Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

The moment the mindlink left him, they lingered there, harsher than necessary, but he didn’t take them back.

In her room, Daisy went still, her lips pressing together as the sting of his words settled in, sharp and unexpected. For a second, it felt like something inside her cracked, like the space between them, once so easy, was suddenly filled with something cold and distant.

’Rav... are you calling me a child now?’ she asked quietly through the mindlink, her voice barely holding together.

But there was no answer. The connection snapped shut before she could even process it, leaving behind nothing but silence.

Back where he sat, Ravyn’s jaw tightened as he withdrew from the link, his expression hardening again as if shutting down that entire exchange had been the simplest solution.

”It’s useless relying on her,” he said flatly, almost dismissively. ”I’ll call Sera.”

Damon’s brows lifted slightly, concern flickering across his face. ”Luna Sera? Are you sure she’d even be willing?”

He hesitated before adding carefully, ”I’ve heard things. About how she was treated.”

The implication hung in the air, unspoken but clear, but Ravyn didn’t seem to waver.

”She helped Bryan,” he said, his voice firm with quiet certainty. ”That means she will.”

Damon pressed his lips into a thin line, nodding slowly even though something about that reasoning didn’t sit entirely right with him.

”You’re right,” he said anyway. ”There’s no harm in trying. She seems like a good person... helping Bryan like that.”

There was something controlled in his tone, because the truth was, Damon knew more than he was letting on about Seraphine, but Ravyn didn’t need to know that.

Before the thought could stretch any further, Ravyn had already pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

The call didn’t last long.

And when it ended, the change in his expression said everything.

His mood had turned sour, frustration settling in his features like a shadow he couldn’t quite shake.

Damon didn’t need to ask but he did anyway. ”Let me guess,” he said lightly, though his eyes were sharp, ”she refused?”

Ravyn didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he sat there, his lips pressed together as something calculating flickered behind his gaze.

”She might refuse me,” he said slowly, his voice dropping with quiet determination, ”but she won’t refuse my parents.”

Without wasting another second, he dialed a different number. It rang once, twice, then went dead.

Ravyn’s expression darkened, but he didn’t hesitate—he called again, more insistently this time, and the line connected. ”Ravyn,” his father’s voice came through, calm but edged with something unmistakable. ”Don’t you think there’s a reason I’ve been ignoring your calls?”

For a brief moment, something flickered in Ravyn’s eyes, but it didn’t linger. He pushed past it, forcing his voice steady.

”Dad,” he said, the word heavy with more than just address, ”you might hate me... but this isn’t about me.”

There was a pause, a quiet inhale, before he added, his tone tightening with urgency,

”It’s about the pack.”