Alpha’s Howl of Regret

Marcus had just left when I heard the doorbell ring.

I opened the door and saw a woman with long black hair. She wore a blue dress with white flower pins and held a fancy box of sweets.

"Hi, I'm Rose. The one who's been texting you."

Four big men in guard uniforms stood behind Rose. These were Marcus's special guards. I only had two guards, but Rose had four. That told me everything about who mattered more to Marcus.

Rose smiled in a fake sweet way. "Marcus has been staying with me all week. He forgot something at my place, so I'm bringing it back. You won't be rude to a guest, right?"

She pushed past me and walked into my house without being invited. When she saw the white flower garden, she got excited. "My favorite white flowers! Marcus grew so many just for me!"

I looked at the red bumps on my arms from being allergic to these flowers. Then I went back inside.

I thought Marcus just liked these flowers. But really, he liked the girl who loved them.

By the front door, some small birds sat in the sun.

"Oh, they're still here!" Rose sounded happy. "I got these birds when I was young. I moved away and thought they died. Bella will be so excited to see them when I bring her next time." She looked at me. "Bella is my cat."

I remembered how Marcus fed these birds every single day. My chest hurt.

In the living room, Rose looked at the books on the shelf. "These are all books I love to read. I can't believe Marcus saved them for me for so long."

She looked around the room. "White couch, brown tables, gray chair - everything matches perfectly. Just like I told Marcus I wanted. Light colors that go together nicely. This looks exactly right."

No wonder Marcus picked all this furniture when we went shopping. I kept saying I didn't like it. He always said, "Try something new. You'll learn to like it." But I still hated all this light-colored furniture.

Walking behind her felt like stepping on broken glass.

This house I'd lived in for two years suddenly felt like it belonged to someone else.

In the bedroom, Rose touched the shirts and ties in the closet. "All of these are presents I gave him. He's taken such good care of them."

I remembered Marcus washing and hanging these clothes carefully every day. My throat felt tight.

So he never let me wash them - not because he was worried about me working too hard, but because these clothes were from Rose.

Marcus's voice came from downstairs. He walked in fast, looking upset.

Rose put on a sweet smile right away. "I made some cookies and came to share them. Serena was so nice to invite me in. She even asked me to stay for dinner."

Marcus looked less worried and said, "This is Rose. She's like my little sister. We grew up in the same neighborhood. She was living in another country and just came back, so you haven't met her yet. Rose, want some tea?"

"That sounds nice," Rose said.

I watched him go to the kitchen and make tea. He knew exactly how to make it, even making the tea look pretty with foam on top.

Rose smiled when she took the cup. "Your tea still tastes exactly how I like it. You remember after all this time."

All these years, Marcus never forgot Rose. Standing there, I felt like I didn't belong. I looked stupid and out of place.

Rose kept playing along with his lie. "Yes, Marcus always looked after me when we were kids. I was sick a lot and got hurt often. I spent lots of time in the hospital. Marcus was afraid my muscles would get weak, so he learned how to do special exercises from the pack doctor. He came to help me every day."

My nails dug into my hands. It hurt, but not as much as my heart.

After I got pregnant, Marcus did exercises with me every day. He was really good at it. I thought he learned it just for me and the baby. But it was all for Rose.

I tried to smile but couldn't. So I said I felt sick and went upstairs.

A little later, Rose knocked on my door and came in with a bowl of soup.

"Marcus said you haven't been eating much. He had the cook make chicken soup and asked me to bring it up." She smiled like she was being helpful. "Drink it while it's warm."

I took the bowl. The smell was strange and bitter.

"Oh, one more thing," Rose said suddenly. "You didn't pick the names David for a boy and Emma for a girl, did you? Those are names Marcus and I chose a long time ago."

My hand shook and I almost dropped the soup.

Those were exactly the names Marcus picked when I first got pregnant.

So even my baby would have been used to remember Rose?

I lifted the soup and drank it, but right away I knew something was wrong. There was silver dust in it - it burned my throat and made my wolf go crazy inside me. When I saw Rose's big smile, I knew she put something bad in the soup.

My stomach started hurting really bad. I fell on the floor and couldn't move or call for help. She wanted to kill my baby, but she didn't know my baby was already dead.

Then Rose picked up the rest of my soup and drank it all at once. She fell down next to me and started screaming.

The hair on my neck stood up. I felt danger coming, but before I could turn around -

Downstairs, Marcus heard the screaming and ran up fast.

When he saw us both on the floor, his eyes got really big. "Rose!" He ran to catch Rose when she almost fell, checking her all over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine," Rose said in a weak voice. "Quick, help Serena..."

Then Marcus looked at me lying in blood on the floor. But Rose suddenly "passed out" in his arms, crying, "There was silver dust in the soup. Someone tried to hurt both Serena and me. Marcus, please save us. What do we do?"

His voice was scared and worried as he picked up Rose and carried her outside. He didn't even look at me again.

I watched them leave as everything went dark.

When I woke up, bright white lights hurt my eyes.

The doctor was checking her while Marcus stood close by, looking serious.

"How is the baby?" he asked the doctor.

The doctor looked confused. "The baby? What baby, Luna…"