The Alpha King Regret

The Alpha King's private office was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of papers and the soft ticking of the clock.

Tristan sat comfortably on the long leather sofa, one leg crossed over the other. A pen rolled lazily between his fingers as he listened to the two men standing before him.

He wore a calm, almost playful expression, as though the conversation had nothing to do with him.

Perhaps, to him, it really didn't.

For five years, Tristan had ruled as Alpha King.

Unlike the kings before him, he had not inherited the throne through noble blood or family connections. He had taken it with his own hands, through strength, blood, and years of suffering.

He had once been a slave wolf, a creature considered lower than the lowest members of wolf society. Passed from one master to another, he had lived in filth, endured humiliation, and learned that the weak had no rights in a world ruled by the strong.

His life had been nothing but suffering until he was eventually thrown into an underground fighting arena.

That was where everything changed.

Among the countless slaves and warriors forced to fight for their survival, Tristan found people who had suffered just as much as he had. He gathered them around him, built his own faction, and slowly turned those who had once been powerless into a force capable of challenging the throne.

The old Alpha King had ruled for generations through an inherited bloodline. His ancestors had passed the crown from father to son, believing that only their family had the right to rule.

Tristan proved them wrong.

He overthrew the king and claimed the throne, establishing a new order in which strength, not noble ancestry, determined who deserved to rule.

Of course, not everyone accepted it.

For years, ambitious Alphas had challenged him, hoping to take the crown for themselves. Some wanted glory, others wanted power, and a few simply couldn't accept being ruled by a former slave.

But five years had passed.

And not a single one of them had managed to defeat him.

Now, Tristan possessed everything a man could desire.

Power. Wealth. Loyal subordinates. An entire kingdom that bowed before him.

Even women were never in short supply. Beautiful Omegas from influential families were constantly presented to him, each hoping to become the woman who would stand beside the Alpha King.

Yet there was one problem.

He couldn't stand them.

Their pheromones made him nauseous. Even the sweetest and most dominant Omega scents could turn his stomach and irritate his senses. He had no desire to touch them, let alone take one as his partner.

His rare and unusually powerful Alpha bloodline made the situation even more complicated. A Beta woman could not bear his children, while the nobles insisted that only a suitable Omega could give him a strong heir.

For years, Tristan had suppressed his instincts with medicine. Whenever his body showed signs of approaching heat, he buried himself in work, forcing himself to remain occupied until the symptoms subsided.

He would rather exhaust himself to death than spend his time surrounded by the scent of an Omega.

Naturally, his subordinates were worried.

But Tristan couldn't care less.

After all, he had never become Alpha King because he dreamed of ruling a kingdom.

He had wanted power because he was tired of being trampled beneath other people's feet. He wanted the people who had made his life miserable to pay for every humiliation, every wound, and every moment they had made him feel worthless.

And he had achieved that.

He had taken everything from those who once considered him nothing.

Yet, now that he finally had everything, he found himself strangely exhausted.

Perhaps that was why he had never bothered to look for her.

Or perhaps he simply didn't want to remember.

It would be a lie to say that he had never wondered whether she had heard about him.

That foolish woman.

The woman who had always looked at him with sparkling eyes, who smiled at him as though he were someone precious despite the fact that he was nothing but a slave.

The woman who had once told him she loved him, even though she already had a husband.

Andrea de Luca.

The beautiful Omega who had stolen his first time during his first rut.

The woman he hadn't seen in ten years.

Tristan's fingers stopped rolling the pen.

He quickly pushed the thought aside.

"Your Majesty?"

Adrian Wood's voice brought him back to the present.

Tristan raised his eyes lazily.

His loyal subordinate stood before him with his head slightly lowered. Like Tristan, Adrian had been born a slave. He understood better than anyone what it meant to survive in a world where people like them were considered worthless.

Beside him stood Dr. Nathan, the royal physician.

"So, you're bringing another Omega for me to meet?" Tristan asked casually.

Adrian hesitated.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I believe you should consider meeting one from time to time. Perhaps if you keep exposing yourself to their pheromones, you might eventually stop feeling disgusted by them. There are many beautiful women among the candidates."

Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you sleep with them on my behalf, then?"

His tone was calm, almost playful.

But Adrian knew better.

His master's expression might look relaxed, but that didn't mean he was pleased.

"I-I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty."

Tristan continued rolling the pen between his fingers.

Adrian cleared his throat before continuing.

"But we really don't have much choice. Those noble bastards have been spreading rumors about you again. They claim that you are incapable of producing an heir and that you should step down from the throne."

"Do they?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. They insist that the kingdom needs a successor. Some have even suggested that you take the daughter of the Blacette family as your queen. She's said to be a beautiful and dominant Omega from one of the most influential noble houses."

Tristan didn't immediately respond.

The Blacette family.

He had heard the name countless times over the past few months. Their daughter was supposedly an ideal candidate for the position of queen. Beautiful, powerful, and born into a prestigious bloodline.

Exactly the kind of woman the nobles wanted beside their king.

Unfortunately, Tristan had absolutely no interest in her.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking thoroughly bored.

It was true that he disliked Omegas.

No matter how beautiful they were or how powerful their pheromones might be, their scent only made him feel sick and irritated.

He didn't know why.

Perhaps it had something to do with her.

Perhaps, after experiencing the scent of one particular Omega, every other woman simply seemed unpleasant in comparison.

But that was a thought he preferred not to entertain.

"Why?" Tristan finally asked. "Are they saying I'm impotent?"

Adrian's expression stiffened.

"Your Majesty, that's..."

"They're not entirely wrong, are they?"

Tristan said it so casually that Adrian didn't know how to respond.

The Alpha King leaned back against the sofa, his expression completely unconcerned.

"Isn't that right, Nathan? You've examined me countless times. You keep telling me that my health is perfectly fine, yet the scent of a woman makes me nauseous."

Dr. Nathan swallowed.

"That is true, Your Majesty. However, as I have explained before, your bloodline is exceptionally rare and powerful. Your body may simply have a different response to Omega pheromones."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Which is why I have been suggesting that you should find a suitable partner. But there is another matter that concerns me."

Tristan glanced at him.

"What?"

The doctor hesitated.

"Your Majesty, despite your powerful Alpha bloodline, you have never experienced a proper rut, have you?"

The pen stopped moving between Tristan's fingers.

A rut.

For a moment, something unpleasant stirred in the back of his mind.

A memory he had spent years trying to bury.

Ten years ago.

A night filled with the sweet scent of an Omega, an unfamiliar heat spreading through his body, and a woman whose face had never truly left his memories.

Andrea.

Tristan's expression darkened almost imperceptibly.

Dr. Nathan noticed the change and immediately felt a cold sweat forming at the back of his neck. He had no intention of offending the Alpha King, but his curiosity and professional concern had finally gotten the better of him.

"Your Majesty..." he asked cautiously. "If I may ask, have you ever experienced a rut?"

Tristan remained silent for a moment.

Then, with an expression that gave nothing away, he answered.

"Once."

Both Adrian and Dr. Nathan looked at him in surprise.

"Once?" Nathan repeated.

Tristan leaned back, his gaze drifting toward the large windows overlooking the capital.

"Yes. I experienced it once."

And he had never forgotten that night.