Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 353: Chapter 353 - That woman is clever

Seraphine felt the color drain from her face the second she heard the name. Athaliah.

For a split second, her fingers tightened around the phone like it was a lifeline. Of course, she knew exactly who Athaliah Spencer was—every werewolf in the community did.

Years ago, their paths had crossed at the training academy before Athaliah headed off to France. Not long after, Seraphine had landed her scholarship and moved to New York to chase her dreams in medicine. Their lives had taken completely different roads from there.

Athaliah had become everything the werewolf world put on a pedestal: elegant, composed, graceful, and stunningly beautiful in that way that made heads turn the moment she walked into any room.

People were naturally drawn to her. Even Seraphine couldn’t deny it. For one uncomfortable heartbeat, a sharp little spark of insecurity twisted deep in her chest, a painful reminder that the woman being pushed toward Voren wasn’t just anybody. Athaliah was exactly the kind of Luna most packs fantasized about.

Then her eyes drifted over to the photographs lining the fireplace mantel. Pictures of her younger self with Voren. Snapshots filled with genuine laughter and happy moments that warmed the whole space.

The sight hit her like an anchor, pulling her back to solid ground. The uneasy feeling melted away almost as quickly as it had come, and a soft, knowing smile curved her lips.

Voren wasn’t like the other Alphas. That was exactly why so many of them couldn’t stand him.

His principles were downright strange by werewolf standards. He didn’t chase status, didn’t give a damn about appearances, and never treated people like pawns in some political game.

If he’d wanted a marriage that boosted his power or connections, he could’ve locked one down years ago. Instead, he’d spent all that time fighting for a woman the rest of them wanted him to forget.

That realization steadied her completely. Almost immediately, she saw exactly what was happening here. Alpha Vladimir wasn’t just delivering news. He was deliberately trying to stir up trouble, to drive a wedge between her and Voren.

"Can I speak with Voren?" she asked, her voice staying calm and perfectly polite.

end only sounded more annoyed with every

avoids confrontation," she

voice sharpened like a knife.

recliner, completely unfazed. "No." A faint, knowing smile curled the corner of her lips. "You’re my elder, Alpha Vladimir." She let the title hang there deliberately, a

was almost comical. One second, two, three, and then the line went dead with a

stared at her phone for a moment before letting out a

Vladimir nearly dropped the phone as he stormed toward the elevator, his face flushed red with

button for his floor over and over until they finally

the living room, tension radiating off her.

onto the table with a clatter. "That woman is

is." She folded her arms tight across her chest, the admission coming out through gritted teeth.

escaped her, thick with frustration. "But now she’s tainted. Why can’t Voren see

looking more exhausted than angry for once. "That’s not even

"What do you

a chair, shoulders slumping. "The second we show up at that wedding, we’re accepting her as part of this

brutal reality of their situation settled over them like a suffocating weight. Neither choice worked in their

Voren put us in this

with Marigold," she muttered,

ignored that part completely. Marigold’s change of name was the least

suddenly, a new spark lighting in her

connected almost instantly. Jasmine’s gentle voice answered,

skipped the pleasantries entirely. "Voren came back to the

went quiet. "Why didn’t you come with him?" The Luna’s eyes narrowed. "And have