Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 373: Chapter 373 - You need to think very carefully before you judge me

”Ex-best friend,” Voren’s voice thundered through the cabin like a storm breaking loose. The pressure rolling off him grew suffocating, his eyes darkening with a dangerous edge as the wolf inside him clawed harder, desperate to take control.

The air turned thick and threatening, heavy enough to choke on. Oriana instinctively stepped back, her face paling at the raw power radiating from her son.

Before everything could spiral out of control, Seraphine reached out and slipped her fingers into Voren’s hand, her touch soft but steady. ”V,” she murmured gently, her voice wrapping around him like a lifeline. ”Let it go.”

Voren looked down at her, and that simple contact grounded him instantly. His chest heaved as he fought for control, breaths coming deep and ragged. After a few tense seconds, the terrifying darkness in his eyes slowly ebbed away.

Oriana watched the whole exchange in silence, unable to ignore how fast her son calmed under Seraphine’s touch. It didn’t change her opinion one bit, though.

”Ravyn was your friend,” Oriana said, her gaze locked hard on Voren, disappointment dripping from every word. ”Calling him your ex means you’re ready to throw away years of friendship, all for the woman who betrayed you.”

A bitter smile curved Seraphine’s lips. On the surface it looked pleasant, but her eyes burned with a fierce story. She stepped forward slowly until she stood right in front of Oriana, refusing to back down.

”I don’t expect you to understand,” she said, her tone calm yet laced with quiet steel. ”But Voren was the man I loved, the man I chose with my whole heart.” She glanced at him for a heartbeat, then turned back to his mother.

”The spell stole my memories and erased everything I knew about him, but there were people behind that spell, Luna Oriana. And despite all of it, I get why you’re acting like this. You love your son. You want to protect him.”

This time, there wasn’t even a trace of sarcasm in her voice, and she wasn’t willing to give Voren ideas of her suspicions of his mother until she had solid proof.

”Well, I’m a mother too. I know that deep, aching fear of wanting to shield your child from any kind of pain.” The cabin grew painfully quiet as her expression turned dead serious. ”But I also love Voren with everything I have, and if it came down to it, I would give my life for him without a second thought.”

Oriana stared at her, face unreadable at first. Then her voice came out colder than ever. ”I know how spells work. But none of that changes reality. You’re still a divorced woman. The laws of our packs don’t bend just because of feelings or spells, and neither do the people who live under them.”

Her chin lifted slightly. ”You’re a good woman, Seraphine, but my son will carry your stain forever. If you’re truly a mother, you should understand that.”

The word ”stain” echoed through the room like a slap. Anger flashed hot across Voren’s face and he stepped forward immediately, but Seraphine squeezed his hand tighter.

He looked down at her, and the small shake of her head was enough. ’Let me handle this,’ she mind linked him. Reluctantly, he held back.

Seraphine turned back to Oriana, her voice calm but firm as iron. ”Voren isn’t a child. We both know he’s not someone who can be manipulated or pushed around. And I think I’ve finally figured out exactly where this whole problem is coming from.”

Oriana frowned sharply. ”What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Seraphine took a slow, steady breath. ”Answer me honestly.” The cabin fell into complete silence again. ”Let’s say Alpha Vladimir accused you of seducing him. Let’s say the two of you had both been drugged, and then he spent seven long years treating you like some kind of disease. He never touches you, never shows you love, and makes you feel completely unwanted every single day.”

Oriana opened her mouth, but Seraphine didn’t let her interrupt, her words cutting sharper with every sentence. ”Now imagine on top of all that, you secretly poured your time, your effort, and every resource you had into helping his pack grow. You built his companies with him, supported his success, sacrificed everything for his future, all while raising a child you believed was yours.”

Her voice softened with raw emotion. ”Only to find out that child belonged to his mistress, yours stolen from you... and killed.”

The color drained completely from Oriana’s face. For the first time since storming into the cabin, her iron composure shattered, and Seraphine noticed. So did Voren. The reaction hit way too deep, too personal, but neither of them said a word.

”Let’s say,” Seraphine continued quietly, her gaze never leaving Oriana’s, ”that after suffering through all of that, you finally found the strength to walk away. Would anyone have the right to tell you that you don’t deserve love? Would they have the right to condemn you for finding happiness even if the man you found happened to be the most powerful Alpha alive?”

Oriana tried to respond, but no words came out. Seraphine shook her head, her voice growing stronger and filled with passionate fire. ”No. You need to think very carefully before you judge me. Laws or no laws, we’re she-wolves. And if one day you find yourself trapped by rules that are unfair to women like us, what then? Would your precious image matter more... or would your dignity?”

Oriana’s fingers curled into tight, trembling fists. The argument should have been easy for her to brush off, but it wasn’t.

Every single example Seraphine had thrown at her felt disturbingly familiar, too close to the bone. Memories she had buried deep for years surged up painfully: the heartbreak, the regret, the endless sacrifices.

And now Athaliah’s sudden return had ripped everything wide open again, making the weight of all those hidden secrets even heavier. How could she possibly explain any of it to them? How could she tell them the truth about everything she had protected for so long?