Voren stopped pacing the moment Ravyn’s question settled between them, as his gaze locked onto him, sharp and guarded, because whatever had just happened in that lab was not something he was willing to unpack so easily, not when even he didn’t fully understand it himself.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said, his tone controlled, though there was a stiffness to it that gave him away more than the words did.

Ravyn didn’t react immediately.

Instead, he drew in a slow breath, steadying himself before asking again, this time sounding far more composed, as though he had chosen to approach the matter carefully rather than push too hard.

"Your wolf lost control," he said, his eyes fixed on Voren with quiet intensity. "What is your shaman saying about bringing back the mate bond?"

That question landed differently. Voren’s fingers curled into fists at his sides, tension threading through him as he held back his response, but the silence didn’t last long.

Ravyn continued, his tone evolving into something more concerned than before.

"You can’t keep going like this, Voren," he said, his voice lower now, carrying the weight of both warning and worry. "One day, Bloodfang is going to push too far, and when that happens..." he trailed off briefly before finishing, "death will be you only means of escape. And running from your pack isn’t solving anything either. You need someone who can tame him."

"I don’t want to hear it," Voren snapped, the irritation finally breaking through, his voice edged with anger that had been building under the surface.

Ravyn understood why. This was not the first time he had seen how this struggle tore at Voren piece by piece, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to watch, especially when it only got worse every time Voren returned to his pack.

Because Bloodfang wasn’t just ruthless, he was lethal.

When the longing for his mate took over, it demanded an outlet - blood, and whenever Voren failed to hold that line, it was always the innocent pack members who paid the price.

Voren exhaled slowly, forcing himself to regain control before speaking again, though the frustration in his voice hadn’t completely faded. "It always comes back to the same thing," he said, his tone quieter now but no less tense. "Only my mate can tame him, but as you already know, there’s no way to identify that anymore."

His jaw tightened slightly before he added, "And the ritual to restore the mate bond... it can only happen during a blood moon."

That made everything clearer.

Ravyn’s expression altered as understanding settled in, though it didn’t bring comfort with it, because the blood moon wasn’t something you could simply plan around.

It appeared only a few times a year, unpredictable, impossible to pin down with certainty.

"Your shaman is the most powerful among all the others," Ravyn said after a moment, his tone thoughtful, already turning toward solutions. "If anyone can determine when the next blood moon will occur, it would be her. I can help you organize everything when the time comes."

Voren smiled faintly at that, but it didn’t reach his eyes, because if only it were that simple, he wouldn’t still be standing here dealing with the same problem.

"There are... conditions," he said carefully.

Ravyn’s brows drew together slightly, disappointment flickering across his face. "Conditions you didn’t think to mention before?"

"The last time I spoke with her," Voren continued, ignoring the tone for the moment, "she already explained part of it. Every pack member has to agree to the ritual, every single one. Not just within Grimroot, but all packs and members who would be involved in it."

The color drained from Ravyn’s face almost instantly.

He had quietly hoped, that this would be possible, that he might get to experience what the mate bond truly felt like, even if he already had someone by his side.

How it would be to feel the bond with someone he was already in love with.

"What happens if they don’t all agree?" he asked, though part of him already knew the answer.

"Then it doesn’t work," Voren replied without hesitation, his voice flat with certainty. "That’s why I’ve already started laying the groundwork. I told Kael to get people to spread the rumor, so it doesn’t come as a shock when the time arrives." He glanced away briefly before adding, "Most are open to it, but the few who aren’t carry just as much weight as the rest."

A quiet breeze moved through the space, brushing lightly against their skin, but it did nothing to ease the weight pressing down on Voren’s chest, because even as the conversation settled, one truth refused to loosen its grip on his mind.

Bloodfang had only been calm around Seraphine’s wolf.

The realization lingered, stretching into something far more complicated than he was willing to confront, because it suggested a possibility he couldn’t afford to entertain, one where bringing her into his territory might finally grant him the kind of rest he hadn’t known in years.

Once his body was able to get its’ needed rest at the pack, Bloodfang would also be calm but Seraphine was not someone he could simply draw into his world for his own benefit.

Ravyn seemed about to speak, after reaching a conclusion of his own, but before a single word could leave his mouth, a voice called out behind them, cutting cleanly through the moment and pulling both their attention away at once.

"Alpha..."

They turned together, the tension between them thinning just enough to make room for the interruption, only to find Doctor Raymond approaching at a hurried pace, his breathing slightly uneven and his expression carrying a strain that immediately made it clear this wasn’t a casual update or something that could wait.

Ravyn straightened subtly, the earlier conversation still lingering at the back of his mind, his tone steady but edged with quiet alertness as he asked, "Is there a problem?"

Raymond slowed to a stop in front of them, his gaze flickering briefly between the two Alphas before settling on Ravyn, as though weighing how best to deliver what he had come to say, and when he finally spoke, his voice carried a careful urgency that only made the tension coil tighter.

"Yes, Alpha... it’s about Luna Sera."