Chapter Seventy-One

Regan’s POV

After the night I had actually conversed with Luke’s mate, I decided that she was too much like Lena to not get along famously with both Lena and my mate.

She had grown noticeably closer to Luke after that night as well.

She did not avoid him as she normally did and Luke looked the happiest I had seen him in years.

It was almost heart breaking to tear them apart. But the day of our departure finally came.

As much as I hated to, we were obligated to leave for our last destination before we could finally make our way back home.

Emry, who was separated from his mother and sister for the very first time, had started to become home sick. And despite how hard he tried to hide it, it was easy for me to notice.

Perhaps because I was feeling the same way as well.

I could honestly not wait to return home to my mate and unborn pup, as well as Nana and Lena.

I had missed them all considerably.

That morning, despite my insistence that he did not have to, Alpha Zolan made his way outside with the help of his daughter and a firm looking walking stick for support.

We were tending to our horses when I caught sight of them, along with some members of their pack.

I instantly left what I had been doing and made my way over to them.

“Alpha Zolan”, I greeted with a brief bow of my head in a show of respect. “You did not have to come to bid us farewell”, I said.

He weakly waved my concern aside.

“This may certainly be the last time we shall see each other”, he said. “I would rather do this that wallow in bed like a pathetic dog”, he said.

My lips kicked up in a smile at his words.

“At least sit, Father”, Lady Zara said from beside him, as she held him. Her concern and worry was clear as day, and her father must have noticed it as well because he nodded to her request.

This earned him a smile from her before she gave orders and a chair was brought for him to sit on.

“Where is your mate?” He asked her, as she fussed over him, making sure that he was comfortable.

Rather than wait for her to respond, I answered instead.

“He is tending to his horse”, I said, turning to mind link Luke to come over.

“I suppose he has to go with you”, Alpha Zolan said. Sounding as though he was stating a fact rather than asking a question.

I hung my head briefly, feeling guilty about separating Luke from his mate.

“I am afraid I do not have the courage to part with Luke”, I told him honestly. “He has been by my side since I was a pup”, I said. “He could not be more my twin if we were born by the same mother on the same day”, I said, a self mocking smile gracing my lips before I turned to Lady Zara.

“Forgive me, my Lady”, I said to her.

She waved my words away, just as her father had done earlier.

“I would not resent you for doing this”, she said. “For I know the great cause it is for”, she told me. “I know Luke would not be at peace with being away from your side at such a time”, she said. “If I am to be honest, I would not forgive myself if I held him back”, she said. “I know what family means to him”, she said, looking at her father with loving eyes and bringing up a hand to softly stroke his cheek.

Alpha Zolan smiled at her, but it was a sad one.

“Forgive me, my dear”, he said in his raspy voice, his eyes glistening with tears.

“There is nothing to forgive, Father”, she said, grabbing a hold of his weak hand and bringing it to her lips to kiss it.

Luke finally came to stand beside me, bowing in greeting to Alpha Zolan before casting a worried glance at his mate.

“Alpha Regan”, I heard Alpha Zolan’s weak voice say.

I turned my attention and gaze to him.

“With your permission”, he said. “I would like to have a word in private with your Beta”, he said.

I did not hesitate to nod, knowing Luke would never object.

“We still have a few hours to spare before we have to be on our way”, I told him.

He nodded and extended a hand out towards Luke.

Luke immediately moved to his side to help carry his weight, while he held onto his walking stick with the other hand.

Lady Zara made to follow them as they began to walk away but her father’s words stopped her.

“No, my dear”, he said. “I will speak with him alone”, he said, before giving a nod to Luke to continue their walk.

Lady Zara remained where she stood until they were both out of sight before she turned around and went in the opposite direction.

As she passed by me, I caught the sight of the tear that had escaped her eyes.

It was clear to me that she was upset, and I hesitated for only a moment before going after her.

I would have done the same if it was Lena.

I followed her scent and came to a large tree on top of a hill, quite a distance away from the fields.

She was seated under it, and from her sniffing, I knew she was crying.

I had taken my time coming after her, knowing that she would want a few moments to herself before needing company.

Even though I knew that she was aware of my presence, she did not show it.

I leaned on the side of the tree and waited until her tears had come to a stop.

“Go away”, she said after a while. “I wish to be alone”, she said, looking in the opposite direction from me so that I could not see her face.

“No one wishes to be alone”, I told her. “If you truly wanted to be alone, you would have gone running”, I told her.

I waited until the truth of my words sank in before asking.

“May I sit with you?” I asked.

“Why?” She asked almost immediately.

“Because you are clearly sad, and I do not know how else to offer comfort”, I told her.

“You do not need to offer me comfort”, she said stubbornly.

“That is true”, I told her. “But I consider you a part of my family, and I will always try to comfort my family”, I said.

She was quiet for a while before she finally nodded her head.

Carefully, I sat down, putting some distance between us.

We sat there in silence for a while before she finally began to speak.

“I am terrified”, she finally said, looking out at the field. “I do not know how I am supposed to live without him”, she said. “For as long as I can remember, my Father has been there. Even after my brother and my mother passed, he was still there”, she said, tears running down her cheeks. “I cannot imagine my life without him in it”, she said before dissolved into tears again.

Slowly, I brought a hand to pat her back in comfort as she cried.

I could understand her pain.

I also, had lost my family.

I understood the fear of being alone.

But I had been lucky. I had not lost the family I came to have.

I waited until she had gained control of her emotions before I spoke.

“I understand how you feel”, I told her. “I understand your fear as well”, I said and she turned to look at me, her eyes hopeful.

“I will tell you something I have thought about a lot of times but have never told a soul”, I said, and she turned to me.

I took a deep breath before I spoke.

“My mother was pregnant when she died”, I told her. “I was going to have a sibling before they were all taken from me”, I said, and watched as her eyes started to water again.

I smiled sadly. “After everything happened, I wished for a very foolish thing”, I told her.

Her eyes widened in curiosity.

“I wished that my mother had given birth to that pup before dying”, I confessed, looking away in shame. “It was a horrible wish, I know”, I said. “But at least it would have meant that I would not be all alone in the world”, I said and glanced back at her.

There was understanding in her eyes, as though she could understand why I would make such a wish. It encouraged me to continue.

“I wish I could have told my mother how much I loved her”, I said. “I wish I could have told my father how much I admired and love him. How I wanted to become like him. But I never had the opportunity to do so”, I said and turned to meet her eyes. “But you do”, I said. “You have the chance to tell your father all the things you have not, so tell him”, I told her. “Do not wait until it is too late and live to regret it”, I urged.

She nodded, a small smile coming to her face.

“And do not be afraid of being alone”, I told her. “You will never be alone”, I said, a smile coming onto my face. “You will have a mate that adores you, his grandmother who will shower you with affection and her heart warming kisses each day, his sister who is terrifyingly similar to you in ways you do not even know”, I said with a small laugh and earned one from her as well. “And if you wish it, you will have his brother who will protect you with everything he has and his mate who will love you as her sister”, I told her.

A different kind of tears were slowly falling down her cheek.

“And soon”, I added. “You will have a nephew who will call you ‘Aunt Zara’ and who will someday be King of all Werewolves”, I told her and she smiled, her eyes still glittering with tears.

“I thought I had no one”, I told her. “But I came to realize that I had many people who loved me dearly and they became my family”, I told her. “This family will be yours as well, if you want it”, I said.

She hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding her head.

“I do”, she finally said, with a smile I decided suited her better than the tears.

“Good”, I said, my smile turning into a grin. “Because I am certain they cannot wait to meet you”, I told her.

She gave a small laugh at that before we sank into comfortable silence.

After a short while, she wiped at the tears on her face and rose to her feet before turning to give me a hand we both knew I did not need.

“We had better get back before they return”, she said, hand outstretched.

Realizing the gesture for that thanks it was, I took her hand and rose to my feet.

“It would be good to have you as a brother”, she said, before releasing my hand and walking back the way we had come.

I smiled as I followed, knowing that she would fit in perfectly with our family.

We arrived just in time to see Luke returning with Alpha Zolan.

We said our farewells to their pack, giving Luke a moment alone with his mate before we set out for our final place of visit before we could return home.

As we rode, Luke mind linked me.

‘I am worried about her’, he said.

I knew he was talking about his mate.

‘I know’, I told him. ‘But she will be fine’, I said.

He turned briefly to glance at me.

‘How would you know?’ He asked.

I smiled as I glanced back at him.

‘Because now she knows she is not alone’, I said and turned back around to ride on.