"How can you say that?" Ravyn’s voice came out harder than he intended, the hurt underneath it pushing through. "You’ve known me my whole life. You think I’d let someone manipulate me that badly?"

"I think," Voren said quietly, "that it’s a lot easier to miss when you love someone."

Ravyn turned away from him. A muscle in his jaw worked steadily, the way it did when he was holding something in by force. "I know she’s not perfect." His voice dropped.

"I know she lies. I know the jealousy is a problem. But she’s Bryan’s mother, Voren. She gave me my heir." He pulled in a slow breath. "She can be better. I’ll work with her on it."

Voren looked at him for a long moment. There was no argument left worth making, not today, not while Ravyn was standing inside it. Some things a person had to walk out of on their own. You couldn’t drag them.

He pushed off the railing and asked it anyway, the question he’d been turning over in the back of his mind since the moment he’d arrived at this packhouse and watched Ravyn’s eyes track across a room to find her.

"One last thing." He kept his voice even. "And I’m only asking this once." He looked at his oldest friend straight on. "Is there any part of you that wants Seraphine back?"

Ravyn was quiet for a moment. Not the uncomfortable kind of quiet, but the kind that meant he was actually thinking, turning the question over, looking at it from different angles.

And then something settled in his face. Like he’d found the answer right where it had always been sitting.

"Voren." His voice came out almost tired. "We’ve known each other since we were kids." He turned to look at him fully. "You really want to ask me that question?"

Voren said nothing.

"You remember what you used to do for me?" The corner of Ravyn’s mouth moved, but it wasn’t quite a smile. "My parents would send me to check on her and I’d pull you aside and dress you up in my clothes, same colors, same everything, just so you’d be the one stuck playing with her while I disappeared."

Voren’s fingers curled slowly at his sides.

He remembered. He’d spent a long time actively choosing not to remember, but he remembered every single time. He also remembered that when it was all over, when the day ended and the adults came back, Seraphine would run to Ravyn.

Would talk about Ravyn. Would laugh about something Ravyn had supposedly said or done, not knowing, never knowing, that the boy she’d spent the whole afternoon with wasn’t Ravyn at all.

He’d never corrected her, and neither had Ravyn.

"What does that have to do with anything?" His voice came out flatter than he intended.

"It should tell you everything." Ravyn looked back out at the grounds. "I couldn’t stand being around her then and nothing’s changed. She’s beautiful, yeah, I’ll give her that, anyone with eyes can see it. But I’ve never liked her. Not like that. Not once." He paused. "What I want from her is business. That’s the only reason I bend certain rules. She’s valuable and I’m practical. That’s the whole story."

He let that sit for a second and then turned back, and something changed in his expression, sharper now, more pointed. Like he’d been waiting to get here the whole time.

"But while we’re asking questions—" his eyes settled on Voren’s face with the particular focus of someone who has known you long enough to notice the things you think you’re hiding, "I’ve been watching you this whole visit. You broke every rule you came here with. Every single one." He stared at him. "Are you falling for her? Like all those other fools?"

Voren looked at him for a long, steady moment, something strange breaking inside of him. This matter did not begin today, and it was more complicated than any of them knew about.

"I broke my rules," he said finally. "Not my principles. Those are two different things."

Ravyn opened his mouth.

"Very different things," Voren added, and the quiet finality in his tone closed the subject like a door being shut from the inside.

Ravyn scratched the back of his head. At first, Voren would quickly deny feeling anything for Seraphine but he didn’t do so this time, though he didn’t accept it too.

Still, Ravyn let it go, not because he was satisfied, but because he recognized that particular wall and knew better than to keep walking into it.

"Fine." He straightened up, his energy moving into something that was almost businesslike. "There’s something else I wanted to run by you. I’m planning to host the next moon festival here." He glanced sideways at Voren.

"It’s been years since this pack held one, and I figured we use it as an opportunity to get everyone in the same space, start laying the groundwork about the blood moon and the bond restoration. Build some momentum before the ritual."

Voren absorbed that.

His Shaman had been working on getting the specific date of the appearance of the blood moon. Something about the timeline sat uneasy in the back of his chest whenever he thought about it too directly.

"It’s a smart move," he said. "If we can pull the city pack members out here, let them feel the energy of a full moon festival together, they’ll be more open to committing to the ritual. Harder to say no when you’re already standing in the middle of it."

Ravyn nodded slowly. "That’s the idea." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The unease in Voren’s chest sharpened into something more specific. He looked at Ravyn carefully. "What happens if Daisy isn’t your fated mate?"

The question landed heavy.

Ravyn’s throat moved. His eyes stayed ahead, fixed on something in the middle distance that wasn’t really there. Before he could answer, Voren asked again. "What if your fated mate happens to be Sera?"