Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0149
Hannah
I watched with disgust as Noah stepped up to the platform and slapped his money down on the counter of the game stand.
“How much to win that stuffed dolphin up there?” he asked, pointing up at the toy.
The bored-looking teenager running the stand simply shrugged, not even following Noah’s finger. “That’s our top prize. You have to hit all of the ducks to win it.”
“Don’t do it, Noah,” Drake said with a chuckle. “All these games are rigged-you’re just going to waste
your money.”
A muscle ticked in Noah’s cheek, but he merely shrugged off Drake’s words as he picked up staring down the barrel at the row of cardboard ducks bobbing back and forth.
“I’ll be fine,” he muttered, squeezing the trigger.
the toy rifle,
The bright orange foam disc sailed through the air, missing its mark by a wide margin. I stifled a snort and exchanged an amused glance with Drake, who looked like he was about to burst with laughter.
But, undeterred, Noah tried again… and again, and again-but each shot veered entirely off-course, bouncing harmlessly off of the booth’s wooden frame. One even flew into the nearby crowd, causing some high school girls with ice cream cones to giggle maliciously.
“Maybe you should try an easier game,” the teenager said with a smirk, pointing at the nearby fishing game for kids. Noah’s ears reddened, but he threw more money down on the counter and lifted the rifle again anyway.
Zoe huffed out a small breath, clearly bristling at the display. “Wait. Let me try,” she finally said, reaching. for the gun.
But Drake was quicker, snatching it out of Noah’s grasp before Zoe could get her hands on it.
“Allow me,” he said.

I couldn’t help but smirk as Drake took his stance, his brow furrowed in concentration. Typical Alpha male posturing-the game was rigged. Likely the toy gun was bent in some way so that it would never fire where you aimed it.
To my surprise, the first few shots Drake fired were solid hits, knocking the ducks cleanly off their perches one by one. But then, just when it seemed he was about to clear the row, his next shot went wild and skimmed past the targets entirely.
Drake blinked in surprise, then tried again-but the disc went careening off to the side once more, despite his steady hand and keen eye.
“What the hell?” he muttered, his jaw ticking in frustration.
Beside him, Noah let out a derisive snort. “Weren’t you the one who said it was rigged?”
The smug satisfaction in his voice was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears, and I felt a flare of irritation deep in my gut. Before I could stop myself, I was s**ing the rifle out of Drake’s grasp, pushing past the
+25 BONUS
two of them to take my place at the booth.
“Let me give it a try,” I said through gritted teeth.
Drake opened his mouth to protest, but I waved him off, shifting my stance and bringing the rifle up to my shoulder. I could feel the weight of everyone’s gazes burning into the side of my face, no doubt waiting for me to fail just as spectacularly as Noah and Drake had.
Well, I’d show them
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I stared down the barrel, my finger tightening on the trigger. Noticing a slight curve in the toy gun, I moved the end slightly to the left to account for it.
Then, I felt something warm touch my lower back-a hand, steadying me gently.
I squeezed the trigger and fired a round of shots.
To my surprise, every single disc found its mark, knocking the ducks down in rapid succession until the row was cleared entirely. A giddy thrill worked its way through me then, and I couldn’t stop the wide grin from spreading across my face as I turned around, expecting to see Drake’s proud smile.
But it wasn’t Drake who was standing behind me-it was Noah, his expression unreadable as he lowered his hands from where they had been pressed against my lower back.
my ears.
I froze, the rifle slipping from my suddenly-numb fingers as I stared at him, my heart pounding in my
Before I could react further, the bored-looking attendant cleared his throat, gesturing towards the prize shelf.
“You did it,” he said flatly. “Pick whatever you want.”
My gaze swept over the array of stuffed animals, ignoring the dolphin and landing on a plush bunny that was almost as big as I was. It was soft and fluffy, with floppy ears and a sweet stitched smile-the kind of toy I would have loved as a little girl.
But just as I opened my mouth to claim it as my prize, my eyes flickered to Zoe, who was watching the exchange with thinly-veiled frustration etched onto her features. In that moment, a wicked idea took root, and I felt a slow, vindictive smile curve my lips.
Turning back to the attendant, I pointed towards the gaudy dolphin that Zoe had been coveting. “I’ll take that one.”
The young man shrugged, handing over the toy without a word. Cradling it against my chest, I turned toward Zoe.
Her eyes lit up instantly, her fingers already moving to take the toy. Like hell I was about to give it to her; ignoring her, I scanned the crowd until I spotted a little girl, no more than five or six years old, standing at few feet away and staring at the toy with wide, longing eyes.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, I strode over to her, crouching down to her level as I held out the dolphin.
“Here you go, sweetie,” I said, offering her a genuine smile. “This is for you.
The little girl’s jaw dropped, her eyes going as round as saucers as she tentatively reached out to take the