The Beta’s Regret

"No, no, no!" I screamed and woke up with a start.

I sat up, my breaths heavy as my chest rose and fell, unsteadily. Tears slipped from my eyes as despair crept deeper into me. I grabbed my chest as if to ease the pain I felt, but it was of no use.

What kind of ease could I possibly feel when I just watched my mate get killed?

It couldn't have been real. Could it?

I immediately remembered the words Beauty said to me while in the other realm. She warned that while Eros was most dangerous in his evil Beast form, he was also most vulnerable, and could be killed easily.

I prayed desperately that it wasn't true as I swiped my hand over my face and cleaned the tears on it. A shiver rocked me as I became aware of my environment.

I looked down at my legs and noticed the duvet that covered me on the bed. Sweat trickled down my neck from the heat in the room, and from the fear growing in my heart.

What I just experienced looked too real. But Eros couldn't be dead. I would know, right?

The Arena, the Rogues. Pison, is all a bad dream. It had to be.

I winced as a slight pain stung my head, and I softly placed my palm on it. "Where am I?" I asked, my voice was croaky.

I looked around the room. It was empty.

Panic gripped me.

My baby.

holding my baby boy in her

away from me and hurried out of

closer I got to the door, the more I heard loud growls. There was

I ran out.

thing that greeted me was the bright sunlight. I

was waiting for the other to make a move. For a long moment, each one predicted the other's steps. With a loud cry, one of them struck.

then I noticed the state some of the

One of them' arms was

widened in

back at the place I came out from; it was a tent, but mine wasn't the only one

like a refugee camp, somewhere people who'd escaped

out among the crowd. I look back at them to see that they had noticed me. As soon as I faced them, everything

other's throats stopped, and the sound of clashing swords came to

moved a step forward, and

from the people,

ton

reminded myself and quickened my pace. Few distance from the crowd, I saw two women seated on a fallen tree stump Their

them held a child swaddled in thick clothes in her arms, while

me, wagging