My Wolf, My Mate, My Regret

Alpha Liam came to pick me up from the Pack Healers clinic. But when I reached the SUV, my best friend was already sitting in the passenger seat.

She gave me a bright, dazzling smile. She didn't make even the slightest move to get out.

Long time no see, Sophia. You don't mind if I take the front seat, do you, Luna Sophia?

From the driver's seat, Liam Blackwood didn't say a word. He just changed the subject.

"Why were you at the clinic so suddenly?"

I opened the back door and slid inside. I could tell he hadn't caught the scent of his pup on me. So, I didn't tell him I was pregnant.

"Just a minor injury. No big deal."

I wouldn't have come to the joint Pack social tonight if I knew Maya was going to be here. I heard she was doing pretty well in the human world.

If I had known, I would have stayed home.

"Honestly, Sophia, youre still as delicate as ever," Maya scoffed, tapping the dashboard ornaments. "A tiny scratch heals in seconds for us wolves, yet you still run to the Healer. Talk about wasting pack resources."

She flicked one of the customized hanging charms I bought for the car.

"And Liam, this SUV is worth a fortune. Why did you let her decorate it so gaudily? It doesnt suit an Alpha at all."

Liam kept his eyes on the road, a low, amused chuckle escaping his throat. "She likes it."

"Ugh, I hate it. Such a badass car, ruined by a messy style."

"I can buy you one if you want. Do you want it?"

"Please, stop acting like you're my boss, Liam. If I'm not around, whos going to keep you company at the bar?"

The curve of Liams lips was incredibly charming. I hadn't seen him smile like that in a very long time.

The AC in the car was blasting, but my heart felt like it was being submerged in freezing water.

I grabbed the light throw blanket next to me and wrapped it tightly around myself.

"Cold?" Liam looked at me through the rearview mirror, his brow furrowing as he reached to turn down the AC.

But Mayas hand suddenly pressed down on his.

"Oh, come on! I'm roasting! If Sophia is cold, she can just crack the window and get some fresh air. We're almost there anyway. Just bear with it, Sophia."

Their hands rested naturally over one another. It wasn't until Liam saw me nod in the mirror that he pulled his hand back to focus on driving.

"One of you hates the cold, and the other hates the heat," Maya joked. "I seriously don't know how you two managed to live together all this time."

This time, Liam didn't reply.

I let out a soft laugh.

"Have you forgotten, Maya? Back then, you were the one sneaking out with him every single day."

Liam remained silent. Maya lowered her head and started playing with her phone.

The silence in the car felt thick, heavy with guilt.

Maya and I grew up together.

Her father was a warrior who died protecting the former Alpha, and her mother was a servant in my family's estate.

We used to share a bed. We dressed up dolls together. We stayed up late whispering about our future mates.

But it took me a long time to realize that we had both fallen for Liam.

In the beginning, I would occasionally invite Maya on our dates. Liam used to complain about it.

But slowly, the dynamic shifted. In our trio, the person sent to buy drinks eventually became me.

Sometimes, they would go to pack gatherings together.

Without me.

Because I hated loud parties and drinking. I didn't like hiking, and I was terrified of their racing events.

But Maya loved all of it. Even when she didn't know how to do something, she was eager to learn.

I never thought they were crossing the line. I actually thought I was lucky.

My best friend and my boyfriend were also best friends.

We felt like one harmonious family.

Until one day, Maya made a bet with me. She bet on whether Liam would choose her or me.

She lost the bet. But looking back, I didn't win either.

Maya went abroad. Liam provided all her funding and sorted out her visa.

She said she wanted to leave the Pack to see the human world, and he spared no expense to make it happen.

As for me, I was the daughter of the Frost Moon Pack's Alpha. Our marriage was a political alliance. Liam had no right to refuse me.

The party was even more suffocating than I had anticipated.

Someone had ordered a greasy garlic and anchovy pizza. The strong smell made my stomach churn instantly. I covered my mouth and excused myself from the table.

The restroom was right inside the private dining suite, and the walls were paper-thin.

So when Maya loudly announced to the room that she had returned to the pack to "chase her true love," I heard every single word.

The crowd erupted into rowdy cheers.

"Who is lucky enough to have Maya chasing them? Tell us!"

"Oh, I wouldn't dare say. I don't want to make a certain someone angry," Maya teased.

"Just say it," Liam's deep voice cut through. "Who would dare get mad at you? If anything, I'll help you win them over."

"You promised," Maya said, her voice dropping to a sultry purr.

"Yeah."

"Well, that person is right in front of my eyes."

The room went dead silent. My breathing hitched inside the bathroom stall.

Slowly, nervous laughter broke out. I heard Liam's exasperated sigh.

"Maya, stop fooling around."

I pushed the bathroom door open and walked out.

I saw Maya sitting comfortably in my seat, leaning close to Liam. The lingering affection in her eyes hadn't even faded yet.

Liam was the first to stand up and walk toward me, his eyes full of concern. "Are you feeling better?"

Just like many times before, a tiny gesture of care from him was enough to melt my anger.

No matter what happened, as long as he reached out, I would swallow my pride and let it go.

Because his dignity as the Alpha was always more important to me than my own feelings.

And he had grown to take my compliance for granted.

I looked up at his handsome face. Then, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the cheek.

The sharp *CRACK* echoed through the room.

His cold, composed eyes went completely wide with shock.

A sharp gasp erupted from the corner. Maya screamed.

"Sophia Vance! Have you lost your mind?!"

I ignored her. I just stared coldly at the man I had loved for years. "Liam Blackwood. I reject you as my mate."

Liam had always treated me well.

As a mate, he was almost perfect.

The laws of the Red Flame Pack were strict, and he knew exactly how an Alpha should treat his Luna.

So, even after being slapped in public and publicly rejected, he only frowned.

"Sophia, let's go home and talk about this."

The rest of the pack members dared not make a sound. Only Maya piped up loudly, "Let's talk nicely, Sophia. Don't resort to violence. How about I come back with you guys? I can help..."

I finally turned my gaze to her for the first time tonight.

"Come back with us? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Liam's frown deepened. "Sophia, Maya is just trying to help. You don't have to be so sensitive."

He hadn't said a single word of defense for himself after getting slapped.

Yet, the moment my tone got slightly sharp with Maya, he immediately rushed to protect her.

My vision blurred with tears.

But Mayas tears fell faster than mine.

"Sophia, was it because of the joke I made earlier? If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

She bowed her head, her tears dripping onto the carpet.

I stared at her, my heart turning to ice.

"You really don't have to take it to heart," Maya sobbed. "Liam and I always joke around like that. Everyone here knows it. I've just been away in the human world for too long, and I forgot that you two are officially mated now. Its all my fault..."

The other pack members finally started chiming in.

"Yeah, Sophia, don't be mad. She didn't mean anything by it."

"You're the Luna of our Pack. Maya knows her boundaries."

"Sophia used to have such a sweet temper. I can't believe she just slapped him like that..."

"Maya is so straightforward and sweet. Honestly, I regret not hanging out with her more back then."

The whispers drifted into my ears.

I laughed. The tears I was trying to hold back finally spilled over.

"Maya, you know exactly what youre trying to do."

Suddenly, Liam stepped in front of her. His tall, powerful frame shielded her completely from my gaze.

"Sophia, when are you going to stop this childish behavior?"

I stared at his swelling cheek. The red mark on his otherwise flawless, aristocratic face made him look human for once.

But the righteous, cold judgment in his eyes remained intact.

He looked like a judge sitting high on a bench, looking down at me with pity and sternness.

The drama finally ended under Liams quick arrangements.

This time, Maya didn't get to ride in my passenger seat. Liam hailed an Uber for her.

Through the window, I saw him nodding to her reassuringly, whispering something to the driver.

It looked exactly like that summer afternoon in the school parking lot years ago. Someone had nudged me to look forward.

I had watched Maya skip happily into his car. Liam had ruffled her hair, speaking softly to the driver.

His expression back then was so incredibly gentle.

During those days, they would hang out with mutual friends. I thought that was just their dynamic.

I didn't know they also hung out alone, with nobody else around.

Back then, Maya was young, wild, and bold.

She had pressed a kiss to her palm and then smacked it playfully onto Liam's cheek.

When he looked shocked, she laughed until her face turned red.

I had stood there, completely paralyzed by the scene.

A thousand warnings from people around me couldn't compare to seeing it with my own eyes.

The sharp slam of the car door snapped me out of my thoughts.

Seeing that I was sitting in the back seat instead of the front, Liam let out a tired sigh.

"Sophia, Maya didn't sit in the passenger seat to make a statement. She literally just wanted to feel the AC better."

His tone was incredibly sincere.

Usually, when he used this tone, my anger would already be half-gone. By the next minute, I would have crawled back to the front seat.

And if he bought me a diamond necklace at the next pack auction, the matter would be swept under the rug.

But when it came to Maya, I could never let it go again.

"Liam, since we mated, you have never let anyone else sit in my seat."

The SUV sat idling.

Liam suddenly pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

He knew I despised the smell of smoke. Yet, he lit it in the cramped, enclosed space of the car.

"I thought youd be happy to see Maya," he said, blowing a cloud of smoke. "You two used to be inseparable. Weren't you?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, absolutely. We were so close we almost shared a boyfriend."

Silence fell over the car. Forced to breathe in his secondhand smoke, I rolled down my window.

He threw the half-burnt cigarette out of the window, his voice sounding raspy.

"Back then, looking at her just reminded me of you. That's why I had more patience with her. But I only ever saw her as one of the guys..."

The car was dark. I lowered my head, a single tear slipping from my eye and soaking into my clenched fist.

"Did you know?" I whispered. "She once got drunk and cried to me. She said she wished she was born a guy so you wouldn't be so guarded around her. So you wouldn't have distanced yourself from her."

I knew about that night because Maya had shown me the video recording herself. The triumph in her eyes was unmistakable.

She had told me that from that moment on, Liam only stayed with me for duty, not love.

Perhaps she was right.

At the very least, I knew he had never argued with me like this over anyone else.

"She didn't grow up rich like you did," Liam said, his voice cold. "She built her life through sheer hard work. Even if you hold a grudge, you shouldn't judge her without hearing her out."

"She wanted to surprise you today."

A sharp pain squeezed my chest.

Then came his deeply disappointed voice.

"Sophia, there is nothing going on between Maya and me. Why can't you just leave her alone?"

He wanted me to leave Maya alone.

But when did Maya and he ever leave me alone?

I chose silence. I refused to speak to him.

He didn't force me. He just slammed on the gas.

A twenty-minute drive took us barely ten minutes.

But when I got out of the car, Maya was already standing at our front door.

She immediately raised her hands in mock surrender and stuck her tongue out. "I'm just here to pick up some of my things. I'll leave right away."

Liam had set up her job in the human world. It was only natural they had professional business together now that she was back.

I had prepared myself for that.

But I hadn't expected Liam to let her stay the night.

Looking at his stubborn jawline, I knew he was still furious.

This was his way of telling me that he ran this house.

And I had no choice but to accept it.

When his gaze swept over me, I knew what he was waiting for. He was waiting for me to beg, to apologize, so he could graciously ask Maya to leave.

But I didn't. I just quietly walked past them and went upstairs.

Maya was given the guest room at the very end of the hallway.

Before going to bed, she knocked on my door to say goodnight and apologize again.

I locked the door in her face and went to sleep.

But I couldn't sleep.

So when the man beside me quietly got out of bed in the middle of the night, I noticed instantly.

I kept my eyes closed, letting the hot tears slide silently down my temples.

The hallway light was on. The door to our home bar, which was barely ever used, stood wide open.

"Liam, this is incredible! Its exactly how I described my dream bar to you back then."

"I'm glad you like it. I was worried it might look a bit outdated now."

"No way! I'm so touched..."

I leaned against the hallway wall, my knees trembling.

When we were renovating this house, Liam insisted on designing the home bar himself. He was incredibly picky about every single detail. I hadn't understood why.

He hadn't cared about any other room in the house.

Only the bar. He hadn't allowed me to touch a single thing in it.

It turned out it was all for Maya's dream.

He probably dreamed of living in this house with her every single day.

Too bad my existence got in the way.

I dragged my numb body back to bed.

Liam didn't return to our room for the rest of the night.

And the very last shred of love I had for him finally withered away.

At dawn, I got up. I booked an appointment on my phone, reserved a hotel suite, packed a few clothes into a small duffel bag, and walked out the door.

I didn't even look at the open door of the home bar as I passed it.

By the time Liam realized I was gone, I was already sitting in my hotel room.

My phone rang continuously. I patiently watched it light up. After the fifth call ended, it finally went silent.

I knew Liam wouldn't call again.

His patience with me was always limited. Besides, the Frost Moon Pack had been struggling lately, and my father desperately needed the Red Flame Pack's financial support.

Otherwise, my father's position as Alpha would be in jeopardy.

Liam was sure I was just throwing a tantrum. He believed I would never dare to actually leave him.