Seraphine’s lips curved into a soft smile as she nodded, her eyes locked on Voren’s without a hint of hesitation. The pull between them was still crackling in the air, but she didn’t look away. If anything, she looked more sure of herself.
"Yeah, it is," she said. "You got a problem with that, V?"
She watched him closely, curiosity bubbling up. The way he was staring at the mark on her skin made her wonder if he’d seen it before. Her mind immediately went to Marigold, wondering if Voren had seen the mark on her.
Voren’s brow furrowed slightly, but there was no judgment in his expression. It was more like fascination, mixed with genuine interest. His fingers hovered just above the mark, like he was dying to trace it but holding himself back.
"It looks familiar," he admitted, eyes still glued to it. "I swear I’ve seen this somewhere before."
The longer he stared, the more that feeling grew. Something in the back of his mind was trying to push through. Back when he’d been training Seraphine for her showdown with Santiago, he thought he’d caught a glimpse of something similar.
It hadn’t been this clear then, though, and he definitely hadn’t been focused on it. He hadn’t let his eyes wander anywhere they didn’t belong.
A small smile tugged at his lips. "I don’t remember seeing it when you were a kid, but that tracks. I never saw you naked back then."
The blunt honesty in his voice sent a fresh wave of heat rolling through the room. His tone had dropped lower, rougher, and it was getting harder for Seraphine to ignore.
She let out a soft laugh and shook her head, even as her thoughts raced ahead. If Voren actually recognized the mark, then it was somewhere on Marigold’s body he could not remember.
"Do you remember where you saw it?" she asked.
Voren’s eyebrows drew together as he dug through his memories. He stayed quiet for a few seconds, totally focused. Then it hit him.
The realization brought a weird mix of feelings because the answer only created more questions. The coincidence felt way too big to brush off, and if he was right, there were some heavy implications he wasn’t ready to dive into yet.
Before he could decide whether to say anything, his phone started ringing and completely killed the moment.
The sound yanked them both back to reality.
Voren grabbed the phone, low-key relieved for the interruption until he saw the name on the screen.
"It’s Ravyn."
The warm vibe in the room disappeared almost instantly. His jaw tightened, irritation flashing across his face before he could mask it.
"Answer it," Seraphine responded gently.
She rested her hand on his thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze. That small touch said more than any words could.
Voren glanced at her, saw the spark of interest in her eyes, and put the call on speaker without saying anything else.
Ravyn’s voice filled the room right away.
"Voren, can we visit your shaman the day after tomorrow? We need to announce the Blood Moon Festival during the Full Moon Festival, and preparations are already rolling. The response from the werewolf groups has been huge, but you’ve been completely silent on everything."
Voren leaned back, listening while trying not to dwell on the fact that he’d been too wrapped up in Seraphine lately to deal with any of this. As Ravyn spoke, an idea came to him.
"You guys go ahead with the preparations," he replied, staying calm. "I’ll send my contribution to cover me and my family. As for the shaman, I’ll reach out to her myself and let you know what date works."

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