Chapter 8: The Alpha King's Regret

Chapter 8: The Alpha King's Regret

Darius paced restlessly across the grand chambers of the Alpha King's private quarters, his mind swirling with confusion and guilt. His normally commanding presence seemed diminished in the quiet room, overshadowed by the storm of thoughts that had taken root in his mind.

For weeks, he had tried to ignore the strange, inexplicable feelings gnawing at him. It started with the dreams. They had come on quietly at first, like a whisper at the edge of his consciousness, but now they were more vivid, more insistent. Each night, he saw the same face-the same woman-her scent filling his senses, her eyes filled with something he could no longer understand.

Selene.

The name echoed in his mind, a soft, painful reminder of the bond he had once shared with her. He had rejected her, cast her aside for Lilith, and yet... the more he tried to forget her, the more she seemed to haunt him.

But it wasn't just the dreams. It was the feeling-deep in his chest-that something was wrong. Lilith, once so captivating, now seemed distant to him, her presence suffocating rather than soothing. Every time he looked at her, he felt nothing more than a hollow ache.

Was this regret? Was this the price of his actions?

"Darius?" Lilith's voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned to find her standing in the doorway, her eyes bright with anticipation.

He forced a smile, masking the turmoil inside. "What is it, Lilith?"

She crossed the room toward him, her movements fluid and graceful, but her approach did nothing to calm the storm inside him. He had once been drawn to her, her beauty and charm intoxicating, but now, every touch felt like an irritation, a constant reminder of his mistakes.

"I wanted to talk," Lilith said, her voice almost too sweet, as if she could sense the tension in the air. "We've barely spent any time together lately. I know you've been busy, but we need to focus on us. On our future."

Darius felt a sharp pang in his chest, but he pushed it aside. He couldn't afford to show weakness, not now. Not when his mind was so consumed with doubts. He had chosen Lilith. He had made his decision.

And yet, every night, the woman from his dreams called to him. Her scent was so familiar, so right, and it left him aching in a way he couldn't explain.

"I know," he said quietly, his gaze shifting to the ground. "But there's something... something I can't ignore."

Lilith paused, sensing the shift in his demeanor. Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, watching him carefully. Darius felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that he had hurt her, but at the same time, he couldn't stop himself from questioning everything that had led him here.

For the first time in a long time, he questioned the bond he had with Lilith.

"I've been having dreams," Darius confessed, his voice tight. "Of someone. Someone I can't quite place, but her presence... it feels so familiar." He hesitated, then spoke the name he had been too afraid to voice out loud. "Selene."

The silence in the room was deafening. Lilith's face paled, her eyes narrowing with anger. "Selene?" she repeated, her voice dripping with venom. "You're dreaming of her?"

Darius met her gaze, his heart pounding in his chest. "I don't understand it, Lilith. I don't know what it means, but I can feel her. It's like she's calling to me."

Lilith's eyes flashed with fury, and she stepped toward him, her hand gripping his arm with force. "You've made your choice, Darius. You chose me. You rejected her, and you belong to me now. Do not let these dreams confuse you. She is gone. She is nothing."

Darius flinched, the sharpness of her words cutting through him. He wanted to pull away from her grip, but something deep within him held him in place. The dreams of Selene were growing stronger, clearer, as though the bond between them was waking up, stirring beneath the surface. He had never truly understood the depth of their connection, but now, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach-a bond that refused to break, no matter how hard he tried to sever it.

"I chose you," he said quietly, but his voice lacked the conviction it once had. "But these dreams... I can't ignore them, Lilith. They feel too real."

Lilith's grip on him tightened, her eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity. "You will forget her. You have no place for her in your life anymore. Not when you have me. You have me, Darius. Only me."

But even as she said the words, Darius couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. The connection to Selene was too strong to dismiss, too persistent to ignore. He could no longer bury the truth that had been festering beneath his conscious thoughts.

His heart told him that Selene had never been truly gone-she was still there, somewhere deep inside him, waiting for him to wake up to the truth.

The question was, would he wake up in time?

---

Meanwhile, far from the palace, Selene was preparing for the journey that would take her back to the heart of the pack-back to the place where everything had gone wrong. The journey would be long and dangerous, but she no longer feared it.

She had grown stronger with every passing day, her senses heightened, her healing powers more refined. The bond between her and Darius had not disappeared. It was there, lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be acknowledged. As she trained, as she honed her newfound abilities, she could feel the pull of that bond intensifying.

Her scent had fully returned now, stronger than ever, and she knew that Darius would soon sense it. Whether he acknowledged it or not, the pull of their bond was undeniable.

Selene was no longer the broken Omega she once was. She was stronger, more powerful, and she was ready to return to the palace-not for Darius, not for anything else, but for justice.

She had been wronged. Her heart had been shattered, her scent stolen, and her very essence used against her. And now, she would take back what was rightfully hers.

As she stood before the pack that had taken her in, her determination burned brightly. Ronan stood at her side, his support unwavering, but he understood-this was Selene's fight. It was time for her to face Darius, to confront the man who had once been her fated mate, and to prove to him that she was no longer the meek, discarded Omega he had once rejected.

"I'm ready," she said, her voice strong.

Ronan nodded, his eyes filled with understanding. "Then let's go, Selene. The time for vengeance has come."

And with that, Selene set her sights on the palace, where her destiny awaited.

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