The Beta’s Regret

(Lord Shevek's Pov)

I stayed hidden in the crowd, as I watched Eden approach the tree stump where my beloved and Beauty sat on.

The minute Eden recognized her mother, her eyes widened in disbelief and they shared a small hug, with Eden's son comfortably held in Rose's arms. Eden looked very different from the last time I saw her.

From where I stood, I could see the fine lines on her face that showed she's been through an enormous measure of stress and pain in the past weeks. A baby cooed softly beside me. My eyes flicked to Adonis, who had another baby wrapped in his arms. A girl.

The desire to touch my own grandson and feel his smooth, tender skin beneath my palm with his mother right beside us engulfed me.

When Rose softly handed the baby wrapped in thick clothes to Eden, her face suddenly morphed into the glow of motherhood.

Torn by a feeling of longing to express my own joy in seeing her, I took a step forward and immediately stopped.

I couldn't.

Not when I was looking this way.

Unconsciously, I lifted one hand to my face and traced the line that ran from the left side of my forehead to the bottom of my right cheek.

An ugly scar. Something to constantly remind me of how I almost failed to save my mate.

Usually, vampires heal quickly. But Griffin attacking me with that dagger was strong enough to leave a deep scar.

I felt a deep sense of shame engulf me as I stepped back again. The last thing I wanted was for Eden to see me as a monster.

"Why did you stop?" Adonis asked, settling his gaze on me.

I shook my head.

"I'm not sure she wants to see me." I said.

one hand on my

respond. I watched Rose and Eden fawn over

don't stop yourself." Adonis encouraged. With a slight push, he nudged me towards them. "Come on, let's

my courage before I accepted

as we got to Eden, she was asking the

when she saw

by Eden's gasp of surprise,

eyes lit up in

excited to see me? What

okay," she said

sudden, the worries I had over my face faded. I opened my arms wide as my daughter rushed into

was a warm,

voice thick with the

imagined that with all of our misunderstandings, I would one day affirm

I laughed.

hand to my face. My instincts kicked in,

Eden said

to her. She ran a hand over the

to you?" she

my beloved, who stood beside Eden quietly. Rose burst into tears, suddenly overwhelmed by the events

my

shouldn't have let your mother out of

when I woke up in Alpha Griffin's basement suddenly flashed

kept us in a room. At first, I thought I was dead, but suddenly, I

how to say the next

was blurry at first; I

was the dagger that Luna