Alpha Damon’s Greatest Regret

Six Years Later…

Zarah~

"Here you go, sir," I murmured, placing the compiled file on his desk.

"Thank you, Dina." His fingers brushed mine briefly as I turned to leave. I felt a flicker of something, but I kept my expression blank, professional. He'd been dropping hints for months, but I wasn't biting. For one, he was my boss. Second, Dina wasn't even my real name. And third, he didn't know I wasn't human. I couldn't risk anything that would ruin the life I'd built. A life with Elliot.

When I left Howlcreek, I had nothing but my high school diploma, a few dollars, and a bag of clothes. I had no choice but to start at the bottom—menial work that made me invisible. Answering phones, filing papers, running coffee—humiliating at first, but necessary. Slowly, I worked my way up. I studied everything around me, learned quickly, made myself indispensable. Now, I was here—a personal assistant in one of the most profitable companies in the city. It wasn't glamorous, but I had stability. I had a life.

I glanced at my watch. Five o'clock. Time to get Elliot. I grabbed my purse and headed to my car, making the familiar drive to his school. It was just fifteen minutes away, close enough for comfort. My chest warmed at the thought of picking him up—his bright smile always washed away the exhaustion of the day.

But when I arrived, something felt off. The usual chatter of kids wasn't there. The front yard was already empty. My heartbeat quickened as I headed inside.

I approached the desk, forcing a smile. "Hi, I'm here for Elliot Langdon."

The receptionist blinked at me, then frowned. "Oh, but… Elliot's already been picked up. His uncle came for him earlier."

My stomach dropped. "His uncle?" I said, my voice barely steady. "I don't have—he doesn't have any uncles."

She looked puzzled. "Well, a man came with the right paperwork. Tall, dark hair? He said he was family."

I felt cold like ice water was running through my veins. No. No, this couldn't be happening. No one knew about Elliot. No one.

My hands shook as I pulled out my phone, immediately dialing the police. I could barely hear the operator over the rush of blood in my ears.

"My son, Elliot Meyers, is missing," I blurted. "I'm coming now to make an official report."

"Calm down, ma'am," the officer said. "How long has he been missing?"

"His school closed by four; when I came to pick him up, they said someone took him."

"It's only been a couple of minutes, ma'am," the officer said.

"He is five, sir," I blurted, "A child!"

The man was silent for a moment. "Alright, ma'am, this is what we will do."

"Yes?"

"After an hour, if you haven't found him, come down to the station to make a statement. For now, go home. He's probably there," the nonchalance of the officer was grating on my frayed nerves.

I didn't wait for more instructions. I hung up and rushed to my car, driving as fast as I could. My hands were gripping the wheel so hard they hurt. When I pulled up to the house, everything was eerily quiet. I would have to take matters into my own hands. At least I didn't need a weapon—I had Nala, and we would sniff him out.

Then I smelled it—faint, but unmistakable. It was not just Elliot's scent. A scent I had tried to forget, one that I hadn't sensed in years.

My heart stopped.

I was shaking as I made my way to the door; the lock was a broken mess on the ground. I swallowed, opened the door, and turned on the light. My eyes immediately fell on the man on my couch. His green eyes froze me in place. My son slept on his lap, their blond hair too much of the same shade to be a coincidence. But he was not alone. The others were here as well: Daniel, Kendra, and Tom.

"Dina Meyers," his voice was even colder than I remembered, as he raised a brow. "Really?"

Not even a second after meeting again after six years, and he was already taunting me.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice miraculously steady.

He raised a brow, stroking my son's hair. "You still have the audacity to ask that question?"

"Answer me, Torrence!" The other high ranks froze.

"Respect your fucking Alpha, runt," Daniel snapped.

But Damon silenced him with a hand and stood up. He got up and passed my son to me.

"Put my son to bed," he said.

My blood turned to ice at his words, but I had to think of Elliot. I laid him in his bedroom and gave him a kiss before I came out again, locking the door behind me.

I stood in the doorway, my pulse thundering in my ears. Damon's smug grin made my blood boil. I wasn't the same girl who left Howlcreek, broken and scared. I wasn't about to let him control me or Elliot. Not anymore.

"You're coming with us," Damon repeated, stepping closer. His green eyes locked on mine as if he already knew the outcome. "We leave at dawn. It's not a request."

Something inside me snapped.

I took a step forward, my voice a growl. "You don't get to tell me what to do, Damon. Not anymore."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You've forgotten your place."

I laughed bitterly. "My place? The place you put me in when you rejected me? When you made it clear I was nothing to you?" My voice grew louder and angrier. "You rejected me. You rejected my son the moment you turned your back on me. You don't get to claim him now!"

Damon's smug expression dropped, but I didn't give him time to respond.

"You think you can just walk in here and act like Elliot's yours? Like you have some right to him?" I spat, my fists clenched. "You had no right to me, and you sure as hell have no right to my son."

"Watch how you talk to me," Damon growled, his calm façade slipping. "I'm still the Alpha."

"You are not my Alpha. My bond to the hell has been broken for a fucking long time," I snapped, stepping closer. "You were the one who threw me away, Damon. You made that choice. I'm not the weak little runt you rejected. I'm stronger now—strong enough to protect what's mine, and that includes my son."

His eyes flickered with uncertainty. I wasn't backing down. Not this time. Not ever.

"You don't get to come here, sit in my house, and pretend like you care about him. You didn't care about your mate, his mother, then, and you sure as hell don't care about us now. You're only here because you think you can control me. But you can't."

Damon's jaw clenched. "He's my blood—"

"No," I cut him off, my voice ice cold. "The day you rejected me, you rejected him. Blood means nothing if you don't act like a father. Elliot is my son. I've raised him, cared for him, protected him. You? You're a fucking stranger."

For a moment, the room went silent. Damon's grip tightened, his nostrils flaring, but I wasn't done.

"You may be Alpha back in Howlcreek, but not here," I said, my voice steady. "Here, you're just a man who couldn't handle the responsibility of his choices. And if you think for one second I'm going to let you or anyone else take Elliot from me, you're dead wrong."

Daniel growled behind Damon, but Kendra glared at me as if daring me to say more. I didn't care.

Damon opened his mouth, but I wasn't about to let him speak.

"You made your bed, Damon. You don't get to rewrite the past just because it's convenient now."

His eyes darkened, but I held my ground.

"You want to challenge me?" I asked, my voice low, threatening. "Go ahead. But I'll make sure you regret it. I may have been a runt back then, but times have changed."

Damon's chest rose and fell, anger brewing behind his gaze, but there was something else too—hesitation.

Finally, he spoke, his voice quieter. "I marked you, Zarah. You are still my mate. A few words don't change that."

I looked at him like he had grown a second head. "You're really laying claim to me like the bastard I know you are. It seems old habits do die hard."

His high ranks gasped.

"I am still your fucking mate," he stalked toward me. The darkness in his eyes should have scared me. But I lifted my chin and pulled down my blouse in front of them, showing the ugly scar where his mark should have been.

"What mark, Damon?" I asked, grinning bitterly.

His eyes widened as he stared at it. "You removed my mark."

"Exactly like the stain that it was," I spat. "Go to your wife, Damon." I pulled my blouse up. "Go be a father to her children."

I watched, almost in shock, as Damon Torrence flinched, as if my words had hurt him.

I grinned, almost enjoying his pain. "Trouble in paradise, it seems. Go to marriage counseling and stop trying to be a father to my son."

"You've made your point," Damon finally said, his voice tight. "But this isn't over."

"Oh, it's over," I said, taking a step toward him, my eyes blazing. "You've already lost. You just don't know it yet."

Damon stared at me for a long moment, then turned on his heel, motioning for the others to follow. They all glared at me.

As the door closed, I stood there, my chest heaving, every muscle tense. I had won this round, but I knew this wasn't the end. Damon wouldn't give up easily. But it didn't matter.

I wasn't that scared, weak girl anymore. I was a mother, and nothing was going to take my son away from me. Not Damon. Not the pack. No one.

I turned and headed to Elliot's room, my heart finally slowing. I kissed him softly on the forehead, brushing a lock of hair from his face.

"I'll protect you," I whispered. "No matter what."