Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

At first, it had seemed almost harmless, subtle, even—how Seraphine had gradually pushed him into a role he never imagined himself playing, turning him from a commanding Alpha into someone who had to worry about things as ordinary as meals, routines, and whether a child had eaten enough to stay full through the night.

No matter how much Ravyn tried to convince himself that he could handle both worlds without friction, the truth was that balancing that unexpected responsibility with the weight of leading an entire pack had been anything but easy.

Because being an Alpha demanded control, authority, and a certain distance that kept emotions from interfering with decisions, while Bryan... Bryan required patience, presence, and a kind of softness Ravyn had never been taught to carry.

And now, somehow, Seraphine had taken things even further. Not only reshaping his role but quietly forcing him out of the picture altogether, as though his presence alone was something she refused to acknowledge, let alone tolerate.

"Dad," Ravyn said into the phone, his voice tight despite his effort to keep it level, "she’s coming to the pack, and she wants to deal only with my Beta."

The words didn’t sit well with him, not in the slightest, because no matter how much he tried to rationalize it, the arrangement felt wrong in a way he couldn’t easily dismiss.

Seraphine might have been his ex-wife, but she wasn’t just that anymore, not after everything she had built, everything she had become, everything that now made her someone people sought out rather than overlooked, and what Ravyn wanted, despite everything that had happened between them, was something simple enough to seem almost unreasonable.

Friendship. A peaceful one that could earn him a few favors. So these conditions, felt like an absolute rejection.

"Do I really have to hide from her?" he asked, a trace of bitterness slipping into his voice before he could stop it, his frustration threading through his words. "At this rate, it feels like she’ll eventually ask me to step down as Alpha too."

"Ravyn!"

Humphrey’s voice snapped through the line sharply, carrying a warning that left no room for argument.

"You’re the one who asked for her help," his father continued, his patience clearly worn thin. "If you don’t like her conditions, then find someone else, and don’t involve me again."

The words hung there, heavy and final, forcing Ravyn into a silence that stretched just long enough for the weight of reality to settle over him before he finally exhaled, the resistance in his chest giving way to reluctant acceptance.

"Fine," he said at last, his voice quieter now, though no less firm. "I’ll agree to her conditions, and I’ll make sure Damon has everything he needs to handle her stay."

Outwardly, it sounded like compliance, like he had simply chosen the easier path, but inside, his thoughts were already in motion, searching for a way to bridge the distance she had intentionally created, because no matter how things had ended between them, Ravyn wasn’t ready to accept that there was no way back to something less hostile.

And Bryan...

Bryan might just be the one connection she couldn’t ignore.

"She has a launch in a few days," Humphrey added, his tone easing now that Ravyn had stopped pushing back. "Let your Beta contact her and make the necessary arrangements."

For a brief moment, Ravyn stiffened, a thought creeping in uninvited as he recalled something he had noticed more than once. The way men responded to Seraphine, the way their attention lingered, drawn toward her like she carried something rare enough to make people forget everything else around them.

And Damon... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

What if he wasn’t any different?

What if this arrangement placed her within reach in a way Ravyn himself no longer had access to?

The call ended shortly after, leaving Ravyn standing there with more thoughts than he was willing to admit, his gaze drifting toward Damon as something guarded settled into his expression.

"Sera will deal only with you," he said, his tone steady but edged with unease, "so don’t lose focus."

He paused slightly, his eyes narrowing just enough to emphasize his next words.

"Whatever charm she has... don’t let it distract you. The pack comes first."

Damon’s lips curved faintly, the reaction subtle enough to pass unnoticed if Ravyn wasn’t paying close attention, but inside, amusement flickered quietly, controlled and unspoken.

Before he could respond, the soft clatter of metal against ceramic broke through the tension, drawing their attention toward Bryan, who had dropped his fork, his small face lit with something that immediately changed the atmosphere in the room.

"Dad... is Mommy coming back?"

The question landed harder than anything else had.

For a brief second, Ravyn felt something tighten painfully in his chest, something he wasn’t prepared for, something that carried traces of regret he didn’t fully understand how to face.

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything—

"Who is coming back?"

Daisy’s voice came from upstairs, cutting into the moment with just enough sharpness to break whatever fragile space had formed.

Ravyn lifted his head, his expression smoothing over as he responded, his tone deliberately casual.

"Since you’re unable to assist with the victims," he said, "Sera will be coming to handle it."

There was a pause, just long enough for his next words to land with intention.

"And I suggest you stay out of her way while she’s here."

Daisy’s smile carried no warmth, the bitterness beneath it impossible to hide as everything she had planned seemed to unravel right in front of her.

The explosion had been meant to create an opening to keep Ravyn occupied, to push him into chasing solutions elsewhere so she could slip away unnoticed, but instead, it had done the exact opposite, pulling Seraphine back into the center of everything and placing her in a position where she would inevitably shine.

It felt like watching her own plan collapse in slow motion.

And on top of that...

Zane.

The thought alone made her uneasy, because if he showed up now, everything would go wrong and worst, she had no way of reaching him. Ravyn still had her phone, still controlled every path she could have used to fix things.

"Why her?" Daisy asked, her voice tight, the bitterness slipping through despite her attempt to mask it.

"Why not her?" Ravyn replied without hesitation, his tone indifferent. "She’s the most skilled—"

He stopped mid-sentence, is mind catching up to something he had ignored before.

Voren’s question. "She can’t help her own son. Do you think Daisy even have any medical skills?"

Ravyn’s gaze sharpened as he looked at her again, this time more carefully, as if seeing something he had overlooked before, because the truth was, he had never actually witnessed her working, never seen proof beyond what had been said.

With Seraphine, it had always been different. Her abilities were undeniable, supported by results, by people who could speak of what she had done without hesitation, but with Daisy...

There had only ever been claims, nothing solid. "And Daisy," Ravyn said slowly, his voice lowering as the weight of his suspicion settled into something real, "tell me something."

His eyes locked onto hers, steady and unyielding. "Do you actually have any medical skills?"

A flicker of nervousness passed through Daisy before she could stop it, her composure slipping just enough to be noticed as her lips parted, ready to respond.

But Ravyn didn’t let her speak yet. "Think carefully before you answer," he added, his tone quiet but carrying a warning that made the air feel heavier, more suffocating than before.

Because this wasn’t a casual question anymore. "I won’t accept lies."