Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 766: Chapter 766 - She’s not human

Seraphine’s sudden movement startled Voren awake, his arms tightening around her instinctively as he pulled her closer, his voice thick with sleep and worry that cut through the quiet of the morning.

”Are you alright?”

His morning breath was warm against her neck, carrying the familiar scent of him that made her want to sink back into the sheets.

Seraphine wanted nothing more than to kiss him, to lose herself in him the way she had last night, to feel the heat of his skin and the weight of his body all over again. But she knew what would happen after that, knew they would never make it out of bed, and she had somewhere to be.

She painstakingly lifted herself to a sitting position, her body aching in ways that made her cheeks flush with the memory of the night before, every pleasant sore place a reminder of how thoroughly he had claimed her. ”Yeah, but I have to check on Damon. He said Quinn’s eye color changed this morning, and she feels strange.”

”Oh.” Voren heaved a sigh as he rolled off the bed, the sheets tangling around his legs before he kicked them free. The concern in his expression was clear even through the lingering haze of sleep. ”I’ve got to continue the ammunition training with the leaders and strongest warriors. Mind link me if there’s an urgent need for me.”

Seraphine nodded, watching him dress with a mixture of admiration and longing that settled deep in her chest.

The pack warriors had been going through different kinds of training, preparing for threats that lurked in the shadows, and Voren had refused to make another visit to another pack because he did not want to leave her side.

He also did not want to travel with her in her condition, determining it as risky, a danger he was not willing to take. The protectiveness in that choice warmed her even as it reminded her how carefully he watched over every part of their life together.

When Seraphine arrived at Damon’s suite, concern laced her features at the sight of Quinn. The young woman sat on the edge of the bed, her posture tight, her hands restless in her lap as if she could not quite settle.

”How long has she been like this?” Seraphine asked, her voice gentle but probing, the worry in it impossible to hide.

Damon sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. The fatigue in his face was clear, but so was the deep care he held for the woman beside him. ”I only noticed it this morning.”

Seraphine noticed that Quinn’s eyes had changed from their light brown to hazel, a subtle change that spoke of something deeper, something primal stirring beneath the surface.

Damon and Quinn both had each other’s marks, the bite marks on their necks a visible claim that still looked fresh against their skin.

”How did she react to your mark?”

”She said it was painful, but as soon as I let her mark me, she got over the pain and went into heat.” Damon smiled, a flicker of warmth breaking through his worry, the memory clearly still vivid. ”It was a wild night, if you ask me. Nothing odd until this morning.”

Seraphine invited Quinn to the hospital and took her blood sample to run some tests, but there was nothing odd, nothing that explained the change in her eyes, the strange feeling she described.

The results came back clean, which only deepened the mystery. So she had to involve Oriana. Since Quinn had not yet gone through the pack ritual, only a few leaders were aware of her presence, a secret kept close to protect her from questions that could not yet be answered.

”What is your parentage, child?” Oriana asked, her ancient eyes studying Quinn with an intensity that made the air feel heavy and charged.

Quinn answered, her voice small but steady, though a tremor of vulnerability ran beneath the words. ”I only found out over a month ago that the parents who raised me weren’t my biological parents. I was picked from a dumpster.”

Oriana pursed her lips, her expression unreadable, and mindlinked Seraphine. ’She’s not human.’

Seraphine gasped, her heart skipping a beat as the weight of those three words settled over her. ’Then what is she? How come she doesn’t have our scent?’

’I never knew her kind existed.’ Oriana’s voice was filled with something that sounded almost like awe mixed with caution. ’She is a rare Werewolf Void Hybrid, born with a wolf spirit and the blood of an ancient, nearly extinct race capable of absorbing supernatural powers, suppressing other wolves, and concealing its presence from magical detection.”

”Her existence was believed impossible, and she was abandoned as a child because her unusual abilities made her a threat to powerful supernatural beings who feared what she might become.’ She paused, letting the weight of her words settle like a stone dropped into still water. ’Her presence here can be both a blessing and a curse. Where did you find her?’

’From the human world. She’s Damon’s fated mate.’

At the mention of fated mate, Oriana paused, her expression changing with something that looked almost like concern. ’I have to consult the moon goddess on how to handle this matter. For now, let’s find out if she can absorb powers from Lycans too. It won’t be good if she absorbs powers from us. You need to study her more. We have to know if she can shift.’

Seraphine nodded, her mind racing with possibilities and dangers that pressed in from every side. She needed a human to use for her experiment, not another complicated unknown she wolf, not another mystery to unravel when so many already demanded her attention.

’Alright, I will try my best.’

After ending the mindlink, she explained everything to Damon, watching his expression move from confusion to worry to something that looked almost like fear. The protective instinct in him rose so strongly that his shoulders tensed and his jaw locked.

”Sera, will she be a threat to our kind?” His voice was low, urgent, filled with a dread he could not fully hide. ”If her own parents discarded her...”

”You don’t know about that.” Seraphine’s voice was gentle but firm, carrying a quiet strength meant to steady him. ”They could have died trying to protect her, or she could have been stolen. That detail is still unknown.” She paused, her gaze steady and reassuring. ”But now, we shall see how we can use her against the Lycans. I’ll speak to Voren about it first and until then, she mustn’t get close to other pack members.”

”Is everything alright?” Quinn asked when she noticed them speaking in whispers, her hazel eyes flickering between them with uncertainty and a growing unease that made her look younger somehow.

Damon smiled and pinched her playfully on the cheek, a gesture of affection that made her blush even as the tension in the room lingered. ”You are special, Quinn. I’m surprised you fainted when you saw my wolf, but what if you were a special kind of one of us after all?”

Quinn froze at Damon’s words, her body going still, her breath catching in her throat as old memories stirred. He asked her, ”Are you alright?”

”I used to have strange dreams as a kid.”

This time, she got Seraphine’s attention, her head snapping up with sudden interest. ”Care to share?”

Quinn hesitated, her fingers twisting together in her lap as she tried to recall details she had spent years convincing herself were nothing more than the products of an overactive imagination. The memories felt slippery, hard to hold.

”They were always the same, at least in the beginning. I would find myself in a forest beneath a sky without a moon, and there would be these enormous black trees surrounding me, their branches so thick that I couldn’t see what lay beyond them. Then I would hear someone calling my name, except it wasn’t Quinn. In that moment, I could see that whatever came close to me, would be drained by some kind of electrical power and they will fall weak beneath my feet.”

Seraphine exchanged a quick glance with Damon, whose playful expression had disappeared as he leaned closer to listen, every muscle in his body focused on the woman beside him.

”What name did they call you?” Seraphine asked carefully, her voice soft, coaxing, filled with a quiet intensity that invited the truth.

”I don’t remember, but I will tell you when I do.” Quinn pressed her fingers against her temples, frustration flickering across her face as she tried to grasp the memory that always slipped away at the last second.

”Whenever I woke up, I could remember the voice, the trees, and the feeling that someone was looking for me, but the name always disappeared from my mind. Sometimes, I would wake up crying, and other times, I would find scratches on my arms even though I couldn’t remember hurting myself.”

Damon’s brows drew together as he glanced at Seraphine. The worry in his eyes had deepened into something sharper. ”You never mentioned any of this to me.”

”Because I thought it was just a nightmare. I used to like watching horror movies, so I thought they were reactions from it.” Quinn looked down at her hands, embarrassment creeping into her expression along with a quiet vulnerability that made Damon’s hand find hers.

”I’m afraid you’ll have to stay at the pack until we figure out exactly what you are.” Seraphine’s voice was kind but firm, carrying the weight of a decision already made. ”But for now, do rest. I have to discuss with Voren to know what to do next.”

Seraphine returned to her suite to find Voren in the shower, the sound of running water filling the room with a steady, soothing rush. Steam drifted from beneath the bathroom door, carrying the clean scent of soap and the warmer scent of him. His encrypted phone beeped, so she checked it for him, her fingers moving on instinct.

”V, it’s Ravyn.”

”What did he say?” Voren called from the shower, his voice echoing against the tiles, still rough from the morning.

Seraphine’s gaze darkened when she read the message, her blood running cold as the words settled into place with a heavy finality.

”V.” Her voice was tight, controlled, but the urgency beneath it was impossible to miss. ”There’s a problem.”