Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

’You! I hate you.’

The words flashed across the screen with a kind of raw aggression that almost felt physical, like they had been thrown straight at her face instead of typed out behind a keyboard.

Seraphine didn’t even flinch. Her fingers hovered for only a second before she responded, her tone cool, almost detached in contrast to the emotion pouring out of him.

’I’d be surprised if you didn’t. But I’d love to know why.’

There was a pause this time. Not long, but long enough to feel intentional, like he was choosing his words carefully, or maybe just letting his anger build before releasing it all at once.

Then his reply came.

’I always had my eyes on you when I lived at the pack. I tried to get your attention a few times when we were teenagers, but all you ever talked about was Ravyn. I’m so glad he divorced you and turned you into a joke. And I heard from Daisy that they killed your child. Does it hurt?’

The air in the room changed instantly.

Corvine felt it before he even looked at her, that sharp spike of tension that filled the space like something alive. When he turned, he saw it clearly. A tear slipping down Seraphine’s cheek, silent and uninvited, betraying the one place she was still vulnerable.

"Sera, let it go," he said quietly, his voice careful, like he didn’t want to push her too far in either direction.

Her eyes stayed on the screen, unblinking, locked in. "No," she said, her voice low but steady, carrying a weight that made it clear she wasn’t backing down. "I’ve come too far."

She was about to type again when another message started forming on the screen.

’I don’t even like Daisy, but compared to you, she’s nothing. You’re the worst thing that ever happened to any she-wolf. Loving a man for seven years while he kept sleeping with your former nanny’s daughter. That’s just pathetic. You really have no dignity.’

For a split second, something inside her cracked.

Not loudly, not completely, but enough to feel it. Enough for the words to sting, to scrape against old wounds that hadn’t fully healed.

But instead of reacting the way he expected, instead of lashing out or breaking down, Seraphine went still in a different way. Her breathing slowed, her expression smoothing out as she forced her emotions back under control, locking them away where they couldn’t interfere.

Then she read the message again.

And this time, she wasn’t reading it as an insult. She was reading it like a pattern.

Her eyes sharpened slightly as something clicked into place.

Her fingers moved again.

’You don’t just hate me,’ she typed. ’You hate women. All of them. Why?’

The response came quicker than before, almost eager.

’You’re smarter than the rest of them, I’ll give you that. Humans, she-wolves... doesn’t matter, I’ve destroyed all of them. So I’ll tell you. My mother was just like you. A selfish woman who left me and my dad to go marry some weak human. My dad had to do everything on his own after that, juggling work and raising me. He never moved on because he loved her too much. Just like I never moved on after you rejected me.’

Corvine watched her closely, expecting that to hit her again, expecting another crack in that armor she was barely holding together. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Instead, she reached up, wiped the tear from her cheek, and smiled. Not a soft or a kind one, but something that carried a quiet kind of danger.

’You said I rejected you,’ she typed slowly, ’but I don’t even remember you. So tell me something, am I supposed to give every man who likes me a chance? Should I have just opened a brothel instead?’

The reaction was instant. ’I’m done talking to you. The deal is off. I want nothing to do with you.’

Seraphine didn’t let him walk away that easily. Before he could disappear, her fingers flew across the keyboard one more time, dropping something that hit exactly where it needed to.

’Yeah, run. That’s easier, right? You’re obsessed with a woman you can’t have. Maybe try being a man for once and take responsibility for something in your life.’

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a massive image filled the screen. A middle finger, and just like that, the connection dropped, the screen going black as he disappeared completely.

There was a brief silence and then, unexpectedly, Seraphine laughed.

Corvine blinked, caught off guard for half a second before he let out a laugh too, shaking his head. "You know, I always thought that move belonged to you."

"It does," she said, leaning back slightly, a hint of satisfaction in her expression. "He’s just upset because his ego took a hit. I got into his system faster than he expected."

Her gaze flickered back to the screen, her focus snapping right back into place. "Don’t worry. We’ll clean this up. Everything involving Emery gets wiped, completely gone."

Corvine let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. "And Daisy?" he asked.

Seraphine’s expression didn’t soften. "We keep those files. It’s illegal evidence, yeah, but someday when Zane decides to grow a spine, he can testify against her, or give us the originals."

Corvine nodded slowly, relief and anticipation mixing together in his chest. "Thank you, Sera. Emery’s finally free from this. I can’t wait to see her face when I tell her."

Seraphine gave a small nod, already moving on mentally. "Now," she said, her voice sharpening again, "it’s time for Santiago."

There was a spark of excitement in Corvine now, something almost electric. This was bigger, riskier, but if anyone could pull it off...

Seraphine didn’t start immediately though. Instead, she reached for her phone, her expression turning colder in a different way.

"But first," she said, "I need to call Damon."

Corvine raised a brow slightly, curious.

"I’m not letting Ravyn walk around like everything is fine while I’m still dealing with losing my child," she continued, her voice quiet but filled with something dark and simmering. "It’s time he feels some of that pain too."

A slow, smug smile spread across Corvine’s face. "Choosing your side is the best decision I’ve ever made," he admitted. "You’re something else."

The call connected.

Damon’s voice came through almost immediately, carrying urgency. "Sera, I was just about to call you. Ravyn’s back, but there’s a serious problem at the pack."