Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Voren adjusted quickly, as if he had done this a thousand times before, his movements controlled and exact as he repositioned her stance.

He did not realize that he just crossed a boundary he wasn’t supposed to, or perhaps he thought he was training his fellow man.

His hand moved from her waist to her shoulder, steadying her without hesitation, while his other hand corrected the angle of her grip with quiet precision.

"Focus on your breathing," he said, his voice lower now, calmer but firm enough to cut through her tension. "In... and out. Let the shot follow that rhythm instead of forcing it."

Seraphine followed his instructions, drawing in a slow breath and releasing it carefully, trying to quiet the tightness in her chest. When she pulled the trigger this time, the result was different.

The bullet struck the target. It wasn’t perfect, landing lower than she intended, but it hit.

A flicker of relief crossed her face, subtle but real, like she had finally found something solid to hold onto.

Voren noticed it immediately, and the corner of his lips lifted just slightly. "That’s better," he said. "Do it again."

He stayed close, guiding her without crowding her too much, his voice steady as he continued to coach her through the process. But somewhere in the middle of it, something changed inside him, something he hadn’t anticipated.

There was a brief, unwelcome awareness, sharp enough to break through the discipline he usually relied on. The closeness, the warmth of her presence, the way she responded so quickly once she found her balance, unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.

Seraphine fired again.

This time, the shot landed closer to where it should.

She turned toward him almost immediately, her eyes brighter now, carrying a mix of relief and quiet satisfaction. "Thank you," she said, the sincerity in her voice clear.

Voren held her gaze for a second longer than necessary, the moment stretching in a way that felt louder than the constant echo of gunfire around them.

Then he stepped back slightly, putting space between them again, his expression settling into something more neutral. "We’re not done yet," he said, his tone returning to its usual structure. "You’ll keep practicing tomorrow, and you’ll also train with my team."

For what she was venturing into, it wasn’t enough for her to train just once. She needed perfection. Seraphine was grateful to learn something new. She nodded, already recalibrating. "I’ll keep practicing while I wait for Corvine," she replied.

"You could also try working with different firearms," he suggested, watching her carefully.

She considered it for a second, then gave a small nod. "That works."

By the time the session wrapped up, the energy around them had changed again, the earlier tension replaced with something more focused. Voren’s expression, however, turned serious as he approached her with new information.

"I spoke with my contact," he said, his voice dropping slightly. "There’s more going on than just gathering evidence. One of the main reasons they haven’t been able to take him down is because the entire place is rigged."

Seraphine’s attention sharpened instantly. "Rigged how?"

Her mind was already searching, wondering why she hadn’t come across something like that. Were there more surprises in that fortress than she knew?

"Automatic explosives," Voren replied. "They’re programmed to trigger at the first sign of a threat. If anything sets them off, the entire structure goes up."

The color drained from her face slightly as the implications settled in. Voren watched her carefully, wondering if she was really prepared for this. "Everything inside would be gone," he continued. "People, money, records, anything stored there. It all gets wiped out in one move."

That wasn’t something she had anticipated.

For a brief moment, the plan she had been building in her head felt less stable, more unpredictable. But before that uncertainty could take hold completely, Voren added something else.

"There’s a delay," he said. "The system is designed to give them about an hour to evacuate before everything goes off. It’s their safety window in case authorities close in."

Seraphine’s mind moved quickly, recalculating, adjusting, finding the opening buried inside the risk. "Then that works in our favor too," she said, her tone honing with renewed focus. "If we time it right, we can use that window."

Voren nodded, a faint look of approval crossing his face. "Exactly."

He studied her for a second, clearly impressed by how quickly she adapted, then continued. "I’m working on getting a few communication devices that won’t be easy to intercept. If I secure them before tomorrow, you’ll get yours when you come in. If not, I’ll arrange another way to get it to you."

Seraphine gave a small nod. "Alright. Just send me the cost once everything’s sorted."

That made him frown slightly. "Does everything have to come down to money with you?" he asked, a hint of irritation slipping into his voice.

She raised a brow, clearly caught off guard by his reaction. They weren’t friends, so this was technically business for her and she did not want to owe anyone.

"I’m offering to pay, and that’s a problem?" she asked, her tone measured but edged with curiosity. "You’re putting in time, resources, connections. None of that is free. Unless there’s something else behind this that you’re not saying."

For a brief moment, Voren said nothing.

There were things he couldn’t tell her, motivations he wasn’t ready to lay out, even if they aligned with hers more than she realized. Getting rid of Santiago wasn’t just her goal.

It was his too.

But instead of answering directly, he changed the conversation again, catching her off guard.

"If you want me fully involved," he said, his gaze locking onto hers with a new level of intensity, "then I need you to be honest with me about one thing."

Her expression changed slightly, the guarded layer slipping into place as she waited. "Why are you really doing this?" he asked.