The question hit square in the chest after he asked and the pain that came with it caught him off guard. It wasn’t the kind of pain that made sense on paper.

The blood moon ritual had the whole pack buzzing, people were excited, hopeful even, talking about the mate bond coming but for the ones who already had somebody, already built something, it was less of a gift and more of a live wire dropped into a swimming pool.

Fear had settled into that group quietly because everyone knew what the bond could do.

Ravyn had thought about all of this the moment Voren first brought it up the first time, and every single time he came back to the same thing — Bryan.

"Daisy is still Bryan’s mother." His voice came out quiet and even, the words landing soft but certain, like he’d been carrying them around long enough that they’d worn smooth. "I’ll choose her over and over."

Something moved across Voren’s face. A slow exhale left him. He couldn’t fully explain it to himself. It wasn’t entirely about Ravyn’s loyalty to Daisy. Part of it, maybe the bigger part, was knowing that Seraphine wouldn’t be pulled into whatever gravitational mess a mate bond between her and Ravyn would create. That particular disaster, at least, seemed like it was off the table.

But even Voren who planned everything, had no real idea how that day would unfold. The ritual was being hosted at Grimroot. His own Shaman would be overseeing it. And the details, the real conditions, would be determined on that day by the Moon goddess herself.

"The conditions of the blood moon ritual aren’t all out yet." Voren leaned back slightly, the line of his shoulders not quite relaxed. "A lot of people still don’t know what’s actually going to be required. All we can do right now is hope that when everything comes out, it lands in a way that works for us."

Ravyn said nothing. He gave one slow nod, and then he looked at Voren straight and said, "What if I transferred my shares over to you and you invested with her under your name? You could route the money back to me when it matures."

It wasn’t a crazy idea on its face. The problem was the person sitting in the middle of it.

Seraphine was the best stockbroker working in the city, not just good, but genuinely exceptional in a way that made people nervous because you couldn’t always tell how she did it.

MindNest had taken off faster than anyone expected and the investors who’d gotten in with her early were climbing the wealth rankings at a rate that made other brokers look like they were standing still.

Ravyn had been watching it happen from the outside and the honest truth was it scared him a little. Not Seraphine herself, but the trajectory. The math of it. The way his own finances felt increasingly fragile by comparison, and the gap between where he was and where her clients were getting to seemed to widen every few days.

And through all of it, Voren sat at the top. Still number one, the same way he’d always been, like the whole city could rearrange itself around him and he’d remain exactly where he was.

Voren cleared his throat. The sound carried a kind of finality to it. He’d gone past the point of using Seraphine as a business tool, and he wasn’t about to open that door back up for somebody else, even his best friend.

"You should have come to me before I went into my second round of investment talks with her." There was no heat in it, just honesty delivered straight. "And even then, she almost didn’t agree because she’s worried I’m going to try to take MindNest from her."

The sadness that moved through Ravyn’s face wasn’t loud but it was there, pulling slightly at the corners of his expression. "So in other words, you can’t help."

"In other words," Voren said, and his tone wasn’t unkind but it wasn’t soft either, "you need to find your own way to work with her. I gave you a shot, Ravyn, and you messed it up." His jaw tightened slightly. "I’m not doing it again. I’m sorry."

What happened in that hospital ward still sat with him in a way that was hard to shake. He’d made a promise to protect Seraphine and then walked her right into a room with the person she needed protecting from.

The fact that Ravyn would have used his Alpha strength to force her to apologize for emotions she had every right to feel was still not sitting right with Voren.

And this time around, he wasn’t taking chances. Not with anyone.

The conversation ended and Voren went back to his room.

Seraphine had packed fast. That was the first thing he noticed when he pushed the door open.

She looked up when he walked in and something almost like amusement flickered at the edge of her expression.

"Ready?" Voren asked.

"Almost." Seraphine moved past him into the hallway without ceremony and he fell into step behind her and somehow, without either of them saying a word about it, they both ended up stopped outside Bryan’s door at the same time.

Seraphine pushed it open a few inches and stood in the frame.

The boy was still asleep. Curled up on his side, one small hand tucked under his cheek, his chest rising and falling in that deep, oblivious rhythm that only kids can manage. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of his breathing.

Voren watched her from where he stood in the hallway, but said nothing.

After a moment she pulled the door closed, slow and careful so the latch barely made a sound, and they headed downstairs together.

Damon was already near the entrance, standing with the particular kind of stillness that meant he’d been there a while. His eyes tracked across both of them the second they came down, taking the picture in, and then his gaze settled on Voren with an expression that was working very hard to be unreadable.

"I’ll call when we’re back in the city," Seraphine said.

Damon nodded, and then his whole expression changed, the tension easing out of it, warmth moving into his eyes, his mouth pulling into something genuine and easy. It was like watching a different person step forward wearing the same body.

"Any chance I get a hug before you go?" He opened his hands slightly, just enough, something almost loose and easygoing about the way he held himself. "No idea when I’ll see you again."

But his eyes weren’t on her when he said it. They were on Voren.

And the smile sitting on his face had just enough edge behind it that no one standing there could mistake what he actually meant.