Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 598: Chapter 598 - I don’t have a daughter called Marigold

Voren’s voice was low because he didn’t want to accidentally wake his sleeping, pregnant wife. But if Ravyn had been nearby, he was sure he would have thrown a few punches. ”Ravyn, do you know your problem?”

Voren’s voice crackled through the speaker, laced with barely restrained fury. Ravyn pursed his lips, his jaw tightening until his teeth ached. ”What are you talking about?”

Voren pressed on, each word a sharpened blade. ”You do the right things at the wrong time, Ravyn. Did you think to investigate whatever information you got before calling me?”

When Voren pointed out the loopholes in Ravyn’s relationship with Daisy, he thought Ravyn would be smart enough to investigate the matter, but he didn’t.

Now, he was threading on dangerous grounds because Voren had reached his limit.

Shame flooded Ravyn’s veins, hot and acidic. He gripped the phone tighter, knuckles whitening. ”But Coco is your ex. She brought Marigold to you. If she’s not the girl’s mother, but Sera is, then I have every right to a DNA test.”

A dark laugh escaped Voren, hollow and humorless. ”Ravyn, did Coco also tell you she was a witch?” He could tell that, just like always, Ravyn hadn’t bothered to investigate any of the information Coco had given him.

Voren’s teeth clenched at the thought of the slimy witch. If this had happened in the pack community, there was no way she would have escaped so easily.

The question knocked the breath from Ravyn’s lungs. He blinked, his mind scrambling to process. A witch? Coco? He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. Voren wouldn’t lie about something like this. Not about magic. Not when it mattered so much.

What if Coco was messing with his mind? What if this entire call was nothing but poison designed to destroy whatever fragile peace remained?

”Voren, just tell me the truth.” His voice cracked, raw and desperate. ”Is she my daughter? I’ve done too much evil to claim her, but it would wipe the guilt, the guilt of having my own child killed.”

”No, Ravyn. You deserve to die in that guilt.” Voren’s response came cold and final, each syllable landing like a hammer blow. He was not going to cajole Ravyn to ease his guilt.

”An Alpha’s command is law. You ordered your child to be killed, so she’s dead. Besides, I don’t have a daughter called Marigold. Get your facts right and get off my line.” He was certain that Ravyn would not find anything on Marigold because of the change.

And thanks to Seraphine, information on Esperanza was also encrypted.

Ravyn’s throat closed. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but stand there frozen as the world crumbled around him.

Voren wasn’t done. ”And Ravyn, I’ve been lenient with you because of your parents. But I’m calling them now. Should you dare show your face in front of my family again, I will take your life.”

The line went dead.

Ravyn stood motionless, phone still pressed to his ear, the dial tone buzzing in the silence.

He’d known Voren for over a decade. He could recognize the exact moment the man reached his limit, that sharp, dangerous edge where mercy evaporated and only cold resolve remained. He’d just crossed that line, and there was no going back.

His hands shook as he pieced everything together. If Coco was a witch, then everything she’d told him could be a lie. But the possibility that she’d told the truth gnawed at him like a living thing, burrowing into his chest and refusing to let go.

He called his parents, but their line was busy. He could faintly guess Voren had acted on his words. Minutes crawled by, each one an eternity, and just as he was about to try a second time, his phone rang.

His father’s voice boomed through the speaker, laced with impatience. ”Ravyn, are you coming back or not?”

The question barely registered before Ravyn cut straight through. ”Dad, you knew all along that my daughter isn’t dead, didn’t you?”

A long silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Then his father spoke again, carefully measured. ”Ravyn, if you want to know the truth, come to the pack. But until then, stay away from Voren and his family.”

Tears broke free, carving hot trails down Ravyn’s cheeks. His voice cracked and splintered. ”Dad, I was wrong. I messed up. Please forgive me. Just tell me the truth, please.”

”Ravyn, there are issues in the pack concerning Daisy and her parents.” His father’s tone took a different edge, becoming all business. ”If you don’t come to contribute to the decisions, I’ll make one of your friends the Alpha and leave this pack for good.”

He paused briefly, then added, almost as an afterthought, ”No, I forgot to call Corvine. He’ll be the right person. But as for Voren’s daughter, it’s not a phone matter.” This was his only way to lure Ravyn away from the city, and back to the pack.

Ravyn’s teeth ground together, the sound grating in his own ears. He couldn’t make it up to Seraphine, that bridge was ash and cinder, but he was determined to make it up to his daughter. To prove he could be something other than the monster he was in the beginning.

”Fine.” The word came out strangled, barely audible. ”I’m coming.”

✿◕‿◕✿

Across the ocean, Paris glittered in the early morning light.

Jasmine stirred in the massive bed, her hand reaching out instinctively for the warmth of small bodies beside her. Her fingers met cold, empty sheets.

Her eyes flew open. The two children she’d tucked in beside her were gone. Espe. Bryan. Nowhere to be found.

Her heart seized in her chest, a brutal, painful stop before it lurched back to life at double speed. She threw herself out of bed, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor, her pair of jeans tangling around her legs as she ran.

”Espe!” Her voice tore through the presidential suite, raw and desperate. ”Bryan!”

She burst through the bedroom door, her eyes wild, scanning every corner, every shadow. ”Espe, Bryan, where are you?”

Her throat burned, her chest heaved, and fear swallowed her whole, dark and bottomless.