**3rd Person POV**
Regina had managed to remain in the Shadowclaw pack for two whole days without being seen by Dagen. She had seen Edvin briefly and the two of them had been civil to each other. There had also been no mention of Dagen during their brief conversation.
By her third day in the pack, Regina was beginning to wonder if Dagen had moved on.
*_I thought you did not care about him._* Raven teased her. She hated that her wolf had never given up on Dagen. Sometimes, she fought with her wolf about it. How could Raven still think fondly of Dagen after all he had put her through? To top it all, he had not been willing to give Nydia the punishment she had deserved: execution.
She had never gotten full closure on Nydia. She knew that she would rest better at night knowing that the woman was dead. She was not worried about herself but she worried about the twins. It was why Regina had insisted that they take their defense classes very seriously and so her twins were better sometimes than an entire army. However, there was the fear of other things like poisoning. Even though Nydia was in exile, there was no telling what she would do.
*_I do not. I do not have any feelings for Dagen. Although, I can recognise…_*
*_Just shut up_* Regina said to her wolf. She was not interested in having Raven psychoanalyze her love interest.
Dagen or no Dagen, she had given up on love a long time ago. Instead, she had turned her energy towards raising her children and once they were old enough, she decided to fulfill her long-time dream of travelling the world.
Regina stepped outside her room. She had insisted on staying at an inn and she was quite pleased with the service but today they were slow in bringing her her breakfast which she had ordered a while back. She was going downstairs to check what was causing the delay. It was possible that she would have to skip the meal altogether as she was meant to follow Diane to the market before noon to buy some essentials for the wedding.
What or rather who she did not expect to see was Dagen at the end of the corridor holding a tray of food she presumed contained her breakfast. She wondered how he had figured out where she was, especially when she had not told anyone the inn she would be staying at. But then again, he was the Alpha, she doubted that anything eluded him.
“You couldn't just stay away, could you?” Regina was surprised that her voice held no bitterness. She had wanted her words to come from a place of spite; she had intended it to sting but it had no venom. She hated that time had taken away some of the betrayal and pain she had once felt.
“I was going to buy something I could not resist. My best friend is getting married and I…”
“You destroyed your chances by yourself. Do not try to sweet talk me into anything,” returned Regina.
“I am only here to deliver your breakfast,” he replied with a smile. Regina could not believe that she found his smile cute. She gave herself a mental knock and then pardoned herself for thinking that his smile was cute. It was only natural for her to think that way seeing that Charlotte had the same smile.
“I'm not hungry,” said Regina but even as she finished that statement, her stomach growled rather loudly.
*_I swear I will kill you, Raven_* she berated her wolf.
*_That was all you_* came the response.
“Your body says otherwise,” said Dagen in response. Anyone seeing him now would not believe that he was capable of being coy. What he really wanted to do was try becoming friends with Regina but she was making that impossible. He knew he had hurt her badly but one would think that their children would be enough reason for them to try and at least keep things friendly. He had asked Reginald once what would happen should he get married. He had wanted to know if Regina would continue her beef with him and not attend the wedding. His son's response had been that naturally, he would have two different weddings; one for him and the other for his mother. So Dagen knew that he had to fix things with Regina. He did hope that someday he could have a deeper relationship with her but for now, he just wanted to be on friendly terms with her.
Regina eyed him and took the tray from him. She walked back in the direction of her room. She could sense that Dagen was following her but she did not mind. The moment she entered her room, she shut the door in his face. She did a little victory dance before settling down to eat her food.
****
“You know, I wanted a small wedding. Edvin, myself, our little bundle of joy inside me, you and maybe Alpha Dagen given that he's Edvin's friend and all but suddenly we are hosting a moderate-sized wedding which in my opinion is a crowd,” Diane was unburdening herself to Regina as she tried out wedding dresses.
“Have you spoken to Edvin about this? Perhaps you should let him know you're not comfortable with a big wedding,” said Regina admiring the lace dress that Diane had on. The only time she had gotten married, she had gotten no say in what she had to wear that day. She loved that her friend at least got to make a choice.
“He thinks that this wedding is the best way to introduce me into a noble society. As Lady Edvin, I would have to host many fancy balls and all so I need to get myself acquainted with the town,” replied Diane.
“How do you feel about this? What you think matters,” said Regina.
“He has a point. I do not want to remain in the shadows. Doing so had never been my thing even as a servant,” came Diane's response.