Too Late To Regret, My Alphas

Rosalie:

By the time I reached my house, it was already well past ten.

The events of the day weighed heavily on both my body and mind, making every step toward the front door feel unusually exhausting. Between the chaos at the bookstore, my conversation with Kaiser, and the folder currently tucked safely beneath my arm, I felt as though I had lived through several days instead of one.

For a brief moment, I simply stood outside my own front door, taking a deep breath before unlocking it. Home. Normally, the thought alone was enough to ease the tension sitting on my shoulders. Tonight, however, I wasn’t sure anything could completely erase the uneasiness still lingering inside me.

The moment I stepped inside, I immediately realized I wasn’t alone.

Zaiden was pacing back and forth across my small living room, each long stride making the already cozy space seem even smaller. His brows were knitted tightly together, his hands repeatedly clenching into fists before relaxing again. A few feet away, Eiden leaned silently against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Unlike Zaiden, he appeared perfectly still, but I knew him well enough by now to recognize the storm hidden beneath that calm exterior.

The instant the door clicked shut behind me, both men looked up at the same time and their eyes landed on me. Then, almost simultaneously, they straightened and walked toward me.

Neither of them said a word at first. Instead, Eiden gently cupped my face between his hands while Zaiden’s sharp gaze swept over me from head to toe, checking for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" Zaiden asked first.

I smiled faintly. "I’m fine."

"Rosa." Eiden’s voice was soft but serious. "The truth."

I couldn’t help letting out a tiny laugh. "I am telling the truth." To reassure them, I slowly turned around once before spreading my arms slightly. "No bruises. No broken bones. No ceramic mugs flying at my face anymore."

Neither of them looked amused. Instead, Zaiden suddenly pulled me into a hug so unexpectedly that I almost stumbled against his chest. "You scared us." His voice was quieter than usual.

"I know." I whispered, wrapping my arms around him and gently rubbing his back before looking over his shoulder at Eiden as I asked, "You heard?"

"We heard enough," Eiden answered.

Apparently, news traveled even faster than I had expected.

"We already knew something happened at the bookstore," he continued. "Then you told us you were meeting Kaiser."

Zaiden finally loosened his embrace, though one of his hands stubbornly remained around my waist as though he wasn’t entirely convinced I wouldn’t disappear if he let go.

"Sit," Eiden said, guiding me toward the couch.

Only after all three of us had settled down did I begin explaining everything. I told them everything that had taken place throughout the day. From the women appearing to cause trouble to everything that I and Kaiser talked about during dinner. And finally, I placed the thick folder onto the coffee table.

"Kaiser gave me this."

Both men immediately looked down at it, but neither reached for it. They simply listened as I briefly explained what the documents contained. When I finally finished talking, silence settled over the room. And it lasted exactly three seconds.

"I’m going to kill them." Zaiden stood up so abruptly the coffee table rattled. "I should have dealt with her that very night." He began pacing again. "I knew she’d never stop. I should have-"

"Zaiden."

I didn’t raise my voice. I simply looked at him, and that was all it took. The rest of his sentence disappeared into thin air. He sighed dramatically before dropping back onto the couch beside me.

"...Fine."

Eiden couldn’t quite hide the tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips. I too shook my head, unable to stop myself from smiling despite everything that had happened today.

Leave it to these two to somehow make me laugh after one of the most emotionally draining days I’d had in months.

Eiden eventually grew serious again as he asked, "What are you planning to do?"

I looked toward the folder resting on the table and slowly exhaled. "If what Kaiser said is true...then I want to help him with the investigation and expose Charlotte."

Zaiden’s expression immediately darkened. "With Kaiser?"

I nodded honestly. "He has a good motive to expose her. It will be stupid of me to not take his help since he’s already ahead in his investigation and so close to Charlotte on daily basis."

Neither of them looked particularly happy with that answer. If anything, both of them looked like they had just bitten into something sour.

I couldn’t help smiling knowingly. "You don’t like that."

"No." Zaiden answered instantly. "Not even a little."

Eiden was only slightly more diplomatic. "I trust your judgment."

"But?" I asked, knowing there was one.

"But I don’t trust him."

That was... fair.

"I don’t either," I admitted. Their expressions softened slightly. "I’m not doing this because I have forgiven him." The words came easily. "I haven’t. And I don’t know if I ever will." I looked down briefly before continuing, "But if we both want the same thing, then I don’t mind accepting information."

Zaiden leaned forward. "If he hurts you again-"

"He won’t."

"You sound awfully confident."

"I didn’t say I trusted him." I smiled faintly. "I said I won’t give him another opportunity to."

That answer seemed to satisfy them... at least a little. The tension in the room gradually eased.

Without saying anything, Eiden shifted closer before gently wrapping one arm around my shoulders. A second later, Zaiden seemed to decide that one side of me wasn’t enough and promptly settled against my other side.

I laughed. "What are you two doing?"

"Guard duty," Zaiden answered with complete seriousness.

Eiden nodded solemnly. "Twenty-four-hour protection."

"From what?"

"Former Alphas. Manipulative she-wolves. Ceramic mugs."

I burst into laughter, shaking my head. "You two are impossible."

"Probably." Zaiden rested his forehead lightly against my temple. "But you are smiling again."

I hadn’t even realized it. Warmth spread quietly through my chest as I looked from one man to the other. No matter how difficult today had been, and no matter how many old wounds had been reopened... I wasn’t facing them alone anymore.

I leaned forward first, pressing a gentle kiss to Eiden’s cheek before turning and placing another on Zaiden’s.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Neither of them answered with words. Zaiden simply kissed the top of my head, while Eiden brushed a lingering kiss against my forehead.

Then, without another thought about the outside world, I allowed myself to melt into the safety of their embrace, knowing that whatever tomorrow brought... I no longer had to face it on my own.

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