Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Chapter 196 – Don’t you think there’s a reason I’ve been ignoring your calls?

The Centenary Pack. One hour earlier.

"Alpha, their condition is getting worse."

Damon’s voice carried urgency, but Ravyn barely reacted, his expression tightening just a little as he shot him a look that carried more irritation than anger.

"I told you already," he said, his tone low but firm, "just call me by my first name."

There was no real bite in it, but the distance between had been closed up the moment Damon invested more in his company. Right now, The Walkers Global Enterprise was what it was because of Damon.

Ravyn’s focus pivoted almost immediately, his mind snapping back to the problem pressing down on them from every direction, suffocating and relentless.

He had seen something like this before, and that memory alone made his chest tighten in a way he couldn’t ignore.

"This has happened before," he said slowly, his brows drawing together as he thought it through, piecing together fragments of memory and instinct. "But last time... the effect hit Sera the hardest."

His voice dropped slightly, quieter now, edged with something protective, and unspoken.

"We can’t let that happen again."

His gaze lifted to Damon, sharp and searching. "Have you figured out where it’s coming from?"

Damon shook his head, frustration flickering across his face. "No. It spreads too fast. Anyone who inhales it gets hit almost immediately, and before we can even collect samples..." he exhaled, shaking his head again, "the air just swallows it up. There’s nothing left to analyze."

That wasn’t just bad, it was dangerous, and unpredictable.

Ravyn’s jaw tightened, but instead of responding right away, his attention drifted for a moment.

Bryan.

The little boy sat nearby, completely unaware of the storm building around him, quietly eating the pancakes Ravyn had made with careful, almost awkward effort.

Ever since Seraphine had given the condition that entrusted Bryan to him, everything had changed. The responsibility wasn’t optional or shared, but entirely his.

And Ravyn, who had never imagined himself standing in a kitchen flipping pancakes, had found himself reading cookbooks, trying to figure out something as simple as how to cook for his own son’s enjoyment.

Bryan didn’t even like the food. That much was obvious, but he still ate it anyway.

Because his father made it, and that small, quiet loyalty, warmed a part of Ravyn he didn’t even realize had been cold for so long.

He dragged his attention back to Damon, his expression hardening again as reality settled in.

"How many casualties?"

"Eight so far," Damon replied, his tone heavier now. "Only one is responding to treatment, and that’s because he was farther away from the others when it happened."

He hesitated briefly before adding, "The rest... they didn’t even see it coming. No one knows where it started."

Ravyn ran a hand through his hair, frustration threading through the gesture as his thoughts raced, trying to find something, anything they might have missed.

"Where’s Daisy?" he asked suddenly.

"In her room," Damon answered. "Still upset about being restricted from using any electrical devices."

That made Ravyn pause, something clicking faintly in the back of his mind, his expression changing as he recalled something he had almost overlooked.

"Daisy has specialized medical training," he murmured, more to himself than to Damon.

A brief silence followed before he reached out through the mindlink.

’Daisy, go to the hospital. There’s been a chemical explosion. They need help.

For a moment, there was nothing. Just silence stretching thin between them.

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