Too Late To Regret, My Alphas

Eiden:

Rosalie’s question lingered in the kitchen long after the words themselves had faded.

Neither of us answered immediately because the truth wasn’t something we could reduce to a simple yes or no. It wasn’t a decision we’d made after meeting Rosalie. It wasn’t something we’d forced ourselves to accept because the Moon Goddess had willed it.

It had started years ago. Long before Rosalie had ever entered our lives.

I let out a quiet breath before setting the knife down on the cutting board and turning to face her fully. "It’s because we have already been through something similar before."

Her brows drew together. "What do you mean?"

Zaiden loosened his embrace just enough for her to turn comfortably between us.

"We met during our academy days," I began with a fond smile. "We were supposed to become rivals."

Zaiden snorted as he added, "That lasted less than a day."

I chuckled.

"He challenged me during combat orientation because he thought I looked too calm."

"I still maintain you did."

"And you lost."

"I let you win."

"You absolutely did not."

Rosalie couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Seeing it encouraged me to continue.

"We became friends almost immediately after that. Best friends, actually. We trained together, studied together, got into trouble together..." I shot Zaiden a pointed look. "Mostly his fault."

"I refuse to accept those accusations."

"Because they are true."

Rosalie laughed softly, the sound bright enough to warm the entire kitchen.

"As we got older," I continued, "we realized something about ourselves. Neither of us was interested in competing with the other over someone we cared about. If we both happened to like the same woman, we’d rather walk away than let it ruin what we had."

Zaiden nodded. "And then one day we jokingly wondered if sharing the same partner would actually suit us better."

Rosalie blinked, clearly not expecting to hear what she just did. "You... what?"

"It sounds strange," I admitted with a sheepish smile, "but it made sense to us. We trusted each other more than anyone else. We never expected life to actually give us that chance."

Zaiden’s expression softened as he looked at her. "Then the Moon Goddess decided to surprise us."

I smiled before finishing his sentence. "She blessed us the same fated mate."

Silence settled around us.

Rosalie lowered her eyes, absorbing everything we’d just told her. "I thought..." she murmured quietly, "...I thought maybe one of you would eventually feel like you were settling."

Both Zaiden and I answered at the exact same time.

"Never."

She looked up.

I walked back toward her and gently tucked another loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Rosa," I said softly, "meeting you wasn’t a compromise. It was the greatest gift we have ever received."

Zaiden rested his chin lightly on the top of her head again as he spoke, "And before your imagination starts inventing ridiculous scenarios..."

She frowned. "My imagination doesn’t-"

"It absolutely does," I agreed with a grin.

She folded her arms, or at least tried to inside my oversized shirt. "I don’t know what you are talking about."

Zaiden laughed. "You have been wondering whether there were other women."

Her eyes widened just enough to answer for her before she quickly looked away. "I wasn’t."

But the blush creeping across her face gave her away far more effectively than either of us ever could.

I couldn’t help smiling. "There haven’t been."

She looked back at me. "What?"

"There haven’t been other women. Not since the day we found you," Zaiden added quietly.

I nodded.

"The first time we realized you were our mate... that was it. Neither of us has dated. We haven’t kissed anyone else. We haven’t looked for anyone else." Zaiden’s voice became gentler as he added, "And we never will."

I reached for her hand. "You are not sharing our hearts with anyone. They are already yours."

Her fingers tightened around mine. She bit her lower lip, pretending to think very hard about something. Finally she muttered, almost under her breath, "...Good."

Zaiden’s grin became positively wicked. I recognized that grin.

He’d noticed it too.

"...Good?" he repeated innocently.

She immediately stiffened. "I-I mean..."

"You sound relieved."

"I am not relieved."

"You sound jealous."

"I am absolutely not jealous."

I couldn’t stop laughing only for her to shoot me an accusing glare.

"Don’t encourage him!"

"I’m trying very hard not to." I tried to defend myself.

"You are failing miserably."

Zaiden leaned down until his lips brushed her temple in an affectionate kiss. "I like jealous Rosalie."

"I’m not jealous."

Another kiss.

"I really do."

"I’m not."

I stepped forward and kissed her lips. "I think it’s cute."

She groaned dramatically before hiding her burning face against Zaiden’s shoulder. "I cannot believe I’m mated to two bullies."

"We prefer ’charming gentlemen,’" Zaiden corrected.

"I don’t."

"I didn’t ask."

She swatted his arm, earning another laugh from both of us.

Eventually I forced myself back toward the stove before breakfast became lunch. While Zaiden kept Rosalie occupied with light conversation, and an embarrassing amount of teasing, I finished scrambling the eggs, toasted the bread, sliced fruit, and brewed fresh coffee.

Within fifteen minutes the three of us were seated around the kitchen island. Rosalie had stolen my favorite mug and I pretended to be offended. She claimed possession rights because she was wearing my shirt.

Zaiden somehow declared himself the judge of the argument and awarded victory to Rosalie before I was even allowed to defend myself.

Traitor.

The comfortable silence that settled over breakfast felt... domestic. Natural. Rosalie sat between us, occasionally stealing fruit from my plate whenever she thought I wasn’t looking.

I noticed every single time. I simply chose not to stop her.

Halfway through her meal, however, her smile faltered. She shifted in her seat before pressing a hand lightly against her side.

I immediately noticed. "So," I asked quietly, "how bad is it today?"

She sighed. "My body just won’t give me a break these days."

Zaiden’s teasing expression disappeared. "The ache again?"

She nodded. "It feels like it’s everywhere lately. Not enough to really hurt..." She frowned, trying to explain it. "Just enough to make me constantly aware of it. It’s been days now."

I exchanged a knowing look with Zaiden and he gave the smallest nod.

Rosalie caught the look immediately. "What?"

I reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand. "I don’t think you are getting sick."

Her brows knitted together. "Then what is it?"

A smile slowly spread across my face. "I think your wolf is getting close to her first shift."

Rosalie froze.

"The constant ache... your heightened emotions... the way your instincts have been changing..." I smiled reassuringly. "They are all signs."

Zaiden reached over and brushed his fingers comfortingly through her hair. "Your wolf has been waking up."

I nodded.

"And I have a feeling it won’t be much longer before she finally comes out."

Rosalie stared at us, her fork forgotten in her hand, as realization slowly dawned across her face.