Chapter 7 THE ALPHA KING'S REGRET

[DAEMON'S POV]

I hadn't slept.

Couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Silver hair glowing in the moonlight like spun starlight. Violet eyes blazing with power and rage and absolute betrayal.

"You are nothing to me."

My own words echoed in my head like a death sentence. Like a curse I'd brought down on myself.

Gods, what had I done?

I stood at the window in Alpha Gregor's guest quarters, staring out at the forest where she'd disappeared hours ago. Dawn was breaking now, painting the sky in shades of gold and pink and red. Beautiful. The world had no right to be beautiful when I'd destroyed everything.

She was out there somewhere. Alone. Hunted by wolves I'd sent after her.

Because of me.

My wolf howled in my mind, a sound of pure agony. He'd been like this since the rejection-pacing, snarling, tearing at my insides. Demanding I fix this. Demanding I find our mate and bring her back.

But I'd broken it. Shattered the bond the Moon Goddess herself had created.

There was no fixing that.

A knock at the door made me turn. "Come in."

Marcus, my Beta, entered. His face was grim, his clothes dirty from a night of searching. "Your Majesty. The search parties have returned."

My heart stopped. "And?"

"They didn't find her." He closed the door behind him. "She's either very good at hiding, or..."

"Or what?" My voice came out sharper than intended.

"Or she's already dead, Your Majesty. The Forbidden Forest isn't forgiving. Especially to wolves who don't know the territory. Who've never hunted. Never survived on their own."

My wolf snarled viciously. The thought of Aria dead, cold, and alone in the forest made my chest tighten until I couldn't breathe. Made rage and grief war inside me until I wanted to tear something apart with my bare hands.

"She's not dead," I said flatly.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I'd feel it." Even with the bond severed, even with that connection broken, I'd feel it if she died. I was certain of that. The mate bond might be shattered, but something remained. Some thread I couldn't quite sever. "She's alive. She has to be."

Marcus was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was carefully neutral. "Permission to speak freely, Your Majesty?"

"Always." I trusted Marcus more than anyone. He'd been my father's Beta before mine. Had known me since I was a child. If anyone could be honest with me, it was him.

"You made a mistake."

The words hit like a physical blow even though I'd been expecting them. "I know."

"Do you?" His voice was harder now, dropping the careful diplomacy. "Because from where I'm standing, you rejected your fated mate-a Moon Wolf, the rarest and most powerful bloodline in existence-because she didn't look impressive enough when you first saw her."

Each word landed like a punch. "That's not why-"

"Then why?" Marcus demanded, stepping closer. His usual deference was gone, replaced by something that looked like disappointment. Maybe even disgust. "I watched you feel the mate bond snap into place. Saw your face when it happened. You wanted her. Your wolf recognized her. I saw the way you looked at her for those few seconds before you shut it down."

He moved to the window, standing beside me. "And then you threw her away like garbage because Celeste whispered poison in your ear, and your council wanted a political alliance. Because you were afraid of what the other Alphas would think."

"I'm the Alpha King," I said through gritted teeth, the title feeling like chains. "My choices affect thousands of wolves. I can't just follow my heart like some lovesick-"

"Your father would have."

That stopped me cold. Made everything inside me freeze.

"Your father," Marcus continued, his voice softer now but no less cutting, "chose your mother even though his entire council wanted him to mate with Alpha Rowan's daughter. A political alliance that would have united two of the largest territories in the realm. But he chose love over politics. Chose his fated mate over convenience."

He turned to face me fully. "And he built the strongest kingdom we've ever known precisely because your mother stood beside him as an equal partner. Because they were united. Because the mate bond made them stronger together than they ever could have been apart."

I closed my eyes. Remembered my father. Strong, wise, fair. Remembered my mother's gentle strength. How they'd looked at each other like nothing else in the world mattered.

I'd always wanted what they had.

And when the Moon Goddess finally gave it to me, I'd thrown it away.

"It doesn't matter now," I said quietly, the words tasting like ash. "She accepted my rejection. The bond is broken. She made it very clear she wants nothing to do with me. And I don't blame her."

"Then why are you sending wolves to find her?" Marcus challenged. "If it doesn't matter, why not just let her go?"

I didn't have a good answer for that. Or maybe I did, and I just didn't want to say it out loud. Didn't want to admit what was clawing at my chest every second she was gone.

Because the moment I'd seen her transform, seen that silver light explode from her body, seen the power radiating from her like concentrated moonlight-I'd realized what I'd lost.

Not just a mate. Not just a Moon Wolf with abilities beyond imagination.

Her.

Aria. Who'd looked at me with hope in her gray eyes before I crushed it. Who'd been treated like nothing her entire life and still had kindness in her expression. Who'd served wine with shaking hands and cleaned up broken glass with quiet dignity.

I'd rejected her. Humiliated her. She broke her in front of everyone.

And in doing so, I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.

"The search continues," I said, my voice rough. "Double the patrols. Expand the search radius. I need to find her."

"And then what?" Marcus challenged. "Force her to come back? She made it very clear she's done with you. With the pack. With all of us. You can't force her to accept you again. The Moon Goddess doesn't give third chances."

"I know that." My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "But she's in danger out there, Marcus. Alone in hostile territory with half the wolves in the realm hunting her for the reward I put on her head like an idiot. Rogues who'll sell her to the highest bidder. Packs who'll try to use her power for themselves."

I turned to face him fully. "I need to know she's safe. That's all. I just need to know she's alive and safe."

"Because you care about her?"

The question hung in the air between us.

"Because I owe her that much," I said finally. "I destroyed her, Marcus. Rejected her in the cruelest way possible in front of everyone she knew. The least I can do-the absolute least-is make sure she survives long enough to build whatever life she wants. Away from me."

Marcus studied me for a long moment. His expression softened slightly. "You're in love with her."

"I barely know her." The protest sounded weak even to my own ears.

"That's not what I asked, Your Majesty."

I turned back to the window. To the forest. To wherever she was hiding from me. From everyone.

My wolf whimpered in my mind. He'd been in agony since the rejection, pacing endlessly, howling at nothing. Demanding we fix this. Demanding we find our mate and make it right.

But how did you fix the unfixable? How did you heal a wound you'd inflicted on yourself?

"Just find her," I said quietly. "But tell the search parties to keep their distance. Don't approach. Don't threaten. Don't even let her know they're there. Just locate her and report back her position. I need to know where she is. That she's alive."

"Understood." Marcus moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle. "For what it's worth, Your Majesty... I hope you find a way to make this right. She deserves better than what you gave her. Better than being rejected like trash. Better than being hunted like an animal."

"I know." The words came out barely above a whisper.

The door closed softly, leaving me alone with my guilt and my regrets and the ghost of a mate bond that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

She was ours, my wolf growled, the sound filled with accusation and grief. Perfect. Beautiful. Strong. OURS. And you threw her away like she meant nothing.

"I know," I whispered to the empty room, pressing my forehead against the cold glass. "I know. And I'll regret it every day for the rest of my life."

But knowing didn't change anything. Regret didn't fix what I'd broken.

Somewhere out there, Aria was alone. Afraid. Running from wolves who wanted to capture her or kill her, or use her.

And it was entirely my fault.

I'd rejected my fated mate.

And I'd spend the rest of my life paying for it.