Esperanza looked at them like the answer should have been obvious. "Because it’ll bring out Coco." The room turned serious again as she pointed straight at the Voren. "If you don’t talk to her, she’ll tell old daddy about ."
The statent hit everyone like a bucket of ice water. Voren’s expression darkened instantly. "Fuck." The curse slipped out before he could catch it. When he noticed Esperanza staring at him, guilt crossed his face and he cleared his throat. "Sorry about my language."
The little girl just giggled. Voren rubbed his forehead. "She’s right, though." His expression hardened. "Ravyn knows Coco. They t once." His instincts scread danger. "I’ll call her right now."
He reached for his phone on the kitchen island, but Esperanza’s voice stopped him cold. "No, Dad." The confidence in her tone made him pause. He looked down at her slowly. Esperanza folded her little arms.
"If you call her now, she’ll understand that you know she lied." The little girl sounded oddly mature, almost strategic—a trait she definitely hadn’t gotten from him. "If she thinks you found out the truth, she’ll run away."
The room went quiet again. "And if she runs?" Voren asked carefully.
Esperanza shrugged. "Then she might use other ans to get close to you." Nobody could argue with that. The logic was annoyingly solid. She pointed at him. "Don’t chase her." Then she pointed at the floor. "Set a trap. And she’ll walk into it herself."
Corvine slowly turned toward Voren. Both n stared at each other without saying a word. They were clearly thinking the sa thing: why the hell were they taking strategic advice from a little girl? And more importantly, why was it actually good advice?
Finally, Voren sighed. "Alright." Esperanza imdiately smiled, looking pleased with herself. Voren shook his head and straightened up. "Here’s what we’ll do." His Alpha instincts kicked in fully. "You’ll stay with Jasmine." Esperanza nodded.
"I’ll stop by the office. I need to sign a few contracts." Voren’s gaze settled on Seraphine. "After that, we’ll submit the samples at the hospital. We can collect the results after we get back from the pack." His expression grew serious. "We’re leaving tonight."
Everyone nodded in agreent. Well, almost everyone.
"Actually..." The hesitant voice belonged to Jasmine. The whole room turned toward her. She looked unusually nervous, sothing none of them had really seen before. Jasmine rubbed her hands together.
"Can I stay behind? And help Corvine plan the wedding?"
The request stunned everyone. Even Seraphine looked shocked. "You want to help plan my wedding?" There was genuine surprise in her voice.
Jasmine’s cheeks turned a little pink, making her look younger and more vulnerable. "I’ve never had the chance before. Not really." Her gaze dropped for a second, and a flicker of sadness passed through her eyes.
"Before Luna Oriana found , I didn’t have a family." The admission made the room feel quieter. Jasmine looked back up. "This is the least I can do." Then she glanced toward Corvine with a small grin. "And honestly, I’ll learn a lot. Beta Corvine seems to know everything."
Corvine nearly snorted. The complint didn’t soften him one bit. He crossed his arms, his expression staying cold. "That doesn’t an I trust you." Jasmine’s smile faltered, but he wasn’t done. "I’ll be watching you closely."
Seraphine choked on a quiet laugh as Jasmine simply stared at him for a mont, then smiled again, a genuine one this ti. "No need. I’m not that stupid."
Corvine narrowed his eyes, still clearly unconvinced. Voren wasn’t fully convinced either. He wanted to trust her, but years of loyalty to his mother couldn’t be erased overnight.
Trust would take ti, a lot of it. Still, this felt like real progress.
As everyone started getting ready for the rest of the day, Voren rembered the shopping bags he saw Jasmine carrying to her room. A realization suddenly clicked into place, and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh. That’s why you got rid of all those gifts."
Jasmine froze. The guilty look on her face imdiately confird his suspicion. She looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
Voren folded his arms, amusent dancing in his eyes. "So you’re worried she’ll be upset when she sees you without them."
Caught red-handed, Jasmine had zero defense ready. The guilty look on her face said everything, confirming Voren’s suspicion without her needing to say a word.
Seraphine, on the other hand, was totally lost. Her eyebrows shot up as she glanced back and forth between the two of them. "What are you talking about?"
Voren imdiately looked away, the amusent sparkling in his eyes making it clear he was thoroughly enjoying Jasmine’s discomfort. He didn’t answer Seraphine right away though.
Instead, he casually draped a strong arm around her shoulders and pulled her in a little closer. "Co on," he said, his lips curving into a playful smile. "Let’s get ready." Then he glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Oh, and I hope you’re not too upset that Corvine kicked you out of Stone Manor."
The room instantly exploded. "VOREN!" Corvine’s roar bounced off the walls as the he stared at Voren in pure disbelief.
"You really just threw under the bus like that?" His offended expression was so over-the-top that even Esperanza burst out laughing.
Voren just smiled, looking completely innocent. "What? Can’t take a joke?"
Corvine pointed at him, the gesture loaded with enough threats to fill an entire conversation, but Voren wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He grinned shalessly. "I’ll explain everything to her."
The whole exchange left Seraphine fighting back laughter as Voren guided her down the hallway toward their room. The second the door clicked shut behind them, she turned to face him.
A realization had just clicked into place, and her eyes widened. "Wait. Did you move my things from Corvine’s house?" Her voice was full of surprise. "I thought you bought everything new."
That was genuinely what she’d believed when she first woke up and saw it all neatly arranged in the room. Now she wasn’t so sure. However, Voren’s explanation left her speechless.
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