Too Late To Regret, My Alphas

Chapter 71: My Precious

Rosalie:

My breath caught the moment Zaiden reached for my hand.

For a split second, every coherent thought disappeared from my mind. The bond stirred immediately, warm and alive beneath my skin, while my wolf seemed far more interested in what was happening than I was willing to admit.

I sat there frozen on the front porch steps, water bottle forgotten in my lap, as the Rogue Alpha’s large hand gently closed around mine. His touch wasn’t possessive. It wasn’t demanding. If anything, it was surprisingly careful, almost as though he was handling something fragile. The realization only made my heart beat faster.

I looked down automatically.

At first, I only saw his hand around mine. Then I noticed something else. Something golden.

My breath stopped and every muscle in my body locked.

It couldn’t be...

My eyes widened as Zaiden slowly turned my hand over, exposing my wrist to the morning sunlight. The golden object resting between his fingers caught the golden rays, making it gleam.

I knew that bracelet. I knew every curve, every charm dangling from it, every detail, every tiny detail and imperfection.

My vision blurred instantly. Because resting in Zaiden’s hand was my mother’s bracelet. For several long seconds, I simply stared. The world around me vanished. The trees disappeared. The sunrise disappeared. The cool morning breeze disappeared. Even my exhaustion disappeared.

There was only the bracelet.

The bracelet I had gone back for. The bracelet I had risked everything for. The bracelet that had belonged to my mother. The bracelet I thought I might never see again.

My throat closed painfully.

"Zaiden..."

The whisper barely escaped my lips. And I wasn’t even sure he heard it.

My fingers trembled as I stared at the delicate gold bracelet. It looked exactly the same as I remembered. The small moon charm hanging from it swayed gently with the movement of his hand. I remembered my mother wearing it when I was little. I remembered sitting on her lap and playing with the charm while she laughed. I remembered how the gold would catch the sunlight whenever she brushed my hair. I remembered the day she gave it to me and told me to keep it safe.

And I remembered losing it.

The memory hit me like a physical blow - returning to the packhouse, searching my room, opening the closet, finding the jewelry box gone, the panic, the fear, the helplessness - everything came rushing back.

A tear slipped down my cheek. Then another. And another.

I didn’t even try to stop them. Because this wasn’t sadness. It wasn’t grief. But it was relief. Pure, overwhelming relief.

Slowly, my gaze lifted from the bracelet to Zaiden. He was already watching me. Those gray eyes that were usually impossible to read seemed softer now. Not by much. Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed. But I did. And somehow that made the tears fall even faster.

"You got it back."

The words came out broken, small and disbelieving.

Zaiden gave a single nod. Just one. As though retrieving something guarded by Charlotte and protected inside the territory of two powerful packs had been a minor inconvenience. As though it wasn’t a miracle. As though he hadn’t handed me back one of the most precious things in my life.

My lips parted. Then closed. Then opened again, but nothing came out. No words seemed enough. No thank you seemed sufficient.

How did someone thank a person for returning a piece of their family? For returning a memory? For returning something they thought was gone forever?

I couldn’t. There were no words. So I just stared... and cried.

Beside us, I heard movement.

Eiden had stopped watering the flowers. I hadn’t even noticed when. Now he stood a short distance away, watching the scene quietly without interrupting. Without speaking. Without taking away the moment.

For that alone, I wanted to hug him too.

Zaiden looked down at the bracelet again. Then, without asking, he gently lifted my wrist. The movement finally snapped me out of my shock. My eyes followed his hands. The bracelet dangled between his fingers. The familiar moon charm swayed softly. Then he carefully wrapped it around my wrist.

The metal felt cool against my skin, familiar and comforting. Like home.

His fingers worked with surprising patience as he secured the clasp. Neither of us spoke. Neither of us seemed willing to break the moment.

When he finally let go, I immediately looked down. The bracelet sat exactly where it belonged. Exactly where it had always belonged. On my wrist.

A sob escaped before I could stop it. My hand instantly moved to cover my mouth, embarrassment following immediately. But it was too late because the sound had already escaped.

I looked away. Only for another tear to slide down my face. Then another. And another.

Great. Now I was crying in front of both my mates. Again.

My dignity truly didn’t exist around these two.

To my surprise, Zaiden shifted closer. Not much, but just enough. His shoulder brushed mine. The tiny contact should have been insignificant. Instead, it grounded me and reminded me I wasn’t alone. That someone had actually listened when I said the bracelet mattered. That someone had cared enough to retrieve it.

My fingers closed around the bracelet. I traced the moon charm. Then the delicate chain. Then the tiny engraving hidden on the inside that no one else knew existed.

My mother had carved my initials there herself.

The sight shattered whatever remained of my composure. A fresh wave of tears filled my eyes and I laughed weakly through them.

"I’m sorry."

The apology came automatically.

Immediately, Eiden spoke from where he stood. "Don’t apologize." His voice was gentle and warm.

I looked at him, and found him smiling softly.

"For being happy."

My chest tightened. I looked back at the bracelet. Then at Zaiden.

"Thank you." The words felt inadequate. Painfully inadequate. But they were all I had. "Thank you so much."

Zaiden held my gaze. His expression remained calm. Controlled. Yet there was something hidden underneath, something warmer and gentler.

"You don’t need to thank me."

My heart squeezed. Because those were the exact same words Eiden always used. I shook my head immediately. "No." My voice trembled. "I do."

I looked back at the bracelet. Then smiled through my tears.

"I really do."

Silence settled over the porch once more. It was a comfortable one this time, warm and peaceful. For a while, nobody spoke. I simply sat there between the two men while the morning sun continued climbing higher into the sky.

The bracelet rested against my wrist. The bond hummed softly beneath my skin. And for the first time in what felt like a long time, I felt whole. Not because my problems were gone. Not because Charlotte had disappeared. Not because the future suddenly became easy. But because something precious had been returned to me.

As my fingers once again traced the moon charm, I found myself smiling. It was a real smile, one that reached my eyes. And judging by the way both Zaiden and Eiden looked at me, they noticed it too.

The smile remained on my face long after the conversation faded into silence.

I couldn’t seem to stop touching the bracelet. Every few seconds my fingers would drift toward it as if I needed to confirm it was actually there. The gold felt cool against my skin, solid and real.

My gaze drifted toward the horizon again, watching the morning sunlight spread across the forest. The exhaustion from the run was still there. My legs still felt like they might abandon me at any moment. Yet somehow everything felt lighter than it had an hour ago. Maybe because my wolf was awake. Maybe because my mother’s bracelet was finally back where it belonged. Or maybe because, for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t feel like I was fighting everything alone.

The thought made my eyes slide toward the two men beside me.

Eiden had returned to his plants, though I noticed he wasn’t actually doing much watering anymore. Every now and then his gaze would flick in my direction before returning to the garden. As for Zaiden, he remained seated beside me, his posture relaxed as he looked out over the property. Most people probably would have thought he wasn’t paying attention to anything around him. I knew better now.

A sudden thought entered my mind.

"How did you get it back?"

The question slipped out before I could stop it. Immediately, both men’s attention shifted toward me.

My fingers tightened around the bracelet as I added, "Charlotte wouldn’t have handed it over willingly."

A strange look passed between Eiden and Zaiden.

And suddenly, I had a feeling the story behind retrieving my bracelet was going to be far more complicated than I originally thought.