywhere. This time, however, I was ready to embrace my true duty and the title bestowed upon me—Guardian of the Moonlight Forest.

After ignoring my mind links and calls, Alpha Caelan suddenly called me back. I stared at the screen, my heart pounding, before finally answering. Instead of concern, I received a barrage of accusations.

"Where are you? You're always out there doing whatever you want!" he snapped.

"You're nowhere to be found, you didn't even know we had an accident. Liora was scared. And before you think of anything else, don't," he continued, defensively. "If I really had something with her, why would I mate with you?"

I was stunned into silence. My body ached terribly, even in my human form, and the quiet infirmary only heightened the terror I felt.

The hunters' attack wasn't shocking; ever since I presented as the next-generation Guardian of the Moonlight Forest, several assassination attempts had been directed at me. But this last attack was the worst—I had nearly died.

Hearing the Alpha speak to me like that, I suddenly felt everything was pointless. "I got hurt too, I'm still—" I stopped when I heard something from his end.

"Alpha, I forgot to get a towel. I'm already undressed," came a sweet voice from the other end of the phone.

My heart tightened. They must be together again, doing God knows what. Meanwhile, Alpha Caelan quickly explained, "She was bathing her dog, that's why she got wet. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to misunderstand. Elysia, you've been too dramatic."

"Hmm." I replied flatly, "You need to be naked to bathe a dog, right?"

"What are you arguing about now?" Caelan was very angry and didn't bother to explain further. He hung up. It was ridiculous now that I was thinking about it. In this relationship, I had always been humble, always accommodating.

The next day, I was sleeping soundly in the pack's infirmary when I heard my mate apologize. He stood by my bedside, looking at my bruised body with a mix of guilt and frustration. "I didn't think you were really hurt. I thought you were kidding when you mind-linked me since you always come to the woods, especially near the Moonlight Forest."

I indeed did that. Since I presented and was given the role of Guardian, my heart has been leading me back to the mysterious yet magical forest. But then, I was ambushed on my way back.

Usually, mates can sense when their partners are in danger, but since I presented as the Guardian of Moonlight Forest, my werewolf abilities had weakened while my powers as the Guardian grew stronger. One of the side effects was the weakened mateship connection.

Alpha Caelan reached out to touch my head gently, "Does it hurt a lot?"

He had always been like this—scolding me one moment and treating me well the next. If it were before, a little coaxing from him would have made me incredibly happy. Now, it only deepened my hatred.

"It doesn't hurt," I uttered coldly, my voice devoid of emotion.

"I know you hate pain. What do you want to eat? I'll pack it for you later."

He might have felt he neglected me last night and wanted to make it up to me. At that moment, someone walked in and naturally hooked her arm around his.

"Alpha... the meeting with the Elders is about to start. Why are you still here?" Liora said intimately. She then saw me and covered her mouth in feigned surprise. "Elysia, you are really hurt? How careless! Alpha Caelan must be heartbroken."

I didn't want to talk to her, but Liora persisted. "I'll come to visit you later. But I need to borrow our Alpha now. You won't be mad, right?"

"No, I won't," I replied, and Alpha Caelan echoed it.

After that, he said the pack's infirmary food wasn't good, and he would pack my favorite food later.

But I was starving, almost dying of hunger in bed, and Alpha Caelan never brought the food. What was so shocking about that, anyway? He never kept his promises to me.

Bored and feeling abandoned, I scrolled through social media and saw Liora's post. "Who would have thought our very own Alpha Caelan can cook? His culinary skills are the best."

My eyes instantly reddened, and I couldn't hold back anymore. Alpha Caelan always cared about his time. I had begged him before to make me a bowl of love pasta, and yet he only responded with, "Stop it," saying his time was precious and he didn't want to waste it on trivial matters.

But his prideful self used his time to make a full meal for Liora instead of merely focusing on his duty as the Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack.