Alpha's Regret: Marked By The Lycan King

Estelle’s POV

Asher’s face went from pale to panicked in seconds. His grip tightened on the shopping bags until his knuckles turned white.

“That’s not true,” he said quickly, his voice higher than usual. “Moonveil needs you, Estelle. We need you.”

I tilted my head, watching him scramble for words. Behind him, Hazel’s expression had shifted from smug satisfaction to something closer to alarm.

“Even though Hazel has had some success,” Asher continued, shooting a quick glance at her, “you have better connections and ties. Some packs refuse to work with Moonveil unless you’re the one leading the negotiations.”

Hazel’s jaw clenched visibly. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.

“Plus, Finn misses you,” Asher added desperately. “He’s been saying he wants to see his mother.”

I raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Hazel. Her face had gone rigid, and she was glaring at Asher with pure venom in her eyes. She hadn’t even realized that I was looking at her.

Poor Hazel. If Finn had actually said those words, he was probably referring to his birth mother. Not that I believed Asher’s claim for a second. But as Finn’s real mother, Hazel must feel awful hearing the father of her child speak so highly of another woman. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

I almost felt sorry for her. I could understand how Hazel would feel.

As difficult as Finn was, I truly thought of him as my own son. However, he had broken my heart again and again. The final straw that broke the camel’s back was realizing that he was Hazel and Asher’s biological son. I would be foolish to continue playing house with them.

“Come back with me, Estelle,” Asher said, taking a step toward me.

He reached out to grab my hand, but I smoothly stepped backward, keeping the distance between us.

“I’m quite comfortable living outside Moonveil,” I said calmly. “I don’t mind life away from the pack.”

“But—”

“Besides,” I continued, “Jessie and Ashley have never been happy with me there. Now that I’m gone, it’s exactly what they wanted.”

Asher’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He knew very well how often his mother and sister complained about my existence in Moonveil.

I thought back to all the times Asher’s mother had called me a parasite. Back then, those words had stung. I had worked myself to exhaustion trying to prove my worth to the Daniels family.

Now I understood the truth. They simply didn’t like me. In their eyes, I was unworthy of interacting with them. After all, they were the Alpha’s family. Moonveil wasn’t a big and powerful pack, but it was still decently sized. On the other hand, I was a wolfless orphan who came from unknown origins.

They probably only allowed me to “mate” with Asher because they disliked Hazel even more. I was also so desperate to prove my worth and gratitude that I did everything they asked of me.

“That’s not true,” Asher protested weakly.

“Isn’t it?” I asked. “And honestly, let’s not kid ourselves, Asher. We both know that Finn doesn’t really like me either. Since I’m not his biological mother, I think Hazel should take care of him instead. At least Finn seems much more comfortable with her.”

Hazel huffed soundlessly behind Asher.

“Estelle, please,” Asher begged. “Come back with me. Stop fighting this. I’m... I’m ready to do as you’ve asked. Once we return, I will officially name you Luna of Moonveil.”

He lunged forward again, this time grabbing for my shopping bag since he couldn’t reach my hands.

“Let go,” I said firmly, pulling the bag away from him.

But Asher held on tight, desperation making him stronger. We engaged in an awkward tug-of-war right there in the middle of the store.

“Asher, stop it,” I hissed.

“Just listen to me,” he pleaded, yanking harder on the bag.

The bag twisted between us, the handles straining under the pressure. Other shoppers began to stare at our ridiculous display.

With one final sharp pull from both sides, the bag gave way.

The contents spilled across the marble floor with a series of soft thuds and clatters. The elegant gift box I had carefully selected tumbled out, its lid coming loose. The silk tie unfurled like a silver ribbon against the white marble.

All three of us froze.

Hazel’s eyes immediately locked onto the tie. Her face went through several emotions at once. Then, she lightly scoffed.

Asher stared down at the expensive silk tie, his brain clearly working to process what he was seeing. His eyes moved from the tie to me, then back to the tie again.

The silence stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable. Other shoppers continued to walk around us, but their curious glances felt like spotlights.

Asher’s face slowly transformed. Then, his panic was quickly replaced by surprise and joy.

“So much for all your tough words,” Hazel sneered. She sounded bitter. “Looks like you can’t forget Asher after all. You’ve even picked out such an expensive gift.”

He looked at me with an expression I hadn’t seen in years. It was the same look he used to give me when we were teenagers, whenever he thought I had done something sweet for him.

Slowly, Asher looked at me hopefully. He bent down and picked up the silvery tie, massaging the fabric between his fingers.

“Is... this tie for me?”