Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 313: Hope is what brought us here

Voren was straight-up disgusted by how bold Ravyn was being, but he shoved that feeling down deep before it could show on his face. Getting pissed off right now wouldn’t do a damn thing.

The Moon Festival was just two weeks away, and he’d already made up his mind about where his focus needed to be. There were way bigger things on the horizon, stuff that actually mattered, and he wasn’t about to waste his energy on someone like Ravyn.

All he needed was a little more patience.

Pretty soon, Seraphine would be wearing his ring. Once she officially became his wife, all the secrets would come spilling out into the open.

Every lie would get dragged into the light, and every person who’d ever looked down on her would finally have to deal with the truth. When that day came, he planned to make sure the entire werewolf world saw exactly who Seraphine really was.

He was going to give her the most incredible Luna coronation any pack had ever witnessed. Every Alpha who’d mocked her, every Luna who’d whispered behind her back, and every pack member who’d treated her like she was beneath them would be forced to stand there and watch as she took her rightful place beside him.

No one would ever dare disrespect her again. No one would ever make her feel unwanted.

The call finally ended, leaving a thick silence hanging in the room.

Voren set his phone down and turned toward Seraphine. Guilt flashed across his face as he remembered everything she’d just been forced to listen to. "I’m sorry you had to hear all that, but I’m not going to let you help that pack anymore."

eased up almost right away. Seraphine

it belonged there, her bare skin warm against his chest as she rested her cheek right over his heart. The steady beat of it wrapped around her like the coziest

being on my side, Voren," she

She lifted her head a little and looked up at him, her eyes so vulnerable that he couldn’t have looked

sounds kinda silly," she continued, "but after everything that’s happened, I’d rather spend my time collecting friends than enemies." A quiet laugh slipped out of her,

Seraphine understood the harsh realities of pack life better than most

own Alphas. Most of them would stay quiet, choosing loyalty to their husbands over standing up

of the main reasons she’d always tried to avoid festivals whenever she could. Why walk straight into a situation where she knew she’d be judged? Why spend hours pretending the whispers didn’t cut deep? Why force herself to smile while people looked down

the future with dread weighing her down.

deep in your heart and gently convinced you that better days were

as she worked up

few strands of hair away from her face and tucked them gently behind her ear, letting his touch linger because he simply loved touching her. "You know you don’t have to ask permission

get married, would you mind if we changed Marigold’s name? Only if she wants to, of course. I would never

at all. Instead, he just

her whole face. "Esperanza." The name rolled off her tongue so naturally. "It’s Spanish, and it means

behind the word was clear as day. "I don’t know why, but every time I think about it, it reminds me of us." Her gaze dropped for a moment before coming back to his. "You stayed single all those years after Coco. And somehow, after everything life threw at both of us, we still found our way