Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 342: Her having my last name changes everything

The helicopter touched down and Voren was already out the door before the blades even slowed, his driver right there waiting exactly like he’d been told.

He’d double-checked before landing that Desmond and Nessa were home. He didn’t pull surprise visits, especially not for something this heavy.

The Stone mansion sat there like old money always does, quiet, rock-solid, completely unbothered by the chaos of the city swirling around it.

Voren had been in places like this his whole life and never once felt the need to impress them. But walking up to that door tonight felt completely different. He wasn’t showing up as some alpha throwing his weight around. He was coming as a man who owed them something real.

He rang the bell and waited, heart pounding harder than he wanted to admit.

Desmond answered the door himself, looking at Voren like he was trying to figure out what category this guy even fell into, not hostile, but definitely guarded, sizing him up.

"Alpha Voren." His voice stayed even, revealing nothing. "What brings you here?"

Voren had the gifts ready. He had everything planned, and he wasn’t skipping any steps. Desmond took them without a word, stepped back, and let him inside.

Nessa came out from the sitting room, her face carrying that same careful, neutral mask as her husband’s. Whatever storm was going on in their heads, they weren’t letting it show yet.

Voren didn’t sit down right away. He stood right there in the middle of the room and let out a long breath, chest tight.

"First off, I need to apologize." He looked Desmond dead in the eyes, because this kind of thing only worked face-to-face with no bullshit.

you and your business, and I did it all for Ravyn." His jaw clenched hard at his own words. Saying Ravyn’s name

let someone who never deserved my loyalty use me. And you two paid the price. I can’t

whole room went dead quiet,

glance couples give

back to Voren, and some of

softened, losing some of that formal edge. "Seraphine had our backs the whole time.

corner of his mouth twitched with something almost like dark amusement. "Truth is, that hit forced us to fix things we’d

in. "Didn’t see Seraphine this morning though. These kids are always too busy." The warmth

Voren like a punch straight to the chest. Guilt sliced through him, sharp and clean, twisting

"that’s the other

he had to say next wasn’t the kind of thing you dropped while standing. Desmond dropped into the chair across from him. Nessa stayed on her feet a second longer, reading the

from

had with Humphrey and Kylie, but even more raw this time because Desmond and Nessa were right in

told them what he and Seraphine had really been to each other before that cursed spell wrecked everything. He described the memories ripped away from her, all the years they’d both spent lost in the dark without knowing what had been stolen from them. He told them

rush any of it, didn’t soften a single

time he finished, the room felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out. The weight of it

Nessa hadn’t moved in what felt like forever. They both had that frozen

looked up. "You’ve said a lot." His voice came out

he got it. He

just had to stay busy while your brain tried to catch up, and making tea was

enough that Voren knew she was using every single second to