"You bastard!"

Ravyn’s furious roar tore through the banquet hall right as his fist crashed into Voren’s face.

Gasps ripped through the room from every direction. This was the first time anyone succeeded in landing a punch on Alpha Voren.

Most of the times, he dodged too quickly or would block it so fast. Nobody had even begun to recover from the declaration Voren had just dropped and yet, the Alphas everyone had known in the werewolf community to be best friends were against each other.

"How is that even possible?"

"What about the Alpha Code?"

"Then why was she never crowned Luna?"

"We’ve never heard of the Grimroot Pack having a new Luna. Luna Oriana has been the only Luna even after Alpha Voren’s coronation."

Confusion tore through the crowd like wildfire. Envy, disbelief, and raw jealousy tangled together as whispers raced from one table to the next.

Voren barely stumbled from the hit. A crooked smile tugged at his mouth as he rolled his jaw and lifted his eyes back to Ravyn.

"That all you got?"

The challenge dumped gasoline straight onto Ravyn’s already burning anger. His fist flew again, landing square against Voren’s cheek. Voren barely reacted. He simply turned his head back toward Ravyn with an almost bored look.

"You’ve gotten weak."

The taunt hit harder than any punch could have. With a furious growl Ravyn swung again.

Across the hall Seraphine froze halfway through another bite of fruit, her eyes locked on the two men. Athaliah glanced between them, confusion written all over her face.

"Why isn’t Alpha Voren fighting back?" Everyone knew that Ravyn was not match for him but Seraphine trusted her man, speaking in his defense.

"I think he’s got a plan," she shrugged.

Her attention never left Voren. She completely missed the uneasy looks Prince Jasper and Alpha Killian shot each other before both men quietly put distance between themselves and her.

The message had finally landed. After hearing Voren claim her out loud, it became painfully clear why he’d beaten those men in the restroom earlier. Every single hit had been because of Seraphine.

Prince Jasper suddenly regretted ever showing open interest in her. If Voren had reacted that violently over a few harmless comments, Jasper wanted nothing to do with whatever came next.

Alpha Killian’s reaction came from pure disbelief. If someone like Alpha Voren had fallen this hard for Seraphine, his best friend’s ex-wife, then she was nowhere near an ordinary woman.

"You betrayed me..."

Ravyn’s voice cracked, echoing through the hall. His eyes had gone bloodshot, tears of pure rage shimmering in them as another punch came flying toward Voren.

This time Voren caught his wrist, and the room went dead silent. "Enough, Ravyn," Voren’s gaze turned red, as Bloodfang echoed in his mind. ’I thought you had gone weak. I was about to take over.’

’I have a reason,’ Voren said calmly and when he glared at Ravyn, every trace of warmth and amusement had left it. "I let you hit me three’ times because I owe you."

The words were honest. It was thanks to Ravyn he met Seraphine and that debt had earned him exactly three punches, nothing more.

Without another warning Voren’s fist shot forward. The punch landed with crushing force, launching Ravyn backward until he crashed onto the floor. Before anyone could react, Ravyn staggered back onto his feet.

Voren’s eyes stayed ice-cold. "That one was for every lie you told me about Sera."

He stepped forward and drove his knee straight into Ravyn’s stomach. Air exploded from Ravyn’s lungs as he doubled over and collapsed again. Even then he forced himself back up.

Voren didn’t give him a second to recover. "That one was for turning me against her."

His foot lashed out, the kick slamming into Ravyn’s chest hard enough to knock him off balance and send him skidding across the polished floor. A painful groan tore from Ravyn’s lips.

"That one," Voren’s voice dropped even lower, "was for every filthy thing you’ve ever said about her."

Before Ravyn could even pull himself together another kick crashed into him with even greater force. His vision spun. His body was already on the ground, yet the impact still left him dizzy and gasping.

Voren stood over him, every word carrying years of buried regret. "And that," his fists tightened, "was for killing Sera’s pup... your own blood."

The hall turned deathly quiet, the words struck Ravyn harder than any physical blow ever could. If only he hadn’t swapped the pup, then perhaps Seraphine would have still stayed, or even, the pup would have been the thread to pull them back together but no, he allowed Daisy’s evil ways to corrupt his heart.

Voren looked down at the man he’d once called his best friend. The disappointment in his eyes ran deeper than anger ever could. "From this moment on," his voice echoed across the silent banquet hall, "we’re no longer friends."

That was the only mercy Voren intended to show. Not because Ravyn deserved it, but because Humphrey and Kylie did. Even after disowning their son, Voren knew they still carried a parent’s heart.

No mother or father could truly stop loving their child. As a father himself, he understood that better than anyone. Nothing Esperanza could ever do would make him hate her.

The same was true for Bryan and the unborn pup Seraphine carried in her womb. Bryan was already his son in every way that mattered because soon enough, Seraphine would take full custody of him from Daisy.

Ravyn slowly pushed himself upright. His body swayed hard from the punishment, forcing him to catch his balance more than once before he finally faced Voren again.

His mind was pure chaos. The only woman Voren had ever acknowledged was Coco. She had even given him Marigold. So what the hell was all this about?

His brows drew together as confusion completely overtook the anger. "What are you talking about?" His breathing stayed ragged. "What about Coco... and Marigold?"