Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna Left novel Chapter 128

(Audrey’s POV)

I fought with every ounce of strength I had left. My arms flailed wildly, connecting with the man’s face as he tried to pin me down. The drugs they’d given me made my movements sluggish, but desperation fueled me.

“Stay still, you little bitch!” he growled, his breath hot and rancid against my face.

My wolf snarled inside me, fighting against the silver-laced drug that suppressed her. I twisted my body away from him, but his weight was too much. My strength was failing fast.

Just as his hands reached for my clothes again, voices echoed from the hallway. People were approaching. Hope surged through me like electricity.

With one final burst of energy, I shoved him hard enough to create space between us. I scrambled toward the door, my legs wobbling beneath me.

“Help!” I screamed, yanking the door open. “Someone please help me!”

Four figures stood in the hallway, frozen in shock at my sudden appearance. My vision was blurry, but I’d recognize that scent anywhere.

Arthur Moonstone stood before me, his expression shifting from surprise to rage in an instant. Beside him were Emma Shadowcrest and her parents, all dressed formally as if for dinner.

“Audrey?” Arthur’s voice was sharp with disbelief.

I stumbled toward him, nearly collapsing. “He… he tried to…”

Emma’s cold laugh cut through my relief. “Well, well. What do we have here?”

She stepped forward, her perfectly made-up face twisted with malicious glee. “Look at this, Arthur. Your marked mate in a hotel room with another man.”

The man behind me had quickly composed himself. He adjusted his clothing with practiced ease, his initial shock giving way to calculated calm.

“This doesn’t look good for someone who just initiated a mate bond severance,” Emma continued, her voice dripping with false concern.

My heart sank as I realized how this must appear. Me, disheveled in a hotel room with a strange man.

“I didn’t-” I started, but Emma spoke over me.

“Perhaps this is why she’s so eager to end things with you, Arthur.”

The man behind me seized the opportunity Emma had presented. “She invited me here,” he said smoothly. “But we couldn’t agree on a price. Now she’s pretending innocence.”

My mouth fell open in shock. “That’s a lie! Victoria drugged me. She set this up!”

Emma exchanged glances with her mother, both of them wearing identical expressions of theatrical skepticism.

“Victoria again?” Emma sighed dramatically. “Always blaming others for your indiscretions.”

Before I could defend myself, Arthur moved. In three long strides, he was past me, his hand closing around the man’s throat.

“Daniel,” he said, his voice deadly calm despite the rage radiating from him. “Take this piece of garbage and find out who paid him.”

Daniel Hayes appeared seemingly from nowhere, nodding curtly as he pulled the man from Arthur’s grip. “With pleasure, Alpha.”

The man struggled, panic replacing his smug confidence. “Wait! I didn’t-”

“If he resists,” Arthur added coldly, “feel free to use whatever methods necessary.”

Daniel dragged the protesting man away, his cries fading down the hallway.

Arthur turned to me, his expression softening as he took in my trembling form. Without a word, he removed his coat and wrapped it gently around my shoulders.

“Arthur,” Mr. Shadowcrest began, his tone carefully calibrated for business. “Our dinner reservation-”

“Is canceled,” Arthur finished firmly.

He swept me into his arms with surprising gentleness, cradling me against his chest. The familiar scent of him-pine and musk-enveloped me, and something in me that had been wound tight finally began to unravel.

“But we have important matters to discuss,” Mrs. Shadowcrest protested. “The alliance between our packs-”

“My mate is my priority,” Arthur interrupted, his voice brooking no argument. “We’ll reschedule.”

Emma’s face flushed with anger. “She’s not even going to be your mate for much longer!”

Arthur ignored her completely, carrying me toward the elevator. I could feel the tension in his body, the carefully controlled rage that made his muscles rigid beneath me.

“This isn’t over, Arthur!” Mrs. Shadowcrest called after us. “Think about what’s best for your pack!”

Arthur didn’t look back, and neither did I. The burning stares of the Shadowcrest family followed us until the elevator doors closed.

Once we were alone, Arthur’s facade cracked slightly. His jaw clenched so tightly I could see a muscle twitching beneath his skin.

I nodded, moving toward the bathroom on unsteady feet. The hot water was a blessing, washing away the lingering scent of my attacker and the hotel room. But as the adrenaline faded, I found myself trembling uncontrollably.

When I emerged wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, Arthur was waiting in the living room. He’d made tea-chamomile, I noted with surprise. He remembered it was my favorite for calming.

“Better?” he asked, his eyes tracking my movements as if afraid I might collapse.

“A little,” I admitted, sinking into the couch. “But I’m still…”

I gestured vaguely at my wet hair and the way my hands continued to shake slightly.

Arthur hesitated only a moment before sitting beside me. “Let me,” he said, picking up the towel I’d left nearby.

Before I could respond, he was gently toweling my hair dry, his movements careful and considerate. It was so unexpected-so unlike anything he’d ever done for me before-that I found myself speechless.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured as he worked. “I should have protected you better.”

I stared at my hands in my lap. “You couldn’t have known.”

“I should have,” he insisted. “I knew Victoria was unstable. I knew how she felt about you.”

His fingers worked through my hair with surprising tenderness. This wasn’t the Arthur I knew-the cold, distant Alpha who barely acknowledged my presence for three years.

“I’ve failed you so many times,” he continued, his voice low. “I never understood-never let myself understand-that you truly loved me all those years.”

I remained silent, afraid to break whatever spell had prompted this unprecedented openness.

“All those anniversaries I overlooked, the birthdays I forgot…” he continued. “I was waiting for you to bring them up, to remind me. I never initiated because I didn’t think… I didn’t believe…”

His hands paused in their gentle ministrations. I looked up, meeting his gaze in the mirror across from us.

His eyes were filled with an emotion I’d never seen there before-a mixture of regret, affection, and something that looked almost like vulnerability.

“I wasn’t there when you needed me most,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “I took for granted that you would always be there, waiting for me to notice you.”

His gaze locked with mine through the mirror, and he trailed off mid-sentence, the intensity of his expression making my breath catch in my throat.