Alpha's Regret: Marked By The Lycan King

Third POV

“Put it on speaker,” Asher commanded, watching as Nigel reluctantly pressed the button.

The phone crackled to life. Estelle’s voice came through clear and composed. “Hello, Nigel.”

“Estelle, thank you for taking the call. I have Alpha Asher here with me, along with his mother and sister. They wanted to speak with you.”

Asher stepped forward, but Nigel held up a hand, gesturing for patience.

“Before we discuss pack business,” Nigel continued, “Jessie and Ashley have something they’d like to say.”

There was a pause before Estelle spoke, her voice cold. “I’m listening.”

Ashley snatched the phone first, her voice tight with forced politeness. “Estelle, I’m sorry for calling you so much about the babies. I was just excited and wanted to share the news.”

“And I apologize for asking you to help with household matters,” Jessie added quickly, her tone equally strained. “We shouldn’t have bothered you with those things.”

The apologies felt hollow and mechanical. Asher could see the irritation written all over their faces even as they spoke the words.

“Apology accepted,” Estelle replied, though Asher detected no warmth in her tone.

Nigel cleared his throat. “Now, about the partnership situation with the three packs—”

“Thank you for the apologies, Nigel. We can discuss pack matters tomorrow morning.” Estelle’s voice was already shifting, like she was preparing to hang up.

“Wait,” Asher stepped forward, reaching for the phone. “Estelle, we need to talk about—”

The line went dead.

Asher stared at the phone in disbelief. She had hung up.

Jessie’s face twisted with rage. “That ungrateful little—”

“She got what she wanted,” Ashley spat. “Made us grovel like common servants.”

Both women stormed toward the packhouse entrance, their fury radiating off them in waves. The front door slammed behind them with enough force to rattle the windows.

Asher stood there, holding the silent phone, feeling something cold settle in his stomach. When had Estelle become so... distant?

“Alpha?” Nigel’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“I’ll handle it,” Asher muttered, handing back the phone.

He drove home in silence, his mind churning. The partnership losses were bad enough, but Estelle’s behavior troubled him more. She used to be so compliant, so eager to please. Now, she was making demands and setting terms.

Somehow, Asher had started dancing to her tune.

The pack house felt strangely quiet when he entered. Hazel was setting the table while Finn sat in his chair, swinging his legs and chattering about his day.

“Daddy!” Finn’s face lit up when he saw Asher.

“Hey, buddy.” Asher managed a smile, ruffling Finn’s hair before taking his seat.

Finn launched into an animated story about building blocks and playground adventures. Normally, Asher enjoyed these dinner conversations, but tonight the words seemed to blur together. His mind kept replaying Estelle’s cold dismissal.

He checked his phone again, but there was no new notification.

“And then Tommy said his dad could beat up anyone, but I said my dad is the Alpha, so—” Finn’s story was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit.

Asher’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood abruptly. “Excuse me.”

He retreated to the study without another word.

Everything was falling apart. The pack partnerships, his family dynamics, and his control over Estelle.

How had the tables turned so completely?

“Asher?” Hazel’s voice was soft behind him. “Finn didn’t mean to cough during dinner. He’s been fighting a little cold.”

“It’s not about that.” He didn’t turn around. “I just... lost my appetite.”

“Is everything alright? You seem tense.”

The concern in her voice made him finally face her.

“Estelle refused to come back and help with the pack partnerships until Mom and Ashley apologized,” he said, the words coming out harsher than intended. “She’s holding the pack hostage because her feelings got hurt.”

Hazel moved closer, her expression thoughtful. “That does seem... extreme.”

“It is extreme. She used to care about the pack’s well-being above everything else. Now she’s more concerned with getting revenge on people who slightly inconvenienced her.”

“It sounds like she’s learned how to use her leverage,” Hazel said carefully. “She’s making you need her instead of the other way around.”

Asher turned the words over in his mind. Making you need her. The realization hit him like a physical blow. That was exactly what was happening. Estelle had somehow maneuvered herself into a position where he needed her cooperation more than she needed his protection.

She was manipulating him.

When had quiet, submissive Estelle learned to play these kinds of games?

“Did she agree to handle her pack duties at least?” Hazel asked.

“No,” Asher replied. “She ended the call before I could get a word in.”

“I’m sure everything will turn out just fine,” Hazel said, coming over to rub his shoulders.

Asher dodged, shrugging her off. “No, it’s not going to be as easy as you’re making it out to be. I’ve tried contacting those three packs, but they refuse to communicate further. Oakwood even explicitly stated that they will only discuss this with Estelle.”

He threw his hands up in exasperation.

Hazel said, “Then we just need to convince her to come back—”

Asher shook his head and coldly laughed. “If you hadn’t made those mistakes with the pack communications in the first place, I wouldn’t need to track down Estelle to fix—”

The words were out before he could stop them. Hazel’s face went pale, then flushed red.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just stressed about everything.”

“It’s okay,” Hazel softly said. “You’re right. As your acting Beta, I should have handled the communications better.”

She hugged him from behind, and this time, Asher didn’t move away from her touch.

“You’re just stressed,” she murmured. “Everything will be just fine. What you need now is just a warm shower and some food. I’ll have the cooks prepare you something light if you have no appetite?”

“Mm,” Asher hummed under his breath. He gently stepped away. “That sounds lovely. Thank you.”

He turned to face her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

Hazel watched as he stepped out and headed towards the bathroom. Her eyes landed on his phone, which he had forgotten on the desk. Once she heard the shower running, she picked it up and unlocked it.

It wasn’t difficult to navigate to his messages. She tapped on Estelle’s contact, just to see that Asher had left Estelle multiple messages in hopes that he would spark a reply. However, she didn’t entertain him one bit and had left him on delivered.

No wonder he had been glued to his phone ever since he came home. His mind was on Estelle this entire time.

Hazel’s stomach pooled with dread.

Carefully, she locked his phone and placed it exactly where she had found it.

*** 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When Asher finally emerged from the shower, Hazel was nowhere to be found.

Probably putting Finn to bed, he thought. He quickly found his phone where he had last left it.

The screen lit up with several notifications, but his attention was immediately caught by something at the top of his news feed. His eyes widened as he read the trending headline, his grip tightening on the phone.

His hands were actually trembling as he stared at the screen, trying to process what he was seeing.

“What the hell?” he whispered.