Alpha’s Regret: My Rejected Mate Is A Healer novel Chapter 27

Valen

Valen sat alone in his grand office, his gaze drifting from the endless pile of documents before him to the faintly glowing horizon visible through the arched windows. Outside, Devil’s City shimmered with a haunting beauty, cloaked in perpetual twilight-a beauty that only deepened the ache in his cold heart, reminding him of what he once had and lost.

Tonight, he felt the weight of the past pressing against him with unrelenting force, clawing at the walls he had so carefully built. Lydia. Her name echoed like a heartbeat, filling the empty spaces of his mind, and slowly, inevitably, Valen let himself fall into the memories.

He was young then, far less burdened by power and revenge. He remembered the night he met her as if it had just happened, her image so vivid that he could almost reach out and touch her. Lydia had entered his world as a quiet figure among a gathering of vampire clans, her presence calm yet commanding, with a subtle allure that had drawn him across a crowded room without him even realizing it.

As he approached, Lydia turned, her eyes locking with his, a gentle smile curving her lips. Her voice, soft yet firm, still echoed in his mind. “I know who you are, Valen,” she had said. “And you look like a man who knows how to dance around fire without getting burned.”

The words caught him off guard. He had heard admiration, fear, even hatred from others–but never intrigue. A smirk had found its way to his lips as he extended a hand, saying, “Perhaps I’ve finally found a fire worth risking.”

Their journey began that night. Lydia became his light, her laughter like a spark in the darkness of his life. She was a mystery even to him, each conversation drawing him deeper into her world, unraveling layers he hadn’t known existed within himself. She’d challenge him, tease him, even argue with him fiercely-but in her presence, he found a warmth he’d thought was lost to his kind.

Their bond deepened until the day he marked her as his mate, sealing their fates together. He remembered the words they’d whispered to each other beneath the sky painted in the deep shades of twilight, their hands entwined, feeling as though even the stars bore witness to their love.

“Lydia,” he had murmured, his voice raw with emotion, “you are my sanctuary in a world of shadows. My strength when I falter. I don’t know what I’d become without you.”

She had smiled then, her gaze soft but resolute. “Valen, you are my heart. Promise me…promise me that if anything happens, you’ll hold on to this feeling. To us.”

The words lingered in his mind, an oath he would carry forever. They had shared their lives, their dreams, even their fears. Together, they were unstoppable.

Then, everything changed. His hand clenched on the desk as he recalled that dreadful night-the smell of blood and fire, the anguished cries that shattered the peace of their home. A war had broken out between their kind and Lydia, his gentle yet fierce mate, had stood by his side, refusing to leave him even in the face of danger.

They fought side by side, but fate was merciless. Lydia had died in the cold, ruthless hands of war-a war that ignited within the vampire clans, sparking bloodshed that spread across both vampires and wolves. When she was struck down, Valen had felt the life draining from her as if it were his own. Desperation gripped him, and though he knew the werewolves were rivals, he was willing to do anything to save her, even if it meant casting aside his pride and dignity.

“Promise me you’ll hold on to us.”

But holding on had left him scarred and bitter, his heart a fortress against the world. If a healer wolf had indeed resurfaced, he would not let them exist, not when they had abandoned him in his darkest hour.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself back to the present. The pain had carved him into who he was-a vampire king with a heart as cold as the shadows around him. Lydia’s memory was his driving force, and he would not rest until every last healer wolf had met the same fate she had suffered.

Straightening, Valen’s gaze hardened as he prepared himself for the report from Maxwell’s investigation.