Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 261 - I gave you a shot, and you messed it up

The question hit square in the chest after he asked and the pain that came with it caught him off guard. It wasn’t the kind of pain that made sense on paper.

The blood moon ritual had the whole pack buzzing, people were excited, hopeful even, talking about the mate bond coming but for the ones who already had somebody, already built something, it was less of a gift and more of a live wire dropped into a swimming pool.

Fear had settled into that group quietly because everyone knew what the bond could do.

Ravyn had thought about all of this the moment Voren first brought it up the first time, and every single time he came back to the same thing — Bryan.

"Daisy is still Bryan’s mother." His voice came out quiet and even, the words landing soft but certain, like he’d been carrying them around long enough that they’d worn smooth. "I’ll choose her over and over."

Something moved across Voren’s face. A slow exhale left him. He couldn’t fully explain it to himself. It wasn’t entirely about Ravyn’s loyalty to Daisy. Part of it, maybe the bigger part, was knowing that Seraphine wouldn’t be pulled into whatever gravitational mess a mate bond between her and Ravyn would create. That particular disaster, at least, seemed like it was off the table.

But even Voren who planned everything, had no real idea how that day would unfold. The ritual was being hosted at Grimroot. His own Shaman would be overseeing it. And the details, the real conditions, would be determined on that day by the Moon goddess herself.

"The conditions of the blood moon ritual aren’t all out yet." Voren leaned back slightly, the line of his shoulders not quite relaxed. "A lot of people still don’t know what’s actually going to be required. All we can do right now is hope that when everything comes out, it lands in a way that works for us."

Ravyn said nothing. He gave one slow nod, and then he looked at Voren straight and said, "What if I transferred my shares over to you and you invested with her under your name? You could route the money back to me when it matures."

a crazy idea on its face. The problem was the person sitting in the middle of

but genuinely exceptional in a way that made people nervous because you couldn’t

early were climbing the wealth

from the outside and the honest truth was it scared him a little. Not Seraphine herself, but the trajectory. The math of it. The way his own finances felt increasingly fragile

all of it, Voren sat at the top. Still number one, the same way he’d always been, like the whole city could rearrange itself around

it. He’d gone past the point of using Seraphine as a business tool, and he wasn’t about to open that door

should have come to me before I went into my second round of investment talks with her." There was no heat in it, just honesty delivered straight. "And even then, she almost didn’t agree because she’s worried I’m going to try to take

loud but it was there, pulling slightly at the corners of his expression. "So in other words, you

and his tone wasn’t unkind but it wasn’t soft either, "you need to find your own way to work with her. I gave you a shot, Ravyn, and you messed it

in a way that was hard to shake. He’d made

to apologize for emotions she had every right to feel was still not sitting right

he wasn’t

and Voren

thing he noticed when

up when he walked in and something almost like amusement flickered

"Ready?" Voren asked.