Chapter 489 You are a terrible kisser

The whole gathering went dead silent, the only sound left being the crackling of the bonfire while every single pair of eyes locked onto Voren and Seraphine whose faces were too close together.

The sight hit like a slap across the face. Voren’s heart warmed, but he kept his expression completely blank. They had to play this perfectly.

One wrong move and people would start digging, and by tomorrow morning every secret they’d been guarding would explode out into the open.

For Voren, it would be okay but for Sera, it wouldn’t be. Just one more night. That was all they had to survive.

His icy gaze landed on Seraphine, but underneath it burned the kind of warmth that only she ever got to see.

“Luna Sera,” he said, his lips curling with just enough fake annoyance to sell it. “Isn’t it a little embarrassing to drag me into one of your ridiculous games?”

A playful grin lit up her whole face as she grabbed the front of his shirt tighter, and yanked him even closer, her eyes sparkling with pure mischief.

“Oh come on, Alpha Voren,” she teased, her voice light and flirty. “The full moon’s only a few hours away. Everyone’s allowed to lose their mind a little tonight.” She tilted her head, flashing that teasing smile that always wrecked him. “Think about it. One million dollars for just a…”

Before anyone could even process what was happening, she closed the distance and slammed her lips against his.

For one wild second, Voren completely forgot about the audience watching them. She was impossible to resist. His hand slid to the back of her head, fingers sinking gently into her soft hair as he kissed her back hard, pulling her body flush against his like he never wanted to let go. The entire world around them just melted away.

A sharp gasp ripped through the silence.

“He… he kissed her,” Luna Joyce whispered, staring in total disbelief as all the color drained from her face.

Ravyn sat frozen in place. His expression twisted into something dark and ugly while a brutal pain ripped through his chest, like someone had shoved a knife straight into his heart and twisted it for good measure.

Daisy looked just as wrecked, her face ghostly pale right as Damon strolled up and dropped casually into the seat beside Kael.

“No… that’s impossible!” Daisy cried out, shaking her head in denial.

Ravyn couldn’t stand another second of it. “Enough!”

His furious roar tore across the gathering like thunder. Seraphine slowly pulled back from Voren, pretending to study him for a moment before she clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“You are a terrible kisser,” she announced, wrinkling her nose in exaggerated disgust. “I’m not paying you anymore.”

Without another look, she spun on her heel and walked off, leaving Voren with a hollow ache where her warmth had been. He watched her go, fighting every single instinct screaming at him to chase her down and pull her straight back into his arms.

Right now, he wanted this stupid night to be over more than anything in the world. He was sick of the lies, the pretending, the constant hiding. All he craved was to have her back in his arms, safe and warm where nobody could interfere or judge them.

Instead, he turned toward Ravyn and met the burning glare aimed right at him. Voren kept his face perfectly innocent.

“What?”

The entire crowd looked stunned beyond words.

Alpha Voren hated women, yet here he was, kissing his best friend’s ex-wife… for a million dollars?

Ravyn’s jaw tightened so hard it looked painful.

“For the sake of our friendship…” His voice came out rough and strained. “You shouldn’t have kissed her. She’s my ex-wife.”

Voren raised an eyebrow, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, though all he wanted was to punch Ravyn in the face for all his stupidity.

“Really?” he asked lightly. “If I remember right, the she-wolves were the ones playing the game and besides, I never agreed before she kissed me,” he said, trying to play it safe for Seraphine.

Ravyn knew it was true but he equally remembered the consequence. “But you know Daisy will get punished if Sera wins,” he shot back.

The warmth vanished from Voren’s face in an instant, his eyes went ice cold.

Even if Seraphine had lost the dare, he would be damned before allowing her to strip naked and kiss the floor. It was like Ravyn never learned his lesson.

“Then maybe you should’ve stopped your woman while you still had the chance,” Voren shrugged casually before adding, “Besides, I’m the one who got scammed here. Didn’t you hear her? She called me a terrible kisser and refused to pay up.”

That was the final straw. Ravyn’s patience completely snapped. He snatched the bottle of martini beside him and smashed it violently against a nearby rock. Glass exploded everywhere as he shot to his feet, fists clenched tight.

“She’s my fucking ex-wife! We have a fucking Alpha’s code.” He never imagined that Voren would give in to Seraphine. As best friends, he should have pushed her away.

“Ex,” Voren corrected calmly, his eyes never leaving Ravyn’s. One corner of his mouth lifted in a lazy smirk. “Unless… you suddenly fell in love with her, and if I have to remind you, this is all a game. It’s not as if I’m dating her or anything.”

He almost bit his tongue at those words but when he saw the smile on Seraphine’s face, he knew it was worth it. Ravyn’s agitation also confirmed what Voren had been suspecting all this while.

The asshole had been in love with Seraphine without knowing and now, it was too late.

The words hit Ravyn like a brutal punch to the gut. He froze completely, his body slowly sinking back down onto the stool as the question echoed louder and louder inside his head.

Had he…?

No. That couldn’t be right.

Could it?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the image of Seraphine wrapped up in Voren’s arms, kissing him like the rest of the world didn’t even exist.

“I seriously can’t believe Alpha Voren and Luna Sera just kissed,” Athaliah said, pressing a hand dramatically to her chest before fanning herself. “Goddess, that was so damn hot. And honestly? They look incredible together.”

She flashed Ravyn a smug little smile, clearly loving every second of his misery.

Before she could keep going, a deep, familiar voice drifted from behind her, followed by a low chuckle.

“If you want… I can kiss you too.”