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The Alpha's Regret- Her New Hero Full 💕 💕
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00:00To let my mate focus on his position, I stayed behind in the old estate, caring for his ailing
00:04mother. In this ten years, Kalen returned once a year. He never touched me. He said that if I
00:10were to carry a pup while he was away, there would be no one to look after me, and that
00:14would break
00:14his heart. Every time he left, he cursed himself for his failings, swore on the moon he would come
00:19for me once he had made something of himself. In the eleventh winter, heavy snow blocked the roads.
00:25Kalen sent word that he would be delayed. I was about to bring the news to Lady Maren when I
00:29heard her speaking with my sister-in-law. Mother, you've been faking this illness for over ten years.
00:34How much longer? What else can be done? Kalen's heart has always belonged to that sworn sister of
00:39his. They bonded in secret, behind the pack's back. Their pups are nearly grown. If we don't keep Elena
00:44here, she'll go to the city and destroy everything. Kalen's rank as Alpha of the Eastern Pack would be
00:48finished. Let it be. Keep quiet. Kalen said once his position is secure, he will make it right with
00:53Elena. My eyes burned. Kalen wasn't struggling. He was Alpha of the Eastern Pack, and he hadn't been
00:59keeping his distance to protect me. He had someone else. I went to the training grounds and found the
01:04low-ranking warrior who had watched me for years. Do you still want me as your mate?
01:09Elena, I will treat you well. Forgive me one month. I march out tonight. This time I'll return
01:14with a deed worth claiming you. I don't need glory. Just come back safe. I watched him leave,
01:22then walked home. The estate should have been dark. Mother, you should have gone to bed by now.
01:29A tall figure stood against the candlelight. A familiar voice cut through the wind and snow.
01:34Elena, I'm home.
01:38A year had passed. Kalen carried himself differently now, steadier, with the quiet authority that comes
01:45with rank. He opened his arms, waiting for me to go to him the way I always had. I didn't.
01:52You haven't eaten, have you? Let me make you something.
01:55What's wrong? A year apart and you're not glad to see me? Are you angry with me?
02:01Go sit with Mother. I'll call you when the food is ready.
02:04Before I'd learned the truth, I had missed him. Had been a little cross with him, too. No mate wants
02:08to
02:08be kept so far away, for so long. But once I understood everything, I stopped wanting anything.
02:13Things became simpler. Better to park quietly than to rage and stay. I remained silent and
02:18cooked in the kitchen. Kalen followed.
02:20Elena, what's happened? Have you heard something?
02:22Out here in the backwoods, we barely see a stranger from one season to the next. What
02:26would I have heard? Don't worry yourself, Kalen.
02:28Elena, I came back to bring you all to the city. But there's something I need to tell you first.
02:32My chest tightened. I already knew what was coming. After ten years, he had finally run out of
02:37patience. You must be Elena. I'm Sarith, Kalen's sworn sister and his mate. These are mine and
02:45Kalen's. Go on, call her Auntie Elena. Auntie Elena. Elena, let me explain.
02:53Elena, let me explain. I was ambushed by rogue wolves on the road to the city. Sarith saved my
02:57life. I only meant to take her in as a sworn sister. But she had no one, no pack, nowhere
03:01to
03:02go. I wanted to give her a home. It was gratitude, nothing more. If you're hurt, curse me, strike me,
03:06I'll bear it. I only ask that once you come to the city, you and she can find some people.
03:10Going to the city is a good thing. I'm not upset. Mother hasn't recovered in all this time. Perhaps
03:16the city healers will do what ours couldn't. Really? You forgive me? Elena, start packing
03:22tonight. We leave in two days and we'll make it back for Christmas. Mother doesn't have much.
03:28Packing her things won't take long. I'll sort her medicines for the road. You can all leave at
03:32first light. What do you mean? You're not coming with us?
03:38I met his gaze. My voice stayed level. Kaelin, if we leave for good, I need to settle the land
03:44and the estate first. Leaving it empty still means taxes to the pack. That's wasteful.
03:50Go ahead and take everyone home for Christmas. Once I've handled things here, I'll come to you in
03:56the spring. When I had first come to this estate, we lived in a borrowed den with walls that let
04:00the
04:00wind through, funding his studies, saving coin, until I had bought this house and these two fields.
04:06It had ended the family's hunger. It had given Kaelin a place to become what he was.
04:11Elena, I'm Alpha of the Eastern Pack now. Silver is not the problem. Give the land to whoever needs
04:15it. Save yourself the trouble. I earned it with my own hands. I'm not ready to let go.
04:22Trust me. Once it's done, I'll come to you. I won't be long.
04:26Kaelin hesitated. Kaelin, don't waver. The council's watching you.
04:29You leave her here and they dig into it and she says the wrong thing. Your seed is gone.
04:34I wasn't slow. I heard exactly what Kaelin had just said. So it wasn't a change of heart that
04:39had brought Kaelin back. If the pack council confirmed it, they would report it to the
04:44High Alpha. The High Alpha was a man who mated once and meant it.
04:48If Kaelin wanted to keep his rank, the most important thing was keeping me quiet.
04:52It would be a lie to say that didn't hurt. 13 years. I had given this mating everything.
04:57Kaelin was pack-born but useless with his hands. Lady Maren was old and couldn't help.
05:02His brother was worse than useless. The whole family ran on my back. I never complained.
05:06I nursed Lady Maren. I had believed that kind of devotion would hold a mate for life.
05:10I had overestimated what I was worth to him. I finally understood what they say. A man who climbs
05:15always drops what carried him. I held back the burn in my eyes. Kept it from spilling.
05:20So that's what you're worried about?
05:24I can put it in writing. Whoever asks, I'll say I'm Kaelin's pack-sister, his adopted blood kin.
05:31Nothing more. Lady Maren and Kareth both stared. After a long silence, Kaelin said, half-believing,
05:38You would really do that for me? I smiled and nodded. For you, I would do anything. But to be
05:45safe,
05:47there's something you need to destroy first. Kaelin was cautious. What?
05:52I answered without flinching. The mating scroll. Yours and mine.
05:58Out here in the back territories, we hadn't stood on ceremony when we bonded. A mating scroll. A shared
06:04cup. That was all it had taken. No pack record. No council seal. So if the scroll was gone,
06:10I was no longer Kaelin's mate. I only had to wait for the warrior to come home. Then I could
06:15be
06:15claimed properly. I expected Kaelin to want this without hesitation. Instead, he went quiet.
06:22Elena, you once told me that scroll was the most precious thing you owned.
06:27You've given so much for this pack. For me. If you burned the last thing you held onto,
06:32how much would that cost you? Let's leave the scroll as it is. He had seen everything I'd sacrificed.
06:39He had remembered all of it. And still, year after year, he had left me here while he built a
06:44life with
06:45someone else. If he could watch out all of that and stay, then I had no reason left to hold
06:50onto one
06:50sheet of parchment. But I knew him. He wouldn't simply let me go.
06:57Kaelin, you know how much that scroll means to me. But for your future, I have to let it go.
07:04Once you take me to the city properly, you can make me a new one.
07:09Wouldn't that be enough?
07:10She's right. Your position can't afford loose threads.
07:17Burn it. Elena has done this for you. Make it up to her later.
07:24Elena, hiding this from you, that was wrong. But trust me, I will make this right.
07:31Wait for me. I will come for you myself with the best claiming gifts I can find.
07:35I'll take you as Kaelin again, properly this time.
07:38In that moment, he looked entirely sincere. I chose not to believe it. I decided it was only
07:45something I was imagining. I lit both scrolls myself. The fire took them. That absurd mating,
07:51those wasted years. And with them, the last of what I had held onto for over a decade.
08:00After Kaelin had gone in with Kareth and the children,
08:02she dropped the act entirely and sank to her knees in front of me.
08:08Elena, I failed you. I hid it from you all these years.
08:16You must hate me. Her hair had gone fully white. She was crying without restraint. I couldn't bring
08:21myself to leave her there. I helped her up.
08:26Mother, I know you love your son too much. I don't blame you. The illness was a pretense,
08:34but your body has aught its real troubles. When you reach the city, listen to the healers.
08:41Elena, how can you be so good? When I'm gone, who will ever look after me the way you have?
08:49No matter what Kaelin does to you, I will always count you as my own daughter. I will never let
08:55anyone mistreat you. I understood her helplessness. I had never held it against her. But I was done
09:01trusting her too. She was still a mother. No matter what she said, her heart would always tilt
09:06toward her son. If the day came when she had to choose between Kaelin and me, she would choose him
09:10without a second thought. Mother, it's fine. Whoever Kaelin takes as his mate,
09:14she'll be half a daughter to you. You don't owe me anything.
09:20I had barely stepped out of Lady Meryn's room when Kareth was waiting in the yard.
09:24Elena, don't take anything Kaelin says at face value. The truth is, he never rescued me.
09:31I had thought that Lady Meryn's decade of deception and Kaelin's betrayal were already the worst of it.
09:36I was wrong. There was still more they had kept from me. Serith had never saved Kaelin's life.
09:41It was the other way around. Kaelin had seen her, wanted her, used the blood sister bond as a way
09:46in and destroyed the claiming she already had. Calling her his rescuer was Kaelin's strategy.
09:50He knew I was soft, that I always repaid what was owed. He had spoken to Lady Meryn first and
09:55built the
09:55story together. Something designed to make me accept it, to make me give in. So everything he said about
10:00claiming you properly, it's nothing. Go to the city and you'll be a lesser mate, that's all.
10:05Oh, and his mother. All that talk about treating you like a daughter, do you believe it? When it
10:10comes down to you or her own grandchildren, who do you think she picks? Are you done?
10:16The morning they left, I walked the family to the edge of the settlement. I unclassed the only thing
10:20of value I still wore, the Luna Elder's silver clasp, and placed it in Serith's hand.
10:24That's yours, Elena. Keep it. I shook my head and pinned it to Kareth's collar myself. I said,
10:31Everyone in the settlement knows this clasp is the Luna Elder's piece, passed to the
10:34maid of the Pax heir. If I keep wearing it, it draws questions. Better that Serith has it.
10:38Mother, Elena is right. When we're together again, I'll give it back.
10:41Elena, what I give you belongs to you. In my heart, you are the only true mate this family has
10:45had.
10:46When you come to the city, I will get it back for you.
10:49Foster brother, that pendant was my grandmother's, the only thing she left me.
10:53Could you return it?
10:55Elena, I'm not used to you calling me that. When there's no one listening, call me what you always have.
11:03Better to be careful. We can't hand anyone a thread to pull.
11:07Fine. Once I've claimed you properly, you can go back to it.
11:12Let me keep the pendant for now. It was your gift to me. It's what we have between us.
11:16I never understood that. He used to resent the pendant, said a grown male wearing something
11:20like that looked ridiculous. Now that I was willing to take it back, he had found reasons to keep it.
11:24Foster brother, Christmas is almost here. I'll be alone, and I'd like something to hold on to.
11:30When I come to the city, I'll make you another.
11:32Kaylin gave it up without warmth, pressing the pendant and a folded stack of silver
11:36notes into my hands. At the last moment, he turned back. He gripped my hand once.
11:40Stay home and wait. When spring opens the roads, I'll come for you myself. There's one more thing I
11:45haven't told you yet. All right. I watched them go, then walked back inside. I reached to the top
11:50of the cabinet and took down the pack I had already prepared. I left the silver notes on the table.
11:56Then I turned north and didn't look back. The warrior I had promised myself to was somewhere
12:00in that direction. I meant to be claimed before Kaylin ever came to collect me. When that day came,
12:05I would be someone else's. There would be nothing left to untangle, nothing left to demand of me.
12:10Winter roads are slow. I had little silver, and I was too careful with it to hire a cart.
12:13I walked when I could, stopped to take work in whatever town would have me, and moved on again
12:17when I'd saved enough. By the time the cold began to ease, I was close to the northern border.
12:22Elena, the border war is over. The northern campaign won. Once they've processed the captured
12:26forces, they'll be heading back through the territory. You'll see your promised mate before
12:29long. Your mate is a hero of this pack. Call it a gift from me. Hire a cart. Go meet
12:34him at the
12:34border city. Thank you. Hired a cart, and arrived before the soldiers did. With what little silver
12:39I had left, I found the city watch captain and pressed it into his hand. Captain, my promised
12:45mate's name is Aldric. When he arrives, please tell him I'm waiting in the second house east of the
12:51city gate. You're Aldric's promised mate? He smiled a little awkwardly. Keep it. Just
13:01put in a word for me if you ever get the chance. I had no idea what he meant. Aldric
13:05was a low-ranking
13:06warrior. What good would a word from him do? The captain had probably mistaken him for someone else.
13:10Still, silver saved was silver saved. Waiting wasn't easy. I knew what Aldric felt for me.
13:15He had shown it for years. But I had been mated before. I wasn't sure whether he had said yes
13:20out of true wanting, or out of something that would fade. Then again, I thought it through,
13:25and it settled. If he had changed his mind, I would manage on my own. I had two hands and
13:29enough
13:30stubbornness. I wouldn't starve. Once I was at peace with that, everything felt lighter.
13:36I started cutting fabric for a claiming dress. The best material I could find. Useful if things
13:40went well. A small pleasure for myself if they didn't. The first time I was claimed,
13:44there had been no wedding at all. The pack had nothing. No wedding dress. No feast. When I'd
13:48finally had coin to spare, the first thing I did was return two full jugs to that neighbor. She had
13:52held my hands and cried. Elena, a girl like you? Why did you stay in that pack? You've suffered so
13:56much.
13:57You're strong and you're lovely. You could have had an elder son and it wouldn't have been reaching.
14:01Why tie yourself to a scholar who can't lift his own pack and grind your life away?
14:04That's your bias speaking. I trust him. He won't fail me.
14:07You are such a fool. Now I understood. She was the one who had seen clearly. The day I slipped
14:12away
14:12from the settlement, I had nearly walked into Kaylin's sister-in-law. It was that neighbor who
14:18spotted her first. She held the woman back, then sent her husband to pass me word.
14:22Move. Now. Elena, that pack was never worthy of you. Go. Live freely. Stop letting them keep you
14:31caged. I'll deal with your sister-in-law. They won't know you're gone for a while.
14:37I never found out what she said to buy me the time, but it had worked. For an entire month,
14:42no one had come looking. People, though, have a way of undoing themselves. On the third day,
14:46a cart stopped outside my door. I thought it was Aldrich. I ran out. It wasn't. Kaylin stood there,
14:53dust on his shoulders. Elena. His voice worn down to gravel.
14:58Kaylin said, Elena, you have no idea how long I've been looking for you. He was across the yard
15:03in a few strides, his hand locking around my wrist hard enough to grind. Kaylin said, Elena,
15:08you promised me. Why did you leave? Why come all the way out here? I spent half a month preparing.
15:12I rode to the settlement myself to bring you home, and the house was empty. I said,
15:17do you know how frightened I was? I stopped pulling against his grip.
15:20Alpha Kaylin, why waste your concern on me? The mating scroll is ash. I'm not your pack anymore.
15:26Where I go, whether I live or die, none of that is your matter. Kaylin's jaw tightened.
15:31Elena, I know you're hurting. But this kind of recklessness doesn't suit you. You told me you
15:35would come to the city. You gave me your word. How can you break it like this? Something in me
15:40gave
15:40up trying to stay composed. I said, when we were claimed, you gave me your word too. You swore
15:46on the moon you would never take another mate. You broke that one first. So between the two of us,
15:51I'd say we're even.
15:55Kaylin saw that I meant it. His eyes went red at the edges. He pulled me close until there was
16:00almost
16:01no space between us. Thirteen years. You think that just...cancels?
16:06Elena, I know I've wronged you. Let me make it right. Come back with me. I'll give you equal
16:11standing. You won't be beneath Kerith in anything. I promise. I couldn't stop a short, dry sound from
16:17escaping. Kaylin took it for pride over the title and frowned. Elena, equal standing is the best I can
16:23do right now. Sereth, what she did for me, what she did for you. Are you still going to use
16:28that story?
16:29I cut him off. Kaylin, your apology has no effort in it at all. Kaylin went still. His eyes shifted.
16:35What do you mean by that?
16:39I watched the change move across his face and I took it apart, piece by piece.
16:43Tereth already told me everything. There were no rogue wolves. There was no rescue. You saw her,
16:49wanted her, and used the sworn sister bond to get close. You destroyed the claiming she already had
16:54and took her for yourself, calling her your rescuer. That was cover, nothing more.
16:58Kaylin's face went pale. He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. I was done wasting time. I moved
17:04to see him out. He found his voice. Elena, listen to me. Kerith is possessive. She said all of that
17:09to drive a wedge between us. You know how it is. No mate wants to share. I cut him off.
17:15I felt nothing
17:15in my chest anymore. It had all gone numb. You understand that. Which is why you kept me out here
17:20for ten years. Alone. While your mother faked an illness to hold me in place. Isn't that right?
17:28I said, if you care about her so much, stop chasing me. You'll hurt me and you'll hurt her.
17:33I wrenched my wrist free and stepped back. The Elena who existed before is gone. She died the day she
17:38found out the truth. Who I am now has no connection to you. To Kaylin. To your pack. Out of
17:44whatever
17:44feeling I once had. I won't say a single word against you. I'm only asking you to leave. My
17:49promised mate is returning with the army. I don't want him to misread this. Kaylin's spine went rigid.
17:55He looked up at me. He said, promised mate? Who? What's his name? I said, a low ranking warrior.
18:01No one you'd know. Please go. Kaylin's expression curdled. Elena, have you lost your mind?
18:07You'd pass up an alpha of the eastern pack for some common soldier with a border stipend?
18:15He said, he could be dead by next season. And even if he's not, what does he earn? You'd go
18:20back to
18:20going hungry. You're not young anymore. Do you really want that kind of life again? I looked at him
18:26steadily. I wasn't afraid of hardship when I chose you. I'm not afraid of it now. Don't speak about my
18:33promised mate like that. He may not have your rank, but what he feels for me is real. Unlike you.
18:40Kaylin opened his mouth, then stopped. A long pause, then more controlled. Elena,
18:46you've misread all of this. I never stopped carrying you. He seemed to decide that words
18:50weren't enough and cut himself off. Come back with me. I'll show you. Give me the chance.
18:55The border campaign's war alpha, General Vane. He and I go back. I'll speak to him. As long as that
19:02warrior is reasonable, I'll find him a proper match myself. I'll cover the claiming gifts.
19:09I had always been slow to anger. This was one of the few times I wasn't.
19:15Staring at Kaylin, I struggled to contain my fury as I questioned him, asking if he had lost his mind.
19:21He didn't put it plainly, but I understood perfectly. He intended to use his status as the alpha of the
19:27eastern pack to pressure Aldrich into stepping aside. Aldrich was just a foot soldier, with no
19:32standing to resist an alpha of the eastern pack. In desperation, I grabbed the sword from Kaylin's
19:37side. I pressed the blade firmly against my own throat, warning him that if he dared to go near
19:42Aldrich, I would end my life right then and there. I told Kaylin that my life was not worth much,
19:50but if a pack alpha drove a free woman to her death, his own fate would not be better. Kaylin
19:55had
19:55always thought of me as cautious and someone who valued her own life. He had never imagined I would
20:00resort to threatening my own life. He froze instantly, his voice dropping low as he urged
20:06me to put down the sword, saying we could talk things through. I didn't move an inch, firmly telling
20:11him there was nothing to talk about. If he didn't want me dead, he had to write down his promise
20:15immediately. The promise was simple. From that day on, if anything happened to me or my betrothed,
20:22Aldrich, he would be held fully responsible. Kaylin had spent years in pack politics and would never
20:29willingly leave evidence that could be used against him, but as he looked at the sword pressed to my
20:33throat, his tone remained steady. He agreed to write it down, but said he had come in a hurry and
20:38had
20:39nothing to write with, asking me to go inside to find him ink and parchment. I didn't think ahead,
20:44turning toward the house at once. But the moment my back was to him, he moved. He snatched the sword
20:51from my hand, didn't even glance at me. He ordered his escort to hold me while he went to find
20:56General
20:56Vane. His men reacted quickly, seizing me before I could respond. I couldn't even utter a curse.
21:03Just then, a deep, calm, and resonant voice came from beyond the gate. The voice asked Alpha Kaylin why he
21:10was there and mentioned that he had heard his name, wondering if something was wrong.
21:17I didn't recognize that voice, but moments later, I heard Kaylin's tone shift to one of deference as
21:23he greeted the man, addressing him as General Vane and saying what perfect timing his arrival was.
21:28He added that it was nothing urgent, just a small favor he wanted to ask of General Vane.
21:33Only then did I realize that the man before me was General Vane, the War Alpha of the Northern Territory.
21:40General Vane smiled and readily agreed to help, but asked Alpha Kaylin to wait a moment while
21:44he finished a piece of business first. Kaylin stepped back toward the gate quickly,
21:48respectfully saying he was willing to wait and telling General Vane to take his time.
21:53General Vane then dismounted from his horse and pointed directly at my door.
21:57He said that as it happened, his business was right there.
22:01Kaylin stopped abruptly, looking stunned. General Vane looked at him without further explanation,
22:07only stating that he had come to negotiate a claiming.
22:10Kaylin froze completely, unconsciously stepping in front of the gate. He tried to persuade General Vane,
22:17saying that his mate Bond was well known, his children were nearly grown, and such a thing would
22:22be inappropriate. General Vane laughed heartily, shook his head, and told Kaylin he had misunderstood.
22:29This claiming was not for himself, but on behalf of his sworn son, who had been injured and couldn't
22:34come in person. I was just as confused as Kaylin, even starting to wonder if General Vane had come to
22:40the wrong house. General Vane himself looked a little uncertain as he walked past Kaylin into the yard.
22:46His escort, not wanting to get into trouble, let me go.
22:50Born in the north, General Vane was straightforward and didn't notice anything amiss. He looked straight
22:56at me and asked if I was Elena. I nodded slowly. He immediately looked satisfied, confirming he had
23:02come to the right place. He told me that his sworn son was my betrothed, Aldrich.
23:10Upon hearing General Vane's words, my thoughts went sideways. Aldrich was just a low-ranking
23:15soldier. How had he ended up as General Vane's sworn son? I rubbed the back of my neck and explained
23:21to General Vane that I thought there must be a mistake. My betrothed was indeed named Aldrich,
23:26but he could never be General Vane's sworn son. I even wondered if there might be two people with the
23:32same name. General Vane seemed less confident as he described his sworn son's features.
23:37Born in the eastern settlement of the Southern Territory, with a small mark near the corner of
23:42his left eye. He asked if these features matched my betrothed. He added that if it would help,
23:47he would have his sworn son carried over for me to confirm in person. I stopped him quickly,
23:53telling him there was no need, that every detail he described matched Aldrich perfectly.
23:57I begged him not to move the injured Aldrich, saying that since he was hurt, I would go to see
24:02him myself. With that, I walked toward the gate, distracted. But Kalen, who had been silent for a
24:09long time, suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. Kalen stood in front of
24:17me, turning to General Vane and saying there was something he should know first. He told General Vane that
24:23I was his pack sister, that he had raised me, and that he had never heard me mention the name
24:28Aldrich once. He added that if Aldrich and I had made promises to each other without the family's
24:33knowledge, their bond could not be recognized. Then he lowered his voice, leaned close to me,
24:39and warned me not to say anything foolish. He said that Aldrich was now General Vane's sworn son,
24:45and if General Vane found out I had been mated before, I would not only lose this claiming,
24:50but also ruin Aldrich's reputation. Those words hit home. Aldrich had only just
24:56found his footing in the north. If I cost him everything because of my past, I would never
25:01forgive myself. I was still trying to figure out how to respond when General Vane's expression shifted.
25:06He told Kalen firmly that his approval no longer mattered, because it was not I who had come to them,
25:12but they who had sought me out. General Vane then spoke of Aldrich's deeds,
25:17saying that in this campaign, Aldrich had charged into the thickest of the fighting.
25:22He had taken out the enemy's left flank and brought back the enemy commander's banner,
25:26earning the first honor of the war. Yet he had refused all rewards from the High Alpha,
25:31every single coin. Instead, he used his achievement to petition the Moon Council for a decree,
25:38a recognized claiming with me. General Vane finally warned Kalen that if his family dared to object,
25:44they would be opposing the High Alpha's own ruling. I stood there for a long time,
25:50never having imagined that Aldrich would fight so fiercely for me.
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