Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 596: Chapter 596 – Tormenting dreams from hell

"Ravyn, can I follow you to the academy?"

Seraphine’s innocent voice trailed after him the moment he swung his backpack over one shoulder. She was barely six then, all wide bright blue eyes and cherubic features, her small face tilted up at him with such naked adoration that it should have softened his heart.

Instead, it only tightened something in his chest. "Sera, don’t you have anything else to do?"

The words came out harsher than he’d intended, clipped and dismissive. He saw the instant they landed, her lower lip trembling, tears gathering in those bright blue eyes like storm clouds rolling in. He bit the inside of his cheek, the taste of copper flooding his mouth. "Fine. But you have to bring Daisy along."

The transformation in Seraphine was instantaneous. Her entire face lit up, the tears forgotten, and she bounced on her heels with barely contained excitement. "Thanks, Ravyn! You’re the strongest. I love to watch you train."

༺❀༻

"Ravyn, Sera snatched my flower."

This time it was the six-year-old Daisy, and her accusing voice cut through the air like a blade. His blood heated instantly, anger surging hot and fast through his veins. "Sera, why are you so mean to Daisy?"

"The flower is mine." Seraphine’s voice cracked as she clutched the bloom to her chest, her knuckles white around the stem. "I picked it for you. It was supposed to be—"

"Liar." Daisy’s voice rose, shrill and triumphant. "You were jealous the second you saw me pick it. You ripped it right out of my hands."

Ravyn’s gaze went cold. He could feel the ice spreading through him, freezing out the part of him that wanted to believe the girl with tears streaking down her cheeks. "Sera, you disappoint me." The words fell like stones. "I think you should go home."

Seraphine stood there, frozen, waiting for him to take it back. He didn’t. Not even her tears could reach him, not then, not when he’d convinced himself she was nothing but a manipulative little liar.

༺❀༻

Ravyn woke up drenched in sweat, his heart slamming against his ribs like a trapped bird. The sheets clung to his skin, twisted around his legs, and he kicked them off with a violent jerk. Ever since the revelations, the past had been relentless, each memory a dream sent straight from hell to torment him, replaying every moment he’d failed her.

He’d liked Sera once. Before Daisy’s whispers eroded everything. But Daisy had been relentless, and he’d been a fool. He never believed Sera. Not once. And with each accusation, each cold dismissal, she’d stopped defending herself altogether. Now the weight of that silence pressed down on his chest until he could barely breathe.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and padded to the kitchen, his bare feet slapping against the cold hardwood. The glass of water did nothing to soothe the rawness in his throat.

His phone buzzed against the counter, and his father’s name flashed across the screen. He snatched it up, thumb hovering over the answer button before he finally swiped.

"If you don’t return to the pack to clean up your mess, I will find someone else to take your place."

His father’s voice carried that familiar edge, the one that promised consequences, that left no room for argument. Ravyn knew the game. His father was using the pack as leverage, trying to yank him away from Seraphine before he could do something reckless.

But after speaking to her, after seeing the careful walls she’d built around herself, walls he’d helped construct brick by brick, he’d lost all hope.

How could he not have known? Seraphine was loyal to her core, the kind of woman who would never look at another man once she’d given her heart. And Voren treated her like a rare gem, polished and cherished, kept safe from the world’s cruelty.

If only Ravyn had given her half the attention he’d lavished on Daisy. If only he’d stopped to investigate matters himself instead of swallowing Daisy’s stories whole.

If only he’d rolled with his parents from the start, followed their guidance instead of his carefully laid plans. He could have been the respectable Alpha he used to be. Instead, he’d thrown it all away, and now he had to start over from the ashes.

He also knew he couldn’t stay in the city much longer. The pack needed him, and his parents’ patience was wearing thin.

"I’ll be there first thing tomorrow." The resignation in his own voice made him sick.

The next morning brought another dream, sharp and unforgiving.

"Ravyn, who’s that girl?"

Voren’s voice cut through the memory of the academy training ground, the sun hot on their shoulders, the scent of grass and sweat thick in the air.

Ravyn followed his new friend’s gaze and found Seraphine hovering at the edge of the field, the Luna’s training session just ended.

She was trying to please him in her small, earnest way, carrying his water bottle, collecting his discarded gear. But when he looked at her, all he felt was annoyance.

"She’s our beta’s daughter." He rolled his shoulders, dismissing her with a flick of his eyes. "My mom and dad insist I take care of her. In fact, they insist I have to marry her when she turns eighteen."

Voren’s expression flickered, something complex passing behind his eyes. "Will you?"

Ravyn shook his head quickly, a scoff escaping his lips. "Never. I like someone else. You must have seen her around. She’s blonde."

Voren’s gaze drifted back to Seraphine. Then, he raised a hand in greeting. "Hi. I’m Voren."

Ravyn blinked in surprise. Since Voren had enrolled at the academy, he’d never given any girl a second glance, though they flocked to him like moths to flame. But now, his attention was fixed entirely on the ten-year-old with the sad eyes and the wilted flower.

She was prettier than Ravyn had ever noticed, but to him, that was all there was to her, just another face, another nuisance. Every day, the moment the Luna’s session ended, she’d hunt him down somehow, tormenting him with her constant, desperate presence.

Seraphine pouted, her gaze fixed solely on Ravyn. She didn’t even glance at Voren. "Ravyn, when does training start? Will you have lunch with me? Aunt Kylie said you should take care of me, remember?"

He scanned the grounds for Daisy, irritated that she hadn’t shown up. But then he caught the way Voren kept looking at Sera, a slow, calculating interest flickering in his friend’s eyes. And an idea took root in his mind, dark and opportunistic.

During their next training session, he pulled Voren aside. "You can pretend to be me and spend time with her. That would give me a break from her unwanted presence."

Voren’s face lit up with barely concealed eagerness. "I’ll take you on your word. How about I visit your pack to make it easier?"

Ravyn smirked, the expression tasting wrong even as it stretched his lips. "I like the idea."

He woke from that dream with tears streaming down his face.

He’d pushed Seraphine straight into Voren’s arms. Hand-delivered her like a gift, like she was nothing but a nuisance to be pawned off. The bitter taste of it coated his tongue, acrid and inescapable.

He stumbled to the shower and turned the water to cold, letting the icy spray pound against his skin until his teeth chattered, hoping it would numb something deeper than flesh.

But the cold couldn’t reach the rot in his chest, the memories that clawed at him with every passing hour. He needed to get back to the pack, needed to bury himself in work before insanity took hold.

Because those dreams would never stop tormenting him. They were the past he’d willfully forgotten, and now they were knocking on his door with a vengeance, demanding to be felt.

He was halfway out of his penthouse, his bag slung over his shoulder, heading for the helipad, when his phone buzzed with an incoming call from a number he didn’t recognize.

He answered without thinking, assuming it was business.

Then a familiar voice slithered through the speaker, slick and venomous. "Mr. Walker, this is Coco."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!