Voren shook his head slowly, the weight of the conversation settling into his shoulders like stones.

He wasn’t looking for a slave. He had no interest in watching Ravyn grovel at his feet, begging for scraps of forgiveness like a beaten dog. What he needed was someone he could trust.

Someone who could blend into the shadows and be his eyes where his trusted comrades could not reach. Someone who understood the value of silence and the power of patience.

He lowered himself onto the sofa, the leather creaking beneath his weight, and patted the cushion beside him. “Sit down, Ravyn. Let’s talk.”

Ravyn rose from the floor, his movements slow and unsteady. He crossed the room like a man walking to his own execution and sat beside Voren like an obedient child awaiting punishment.

“I messed up big time, Voren.”

His voice was hollow, scraped clean of every defense he had ever built. The words fell from his lips like ash, gray and lifeless.

“I lost everything. And I’m plagued with all these nightmares about the past.” He stared at his hands, his fingers twisting together in his lap. “Now it’s going to grow worse with what I’ve done to my daughter. I never thought my very presence could trigger all these things in her.”

A bitter laugh escaped him, sharp and broken.

“I’ve been a fool. Loved the wrong woman for decades.” He lifted his head, his eyes red-rimmed and desperate. “Is there even hope for me?”

He was lamenting sorrowfully, his voice cracking on every other word, his shoulders slumped under the weight of his own failures. Voren took deep breaths, steadying himself. He had prepared for this conversation, but preparation meant nothing against the raw reality of Ravyn’s grief.

“Ravyn, I don’t need you to be my slave.”

His voice was calm, measured. The voice of a king who had learned to separate emotion from necessity.

“You never hurt me directly. The ones you hurt were Sera and Espe.” He paused, letting the words settle. “For some reason, what you did gave me my happy ending.”

Ravyn’s brow furrowed, confusion flickering through the fog of his despair.

It was a dicey situation. One man’s meat was another man’s poison. Voren knew this truth intimately, had lived it in the hollow spaces of his heart for decades.

“Had you been faithful to Sera, had you shown her even a little bit of care, or hadn’t ordered the death of her child, I know that even our past would not have brought us together when she got her memories back.”

Voren’s voice was steady, but there was something beneath it. Something raw and honest that he rarely allowed anyone to see.

“She’s a loyal woman. She would have stayed by your side no matter what.” He leaned back against the sofa, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “I could not have moved on from her. I would have remained soulless if you hadn’t done what you did.”

He shrugged, the gesture almost casual despite the weight of his words.

“That’s why I can’t hate you. I loved Sera the moment I laid eyes on her. But I also respected her relationship with you. The fact that she was betrothed to you from birth.” His voice softened, lost in memory. “Had you told me to stay away, I would have. But you were the one who pushed her into my arms.”

A ghost of a smile stretched his lips, sad and nostalgic.

“My best childhood moments were the ones I spent with Sera. Not with you. And not with those bratty Alpha kids.”

Ravyn chuckled bitterly, the sound scraping against the air like broken glass. “Then I guess I loved you more than you loved me.”

Voren shook his head, a flicker of irritation crossing his features.

“If you think that way, then you’re a fool, Ravyn.” His voice hardened, just slightly. “The love a man has for a woman is different from what he has for his fellow man. When we were young, you always loved Daisy. We disagreed a lot because of her. Do you remember?”

Ravyn would not have remembered if Voren hadn’t mentioned it. The memory surfaced like a drowning body breaking through still water. One of the times Ravyn had yelled at Sera. She had run off in tears, her small frame disappearing into the trees. Then he embraced Daisy, holding her close, whispering comfort.

Voren was there. His expression was hard, unyielding. “You shouldn’t judge based on words. Can’t you even investigate?”

“What’s there to investigate?” Ravyn had argued, his voice hot with indignation. “Sera has always been mean to Daisy.”

He turned to Daisy, his gaze soft, his voice gentle. “Go play with your friends. I’ll come and get you when I close.”

“Sera said you’ll come and get her. I can leave with my friends,” Daisy had said pitifully, her eyes wide and innocent, her voice small and wounded. It made Ravyn hate Sera even more.

“Just wait for me. I’ll come get you. Sera can go home on her own.”

That day, Voren was so upset. His jaw was tight, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

“You are easily fooled, Ravyn. Can’t you see she’s lying to you?”

“How would you know?” Ravyn had argued, his voice rising. “You have no experience with she-wolves, and you have no idea who Sera is. That little monster.” His face twisted with contempt. “If not for my parents, I would have sent her and her parents out of the pack house.”

And it was so.

Sera had waited that day, her small figure huddled against the academy wall, her eyes fixed on the door. But Ravyn arrived and left with Daisy. Sera walked home alone, her tears blurring her vision, her small shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Voren caught up to her.

He cheered her up, made her laugh, and accompanied her home. Ravyn had never cared when she arrived later. When his parents questioned him, he said Sera didn’t want to come home. But of course, his parents never believed him.

Now that Voren brought up those memories, the pain in Ravyn’s chest grew heavier. It pressed against his ribs, constricted his breathing, made him feel like he was drowning in his own failures.

“Ravyn, Sera has been through a lot.” Voren’s voice cut through the fog of memory, pulling him back to the present.

“I saw how you treated her as both a child and when you two were married. Most times, I wondered why she still stayed. But I realized later that it was because of the spell.”

His gaze found Ravyn’s, steady and unwavering. “She’s happy now. And I don’t like to owe.”

Ravyn’s breath caught in his throat.

“If you agree to be on my side, we can be as we used to be. I’ll help your pack to be stronger.” Voren leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his voice dropping to something intimate and dangerous. “But no one must know about our relationship. To other packs, we shall be at each other’s throats.”

Ravyn’s eyes widened, understanding dawning.

“Only our circle would know. When they think we’re at loggerheads, they’ll tell you their plans. And you’ll inform me through encrypted messages.”

Voren paused, letting the weight of the proposal settle between them.

“This is my proposal.”