Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 551: Chapter 551 – True, and Only Her Father Knows the Answer

”Alpha Voren...” Madison started, but Voren lifted a hand and cut her off gently.

”Please call me Voren. I’m your son now.” His voice, though soft, still commanded presence.

Madison swallowed hard. Hearing him claim her as family still felt strange and new, so she softened her words.

”Son, that’s it, but there are some bigger ones. They took my mother, and I’ve lived in hiding ever since.”

The truth settled over the room like a sheet of ice, cold and heavy.

Seraphine slowly shook her head, disbelief written across her face. ”So, all along, we’ve had Lycans in our midst?”

The idea sat wrong in her chest. What made Lycans so dangerous to their kind was simple. They were stronger, bigger, and faster than any werewolf. Now Seraphine felt like she needed to go back to their history books to read more about this Lycans.

”Not just that,” Athaliah went on, still unsure whether Voren would keep listening after everything she’d already spilled. ”They thrive on sorcery.”

Voren’s expression hardened into something sharp and focused.

He was starting to line up the pieces with everything he’d already dragged out of Noelle and Chuck.

Lycans were already stronger than werewolves by birth, and now they were layering sorcery on top of that raw power. Voren leaned on a shaman too, but only for guidance and correction, never for the kind of dark work these Lycans seemed to favor.

”Voren, I think we need to find where they reside,” Corvine said, voice steady. King Jaron was entangled with them so most certainly, they were closer than anybody could even comprehend.

Voren gave a short nod. ”True, and only her father knows the answer.”

”I can tell you for sure that he doesn’t know their whereabouts,” Athaliah argued, shaking her head.

Voren turned his full attention on her. ”Then how was he able to steal the crown?”

Athaliah went quiet. She had no answer for that.

Voren didn’t want her feeling like a suspect, so he softened his tone and explained. ”Liah, you said it yourself that you know little about all this. I still think your father knows more about this.”

”Then he should live, right?” Athaliah’s voice carried pure plea.

Voren nodded once. ”For your sake and because of the information you’ve given us, I’m letting him off. But if he tries it again, I won’t even inform you before taking him out.”

For information that would have taken time, and something he wouldn’t have gotten if he had gone ahead with his plan of revenge, it was just worthwhile to give her a little comfort zone.

Corvine was equally pleased, seeing how Voren worked around mercy. It had to be earned, and not freely given.

Gratitude flooded Athaliah’s face and voice. ”Thank you, Alpha Voren.”

Voren looked back at Madison. ”Don’t miss the flight. We’ll take it from here.”

Madison nodded, turned, and slipped out the door without another word.

Voren’s gaze settled on Athaliah again, careful and steady. ”Princess, do you have any more information for us?”

He made damn sure not to scare her off. Her knowledge was too valuable to the pack, and he needed her talking.

Athaliah still felt shaken by what her father had done, and part of her wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t try something worse. ”I’m just wondering if that was the reason he tried to kidnap Esperanza. Does it mean her blood can activate the power of the crown?”

The question pulled her mind back to how much that little girl seemed to know. It was way too much for someone her age.

Athaliah had found it strange at first, but after watching Seraphine accept it so naturally, she’d let herself relax. Now it was becoming clear that Espe was a real powerhouse.

Things would have felt different if her own heart hadn’t been warming up to Corvine more every single day, and if her father hadn’t kept trying to shove her toward every Alpha who looked her way.

Voren had even handed Corvine the title of Co-Alpha, and Athaliah knew it was his quiet way of backing whatever was growing between them, even though nothing had been officially defined yet. Because of that, the idea of losing Voren’s trust made her stomach twist.

”From the looks of it, that’s what we can say, but I feel there is more,” Voren answered.

Then his eyes landed on Corvine. ”King Jaron has agreed for you to report to the Silver Moon pack in a week to contest for the princess.”

Corvine’s brow lifted in surprise while Athaliah stared at Voren like the floor had just dropped out from under her.

”Alpha Voren, what are you talking about?”

It was clear Athaliah herself hadn’t known about the arrangement, so Voren laid it out. ”That’s where I’m coming from, and aside from Killian, there are two others.”

Athaliah’s frown dug so deep that tears threatened at the edges of her eyes. ”What if Corvine fails against them?”

”Corvine would not fail,” Seraphine answered, voice firm and sure.

Both Athaliah and Corvine looked stunned. Seraphine turned straight to Voren. ”I know he’ll help Corvine win.”

Her words sent a warm rush through Athaliah’s chest, but then another memory banged into her.

”Wait. If my father agreed, then he might be planning something.” No one knew her father better than her, not even her brother.

Voren’s frown deepened. ”What do you mean by that?”

Athaliah pressed her lips together, her face going pale as the next piece of truth rose up. ”My father has duplicates of the real crown, and I have a feeling that even if Corvine manages to win, he might give him the fake crown and keep the original. Only he can tell you which one is the duplicate.”

Voren felt a dull ache starting behind his eyes. Too many pieces of this puzzle kept stacking up, and every answer just spun out another question.

Before he could speak, Seraphine’s voice cut through the room, calm and certain.

”I have a plan.”