Ravyn never saw that coming from Seraphine. That whole mess had gone down more than six years back, and he’d spent every one of those years shoving the memories so deep he could almost pretend they never existed.

If she’d pulled him aside somewhere private, he could’ve handled it, brushed it off, come up with something that sounded halfway decent. But no, she had to drop it right there in the middle of the hall, with every Alpha, Luna, and royal guest staring straight at them.

There was no corner to duck into and no excuse that wouldn’t sound like pure bullshit.

Before he could even get his head straight, Corvine was already moving. He stepped up without a second thought, dropped to one knee in front of Seraphine, and carefully slid those stilettos off her feet.

His hands were steady and gentle, almost like he was handling something precious, and he swapped them out for a pair of soft flip-flops somebody had ready and waiting.

Even Voren felt a little pull in his chest watching it. Seraphine was going to be on her feet too long, and with the pregnancy, those heels were only going to make everything harder on her body.

The whole scene made Ravyn’s face go darker by the second. His jaw locked tight as he watched Corvine take care of her like it was the most natural thing in the world, like looking out for her came second nature to him.

Athaliah caught it too. If she hadn’t already known Seraphine was Voren’s wife, she would’ve sworn Corvine was a man head over heels. What really threw her, though, wasn’t Corvine.

It was Voren. Not once did he flinch or look bothered. He just watched quietly, completely at ease with the two of them, and that kind of trust said more than any words ever could.

"Sera... we’ve already talked about this," Ravyn muttered the second Corvine stood back up. Corvine didn’t head back to his seat. He stayed right there beside Seraphine, calmly holding those stilettos like it was no big deal.

Nobody in the room missed how close they were standing. Prince Jasper’s brow furrowed. A few Alphas shot each other uneasy looks. Even the Lunas started whispering under their breath.

Seraphine lifted her eyes to Ravyn, her face giving nothing away. "And what exactly did we conclude?" Her voice stayed quiet, but that calm only made the air feel heavier. Ravyn’s throat went dry. He swallowed hard. "Can you really blame me? You used the pregnancy to force me into that marriage. This is what it got us."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Seraphine’s mouth. It looked pleasant enough on the surface, but her eyes were pure ice. "I never forced you to marry me, Ravyn. Your parents wanted that marriage."

"You still agreed," Ravyn pointed out.

"I did." Seraphine’s smile faded. "But only because I was blind."

Silence rolled through the hall. Her voice softened, carrying echoes of the girl she used to be. "When I was younger, I looked up to you. You were my hero. You were strong and brave, and you always stepped in whenever somebody picked on me. I honestly believed I could trust you with anything."

Every word landed heavy on Ravyn’s chest. Memories he’d fought to keep buried came flooding back. The little girl who used to chase after him, the way she’d light up every time he said something nice. His fingers curled into fists.

"But everything changed," he shot back, pushing the guilt down hard. "You started treating Daisy like shit."

Seraphine shook her head slowly. "I’m not going to argue about that. No matter what I say, you’ll never believe me." She drew in a slow breath and locked eyes with him. "I only want Bryan. In exchange for my daughter."

"You’ll never take him."

Daisy stepped forward, chin lifted high, voice full of that same proud confidence that only stoked the fire already burning in Seraphine’s chest. The second Daisy got close enough...

Smack!

The sharp crack of the slap rang out across the hall. Daisy’s head snapped hard to the side, her balance gone in an instant. She stumbled backward and hit the polished floor hard.

A collective gasp swept through the crowd, followed by total silence. Nobody had expected Seraphine to swing without a second of hesitation.

Ravyn’s eyes went wide before pure fury took over his face. "Sera!" He rushed to Daisy, helping her sit up. "Daisy is a Luna now. You can’t bully her the way you used to."

Seeing the red mark blooming across Daisy’s cheek flipped every protective switch he had. She was the mother of his son. No matter what had gone down between them, he wasn’t about to stand there and watch someone put hands on her ever again, not even Seraphine.

Across the room, Voren’s frown had nothing to do with the slap itself. It was how hard Seraphine had hit. His eyes dropped to her hand.

If she kept going physical in her condition, she was going to hurt herself. He quietly pulled out his phone and fired off a quick message to Corvine.

’Get the princess to stand beside Sera. She mustn’t get physical. I don’t care if you have to tell the princess about the pregnancy.’

Corvine’s phone buzzed almost instantly. He read it, didn’t waste a second, and walked straight over to Athaliah. He leaned in close enough that only she could hear. "Sera is pregnant. I can’t touch Daisy because she’s a—"

He didn’t even finish. Athaliah got it right away. Her eyes widened just a fraction before she rose from her seat with easy grace.

Ignoring every curious stare in the room, she walked right up to Seraphine and gently took her hand. She turned the palm over, studying it carefully, brows drawing together with real concern.

"Sera. Don’t hurt your fingers next time." She gave Seraphine’s hand a light squeeze, then tipped her chin toward Daisy. "I was trained to deal with women like her."

Seraphine understood exactly what those words meant. Her eyes softened. She didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, a small, real smile finally warmed her face. "Thank you," she whispered.

Then she turned back to Ravyn, calm settling over her features again, and the whole hall seemed to hold its breath as she locked eyes with him.

"What if Bryan isn’t your son?"