The guilty little smile forming on Voren’s face answered her before he even opened his mouth. Seraphine folded her arms. "You did."
Voren lifted both hands in a mock surrender. "I could’ve bought new things," he said, putting extra emphasis on the word could’ve, which made her smile.
"But?" He stepped closer, his voice softening. "I know people get attached to their stuff, especially when those things hold real mories."
Seraphine’s expression lted instantly, as Voren shrugged. "I couldn’t just replace everything. That wouldn’t have felt right."
The more she looked at him, the more her heart lted. It was always the little things with him, the small details most people never even thought about, and Voren noticed them every single ti.
A warm smile spread across her face before she could stop it. Honestly, every mont she spent with him just made her fall a little harder, and it was becoming a serious problem. Not that she was looking for a solution.
"You’re incredibly thoughtful," she said, the complint slipping out naturally. Voren looked pleased with himself, as he should. Then Seraphine rembered sothing else. "Wait." She pointed toward the hallway. "What was all that about Jasmine?"
A chuckle escaped him right away, like the mory was still hilarious. Seraphine narrowed her eyes. "Voren."
"Alright, alright," he surrendered dramatically. "My mother gave Jasmine a bunch of skimpy clothes." Seraphine blinked. Then blinked again. "A bunch of what?"
Voren’s grin widened by her reaction. "Very skimpy clothes. And lingerie."
For several seconds, Seraphine just stood there trying to process it. Eventually she found her voice. "Your mother bought Jasmine lingerie?" The sentence sounded completely ridiculous even as she said it. Voren nodded. "To seduce ."
The silence in the room was heavy. Then more silence. Then a third stretch of silence. Finally, Seraphine burst out laughing. The whole situation was so absurd she couldn’t hold it in. Voren rubbed his temple.
"It wasn’t funny at the ti."
"Oh, it’s funny now," she said, still laughing. He sighed dramatically. "I told her to get rid of everything or kiss her job goodbye. I guess she made the right choice."
Seraphine shook her head. The entire thing sounded unreal. But what surprised her most wasn’t the lingerie—it was his mother’s sheer determination.
For so reason, a tiny spark of jealousy flickered inside her. Very tiny. Extrely tiny. Okay, maybe not that tiny. Jasmine was beautiful. Anyone with eyes could see that.
Her fiery red hair turned heads everywhere she went. She was calm, soft-spoken, and gentle, the kind of woman a lot of Alphas preferred. The kind who rarely challenged them.
Many of Seraphine’s Luna friends were exactly like that: sweet, submissive, and easygoing.
anwhile, Seraphine was... well, Seraphine. Stubborn, strong-willed, hot-headed when she needed to be, ambitious, and opinionated.
Completely incapable of sitting quietly when she disagreed with sothing. She was basically the exact opposite of what most Alphas wanted.
A smile slowly crept across her face. Then again, only Voren would sohow prefer a woman like her. The thought ward her heart in the best way.
"I have a feeling your mother isn’t going to like ," she admitted. Voren miled faintly, not because the concern was ridiculous, but because he’d already thought about it many tis, more tis than he cared to admit.
He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You’re wrong."
Seraphine raised a skeptical eyebrow as Voren smiled. Once his mother got to know the real Seraphine, things would be different.
Sure, she was successful, powerful, and respected, but she wasn’t arrogant, rude, or cruel.
In fact, she was kinder than most people realized. His mother just hadn’t had the chance to see that side of her yet. "Don’t worry about her," he said reassuringly. "When the ti cos, she’ll figure it out herself."
Seraphine wasn’t entirely convinced, but she let it go for now. Then another thought crossed her mind, and confusion showed on her face. "Wait. You said we’re leaving for the pack."
"I did."
"Then why are you talking like your mother won’t see ?" The question made perfect sense, but Voren had other plans.
His smile was comforting as he pointed out, "I also rember you saying you don’t want us going public yet."
Seraphine nodded right away. That part hadn’t changed, not yet. Voren gently pulled her closer. "And I respect that." His voice dropped lower. "I can’t guarantee the silence of my pack mbers once they see you."
The thought alone made him frown. News traveled through a werewolf pack faster than wildfire. The second anyone spotted Seraphine, half the pack would know.
Within an hour the whole territory would know. By sunset, neighboring packs would probably know too.
"So instead of taking you directly into pack territory, I’m taking you sowhere safe." Her curiosity sparked imdiately. "Where?"
A mysterious smile appeared on his face, which only made her more suspicious. "You’ll see."
"Voren." The warning in her tone only amused him more.
"I’ll have our shaman et us there," he continued, his eyes softening. "We’ll see what can be done about your mories."
The reminder imdiately captured her full attention. All thoughts of his mother and the pack vanished. Only one thing remained: her mories, the missing pieces of her life.
Voren squeezed her hand gently. "Trust ." His smile turned warm, the kind that always made her believe him. "You are going to love it."
An hour later, the day kicked off for real. After covering Esperanza’s face with several big, affectionate kisses and promising to call her later, Seraphine finally headed out of the house.
To her surprise, the little girl didn’t throw any tantrums or beg to co along. Instead, Esperanza simply waved happily from the doorway, standing right beside Jasmine.
"Don’t work too hard, Mommy!" The sweet farewell trailed after Seraphine all the way to the car, warming her the entire ride.
As soon as the vehicle pulled away from the driveway, Corvine let out a long, dramatic sigh of relief. "Finally."
Seraphine turned toward him with a raised eyebrow. "What?" Corvine’s response marveled her completely.
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