Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 671: Chapter 671 - I want a tour of your pack

Ravyn was in the middle of another exclusive training session, pushing himself to his limit once more. The training grounds stretched before him, empty and silent, bathed in the pale silver light of the moon.

Sweat dripped from his brow, tracing rivulets down his temples, his jaw, his neck. His muscles burned with the familiar ache of exertion, a pain he had come to crave, to depend on.

The other warriors had long since retired to their homes, their laughter and chatter fading into the night, but Ravyn couldn’t stop. Sleep brought nightmares of continuous regret.

Silence brought painful memories. Only the pain of training could quiet his mind, could drown out the whispers of everything he had lost.

His fists pounded against the training dummy, each strike precise, controlled, devastating. The leather cracked under the assault, sand trickling from the seams.

He imagined other faces on the dummy. Raul’s sneer, Daisy’s manipulation, his own reflection staring back at him with hollow eyes. The thought only fueled him, his strikes growing faster, harder, more brutal.

His phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the rhythmic thud of his fists. He paused, chest heaving, and wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

His fingers were trembling from exhaustion or something else, he couldn’t tell. He glanced at the screen, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Battal’s ID. His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching beneath the skin.

Ravyn answered it, his voice carefully neutral, betraying none of the unease coiling in his gut. ”King Battal, to what do I owe this call? I don’t think my investment has yielded anything yet.”

Battal’s voice came through the line, smooth and measured, like oil poured over water. ”This has nothing to do with your investment. I need a small favor, and in return, I can make you a don in the human world.”

Ravyn frowned, his grip tightening on the phone until his knuckles turned white. He never liked these mafia people, their secrets, their illegalities, the things he dared not think about.

They operated in shadows, dealt in death and deception, and always, always wanted something in return. The promise of power was a lure, and Ravyn was not a fool.

”Let me hear it first.” His voice was cautious, measured. ”I might do it because I’m in a good mood.”

”Alright.” Battal’s voice carried a note of satisfaction, as if he had already won. ”I saw you stand beside your new Alpha King before he got the title. You and his wife used your wolves to stop my wizard from having access to the ward of the man who killed one of ours.”

Ravyn took a deep breath, his mind racing. The memory flashed before him and unlike before, he now agreed with his wolf that he dared not wish for a second chance with his ex-wife. ”I’m listening.”

He knew the man at the end of the line was heading somewhere, and he needed to be ready for whatever came next.

”I want to ask if you two are close.”

Without thinking, Ravyn answered, the words bitter on his tongue, sharp as broken glass. ”We used to be close, but not anymore.” His voice hardened, old wounds bleeding through.

”The details would not interest you anyway, but my reason for stopping your wizard was because it was my duty as an Alpha to protect my kind. There is nothing more to it.”

”Okay.” Battal’s voice was smooth, probing, testing for weakness. ”Are you saying you won’t tell him anything about this conversation?”

”Not in my wildest dream.” Ravyn’s response was immediate, hiding his fury as he continued to speak like he was on Battal’s side. ”I don’t like him anyway.”

”Great.” There was hope in Battal’s voice now, a predator sensing an opening. ”Then do me a favor and take along with you a woman I choose. You don’t have to do anything else.”

Ravyn’s instincts flared with warning, a cold knot forming in his stomach. He asked from the end of the line, his voice sharp, ”Is she our kind?”

”No,” the Lycan King replied honestly.

Ravyn threw a bargain, his mind already calculating, already turning the pieces over. ”Then I demand that you give me every detail about her. And since this favor seems to be a risky one, I want something in return.”

Battal thought through Ravyn’s words, thinking he would ask for more interest on his investment or power. He agreed easily, too easily. ”Anything.”

”Good.” Ravyn’s voice was calm, but his heart pounded with anticipation, with something that felt almost like hope. ”I want a tour of your pack.”

Battal choked on his saliva, the sound carrying across the line. ”A what? Tour? At my pack?”

Ravyn smiled from the end of the line, a cold, calculated expression that didn’t reach his eyes. ”I’m glad you have perfect hearing.”

There was a long silence at the end of the line before the Lycan King answered, his voice strained. ”I don’t have the authority to let you into my pack. You will not understand, but our constitution is higher than our titles.”

He paused, as if weighing his words, as if deciding how much to reveal. ”Truth be told, the person I want to tug along is a witch. I need her to steal the crown back to its rightful place, and I would make the exception of letting you into my pack.”

Ravyn was about to agree when Battal added, his voice carrying a note of warning, ”But there is a risk to entering my pack. Since you are becoming my good friend, I have to be honest.”

Ravyn frowned, not liking where the conversation was going. His instincts screamed at him to walk away, to end the call and forget this madness.

But he thought of his daughter, her safety, her future. Right now, he was ready to do anything to get Voren every information about the Lycans

”What is the risk?”