Chapter 821 - Enough, Sera!

Chapter 821: Chapter 821 - Enough, Sera!

Ravyn felt a sharp pang in his chest, a twisting pain that seemed to pierce straight through his soul. When Daisy’s sins first came to light, he had wanted nothing to do with her or anything connected to her, including the pups she was carrying.

He had been so consumed by anger and betrayal that the thought of having children with a woman who had destroyed his life brought him no comfort at all.

With time, though, he had grown accustomed to the expectation of becoming a father to twins.

Without even realizing it, he had allowed himself to hope, to dream, and to imagine a future where those two innocent lives might bring something good into his world.

He knew their existence would always remind him of the woman who had turned his life upside down, but he had convinced himself that the Moon Goddess must have had a reason for allowing things to happen this way, that perhaps there was a purpose hidden somewhere in all the pain he had endured.

It was also why he had never expected to find a second-chance mate, and why he had avoided Mary when she first came into his life. He had been so afraid of opening his heart again that he had done everything possible to keep his distance, until the inevitable happened and Mary eventually reached out to him through Voren.

The thought of loving someone again had terrified him, especially because he knew how much it hurt to place your trust in another person only to have it shattered.

Even after he began getting closer to Mary, one fear had continued to trouble him. He had wondered whether she would ever love the pups Daisy was carrying, whether she would accept them as her own if he chose to make her his Luna.

Yet, the more he got to know Mary, the more those worries began to fade, and he had slowly allowed himself to believe that perhaps he could have a happy family again.

Then something so brutal, so cruel, and so impossible had come along to destroy the little hope he had managed to build.

"It’s okay," Ravyn murmured, his voice trembling as tears gathered in his eyes and his words broke around the edges.

Apart from what had happened during the Full Moon Festival, when he discovered the truth about Daisy, Voren had never seen his best friend so broken.

The man who had once commanded an entire pack with confidence now looked completely defeated, as though the weight of everything he had endured had finally become too much for him to carry.

"Ravyn, I wasn’t asking you to accept it. I only wanted us to find a way to keep all the pups alive," Voren explained, guilt weighing heavily on his heart as he tried to make his friend understand why he had brought up such a painful subject.

Ravyn forced a smile, but the expression did nothing to hide the anguish in his eyes. He looked tortured, haunted by the thought of what he was being asked to consider.

"If there were a way, you wouldn’t be telling me this."

"No." Voren shook his head, his voice firm as he looked directly at him. "You’re the one who kept complaining that I was leaving you out of everything. I only thought you deserved to know about the silent battle I’ve been fighting with my wife. I haven’t even told my leaders about it, and they assume I’ve been keeping my distance because of Sera, but the truth is, this has been extremely difficult for me too."

Ravyn closed his eyes, placing both hands on the luxurious mahogany table in front of Voren. His fingers trembled against the polished surface, and for a moment, he seemed unable to find the strength to respond.

When he finally opened his eyes, Voren was startled by how red they had become. The redness spoke of tears he was struggling to hold back and grief that had gone far too deep for words to express.

He had never seen Ravyn like this before, and he was still trying to think of something to say when the office door suddenly opened.

Seraphine walked in, breathing hard, her face flushed from whatever effort it had taken her to get there.

"V, why did you block me?"

Voren’s expression immediately darkened, his jaw tightening as he looked at her. He had only wanted to have a private conversation with Ravyn, hoping to spare her the pain of hearing what they had been discussing and protect her from carrying another burden when she was already going through so much.

Before he could answer, though, Seraphine’s attention fell on the man sitting across from her husband, and her expression brightened slightly.

"Oh, Ravyn has arrived."

For some reason, Ravyn turned toward her, and the moment his eyes fell on her heavily pregnant belly, a wave of sympathy washed over him.

He felt sorry for the woman who had once been his wife, the woman he had once taken for granted, even though their past had become something neither of them could ever return to.

"Sera, are you allowed to stand?"

Seraphine raised an eyebrow as she walked toward Voren. He immediately pushed his chair back to give her room to sit on his lap, then wrapped both arms around her protectively as soon as she settled against him.

She remembered how things had been when she was pregnant with Esperanza. Ravyn had never cared whether she had eaten or had enough to drink, and he had never shown the kind of concern she had needed from the man who was supposed to love and protect her.

Yet here he was, asking whether she was allowed to stand, as though her well-being had suddenly become something worth worrying about.

The irony was difficult to miss, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Seraphine let out a quiet sigh, but whatever thoughts had crossed her mind quickly gave way to sorrow when she looked at Ravyn again. His expression was filled with so much pain that she could not help feeling sorry for him, especially because she knew how much he had already endured.

"You already told him?"

"It’s alright, Sera. At least I won’t feel guilty anymore," Ravyn said seriously, but his gaze remained sorrowful.

"We already crossed that bridge, Ravyn. The moment Esperanza’s DNA was changed, your debt was cancelled from my heart." Her voice remained gentle, although there was no uncertainty in her words. "But I honestly don’t understand why the Moon Goddess is doing this, and I don’t mind sacrificing my life for..."

"Enough, Sera!"

Voren’s voice rose sharply, the words coming out with a mixture of fear and desperation that startled her.