Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 376 - She died for two minutes

Voren had turned that exact possibility over in his mind more than once. Every single time the question bubbled up, though, he’d shoved it aside because the connection between Bloodfang and Seraphine’s wolf brought him a kind of peace he’d never known before.

It quieted the restless ache that had lived inside him for years. Whether it was normal or not hadn’t seemed to matter as long as his wolf was content. And if Bloodfang was happy, then Voren was happy too. That had always been enough.

But now, after everything they’d been through and after hearing Seraphine voice the same worry out loud, he couldn’t push it away anymore. His brows knitted together as the weight of it settled over him. "That’s actually a really serious question."

Seraphine watched him closely, her eyes full of curiosity and trust. Voren rested his hands on her waist, grounding himself in the warmth of her body.

"Let me reach out to our shaman before she starts her meditation again. Once she goes into that purification journey, nobody can disturb her, not even me."

He didn’t waste another second. He reached through the mind link, and relief flooded him when the connection clicked into place right away.

The shaman’s familiar voice filled his head, smooth, calm, and carrying that deep wisdom he’d always relied on.’Is she awake? Did she remember everything?’

Voren glanced at Seraphine, who was still comfortably settled on his lap. A small smile stretched his lips for a brief moment before it faded, his eyes rolling to the back as he communicated with his shaman through mind link.’Yes, her memories are back, but that’s not why I’m contacting you.’

The shaman stayed quiet, waiting patiently as Voren took a deep breath.’Before you begin your purification journey, there’s something important I need to ask. We all know the mate bond doesn’t work but when Seraphine came back to the pack after leaving Ravyn, Bloodfang and her wolf seemed unusually attached to each other almost right away. I think it’s strange.’

To his surprise, the shaman answered without any hesitation.’From what I can see, she died for two minutes.’

went rigid. His arms tightened around Seraphine without him

carved itself across his face.’Nothing like that happened,’ he shot back

her wolf active enough to protect her, the damage was severe. If you think the anti-wolfsbane serum saved

him. Memories of that horrible night crashed over him in a brutal wave, the raw fear, the panic, the complete helplessness as he watched her body grow colder in his

fists clenched around Seraphine’s waist as the shaman’s voice continued echoing in his head.’You cried to the moon goddess and your tears carries weight. With just a few

room around him blurred and faded.

broken voice begging the Moon Goddess, praying, crying, completely falling apart as he

for a different reason. He begged

ache.’You mean... she became my mate because

true mate bond. It’s closer to a soul tie, a connection formed with the

a heavy stone in his gut. A soul tie. Voren’s gaze drifted to Seraphine. She was still looking at him with those curious, trusting eyes, completely unaware of the storm

become too comfortable.

fiber of his being. The shaman’s voice softened just a little.’What truly matters is your love for each

ask anything else, the connection vanished completely. He blinked, the sudden quiet in his head feeling strangely empty.

forced a smile, but it felt hollow, never reaching

a small laugh that

nodded, his fingers lightly tracing soothing circles on her waist. "She cut me off because she’s beginning her purification journey in preparation for the Blood Moon Festival. We can ask her again

but Voren was anything but. There was one devastating truth he couldn’t bring himself to tell her, not yet, and