Chapter 40 Fate Sealed Behind The Closed Door


    SERAPHINA


    As the words slipped passed my lips, something shifted in Ronan’s eyes. In that instant, I realized what I’d truly said. He held my gaze–steadily, silently–as if daring me to look away. As if warning me that whatever I had stirred inside him would burn me too, should I let it ignite.


    But then-


    “Are we seriously doing this?” Dante’s tone was casual, even amused, but the tightness in his jaw betrayed the crack forming in hisposure. He turned to the Alpha instructors, arms spread slightly. “This is bing a farce. I’ve been unnecessarily dragged into something I have no connection to. Not even a sliver.”


    His eyes met mine, and something colder than fury glinted in them–like a predator insulted to be named.


    Q


    “I’m here to win a battle that’s raged for a thousand years, one no wolf has conquered in the past century, and to im my throne. I am not some adolescent ying games with berries and colognes,” he added, tone clipped with disdain. “Whatever drama these pups are indulging in, it has nothing to do with me.”


    The room stilled, Reed and Cassius, who had been wavering moments ago, seemed to regain theirposure, emboldened by Dante’s confidence. The instructors exchanged uncertain nces, torn between suspicion and political caution.


    But Ronan didn’t flinch. Slowly, he stepped forward–cutting through the tension with a calm far more dangerous than Dante’s sharp voice.


    “You are connected, Alpha Dante.”


    Dante’s head turned sharply. “Excuse me?”


    Ronan’s gaze was unreadable, but there was steel in every word. “The berry used to spike my cologne wasn’t just any wild berry. It’s called Vorren Berry, a rare variant that only grows in the eastern region of the werewolf realm,” he paused, his eyes never leaving Dante’s. “And the only wolf in this Academy with roots in the East… is you.”


    The tension snapped taut. All heads swiveled toward Dante. I studied his faltering expression, the twitch of doubt in his eyes. He was shaken. So Asher hadn’t been wrong when I overheard him earlier, Ronan and Dante were enemies. And Ronan, calcting as always, would’ve investigated the moment he suspected tampering.


    Even if Ronan had always been the true threat to my disguise, right now… I needed him. For now, he was my shield–the enemy of my enemy.


    And right now I had no hesitation in teaming up with him to get out of this mess and stop my expulsion.


    “Interesting usation,” Dante said tightly. “If you’re going to spin tales, go all the way. Why don’t you exin how I supposedly acquired these berries here at Lupine Academy? Are you suggesting I teleported back to the Eastern Realm just to pluck a few berries?”


    “You didn’t need to,” Ronan calmly replied.


    Alpha Hugo raised an eyebrow, “Exin.”


    Ronan turned toward the instructors. “During thest trial in ckmoon Forest, I spotted Vorren Berries growing in the forest’s eastern perimeter. You remember that trial, don’t you?” He turned back to Dante, voice sharpening. “You recognized them too.”


    Dante’s mouth twitched—but he quickly masked it behind a hollowugh. “You’re grasping at straws. You want so badly to tie this to me. When there were hundreds of Alphas in that forest. Dozens from the East. Anyone could have brought those berries back. Why are you using me without any solid proof, Alpha Ronan?” he raised an eyebrow.


    Because Vorren Berries grow abundantly in the East–but in the ckmoon Forest, they only appear in one ce: the Open Forest sector. And during the trial, only one Alpha ventured into that area…” Ronan turned to the instructors.


    “Alpha Dante, he was assigned the Elk as his prey.”


    Dante went rigid.


    8:18 PM


    Chapter 40 Fate Sealed Behind The Closed Door


    He had been the only one hunting Elk.


    The instructors turned to Dante sharply.


    Alpha Gideon narrowed his eyes. “Is that true, Alpha Dante?”


    +8 Pearls


    Dante clenched his fists, red at Ronan and me, “It’s a lie. Just because I had been hunting Elk and had been in the Open Forest sector does not mean I am the one who brought those berries back. Anyone could have gone there and done that.”


    “You can’t get out of this with this, Alpha Dante,” I coldly stared back at him. “You know you did this.”


    Dante’s nostrils red as he stepped closer to me, “Watch yourself when you use me. If you have any witness that witnessed me doing it or involved in any other act then prove it,” he demanded.


    “Alpha Cassius already spilled the beans on your involvement earlier, Alpha Dante. How much proof do you want? You should have chosen better pawns to assist you with your dirty work,” I pointed out looking deeply into his furious blue eyes.


    He could not say a word. His silence wrapped around him like a noose.


    Cassius looked ready to pass out. Reed’s face twisted in silent panic as realization dawned–if Dante fell, they would fall with him.


    “Stop dragging this hearing out by involving innocent people!” Reed snapped.


    “Innocent?” I chuckled, my voice low and dangerous.


    “Yeah, we’re fucking innocent! You’re the rogue here!” he spat. “You broke Academy rules, so pack your bags and get the hell out. Honestly, what could a malnourished wretch like you possibly do here? Don’t tell me you dream of iming the throne. A pretty bastard with a bewitching, womanly frame like yours? You’re only fit to be a male whore, kept to serve the king’s


    needs-”


    “Alpha Reed!” Alpha Gideon thundered, his voiceced with fury.


    But before the weight of the warning couldnd, I heard Ronan’s boots shift against the floor.


    I didn’t know what he intended to do, but I moved before he could. I stepped forward, cing myself just inches from him. Phina was snarling in my mind, demanding control, desperate to tear the arrogant Alpha limb from limb for daring to insult us in front of everyone.


    Reed’s jaw clenched as he met my silent stare. “What? Are you angry now?”


    I smiled.


    “Yes.”


    His smirk vanished. Every Alpha watching stiffened.


    “You should’ve said anything–anything at all–except question my worth for the throne,” I whispered.


    His eyes widened, panic flickering behind them as he instinctively stepped back.


    “Pleasee in, Alpha Finn,” I called loudly.


    A momentter, Finn entered the room. He gave Ronan a quick nce, then surveyed the room before walking up to me. In his hands was a small leather–bound journal.


    “Here’s what you asked for,” he said, handing it to me.


    “Thank you.”


    “-That’s my diary!” Reed blurted, his voice rising with panic. “Why do you have my-” He lunged, but I sidestepped and ced the journal squarely on the instructors‘ desk, pping a folded note down beside it.


    Alpha Hugo frowned as he picked up the note. “This is…”


    “Pleasepare the handwriting in this note and in the diary,” I calmly requested.


    8:18 PM P.


    Chapter 40 Fate Sealed Behind The Closed Door


    P


    +8 Pearls


    The instructors leaned in, flipping through the pages and examining the note. Within seconds, their gazes hardened.


    All eyes turned to Reed, now sweating bullets.


    “What the hell is going on here?” Alpha Gideon demanded.


    Finn stepped forward. His voice was firm, but his eyes found mine before he spoke. “I’d like to exin, Alpha.”


    And he did.


    Finn told them everything–from being bullied, to sneaking off in my ce, to me stepping in to protect him. How Reed, Cassius, and the others had abused and manipted him in a scheme to trap me. How the events that led to this entire confrontation were calcted and cruel.


    By the time he finished, the room was silent.


    Dead silent.


    The instructors stared at us with unreadable expressions. None of them looked the least bit pleased.


    “You little fools,” Alpha Jude growled, his eyes bleeding into red.


    “You treated this Academy like a joke,” Alpha Hugo snarled.


    “Everyone out!” Alpha Gideon roared.


    An Alpha assistant appeared, ushering us toward the doors, but I didn’t move.


    I couldn’t.


    If I walked out now, it was over. My fate would be decided without me. So instead, I stood my ground, raised my chin, and met the instructors‘ gazes.


    “I fought to defend myself,” I began, my voice clear and strong. “But I only became violent when I discovered the truth, when I realized these Alphas tampered with Ronan’s cologne to ruin me.”


    Everyone paused at the threshold.


    “They were just <b>as </b>violent. They came at me as a group. I reacted to the situation I was forced into. And I believe any Alpha- any of you–if your dignity had been threatened the way mine was, if your name was on the verge of being tarnished forever by an act that vile, you would have torn them apart without hesitation.”


    My eyes locked on Reed. Then Cassius. And finally, Dante.


    “If anyone here thinks this was some petty, avoidable squabble–put yourself in my ce,” I said, turning back to the instructors. “Now tell me… what would you have done?”


    Silence.


    Not a single Alpha answered. I knew why.


    Their pride ran deeper than any sense of morality. For them, standing naked after a shift was one thing. But losing control during rut–being forced, humiliated, branded forever as someone who’d been tricked into rutting another male–that was a stain they could never outlive.


    Having finished what I needed to say, I turned and walked out of the room.


    The door shut behind me with a soft click, and I found myself standing between Ronan and Dante. Their wolves nked thern, both brimming with tension and dominance.


    <b>I </b>stood still, fists clenched at my sides, eyes fixed on the closed door where my fate would be sealed.