The Beta’s Regret

(King Pison's Pov)

I closed my eyes in satisfaction as my muscles were loosened in a soft massage.

I had my concubines in the room, two of them, as they used all they had to give me the pleasure I sought.

This was what I had always wanted. The luxury.

Everything was falling into place the way I planned it. It was a perfect execution.

I had succeeded in taking back what was stolen from me, and all that was left to become the most powerful being in this realm was to capture those who escaped.

I should have realized soon enough that Eros wasn't my only problem. His mate, Eden, was as much a threat as Eros was.

As beautiful as she was, she never ceased to set me on edge with her actions.

I grinned. "It's only a matter of time before I have you too." I whispered softly.

I envisioned running my hands over Eden's fair skin, seeing her eyes roll back in pleasure.

I groaned.

I have to get her first so I wouldn't just have to imagine it. Besides, there was already a plan set in motion for that.

I heard a small commotion outside, and from the sounds that my ears picked up, I knew exactly what was happening.

The door opened with a force, and a woman entered, followed quickly by one of my guards, who wore an apologetic expression.

I sat up and signaled the concubines and the guard to leave.

With confused expressions, the women shrugged on their satin robes and walked out of the room.

I looked at the woman before me with a smirk.

Finally, she was here, Betsy.

Her hair stuck out in a wild way, and her eyes did a crazy dance at the room. I wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for.

I felt my skin crawl in disgust at the thought of being in the same space with her; at the same time, I felt excited knowing she had brought me the news I had been waiting for all this while. "You took too long." I said to Betsy.

She frowned. "It's quite a distance. Lord Shevek found a perfect hiding spot this time around.noveldrama

I raised a brow. "I see."

My gaze on Betsy was so intense that she quickly looked away.

I chuckled. I was well aware of the kind of effect I had on her. Something I no longer shared with her.

My thoughts immediately flashed to the days before I became the king.

At the time, I had no mate, no ambition. I was just a distant member of the royal family, with a desire to have a good home when I meet the mate the moon goddess had blessed me with.

After the death of the late king and his mate, their son Eros refused to take over the throne. He ran away from the title just like the coward he was.

My fists tightened. He should have stayed a coward all through his life, but his attempt to correct his actions caused bloodshed instead.

At first, when Eros had offered me the title, I declined. I wanted no part of it. But when Eros pleaded with me, I accepted, and then I came to love it, especially the financial privilege that came with the position. I believed Eros was a fool for declining something that good. Things had begun to look good, and I thought they were about to get better when I sniffed an intoxicating, flowery scent while I was having a quiet run one certain day.

Mate.

I followed the scent to a clearing in the woods, and what I saw next damaged my fantasies of a perfect family.

My mate was locked in a passionate embrace with another.

I saw red.

I couldn't recall the details of exactly what had happened, but one minute I was still recovering from the shock of what I saw, and the next, I had torn the man in question into shreds. All that was left of him was his head in my hand. I still remembered how Betsy gave me a horrified look. But I couldn't care less.

I took her along with me, but I treated her as a hostage. That was more than she deserved.

For years Betsy was locked up, a slave to my desires. I would use her to pacify my wolf and occasionally sleep with my harem of women to torture her.

Betsy has always been desperate for my forgiveness, but I couldn't forgive what I saw. It changed me, and despite the mate bond, my feelings for her waned. And then, Eros brought his mate, Eden.

The first time saw her, I wanted

her. I knew Exos didn't deserve

someone that good and perfect for royalty. She should have been mine, instead of Betsy... but I decided to take it slowly as I didn't have a plan on how to take her for myself. Eros was a powerful hybrid too.

Then after a few years, I was dethroned, and Eros declared he was ready to take over.

It felt like the end. I was lonely and depressed. That was how I met Lyra and Alice while they were running away from Eros, who was trying to kill them for what they did to Eden. Initially, I was enraged and wanted to kill them for ever hurting Eden but I decided to keep them instead and use them for my plans.

It turned out well.

Lyra and Alice were helpful, and in no time, we started a cult, and surprisingly, since Eros had a lot of enemies; people that didn't want the son of King Dimitrois on the throne. I admired Lyra for her wits and made her my second in command as the leader of the cult.

Things were going smoothly until

Eros went to get himself fortified.

The elders wanted his reign to last. long, and I knew I had to do something also. Eros was already a strong hybrid; if he got himself fortified, he would become more

powerful and even impossible to

defeat.

I had only one option: to get fortified. And the only other way was through another deity.

Hades.

It was a dangerous decision, but I was ready to risk it all for what I wanted.

It was a difficult quest getting access to Hades. I went to the forbidden high mountain of volcano... and met the god.

He was different from what I had imagined.

He had captivating looks that could

easily fool one into thinking he had good in him. One could say he was... beautiful. He looked very

different from the myth I had heard about him, as I imagined him to look

like a beast with horns and all.

He looked... good.

But Hades was everything evil.

I made my request for fortification known, and Hades promised to empower me with two conditions: one, I would give him my first seed, which would be a girl.

I agreed. I desired power much more than anything else.

Second, he demanded that I inflict extreme pain on the people.

Hades fed on pain and agony. He was a sick god. But I needed him.

I agreed to all of Hades terms and returned home.

Lyra had welcomed me with open arms, and we got caught in the moment. We made love, and Lyra got pregnant.

However, since the day of the war, Lyra had been missing. Before she left, she only told me that she had something to deal with, and that was the last time we saw her.

I closed the space between Betsy and me quickly. She was the answer to all my questions.

I grabbed her by the neck.

"Tell me, where is Lyra? Is Eden with her?" I growled.

Betsy choked and grabbed my arm. She shook her head quickly. I released my grasp a little.

"No." Lyra croaked out. "From what I heard the people say, Lyra died during childbirth. I overheard Eden say she would adopt the child as hers and name her Lily." "Lily..." I said softly.

My heart fluttered. This was all I needed to be complete. Eros was no longer in the picture, and now, Eden was with my child.

I would make her mine, and we would all be one family.

At last!