The Beta’s Regret

(Lord Shevek's Pov) I stayed hidden in the crowd, as I watched Eden approach the tree stump where my beloved and Beauty sat on.

The minute Eden recognized her mother, her eyes widened in disbelief and they shared a small hug, with Eden's son comfortably held in Rose's arms. Eden looked very different from the last tI saw her.

From where I stood, I could see the fine lines on her face that showed she's been through an enormous measure of stress and pain in the past weeks. A baby cooed softly beside me. My eyes flicked to Adonis, who had another baby wrapped in his arms. A girl.

The desire to touch my own grandson and feel his smooth, tender skin beneath my palm with his mother right beside us engulfed me.

When Rose softly handed the baby wrapped in thick clothes to Eden, her face suddenly morphed into the glow of motherhood.

Torn by a feeling of longing to express my own joy in seeing her, I took a step forward and immediately stopped. I couldn't.

Not when I was looking this way.

Unconsciously, I lifted one hand to my face and traced the line that ran from the left side of my forehead to the bottom of my right cheek.

An ugly scar. Something to constantly remindof how I almost failed to save my mate.

Usually, vampires heal quickly. But Griffin attackingwith that dagger was strong enough to leave a deep scar.

I felt a deep sense of shengulfas I stepped back again. The last thing I wanted was for Eden to seeas a monster.

"Why did you stop?" Adonis asked, settling his gaze on me.

I shook my head.

"I'm not sure she wants to see me." I said.

Adonis sighed and placed one hand on my shoulder. "Is it the scar?" I didn't respond. I watched Rose and Eden fawn over the little child.

"I know you want to be with them right now; don't stop yourself." Adonis encouraged. With a slight push, he nudgedtowards them. "Con, let's go." He said.

It took a few seconds to gather my courage before I accepted and began to move.

Just as we got to Eden, she was asking the women "What is this place?"...

That was when she saw me.

Beauty's response was cut short by Eden's gasp of surprise, as she handed her baby over to Beauty.

"Father." Eden said. Her eyes lit up in excitement.

Was she excited to see me? What about the scar? "You're okay," she said again.

All of a sudden, the worries I had over my face faded. I opened my arms wide as my daughter rushed into it and circled her own arm around me.

It was a warm, comforting moment.

"Sweetheart," I said, my voice thick with the emotion I felt. "I missed you." She laughed softly and huggedtightly. "I never would have imagined that with all of our misunderstandings, I would one day affirm that I miss you. I missed you, Father." She said. Father. That word. It madefeel... warm.

I laughed.

Eden pulled back and immediately brought her hand to my face. My instincts kicked in, and I turned away. "What happened?" Eden said softly.

I hesitated a little, then turned my face to her. She ran a hand over the scar, and Eden frowned. I saw the anger flash in her.

"Who did this to you?" she bristled.

It was then I becaware of my beloved, who stood beside Eden quietly. Rose burst into tears, suddenly overwhelmed by the events that took place prior to escaping Alpha Griffin. I felt my heart squeeze a little at her tears.

"It was my fault," Rose cried.

"No!" I said firmly. "It was all my fault. I shouldn't have let your mother out of my sight in the first place.

Suddenly, images of what happened when I woke up in Alpha Griffin's basement suddenly flashed through my head.

"Alpha Griffin captured your mother and me, and kept us in a room. At first, I thought I was dead, but suddenly, I woke up." I paused, thinking of how to say the next part.

"It was blurry at first; I couldn't see anything. But when I did, the first figure I saw was the dagger that Luna Belle held in her hand above me. It It was the cross-shaped dagger that has been in existence for centuries to kill strong vampires like me." Eden gasped. "Cross-shaped?" I nodded. I didn't think much of the horror in her eyes. I continued.

"I was weak, and needed blood. Luna Belle posed as danger and a quick meal, and she bend by sucked her dry until she beccold and lifeless in my arms." The silence aroundwas deafening. I knew Eden never approved of taking a life no matter how evil the person was.

"After she died, I was able to think straight. was still a little bit weak and looked around. I saw your mother boke Ale, beside me, in in a deep sleep. It was as if she had been sapped of all her strength." "What did they do to her?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, but it was a strong mixture of something Wolfsbane and wolfsbane. I smelled op her, and guessed that she wouldn't wake up anytsoon, so I carried her." Beauty and Adonis were paying close attention too... "But just before I could leave, I heard Alpha Griffin and Theo coming towards gs. The fastest solution I could think of was to drop Rose back on the bed they placed her, and then hide. I was too weak to fight them off at the stime: "What about Belle's body?" Eden asked.

I grimaced. "I hid her quickly under the table of the coffin I was laid in. I entered the coffin just in tbefore Griffin and Theo entered..."