Too Late To Regret, My Alphas

Rosalie:

A terrified scream ripped out of my throat as I stumbled backward, my feet tangling beneath me before I crashed against the icy pavement. Then I felt something landing only a few feet away.

For one wild second, I was certain someone had attacked me. Then the creature let out an indignant meow.

I blinked.

A black cat.

The fluffy animal stared at me with equally startled golden eyes before flicking its tail and disappearing over the nearby garden wall as though nothing had happened.

I let out a shaky laugh that sounded far closer to a sob. "...Seriously?" My entire body continued trembling as I looked down at the pavement.

My phone... it had flown several feet away during my panic. Ignoring the protests from every aching muscle, I hurried over and picked it up. The screen was cracked from corner to corner.

"No..."

I pressed the power button once... nothing. Again... still nothing. The screen remained completely black. My chest tightened. I pressed the button repeatedly as though sheer determination might somehow bring it back to life. But it didn’t. The phone was dead. Which meant I couldn’t call Eiden or Zaiden.

I couldn’t call anyone at all.

The realization settled over me with terrifying speed. I was alone. Completely alone.

The cold wind whistled through the empty street, carrying with it the scent of snow and damp earth. Yet beneath it, that feeling remained. Someone was watching me.

I turned another slow circle. The sidewalks were still empty, the storefronts were dark, and unlike other night... the rows of houses were silent tonight. There was nothing there except the instinct screaming inside my chest.

Leave.

I swallowed hard and forced my legs to move. There wasn’t a single taxi anywhere in sight. Since it had already darkened, the entire pack had retired to wait for the full moon.

I considered walking all the way to Eiden’s house. But the thought disappeared almost immediately. Even on a good day, it would have taken far too long. And tonight, with my body feeling like it was tearing itself apart, I wouldn’t even make it halfway.

Every few steps another wave of pain swept through me. My bones ached. My skin burned. My muscles cramped without warning. My breathing had become uneven, and every heartbeat seemed louder than the last. I couldn’t outrun anyone like this.

Grandma Maggie.

The thought suddenly appeared in my mind. Her house was much closer. If I could just make it there. I immediately turned around. And the moment I did... I froze.

Three figures stood in the middle of the road, far enough that darkness concealed their faces and close enough that they had definitely been watching me.

None of them moved.

Neither did I.

For several agonizing seconds, we simply stared at one another. Waiting. I tried to focus. Lately my eyesight had become incredibly sharp and normally I would have seen their faces immediately despite the distance and the darkness, but my head was burning with fever. Everything felt strangely foggy and the faces remained hidden within the shadows.

Then one of them shifted and moonlight reflected briefly against metal.

A knife.

That single glint was enough.

Run.

My wolf didn’t whisper this time. She roared.

I turned and ran. Pain exploded through my entire body. My legs screamed in protest. My lungs burned. Every stride felt as though invisible hands were pulling at my muscles, trying to drag me back.

Behind me, the footsteps became fast and louder. They had threw away the pretense finally and were now following me openly.

I nearly slipped while rounding the first corner, catching myself against a brick wall before forcing my aching body onward. My vision blurred. Sweat rolled down my forehead despite the freezing air. I couldn’t hear anything except my own ragged breathing and the pounding footsteps closing the distance between us.

Faster. Please... just a little farther...

I turned another corner and stopped.

"No..."

A high wall stood in front of me. Old brick stretched from one side of the alley to the other. It was a dead end. And worse, there were only stores on this street, no houses at all.

I spun around just as the three men entered the narrow alley - slowly and calmly. Like hunters who already knew their prey had nowhere left to go. One twirled the knife lazily in his hand. Another pulled a metal rod from beneath his jacket. And the third simply smiled.

"Seems like it’s the end of the little chase game you put on, pretty one."

I backed toward the wall. "What do you want?"

No answer. They just kept walking.

"I asked you a question."

The man with the knife shrugged. "Doesn’t matter." His smile widened. "You are not leaving here anyway."

Cold settled in my stomach. They weren’t here to rob me. They weren’t here to threaten me. They were here... to kill me.

Months ago, I would have frozen. I might have even accepted it. But not anymore. Eiden hadn’t spent months training me for nothing, and Zaiden hadn’t forced me through endless combat drills just so I’d give up now.

The first attacker lunged.

I moved on instinct.

His knife slashed through empty air as I twisted sideways, driving my elbow into his ribs exactly the way Zaiden had drilled into me hundreds of times. He grunted.

The second man attacked before I could recover. The metal rod caught my shoulder and sharp pain exploded down my arm. I stumbled but stayed upright.

Fight.

Keep fighting.

I kicked the second attacker hard enough to force him backward before ducking beneath another swing from the knife.

The third man grabbed my wrist. I reacted automatically, twisting exactly as Eiden had taught me. His grip broke just as my knee drove upward into his stomach. He doubled over with a curse.

For one brief moment, I actually smiled. I was doing it. Even like this, even terrified and a body that felt like it’s about to fall apart with my next move... I was still standing.

The pride lasted exactly three seconds. A fist slammed into my jaw from the side and stars burst across my vision. I crashed into the brick wall, scraping both palms against the rough surface.

Before I could recover, the knife sliced across my upper arm, making white-hot pain follow immediately by warmth.

Blood.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!