Alpha's Regret: Losing His True Mate-Chapter 199

The next day, in the afternoon, Harry showed up at Cole with his core technical team to go over some work details.

Over the past few days, Harry had been incredibly cooperative. It made Elodie’s job easier, saved her a lot of headaches. As a result, she’d warmed up to him a bit, become more polite, more willing to engage.

The second he arrived, she set aside what she’d been working on to meet with him.

They’d been talking for over an hour when Harry’s phone rang with Dante’s number.

Harry apologized quickly, stepped out of the room, and took the call.

Whatever was said on the other end wasn’t entirely clear, but after a brief silence, Harry just said, "Okay."

He was about to hang up when Dante added, "My father’s back. We’re having dinner at the house tonight. I’ll need you to come by."

Harry paused. "Your father’s back?" Then, "How long is he staying?"

"Two or three days."

After hanging up, Harry walked back into the meeting room. His eyes found Elodie, who was still deep in conversation with his technical team, completely unaware he was watching her.

When the meeting finally wrapped up and Elodie stood to walk them out, Harry spoke up.

"Are you working late tonight?"

Elodie answered without really thinking about it. "Yeah. I’ve still got a few things to finish up."

Harry’s expression shifted. Something darkened in his eyes.

So she wouldn’t be going back to the Wilson house tonight.

His pulse kicked up slightly. He asked, "Do you have time later? Want to grab dinner?"

Elodie shook her head. "I can’t. I’ve got too much to do. I won’t be able to get away."

Harry almost offered to have food sent over to her. But she wasn’t officially divorced yet. And given where things stood between them, making a gesture like that felt... inappropriate.

After walking Harry and his team downstairs, Elodie headed right back up to her office.

Harry stood there for a long moment, watching the spot where she’d disappeared, before finally turning to Leo, one of the lead engineers on his team.

"I need a favor," Harry said.

Leo looked over. "What’s up?"

"I have a friend who wants to go deeper into natural language processing. Right now, they need a top-level mentor..."

Leo caught on immediately. He didn’t hesitate but then he paused, thinking it over.

"I’m pretty skilled in that area," he said carefully. "But to be honest? I don’t think I’m as good as Mr. Gray from Cole. Or Miss Miller, for that matter... she’s been handling most of our technical discussions. If you really want to help your friend, Mr. Becker, I think getting advice from Miss Miller or Mr. Gray would be way more effective."

Harry blinked, caught completely off guard.

He’d studied finance in college. AI wasn’t his world. But Leo? Leo was an expert in natural language processing. Well-known across the States. Maybe not the absolute best, but damn close.

Harry hadn’t expected him to praise Elodie so highly.

Then again, Johnny had been doing the same thing, singing her praises to anyone who would listen.

Harry knew Elodie was capable. But he’d always figured Johnny’s constant praise was just... bias. Exaggeration fueled by personal interest.

But now it seemed like maybe it wasn’t.

"Mr. Becker?"

Leo’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Harry blinked. "Right. Sorry. The thing is, Mr. Gray and Miss Miller have some personal history with my friend. It wouldn’t be appropriate."

"Ah. Got it." Leo nodded, understanding, and didn’t push further.

---

Later that evening, when Harry and Leo arrived at the private dining room, Sienna was already there.

The second she saw Leo, her whole demeanor shifted into being more engaged, and respectful. After a quick round of pleasantries, she dove straight into asking him technical questions.

Harry sat back and listened quietly. Barely said a word. His mind was somewhere else.

After a while, Sienna glanced over at him and smiled. "Bored?"

Harry straightened up. "No. I’m fine. You two keep going."

Sienna didn’t hesitate. She turned right back to Leo and kept asking questions.

She was genuinely hungry to learn. She was focused, humble, eager. It made Leo more than willing to help. After getting a sense of where she was at skill-wise, he started mapping out a learning path for her, filling her in on the latest developments in the field.

Dinner came and went. The conversation stayed lively. But it was clear they were only scratching the surface tonight.

Sienna wanted to go deeper, and Leo agreed to meet her again tomorrow, said he could spare half a day to continue the discussion.

Sienna thanked him, clearly grateful.

After they saw Leo off, Sienna turned to Harry, who’d been quiet most of the night.

"Harry, thank you. For tonight."

Harry kept his tone neutral. "I grew up with Dante. This is nothing."

Then, before she could say anything else, he added, "It’s late. You should get some rest."

Sienna nodded. "Alright. See you tomorrow."

Harry, catching that, shook his head slightly. "I’ve got something tomorrow. I won’t be around."

Sienna paused, just for a second. Then her expression softened. "That’s fine. If you’ve got things to handle, focus on those."

Harry gave a small nod.

After Sienna got in her car and drove off, Harry climbed into his own. But he didn’t start the engine right away. Instead, he sat there, phone in hand, staring at the screen.

After a moment’s hesitation, he dialed Elodie’s number.

---

Elodie was still at the office.

Seeing his name pop up, she answered without thinking too much about it. "Mr. Becker?"

Harry was about to speak when he heard sounds in the background, papers rustling, a chair scraping. He paused.

"You’re still at work? This late?"

"Yeah."

Since Harry was calling at this hour, Elodie figured it probably wasn’t about business. She added, "I’ve got time tomorrow, though. Did you need something?"

Harry went quiet.

Elodie frowned, pulling the phone slightly away from her ear to check if the call was still connected. It was.

"Mr. Becker?" she tried again, her voice a little softer this time.

She knew she’d been running herself into the ground this week. It was already past nine in the evening, and here she was, still at her desk with files scattered everywhere and her third cup of coffee long gone cold. Exhausted didn’t even begin to cover it.

And she knew without having to think too hard about it, that tomorrow would be just as empty. Liora was going back to the Bellini estate. Back to Dante. Back to Sienna, most likely. Elodie wouldn’t get to see her daughter at all. Wouldn’t hear her laugh or help her pick out clothes or even sit across from her at breakfast.

So now here was Harry, asking her to give up what little free time she had left. For his niece. For someone else’s child.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help. She just... she was tired. In more ways than one.

"If you’re tired," Harry finally said, and there was something careful in his tone now, almost hesitant, "you should rest this week. We can arrange something another time."

Elodie paused. She could’ve said yes. Could’ve told him she needed the break, that she didn’t have anything left to give right now.

But she didn’t.

"It’s alright," she said instead, keeping her voice steady even though her chest felt tight. "We can meet tomorrow."

There was a beat of silence. Then Harry’s voice came back, quieter.

"Alright."

The call ended shortly after.

Elodie set the phone down on her desk and stared at it for a long moment. Then she let out a slow breath, rubbed her temples, and went back to work.

---

Meanwhile, the Bellini family had just finished dinner at one of the nicer restaurants in the Pack territory.

The cool night air hit them as they stepped outside, and Dante led the way toward the cars like he always did, ever calm, composed, completely unbothered by the world around him. The rest followed, talking amongst themselves.

They didn’t make it far before they ran into the Harden family coming out of the same restaurant.

Reed Hardin’s face lit up immediately when he spotted Felix. The two older men greeted each other warmly, shaking hands and clapping shoulders like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in too long.

Rex Hardin stepped forward next, his sharp eyes landing on Dante.

"Mr. Wilson," he said with a polite nod.

Dante returned it, his expression unreadable. "Mr. Hardin."

Then a small, bright voice cut through the formalities.

"Uncle Hardin!"

Liora, still holding tightly to Dante’s hand, looked up at Rex with wide, sparkling eyes and the kind of smile that could melt anyone.

Rex’s expression softened instantly. He crouched down just a little. "Well, hello there."

But even as he smiled at the little girl, his gaze drifted. He took in the people standing around Dante, Reed, Felix, Amber, Lauren. And Sienna, positioned just a bit too close to Dante’s side, like she had every right to be there.

Rex knew all of them.

Except there was one person missing.

The mother of Dante’s child.

His brows drew together slightly, though he kept his expression neutral. He’d heard the whispers, of course. Everyone in the Pack had. Dante and his wife were barely a couple anymore. Some said the divorce was already in motion. Others said it was just a matter of time.

But seeing it like this, seeing the empty space where she should’ve been, where a wife and mother should be standing, it made the rumors feel real.

The polite conversation didn’t last long. A few more pleasantries were exchanged, and then the two families went their separate ways.

The Wilson family headed to the hospital to visit Nonna.

---

Nonna was sitting up in her hospital bed when they arrived, looking far too lively for someone who’d just had surgery. She was already bossing the nurses around and complaining about the food. Felix volunteered to stay the night with her, insisting the rest of them go home and get some sleep.

So they did.

When they got back to the old Bellini estate, the house felt strangely quiet. Too big. Too still.

The second they stepped inside, Yancy turned to his older brother with an eager grin plastered across his face.

"Brother, don’t tell me you forgot about the autograph from my goddess..."

Dante didn’t even look at him. He just pulled the car keys from his pocket and tossed them in Yancy’s direction without breaking stride.

"It’s in the car. Go get it yourself."

Yancy caught them mid-air, his grin widening. "Yes! Thanks, Brother!"

He was already turning toward the door when Amber’s voice rang out from across the room.

"What’s he so excited about?"

Yancy froze like a deer in headlights.

Dante, ever unbothered, glanced at his sister with a blank expression. "Nothing important."

Amber raised an eyebrow but didn’t push further.

Yancy didn’t wait around to see if she’d change her mind. He bolted outside before anyone could ask more questions.

A few minutes later, he came back inside but his excitement had completely deflated.

In his hands were a few plain notebooks, each one signed with a neat "CC" on the cover. Autographs, sure. But definitely not what he’d been hoping for.

He held one up, staring at it like it had personally betrayed him.

"Brother," he said, and now his voice was filled with genuine disappointment, "what I wanted was one of those signed photos. You know, the kind you can frame and hang on your wall so you can look at it whenever you want."

Dante, who had already settled into the armchair and was scrolling through something on his phone, didn’t even glance up.

His voice was cold.

"That’s not something you should have."

Yancy opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. He knew that tone. That was the end of the discussion.

With a heavy sigh, he dropped onto the couch, clutching his stack of boring notebooks.