The Alpha's Regret His Discarded Mate Was A Lycan Queen

I had been with Derek, an Alpha six years younger than me, for ten whole years. He always complained that condoms ruined the mood and swore he would mark me the moment I got pregnant. On the night of the Full Moon Festival, I came to surprise him with the news of my pregnancy. Instead, outside the Pack Tavern, I saw him with his arms wrapped tightly around a young human girl, kissing her like his life depended on it. His pack members cheered and whistled: "Derek’s got great taste! Lara is so young and damn hot!" "Right? Did you see Sienna every time Derek brought up the Mate Ceremony? That desperate old woman threw herself at him like she was in heat." "Even if Sienna gets pregnant, she could never compete with Lara, right?" I gripped the positive pregnancy test so tightly my fingernails bit into my palms, drawing sharp pain. I couldn't even breathe. Derek gave a careless, dismissive smirk. "Obviously. Who'd be stupid enough to marry a starter woman you only kept around for practice?" "Derek only stayed with that old woman back then because she had money and was obedient. You think he actually liked an older hag?" "I can't even imagine what she looks like in bed. Makes me want to puke." I stood there, frozen to the spot. The blood in my veins turned to ice. An old hag. A desperate, clingy woman... I never thought I’d hear those words come out of Derek’s mouth. "A full moon is too precious to waste, Derek! Hurry up and spend it with Lara!" My phone lit up. A text from Derek popped up on the screen: [Pack business tonight. Don't wait up for me. Go to bed.] I stared at the words, a suffocating ache squeezing my chest. The screen reflected my pale, ghostly face. If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I would have kept believing every single lie about his endless "pack business." Derek pulled the girl onto his lap, his hand gripping the back of her head as he crushed his lips against hers again. Someone nearby remarked, "Honestly, Sienna is kind of pitiful. Better to rip the band-aid off and dump her." Derek released the girl and lit a cigarette. The swirling smoke blurred his face. "She's loved me for ten years and helped me secure the Alpha title. She poured her entire youth into me. Dumping her right now might drive her to kill herself. Let's wait a bit longer." A shrill ringing filled my ears. I grabbed an empty liquor bottle from a nearby tray and charged straight at their booth. The bottle shattered violently over Derek’s head. Blood trickled down his forehead, but with his Alpha healing, the wound began to close almost immediately. I blinked, tears rolling down my cheeks without warning. Derek stiffened, shoving Lara off him as if he’d been struck by lightning. "Baby? What... what are you doing here?" Lara shot me a sideways glare, curling her lip in disgust. "It was just a harmless joke. Don't tell me you're actually petty enough to make a scene over this?" Derek’s face darkened. "Shut up!" Ignoring the blood on his forehead, he reached out and gently wiped away my tears. His voice softened to a tender purr. "It was just messing around. Don't take it seriously." "Stop crying. I'll take you back right now to celebrate the Full Moon, okay?" Lara grabbed his arm, tears welling in her eyes. "What about me?" "She completely ruined our Full Moon! She really is an old lady—getting up in everyone’s business the moment she ages!" Derek turned his back to me and shrugged nonchalantly. Then, his voice echoed in my head: *I have no choice. Older women are just insecure and possessive. Let me handle her first.* He was using the Mind Link with his friends, thinking he could hide it from me. But he had no idea my wolf could hear every single whisper. If I wanted to, I could dominate his mind with a single thought. Because pure Lycan royal blood ran through my veins. My father was the most powerful Lycan Alpha in the entire shifter world. But for Derek's sake, I had hidden my true lineage and even walked away from my birthright. I turned and walked away. The pain in my chest went numb. The words of my mother, Luna Elara, suddenly echoed loud and clear in my mind. "Sienna, was it really worth giving up your Alpha inheritance for a man who had nothing?" "If he truly loved you, he would have claimed you as his mate years ago. Why wait until now?" "Listen to your mother. Come home and accept the pack’s arranged match." I wiped my tears, pulled out my phone, and dialed Luna Elara. "Mom... I was wrong. I'm coming home soon. The marriage... I'll leave it in your hands."Half an hour later, Derek found me at the watchtower. He always knew where to look. Every time we fought, I would stand out here in the freezing wind, forcing myself to calm down. Derek ran up like a madman, his eyes locking onto the silver dagger in my hand. It was a defensive weapon he had gifted me last year. The blade gleamed cold under the moonlight. His pupils shrank. He knocked the dagger from my hand and pinned my wrists in an iron grip. The silver blade clattered to the floor. He pulled me into a fierce embrace. His body was warm, but my heart was stone cold. Before I could speak, his furious lecture rained down on me. "Sienna, are you out of your damn mind?!" "It was just a joke! Was that really worth trying to kill yourself with a silver blade?!" I blinked in confusion. "What?" He took a deep breath, his tone softening. "As long as you're safe..." He sighed, bent down to pick up the dagger, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and pulled me back into his arms. "Silly girl. How could I ever think you're old? I’ve just been overwhelmed lately... Once this busy period passes, we’ll hold our Mate Ceremony." "Besides, in my heart, you'll always be my eighteen-year-old princess." A rare tenderness washed over his face as he spoke. As if that humiliating spectacle at the Pack Tavern had never happened. For a moment, I couldn't tell which face of his was the real one. None of it mattered anymore. He suddenly produced a small cake from behind his back. "Today marks our tenth anniversary." "During my first year as Alpha, the mess left behind by the former Alpha nearly destroyed our pack. Everyone was waiting for me to fail. You were the only one who stood by me without question." "Without you, I wouldn't have survived." "Back then, I only had enough coins left for a tiny cake, but I bought it anyway." "No matter how hard things got, I couldn't let my princess suffer." "Sienna, you are my life. Thank the Moon Goddess... we made it through." His voice was low, rough, laced with a faint tremor. So he did remember. He remembered that I was the one who walked through the darkest, coldest winters beside him when Crescent Pack was on the brink of ruin. Now that he sat securely on his throne, he found me old and wanted to kick me to the curb. "The new moon is rising. Make a wish," he murmured, his eyes glowing with expectation. I looked at him quietly. "Let's break up." *Smack.* The cake dropped from his hands and hit the stone floor. The two frosting figures cuddling on top cracked cleanly in half. Just like us. The warmth on his face shattered completely, morphing into shock, then flaring into blinding rage. "Sienna, you better not regret this!" He stormed down the stairs and retreated to the Alpha suite. Inside, he trashed the home we had built together piece by piece. He ripped our framed photos to shreds and smashed the clay figurines we had sculpted together... The final sound was the deafening slam of the front door. Half an hour later, Derek—who barely ever posted on Instagram—made an unprecedented update. [New clothes are always better. So are new mates.] The photo showed him and Lara in a passionate kiss beneath an explosion of fireworks. A cold smirk tugged at my lips. I hit the 'like' button and left a comment: [Congratulations.] Seconds later, a friend request popped up. I recognized Lara’s profile picture instantly. Her message read: *Thank you for giving him back to me.* Derek’s call came through immediately, his voice venomous. "What the hell is that comment supposed to mean?" "Exactly what it says. Congrats on getting back together." "You were the one who brought up breaking up! Don't you dare come crying back to me later!" His tone slid right back into that familiar, dismissive swagger. He assumed I was just throwing a jealous tantrum. He hung up abruptly. I had been naive enough to believe that even if the whole world turned against me, Derek never would. Turns out, I was dead wrong.Looking around this home that was once filled with our shared dreams, it suddenly felt foreign. This was never my home. That night, I tossed and turned amidst the wreckage. The year Derek inherited the Alpha title, I stood beside him, building everything from a dilapidated camp into what it was today. Now, we possessed vast territories, but the love we started with was gone forever. For ten whole years, I had molded my entire life around him, pouring everything I had into his happiness. Now, it was time to let go. Tears silently tracking down my face, I burned every remaining photograph. I dumped every single keepsake that carried our memories into the trash. The next morning, I went to the Vance Pack Healer to fetch an herbal draught for an abortion. In the clinic hallway, I ran straight into Derek and Lara. Unlike my past hysterical outbursts, this time I walked right past them, not caring in the least why they were at the clinic. Derek stepped in front of me with a scoff. "Thought we broke up? Why are you stalking me again?" "Flatter yourself much?" I didn't even bother looking at him. "Sienna, all you have to do is beg, and I'll come back." Watching his arrogant posture, I burst out laughing. How eerily familiar. Those were the exact same words he said five years ago when he cheated on me the first time. The day I found out he was cheating was my birthday—and the day of my first miscarriage. I had hidden the pregnancy report inside a gift box and spent the afternoon decorating the pack banquet hall to surprise him. When I pushed the doors open, I saw him with his arm around another woman, walking into the adjacent suite. I went completely insane. I grabbed that woman’s hair and slapped her across the face. Then I beat Derek’s chest, sobbing hysterically. "Why?! Why would you do this to me?!" He scowled and pushed me away hard. "Enough! You look like a raving lunatic. Aren't you embarrassed?" "Can you stop throwing tantrums?" "What successful Alpha doesn't have a few side pieces?" He demanded that I get on my knees and beg for his forgiveness. Looking at his cold, detached face, panic had consumed me. I was terrified of losing him, and even more terrified that our pup would grow up fatherless. In the end, I had humbled myself: "I'm pregnant..." "As long as you cut ties with her, I'll pretend this never happened." A dark, calculating glint flashed across his eyes before he put on a gentle facade. He helped me back to the suite, fussing over making me nutritious meals. Yet that very night, I suffered an unprovoked miscarriage. We both thought my body was just too weak and that the emotional shock had caused it. He had knelt on the floor, holding me tight, crying as he apologized. "I'm sorry, Sienna... It's all my fault..." "I broke it off with her." "I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will only love you for the rest of my life. This will never happen again." God, I had been an idiot. I actually believed him. Looking back now, that woman five years ago was Lara! They had never broken up! Inside the clinic, I stopped an apprentice and took the draught. As I turned to leave, Derek’s mocking voice trailed behind me. "Let's see how long you can keep up this tough-girl act!" I choked down every tear and swallowed the bitter draught in one breath. I wondered... if my pup had been born, would they have looked like me? Too late now. When I walked out of the clinic, all color had vanished from my face. Just outside the doors, my steps faltered. My wolf picked up an unshielded Mind Link between Derek and Lara. Lara’s voice sounded in my head: *If I get pregnant, will you slip drugs into my food to make me lose the pup, just like you did to Sienna back then?* Derek’s reply followed without hesitation: *She could never compare to you. She's old and boring. You're my real heart. If it weren't for her status as the Vance Pack Alpha heir, do you think I would have tolerated that old hag for this long? Once we hold the Mate Ceremony in a few days, I'll find a way to ruin her health completely. Then everything Vance Pack owns will belong to us.* I froze. My first miscarriage was never an accident. Derek didn't just want my support—he wanted to usurp control of the Vance Pack! I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, searing every single syllable into my soul.Not long after, a summons came from a Crescent Pack elder. "Ms. Vance, there is a discrepancy in the pack treasury logs. A large shipment of resources was unauthorizedly requisitioned under your name. Please come in for an investigation." I rushed over to the Crescent Pack territory. The ledger books were strewn across the table in total disarray. Lara leaned against Derek’s chest, sobbing to the elder. "I really didn't mean to... I just wanted to help distribute pack supplies. I panicked and used Sienna’s authorization..." Every ounce of rage inside me detonated. I charged forward with a clenched fist and slapped Lara across the face. "Ah!" Her head whipped sideways, a bright red handprint blooming on her cheek. Ignoring my pale face and trembling body, Derek immediately shielded her behind him. His face twisted in fury. He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the hall. "Sienna, are you insane?! This is Crescent Pack territory! How dare you strike Lara!" "She stole resources using my name, and you're asking why I hit her?" I stared straight into his eyes. His gaze flickered with guilt, but Lara’s renewed wailing reignited his temper. "It's just a few supplies! You're the heir of the mighty Vance Pack—do you really care about such trivial things?!" "Sienna, you're the older one here! Grow up! Be generous!" "She's just a young girl who made a mistake. Take the blame for her like an adult. After all, your name is on the requisition!" I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. "Derek, you bastard!" I couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth. He had once promised: *I will never let you suffer a single grievance.* *I will give you the best future and throw you the most magnificent Mate Ceremony.* The vows were rotten. The stray rogue who had once loved me with his life was long dead. He was stunned for a second, but his voice turned icy: "I'll hire the best advocate for you. You'll only be detained for a few days." "Lara isn't like you. She's timid. If she gets locked up, she won't survive the trauma." "In your dreams!" I screamed, my voice raw, and turned to walk away. "Restrain her!" "Don't let her leave!" Derek’s Crescent Pack warriors rushed forward, twisting my arms behind my back and slamming me onto the cold stone floor. *Slap! Slap!* Derek struck me twice across the face. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth. A cramping, tearing pain ripped through my lower abdomen, making me shiver violently. I bit into my lip, glaring at him with pure hatred. Derek calmly wiped the blood from his hand. "I warned you never to touch her." Before I could react, Derek forcibly grabbed my thumb and pressed it onto the confession document. "Once you're released, we'll hold our Mate Ceremony." I watched Derek walk away with his arm around Lara, tears and blood coating my cheeks. I squeezed my fists until my nails tore through the skin of my palms. Throwing my head back, I let out a bitter, wild laugh, coughing up a mouthful of blood. A week passed before Derek finally remembered me. Holding a bouquet of flowers and a mate ring, he stood at the entrance of the Crescent Pack territory. He waited from dawn until dusk, but I never appeared. A passing pack guard gave him an odd look. "You don't know? The Vance Pack Alpha heir was escorted away days ago by her future mate." Derek froze. His phone screen lit up. The notification that popped up made his pupils contract, terror flashing in his eyes for the very first time!