Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever-Chapter 61 – Who the fuck are you?

Damon had gone into this knowing it would take patience, strategy, and more acting than he had ever done in his life, because manipulating someone who had survived this long beside power was never supposed to be simple.

He expected resistance, layers to remove one by one. Simply put, he expected Daisy to be sharp, cautious, and difficult to penetrate.

But what he did not expect, however, was how quickly she unraveled once he fed her exactly what she craved most. Validation and the promise of something greater, just as Seraphine had told him to do.

It almost unsettled him how little it took.

They were still standing in Ravyn’s study, the door closed, the air thick with the kind of secrecy that felt dangerous and addictive at the same time.

Daisy leaned back against the edge of the desk, her posture less guarded now, her eyes softer, and for the first time since he started this game, she looked less like a strategist and more like a woman who had been competing her entire life and was exhausted from losing.

"When we were young," she began slowly, her voice dipping into something almost reflective, "Seraphine shone like a star. She was literally good at everything. Academics, training, strategy. Everyone liked her, including my parents, and, her father was a beta. Mine, a mere omega with my mother being her nanny."

There was bitterness there, not loud and explosive, but deeply rooted, the kind that had grown quietly over years of comparison.

"I always tried to be like her," Daisy continued, her fingers tightening slightly against the desk’s edge as if she were gripping an old memory. "But the more I tried, the better she got. I couldn’t match her, and no matter how hard I pushed, I was always second."

Damon turned to face her fully, careful to keep his expression open, nonjudgmental, inviting.

"So what did you do?" he asked gently, then added after a brief pause that felt intentional, "Don’t worry, I won’t judge you."

She studied him for a second, searching his face for condemnation, and when she found none, she let out a slow breath.

"I’ve done a lot, but the recent one is claiming her research as mine," she admitted quietly. "Instead of seeking her help, Ravyn expects me to produce the cure."

There it was, not the full truth, not yet, but enough. Enough to show motive. Enough to confirm envy had always been her driving force.

"I would have done the same," Damon said smoothly, without hesitation, as though her confession was reasonable, even understandable. "You were trying to survive in her shadow." He held her gaze firmly. "Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me."

The gratitude that bloomed in her expression was almost painful to witness. She smiled at him like he had just offered her sanctuary, like he had just chosen her over the ghost of comparison she’d been fighting for years.

"Maybe later," she said softly, tilting her head slightly, her tone shifting into something lighter, almost hopeful, "we could have dinner together."

Damon didn’t refuse. Refusal would have created distance, and distance would slow momentum.

"Sure," he replied easily. "Tomorrow."

Her smile widened just a fraction more, and in that moment, he knew he had her exactly where Seraphine needed her to be.

That night, alone in his room, the mask slipped from his face. The softness disappeared, and the charm faded. What remained was calculation.

He replayed the conversation in his mind once, then twice, before sending the recording directly to Seraphine without hesitation.

She didn’t call immediately. That alone told him she was listening carefully, dissecting every word, every tone shift, every pause. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed with a message instead.

On the other end, Seraphine listened to the recording with quiet satisfaction, her expression unreadable but her mind racing ahead of the present moment. Daisy had confirmed envy.

She had admitted theft, and shown insecurity. All of it would be useful later, when timing mattered most.

Her fingers moved swiftly across the screen as she replied.

’Thanks. You made progress faster than I imagined, but watch her closely. I’m sure there are other men. Also, I never checked, but if Bryan isn’t mine, anything can happen. When Ravyn returns, try to get a secret DNA test done. I have to be sure before I strike.’

Damon read the message slowly, his jaw tightening as the weight of it settled in.

Whatever the DNA result revealed would not just be information. It would determine the severity of what came next.

’Sometimes I’m just afraid of how your brain works," he texted back honestly. ’But I did notice Bryan doesn’t resemble Ravyn at all. I thought it was just growth differences. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I hope that’s not the case. Something like that would destroy Ravyn.’

On the other end, Seraphine smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it.

Whether Bryan was Ravyn’s or not did not change one thing. Bryan was never meant to survive long enough to carry Ravyn’s legacy.

Ravyn was meant to suffer, but the deepest wound, the one that would cut past pride and straight into his soul, would be discovering that the son he believed he had sacrificed everything for was never his at all, especially after he thought he had killed his own daughter believing he was protecting his bloodline.

Her fingers hovered over the screen before she typed again.

’Don’t move too fast or she’ll get suspicious. Just make sure she trusts you enough to open completely and remember not to fall for her. That reminds me, have you spoken to your brokers already?"

Damon didn’t hesitate in his reply because if there was one thing he did not doubt, it was her capability.

’Yes. I’ve arranged for you to work directly with the king brokers. My COO is a flirt, and I won’t have him chasing you the moment he sees you. As for Daisy, I’m just doing this because of you. You have no idea how much self-control it takes for me to pretend to like her.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Even though Seraphine had made it clear that she did not want him in that way, Damon knew his COO was worse, opportunistic and shameless in ways that would only complicate matters.

And yet, despite everything, her cold precision and ruthless planning, there was something about Seraphine that made people bend, made them cooperate without fully understanding why.

The conversation ended there, but a few days later, something unexpected disrupted Seraphine’s carefully structured momentum.

Her phone buzzed with a text from an unfamiliar number.

’I’m off duty tomorrow and next. Send me your location, and I’ll pick you up for a date.’

She stared at the message, her brows slowly knitting together as confusion sharpened into irritation.

Her expression shifted dramatically, lips pressing into a thin line before she typed back five blunt words without hesitation. ’Who the fuck are you?’