Alpha D had only wanted to shut down the digging before it uncovered everything he’d worked so hard to hide. He figured if he cut the conversation short, the truth would stay buried forever and nobody would ever dig it back up.

Instead, every fresh piece of information that came out seemed to stir something deep inside Ravyn, something that had been locked away for years.

For so long he had stood among the strongest Alphas alive, the kind of man whose word alone could settle arguments and whose presence demanded respect.

But the second Daisy got mixed up in anything, that sharp judgment of his always seemed to vanish into thin air. This time felt different though. Even Seraphine, who rarely let anything rattle her, found herself growing uneasy as the weight of what was unfolding settled over the room.

It had taken forever for Ravyn to finally believe what she was telling him. Yet the instant he accepted the truth, it was like the missing piece of his mind snapped back into place with a force that left him clear-eyed and dangerous all over again.

Alpha D forced out a shaky laugh, trying to sound amused even though the sound cracked at the edges. "Alpha Ravyn, how can you even say that?"

"I remember every single visit," Ravyn answered, his icy gaze locked on the older Alpha and never once looking away. "She never let the maids serve you. She insisted on doing it herself every time."

Each word came paired with another steady step forward, closing the space between them. The entire room went dead quiet.

Alpha D’s confidence started crumbling right in front of everyone as Ravyn kept coming closer. He opened his mouth, searching for something to say. "I... I..."

The rest of the words never made it out.

A massive hand wrapped around his throat with crushing force. Gasps rippled through the banquet hall as Alpha D’s feet left the floor and his body dangled helplessly in the air. Ravyn held him there for a heartbeat longer, then slammed him down so hard the impact shook the marble.

Tables splintered underneath him. Plates and wine glasses exploded across the floor in a shower of dark red liquid. The waitstaff scattered in every direction, clearing tables and messes on the floor as pure panic took over.

What had started as a celebration had turned into something closer to a battlefield in a matter of seconds.

Coughing through the pain, Alpha D staggered back to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His face twisted with raw rage as he glared up at Ravyn. "You blame me? Maybe you should blame yourself for marrying a whore."

A sinister smile stretched slowly across Ravyn’s face.

"Good."

His eyes gleamed with the kind of murderous intent that made the air itself feel colder. "We’ll settle this outside before you leave. Either you kill me... or your pack receives your corpse."

His voice stayed terrifyingly calm the whole time, the kind of calm that promised he meant every single word.

Fear swept through the hall like a wave. No one doubted him for a second. Even the Alphas who had spent decades commanding respect suddenly looked uneasy in their seats and exchanging tight glances.

Seraphine barely spared any of them a second look. She was starving, and at this point all she wanted was for this whole circus to wrap up so she could get out of there and eat something. Turning toward Tallulah, she lifted her chin in a small gesture. "Tell everyone what she did."

Before Tallulah could even open her mouth, shrill laughter erupted across the hall.

Daisy.

Still sitting on the floor, she laughed so hard tears rolled down her face. The sound was unsettling, almost unhinged. Her eyes drifted over to Tallulah, and something ugly flickered across her expression.

The filthy waitress she had once paid to drug Seraphine looked nothing like the frightened woman from before. Clean clothes, healthy skin, actual confidence in the way she stood showed that Seraphine had clearly taken good care of her.

How ironic.

The very woman Daisy had tried to use as a tool was now standing right beside her greatest enemy.

Well...

Seraphine had overlooked one important thing.

Her wolf. If Daisy was going down tonight, she wasn’t going alone, and Seraphine would be the first person she dragged straight into hell with her.

"Yes." The laughter cut off as suddenly as it had started. A wicked grin spread across Daisy’s face. "I drugged you." She looked straight at Seraphine before turning her attention to Ravyn. "And I drugged Ravyn for a completely different reason."

Confusion swept across the room like a cold wind. "I planned for him to sleep with a minor I’d already arranged." Her eyes burned with pure hatred as they locked onto Seraphine. "But you ruined everything."

Ravyn stared at her in pure disbelief. "Why would you want me to sleep with a minor?"

Corvine frowned hard, unable to make sense of any of it. "Weren’t you already pregnant with his child at that time?"

Esperanza had been born prematurely. That meant Bryan had already been conceived before the drugging incident.

Daisy let out another cold, empty laugh. "Because I was carrying Raul’s pup, Bryan."

The confession landed like thunder in the middle of the hall. "I knew Ravyn would kill both of us if he ever found out." She shrugged one shoulder like she was discussing the weather instead of a life-destroying plot.

"So I needed another way out. If Ravyn had slept with that minor, the council would’ve stripped him of his Alpha title."

Everyone in the room understood exactly what she meant. Without an Alpha in place, the position would’ve been wide open for challenge.

"I believed Raul would’ve had a real chance to claim the title." She smiled bitterly. "Or someone else. Either way, I wouldn’t have had to face Ravyn’s wrath."

Everything Raul had revealed earlier suddenly snapped into perfect focus. The scattered pieces fit together with a clarity that made the air feel thicker.

Ravyn’s hands curled into tight fists until his knuckles turned white. The regret crushing his heart became almost unbearable, pressing down on him with every breath.

Still... Daisy wasn’t finished.

"That’s why I vowed to make Sera’s life miserable." Bitterness dripped from every word. "I still don’t know how the two of you ended up together. Your rooms were separate. I arranged for some lowly omega gigolo to sleep with her." Her lips curled in pure frustration. "But somehow, the two of you ended up together instead."

She looked straight at Seraphine. "So technically, she saved you. She had already turned eighteen by then. And since your parents already liked her, they forced you to marry her."

The words hit Ravyn harder than any physical blow ever could. His legs gave out underneath him and he crashed onto his knees right there on the marble floor. A single tear rolled down his face, followed quickly by another.

Seraphine had been his parents’ choice since they were kids but he never liked her so they never forced it until the pregnancy when they used the Alpha title to threaten him.

"So..." His voice cracked under the weight of it. "It was you. You manipulated everything... and every single day... you made me blame her."

Ravyn’s chest rose sharply as he struggled to keep speaking. "I had such good plans for you. But your heart..." He shook his head slowly, the motion heavy with heartbreak. "Was filled with nothing but evil."

His vision blurred. Unable to stop himself, he looked toward Seraphine. The guilt in his eyes was almost too much to look at. The moment their gazes nearly met, he lowered his head in pure shame. He couldn’t face her, not after everything.

Before another word could leave his mouth, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the direction of the restrooms. Then another one followed, sharper and more panicked than the first.

Everyone rushed toward the source. The horrifying scene that waited for them froze every single person where they stood.

Two Alphas lay unconscious on the restroom floor. One had lost an eye. The other, his manhood. Neither man was dead, but the amount of blood covering the tiles made several guests turn away in pure horror, hands pressed over their mouths as the cleaners began to clean up the mess whiles warriors gathered around to carry them to the hospital.

Seraphine studied the gruesome scene briefly and returned to her seat before her attention landed on a familiar figure calmly walking out of the restroom.

Voren.

His expression remained perfectly composed, as though he’d merely finished washing his hands and nothing more.

Her eyes narrowed as she reached him instantly through their mind link. ’Was this your doing too?’