Alpha's Regret: Losing His True Mate-Chapter 106

When he saw Daisy, Levi laughed first, and fhe sound was warm. "I guess this must be the beautiful Daisy. Hello, little beauty, I’m your uncle Levi..."

His enthusiasm was genuine, but perhaps a bit much for someone Daisy’s age meeting a stranger. The yacht was already crowded with people. Daisy pressed closer to Harry’s side, her small hand finding his. She was indeed a little shy, her eyes wide as she took in the unfamiliar faces and the overwhelming sensory input of the party around her.

After Levi finished introducing himself, Sienna led Liora over. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

When Harry saw them approach, he hesitated for a moment.

Something cold settled in his stomach, a complicated knot of emotions he didn’t want to examine too closely. Because this wasn’t just any child. This was Liora. Elodie’s daughter. The little girl who, according to everything he’d observed and overheard, had been slowly pulled away from her own mother and into Sienna’s orbit. The child who now called her mother’s half-sister "Auntie" with more warmth than she probably showed Elodie anymore.

And now she was here, with Sienna’s hand resting on her shoulder like a claim of ownership.

Knowing that Daisy was shy, after Liora introduced herself with politeness, she took the initiative and extended her hand. "There are a lot of children over there. Would you like to come with me and play?"

It was a kind offer. Liora gestured toward a section of the yacht where several other children had gathered.

Daisy looked up at Harry, uncertainty written clearly across her small features. She wanted to say yes, he could see the curiosity in her eyes, the desire to play with someone her own age but she needed his permission first.

After he nodded, she mustered up the courage to follow Liora, her steps tentative at first but growing more confident as the two girls moved away.

Harry watched them go, his jaw tight. There was something deeply wrong about this picture, Liora, who should have been with her mother tonight, was instead here playing hostess-in-training alongside Sienna. Playing the role of Dante’s perfect daughter while Elodie existed somewhere else entirely, probably alone.

The thought made his hands curl into fists before he consciously relaxed them.

Once the two children walked away, Levi smiled and asked, his tone teasing, "How does it feel to be a ’dad’ for the first time?"

"Not bad."

Harry’s response was brief, but honest. His little niece was shy and reserved, yes, but she was well-behaved in a way that suggested someone had loved her carefully before circumstances had changed. Taking care of her wasn’t too much trouble for him. If anything, her presence had given his days a purpose they’d been lacking.

Dante handed him a glass of wine. "Have a drink?"

The offer was casual, but Harry couldn’t help the way his body tensed slightly. Being this close to Dante Wilson, the man who treated Elodie like she was invisible, who paraded her half-sister around like a prize while his actual wife existed somewhere in the margins of his life, required more self-control than Harry had anticipated needing tonight.

Harry looked at Dante, paused for a moment as he wrestled his expression back into neutrality, then took the glass. "Thank you."

The word tasted bitter in his mouth, but his voice gave nothing away.

The two clinked glasses. They drank while chatting. After a while, Dante suddenly looked at him more intently.

Harry raised his eyes, meeting Dante’s stare calmly. "What’s wrong?"

Levi chimed in before Dante could respond, his head tilted slightly as he studied Harry. "You seem... off today."

Dante’s smile was slight, barely a curve of his lips.

Harry remained calm, his voice even as he replied, "Is that so?"

He took another sip of wine, letting the liquid sit on his tongue for a moment before swallowing.

Levi raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying the deflection. "Really?"

Harry took a small sip of his drink and said nothing.

At that moment, someone came over to greet them.

It was one of Dante’s business associates from the European Packs, a man whose name Harry couldn’t quite remember but whose face was vaguely familiar. The conversation shifted.

Harry used the distraction to check his watch discreetly.

Once the person left, Harry glanced at the time again, realizing Daisy might be hungry. The sun had fully set now, and they’d been on the yacht for over an hour. Just as he was about to go check on her, when a movement caught his eye.

Daisy and Liora returned, weaving through the clusters of adults.

Daisy’s earlier shyness had faded somewhat with Liora’s influence, probably.

Daisy asked, her voice small but hopeful, "Uncle, can I go eat those little cakes over there?"

She pointed toward a dessert table filled with

pastries and confections that probably cost more than most people’s weekly groceries.

But Daisy had a sensitive constitution and could not eat many things.

Harry responded gently, "You stay here. Uncle will bring them to you."

That way he could select items he knew were safe, avoid the ones with ingredients that would cause problems later.

"Okay."

Daisy accepted this without argument, settling onto a nearby bench to wait.

Liora, on the other hand, was more independent and had a good appetite. She went to fetch whatever she wanted, moving through the crowd with confidence, selecting items from the buffet.

She even asked Dante, holding up a small plate, "Dad, do you want some?"

Dante rubbed her head. "No, thank you."

The two kids sat together eating, their small heads bent close as they talked. Sienna, who was eating something from a small appetizer plate, also shared with Liora, offering her a bite of something that looked well prepared.

Liora happily accepted "Thank you, Aunt Sienna."

Daisy looked up at Sienna with confusion, her small brow furrowing as she processed what she’d just heard. Then she asked Liora, "Liora, isn’t this aunt your mom?"

At that, the entire place fell silent.

The conversation around the, which had been a comfortable murmur of voices discussing Pack business and social gossip, stopped abruptly. Several heads turned toward the children.

Harry felt his entire body tense. His eyes cut immediately to Dante, whose expression had gone carefully blank in a way that was somehow more telling than any obvious reaction would have been.

Liora paused for a moment, a small bite of pastry halfway to her mouth. Then she shook her head. "No."

Daisy, bless her innocent heart, cautiously asked, "Don’t you have a mom either?"

Liora shook her head again. "No, I do have a mom."

"Oh..." Daisy seemed to accept this, nodding slowly as she processed the information.

But the adults around them were processing something entirely different.

Sienna’s expression remained pleasant, but something had tightened around her eyes and mouth.

Levi looked genuinely surprised, his usual easy demeanor faltering slightly as he glanced between Dante, Sienna, and Liora.

And Dante’s face was carefully blank, which somehow felt more dangerous than if he’d shown actual emotion.

On the yacht, they were handing out souvenirs.

Daisy was quite fond of one particular crystal keychain. It was beautiful, catching the light in a way that threw tiny rainbows across her palm when she held it up. She picked out two of them, cradling them carefully in her small hands like they were treasures.

There were only two of those keychains available.

Liora liked them too as they were objectively the prettiest items being offered. Seeing that Daisy had taken both, she couldn’t help but ask, "Daisy, could you give one to me? I want to give it to Aunt Sienna."

Daisy hesitated for a moment, her fingers tightening protectively around the crystals. She was unwilling to part with either one, and the conflict showed clearly on her face.

But then she said, her voice small, "I... I also want to give one to my Auntie... Today, Uncle and Auntie came with me to fly kites, fish, ride bicycles, and chase butterflies... Auntie is so pretty. She will definitely like this crystal..."

Her voice was filled with such pure affection, that it struck Harry somewhere deep in his chest. This was how a child should talk about a day spent with someone they cared about, breathless and happy and eager to share every detail.

Sienna, Levi, and Dante all turned to look at Harry.