Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 327: Esperanza is ours

Seraphine immediately picked up on the conflict brewing behind Voren’s eyes. She knew him well enough by now to spot when something was eating at him, even when he tried to play it cool and hide it.

The idea that Esperanza might be connected to Ravyn in any way clearly wasn’t sitting right with him.

Honestly, it wasn’t easy for her to stomach either. That was exactly why she wasn’t about to give him the quick reassurance he seemed to be hoping for, not yet, and not without solid proof.

"I won’t answer that until we have the test results," she said, her voice gentle but firm. She reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. "There’s no point making assumptions before we actually know the truth."

Voren’s jaw stayed tight, the tension obvious even though he didn’t want to show how much it bothered him.

Seeing it, Seraphine quickly continued. "V," she said softly, waiting until his eyes met hers before going on. "Ravyn wanted that child dead."

The reminder made his face darken right away. "Even if Esperanza turns out to be mine biologically," she added without a hint of hesitation, every word carrying complete certainty, "you’re still her father. That bastard has no right to lay any kind of claim to a child he wanted dead."

Her eyes flashed with anger as memories of everything Ravyn had done came rushing back, the betrayal, the pain, the devastating loss, and all those years she’d never get back.

"As far as I’m concerned, Ravyn already killed his daughter," she said, her tone turning cold and deadly. "And he’ll still pay for it."

A fierce protective instinct surged through her chest at the thought of Esperanza. That little girl deserved so much better than any of this. A slow smile returned to Seraphine’s face. "Esperanza is ours, yours, and mine."

The moment those words left her lips, the tension melted from Voren’s shoulders.

Relief washed over him so strongly that he hadn’t even realized how badly he’d needed to hear it. His fingers tightened around hers, and a genuine smile spread across his face.

of scrambled eggs

Seraphine laughed. "Voren—"

"Open."

look on his face made her roll her eyes playfully. Apparently feeding her had quickly

His grin widened. "Good."

serious again. "Okay," he said, leaning back a little. "Let’s do both a maternity and paternity

smartest move—no more guessing,

I was thinking about something else," he added, his gaze growing thoughtful. "We should head out

blinked in surprise.

laugh almost slipped out of her at

kept going. "I need to find out the exact date of the Blood Moon Festival for Ravyn." His eyes darkened at the mention of Ravyn. "And we need to take a real shot at restoring

them for a moment, and neither spoke right away. Seraphine found herself reflecting on everything that had happened since they

had terrified her. She’d been scared of what she might uncover, scared of the forgotten pieces, and scared of the mate bond returning and bringing

really looked at him. The man sitting beside her wasn’t a stranger

because of old memories, not because of some fated bond, and not because anyone told her

the fiercely protective father, the guy who learned how

she wanted those memories back. She wanted their shared

back to her daughter only to pair her and Voren

stop by the office first." Her mind was already kicking into gear, organizing her schedule. "Then

"To see Leon?"

him." Her fingers tapped lightly against the table as she thought out loud. "And I’ll send our

reached across the table and gently captured both of her hands in his large ones. The move

the food aside and focused completely on her, his eyes softening with something