Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

It was so... peaceful.

For a long moment, | finally forgot all about the pressures of pack life, about my parents’ expectations, about the

looming responsibilities of being a future female Alpha. Here, | was just Hannah. Fifteen, awkward, and still

finding herself. 1

My sister and | had taken a much-needed vacation from our pack. She was a few years older than me, and so

she had booked us a room in Nightcrest pack for the week, just the two of us. Our parents had been fighting a lot

lately, and so we needed a way out.

And of course, when we found this little pond in the woods, we couldn’t help but go for a swim.

“Hannah!” My sister's slightly panicked voice, m***d by the water, snappedout of my peaceful reverie and

calledback to reality. Reluctantly, | pushed off the bottom and surfaced, gasping for air.

“What?” | sputtered back as | pushed strands of wet hair from my face. But when | opened my eyes, | saw that

my sister wasn’t looking at me. Her wide eyes were fixed on something on the shore.

| turned, following her gaze. There, standing frozen at the edge of the pond, was a boy. He looked about my age,

maybe a little older, with tousled dark hair and startled green eyes, sinewy muscles, and tanned skin.

He was... cute.

“Hello!” | called out, waving. The boy's eyes widened even further as he took in the appearance of my slim form

in my bikini. Before | could say anything else, he turned and bolted into the forest.

“Hannah!” my sister hissed, grabbing my arm. “Who was that?”

“I don’t know,” | replied. But my curiosity piqued, and so | swam to the shore. | told my sister that | would be

back, then quickly followed the boy's footsteps.

“Hannah, wait!” my sister called after me, but | was already running after the mysterious boy.

| followed the sound of crashing through the underbrush, my bare feet slapping against the forest floor. Finally, |

cornered him in a small clearing.

“Hey!” | said, slightly out of breath. “Why did you run?”

The boy’s face was beet red as he stammered, “I-I'm sorry. | didn’t mean to intrude.”

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Chapter 0206

| couldn’t help but smile at his flustered state. “You weren't intruding. I'm Hannah. What's your name?”

“Noah,” he mumbled, still not quite meeting my eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Noah,” | said, gesturing over my shoulder. “Do you want to cswim with us? The water's

perfect.”

If possible, Noah's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and his eyes widened. “I...” 3

The memory faded, leavingstanding alone in my room, staring at my reflection in the mirror. | grit my teeth

and turned away from my visage, not even wanting to look at myself right now.

Noah was gone now, having stormed out after our argument. Or rather, | had sent him away.

he hurt and anger still simmered beneath the surface of my skin just as the spring’s bubbles had risen hrough

the pond’s water all those years ago, but | pushed it down. | had a festival to run, after all.

With determined movements, | slipped out of my muddy robes and stepped into the shower. | quickly rinsed off,

taking care not to get my hair wet, and then dried myself off and picked out a sleek red dress that hugged my

curves in all the right places.

It was a bit more revealing than what | would have usually worn to such an event, my cleavage on display and

my hips taut beneath *fabric. It fell just a few inches above my knees, revealing my stockings and heels. It was...

maybe a little too s****y for the Lunar Festival.

But right now, it felt like armor. Like revenge. And | needed that, after what | had just seen in Noah's offering

bundle.

Shuddering, | pushed the memory of that picture out of my mind and returned my attention to my work.

Once | was dressed, | fixed my hair and touched up my makeup, erasing any trace of mud-and tears. In the

mirror, | pulled my shoulders back and lifted my chin. | was Luna Hannah, and | wouldn't let Noah's actions break

me. Not in this lifetime.

When | returned to the festival, the main hall was buzzing with activity. People laughed and danced, the earlier

chaos of the rainstorm seemingly forgotten. | scanned the crowd, quickly spotting Viona, Amber, and Emma

huddled near the refreshment table.

As | approached, their eyes widened.

“Hannah!” Viona exclaimed. “You look... wow!”

Amber let out a low wolf whistle as her gaze wandered my curves. “Da***n, girl. What happened to your

ceremonial robes?”

| shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. “They got muddy in the rain. This was all | had to change into.”

Viona raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “Uh-huh. And it has nothing to do with a certain Alpha?” she

asked, causing both Emma and Amber to giggle.

felt my face heat up, but | kept my expression neutral and waved my hand as | grabbed a drink from the

fountain. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”

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Amber grinned, nudgingwith her elbow. “Well, wherever Noah is right now, he’s not going to be able to take

his eyes off you in that dress.”

At the mention of Noah's name, | instinctively scanned the room in search of him-even though | wanted nothing

to do with him right now. Blissfully, he was nowhere to be found.

Good, | thought to myself. | didn’t want to see him. In fact, | hoped he left with Zoe. Surely her bed had gotten

cold since the last the had stayed there.

But as my eyes scanned the room, my gaze landed on Drake, who was standing across the hall by the bar with a

glass of champagne in his hand. His eyes were already fixed on my red dress, his expression a mixture of

surprise and... something else.

In that moment, an idea cto mind. Perhaps a slightly evil one, but in my current state of anger, my sense of

logic had gone out the window.

Without thinking, | handed my drink to Viona. “Excuse me,” | muttered, already moving across the room. My

friends called after me, but | hardly heard them through my haze of fury and vindictiveness.

Drake's well-groomed eyebrows rose as | approached, but he didn’t look away-instead, he kept his gaze fixed on

me, even as he sipped his champagne.

When | reached him, | didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“Dance with me,” | demanded, tossing a lock of hair over my shoulder and extending my hand to him.”

Now.”

Drake's eyes went wide, and he nearly dropped his champagne.