THE ALPHA’S DAUGHTER 68_When The Moon Hides Her Crown

Chapter 68 Until Tomorrow

 SERAPHINA

 The Supreme Alpha throne was the highest seat of power in the entire werewolf realm–untouchable, absolute, and revered. A position second only to the Alpha King’s. It was a title imed by only one in a generation, born not merely of brute strength, but of unshakable dominance. Even the most powerful, elite Alphas bowed before the Supreme Alpha, whose word wasw and whose presence could silence kingdoms.

 To sit on that throne was to hold the fate of all packs in the palm of your hand, to shape the future with your will alone. It brought freedom, authority, and unmatched strength. It was feared, coveted, worshipped–and it was the very reason I had risked everything by entering this Academy.

 If I couldn’tpete for the Supreme Alpha title, then what the hell was I even doing here?

 I hadn’t wed my way into this Academy to be a pawn. I hadn’t bled on the mountainside, watched my ranking crumble in blink, been used of murder–just to be a spectator. I came to im the throne.

 And now, they were ripping that right from my hands.

 My mind nked, and I didn’t register a single word about the trial or its rules. I didn’t even notice when the Alphas dispersed to begin their assignments. Not until the silence around me became so heavy, so absolute, that it sliced through the fog in my brain like a de.

 I was standing alone. Everyone had left.

 Alpha Hugo was gone.

 Something inside me snapped.

 My wolf roared in my mind, and my blood boiled like moltenva.

 This couldn’t be happening. I would not, could not, ept this fate.

 I rushed through the hallway, desperate, until I spotted him speaking to another Alpha instructor.

 “Alpha Hugo!” I called out, my voice sharp and urgent.

 He paused mid–step and turned, his face unreadable. I approached him quickly, my breaths short and uneven. “Why am I not on the list?” I demanded.

 His gaze turned stern, and his voice cut cold and clear. “A murderer has no ce in this Academy, let alone in the race for Supreme Alpha.”

 I froze. The breath was knocked clean out of me. “A murderer? Who? Me?”

 He growled, his tone full of finality. “Yes. My investigation into the murder isplete, Alpha Seth. And without a shadow of doubt, you are the killer. As of now, only I know this–but soon, the other instructors will be informed

 The ground slipped out from beneath me.

 “That’s impossible!” I yelled, disbelief twisting through every word. “I didn’t kill Dante!“

 “You dare to deny it?” he snapped, clearly disappointed. “You had a good reputation in my eyes, because of your behaviorst time. That’s why I gave you the benefit of the doubt, even though you were found at the scene. But now, the truth is clear. You are the murderer.”

 “I’m not” I yelled again. louder this time, voice msing without control. “Just because I was found near his body doesn’t mean I killed him! I had no reason to kill Dante, how could I kill someone like him?!”

 ““Enough with your lies, Alpha Seth. A witness has alreadye forward and named you. That’s all the proof I need.”

 He turned to leave.

 I stood there frozen, stunted like I’d been struck by lightning

 11:53 AM Pp.

 Chapter 68 Until Tomorrow

 A witness? Where the hell did this witnesse from?

 Who would lie like that?

 Why?

 +8 Pearls

 My limbs started to go numb. My head throbbed, threatening to split open from the pressure of what I’d just heard. This couldn’t be real. If I was dered guilty. I’d be expelled by morning. The news would spread. My father would find out. What woulde next. I didn’t even want to imagine.

 My hands trembled violently at my sides.

 “Alpha Hugo!” I shouted, making him halt mid–step. The empty hallway echoed my voice like a thunderp. “How can you believe someone without any proof?! That witness is lying! I am innocent,”

 He turned slowly, a bitter frown creasing his face.

 “Are you challenging our judgment?” he growled.

 “No, but all I am telling you is that I am being framed. If I did not kill Dante then how could that witness have seen it? It makes me sure that they are lying. If you can listen to the witness then why can you not do the same with me?”

 The witness risked their life to testify. Would you do the same to prove your innocence?”

 His eyes narrowed. “Can you swear your life on it?”

 “Yes!” I straightened my back, my voice ringing with unwavering defiance. “Throw me into fire or drown me in the sea, I’U face death if I have to. But give me a chance, just one chance, to prove my innocence, Alpha Hugo!”

 The words echoed down the corridor, bouncing off the cold stone walls like a war cry.

 For the first time, he faltered.

 The stern mask he wore, etched with fury and judgment, wavered. His brows furrowed slightly, his jaw ckened. Beneath the rigid lines of his authority, I saw it. A flicker of doubt. The smallest crack in his certainty. The fire in my voice had touched something he hadn’t expected–conviction.

 His eyes scanned me, not like a judge weighing guilt, but like a man reevaluating what he thought he knew. He was quiet, studying me as if hearing me speak for the very first time.

 Then, finally, he exhaled.

 “Very well,” he said, the words slow and heavy, as if each carried the weight of a gamble. “You have until tomorrow morning

 prove your innocence.”

 My heart leapt in my chest so violently I thought it might burst. The tension hadn’t left, but a sliver of light cracked through the darkness surrounding me.

 I stepped closer, the air between us taut. “What do I have to do?” I asked, my voice steadier now, but no less urgent

 “Make the witness take back their testimony,” he said bluntly, as if daring me to even try. “Convince them. Prove your innocence to them, beyond doubt.”

 My pulse thundered in my ears. I’d thought he might ask for a duel. A trial by fire. A physical test. But this? Changing the mind of someone who already betrayed me? That felt like walking into a den of knives with no armor

 Sull. I nodded. “Who is the witness?” I asked. breathless with dread.

 They’ve already left for their next trial, he muttered, ncing down at the parchment in his hands. “Each Alpha has been dispatched to a different forest. The witness was assigned to Thornfall Forest”

 My blood chilled

 He looked up, his eyes sharp as des. “If you can do it–if you can make them retract their statement–111 close the murder investigation. Not only that, I’ll reinstate you in the Supreme Alpha race.”

 1153 AM

 Chapter 68 Until Tomorrow

 My ears began to ring.

 +8 Pearls

 I couldn’t process anything else after that. Just those words. I’ll reinstate you. My ce. My title. My right. Everything I had bled and suffered for. I could still reim it

 My fingers clenched into trembling fists, nails biting into my palms. My jaw tightened, and I whispered the vow to myself through gritted teeth. “Il make them take it back.”

 With nothing but that oath burning in my chest, I left the Academy.

 The winds of Thornfall Forest howled like they mourned something long dead. The twisted trees stood like guardians of secrets, their shadows long and unmoving. Until there, in a clearing shrouded by mist and menace. I saw the witness. Him.

 An Alpha sat atop a massive stone b as if it were a throne built for gods. One leg rxed, the other draped over the edge, his body a portrait of effortless arrogance. He looked like he belonged there, as though the forest itself bowed to him. 

 He was waiting.

 “Seraphina Nightbane,” he said coolly, his voice sliding over my name like velvet dipped in poison.

 My breath caught in my throat. My heart mmed against my ribs. I stumbled to a halt as his face came into view.

 My eyes widened in disbelief. “You”

 Ronan’s lips curled into a wicked smirk, his eyes glinting with amusement and danger.

 “Why is it you…”

 He slowly bit his bottom lip, like he’d just unwrapped a long–awaited prize.

 “Time to strip,” he murmured.

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THE ALPHA’S DAUGHTER 68