CHAPTER 56: FINDING MR. ANONYMOUS.

"Alpha..." It was Samuel who broke the moment. He tried not to look at them too closely, clearly uncomfortable with how close they were. Angela felt her face burn with shame, but Renn didn’t let her go. She was frozen, praying it was all just a bad dream.

"The students are beginning to stare," Samuel added quietly.

"Don’t get too excited, babe. We’ll definitely talk about this later," Renn said and pressed a kiss to her forehead before letting her go.

Angela just stood there, her chest rising and falling as panic took over. She didn’t know whether to scream or to curse herself. How did he figure it out so fast? How did he see through everything when no one else could?

She had thought Hiro was the one to worry about, but it had been Renn all along. She had underestimated him. All it took was a short time with her, and somehow, he knew the truth. He saw past the clothes, the lies, the disguise. He saw her.

"Are you okay?"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It was Stales. He looked worried. "Did something happen?"

Angela nodded. Her eyes stung, and she almost let the tears fall. But this wasn’t the time to cry. She wiped them away before they slipped and looked at him. "Renn knows."

"Knows what?" Stales looked confused, waiting for her to explain. He had come to check on her because he saw how shaken she was after Renn left. Maybe Renn had said something cruel. Maybe he had threatened her. "What do you mean? Can you explain?"

"He..." Angela started, but before she could finish, Renn’s voice echoed across the field. He was already on the stage, standing with a few students.

"Get back to work. We don’t have time for all the bullshit you’re doing," he barked. It was supposed to be a general warning, but his eyes were on them.

"See you later," Stales said. He didn’t want to walk away, but now he had no choice. The instructor had spoken.

Angela ran her hands through her hair and let out a long breath. The training was going to continue, but how was she supposed to focus now? Her heart was not steady. Her mind was a storm.

What was Renn going to do to her? Was he going to tell the others? Why hadn’t he dragged her in front of everyone already and exposed her? The silence from him made her more afraid than any threat.

Why did it have to be him? Why did Renn have to be the one to find out first? Anyone else, maybe she could have talked them down, begged them, explained herself. But Renn? How was she supposed to calm him down, when she didn’t even understand what he was thinking?

"We will tame him. It will be fun," Mighty-storm said confidently. There was no fear in her voice. Angela ignored her. Now was not the time. She needed to focus, to think of a way out. Maybe she could talk to Renn, maybe strike a deal with him. But would he even listen?

"You have to continue with your training," Samuel said, cutting through her thoughts. He was her instructor for the day. Renn was busy handling the others. Angela still couldn’t understand how he could walk in, shake her whole world, and then act like nothing happened.

"I should have known Renn’s intention from the start," she muttered as she returned to the sandbag. She started hitting it, harder and faster, pouring all her frustration into each punch. She pushed herself, hoping to hear Samuel say she had improved. Maybe praise would distract her from the chaos in her head.

"Can you calm down a little?" Samuel asked. He was watching her closely. He knew something had happened. "I don’t know what really went on, but you need to talk to Renn. You can fix this."

"Fix things with Renn?" Angela let out a dry laugh and turned to look at him. Renn wasn’t looking her way, but just seeing him irritated her. How could she ever find someone like him attractive, even for a second?

"He’s not a bad person. Things can still be fixed between you two," Samuel said again. He wasn’t backing down. His eyes didn’t leave her face.

"Not a bad person? Why are you defending him?" she asked sharply, then it hit her. Of course. He was Renn’s Beta. That explained everything. "We had a fight on my first day. Do you know what he did? He tried to kill me. Not once, but twice. You call that nothing?"

"Do you honestly think that if Renn really wanted you dead, you’d still be standing here?" Samuel replied quietly.

Angela went silent. She didn’t know how to answer that. Maybe he didn’t want to kill her. Maybe. But that didn’t erase what he did. "That doesn’t change anything. He still hurt me. He never misses a chance to humiliate me. You were there during the last combat class. Did you forget how he treated me? If he had corrected me with a little respect, it wouldn’t have gone so far. I almost lost everything that day because of him."

"I’m sorry to hear that," Samuel said softly. Even though he wasn’t the one who hurt her, he still offered an apology on behalf of his Alpha. "Renn likes you. I’m sure of it. The way he acts—cold, distant—it’s just his way of pushing people away. I think it has something to do with his upbringing."

Angela’s brows pulled together in confusion. Renn liked her? He had said it in the dream. He liked her when he thought she was Angel. But now that he knew she was a girl, maybe everything had changed. "What do you mean his upbringing could cause that?"

"That’s a story for another day... or better yet, ask him yourself," Samuel replied. "Right now, we should focus on training."

Angela still wanted to hear more, but she knew he was right. If she didn’t get stronger, Renn wouldn’t be the only threat to her staying in the Academy. She couldn’t afford to be distracted.

The combat class dragged on for another hour. When it finally ended, she quickly scanned the field and went looking for Renn. But before she could reach him, he was already gone. He left on purpose. He didn’t even spare her a glance. It was like she didn’t exist. And that hurt more than she thought it would.

As she walked out of the gym, Alex caught up to her, holding his phone in one hand and scrolling through messages. "Hey, I just got an update from Asher, the guy working on your case," he said.

"What is it?" Stales asked, coming up beside them. He threw his arm casually over their shoulders as they headed to the changing room.

Alex didn’t waste time. "He found out who owns the account that posted the viral video."

Angela and Stales both froze. They had been waiting for a response, but they hadn’t expected something so soon.

"It’s someone from the Central House," Alex said.

"What? The house without an Alpha?" Stales asked, surprised.

"Yes. The account belongs to Evan Thatcher."

Angela’s whole body tensed. She didn’t care about changing clothes anymore. Her eyes were burning with anger as she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room. Her blood boiled. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. The person who made her life hell was finally in the open, and he was going to feel her rage.

"Stop, please!" Alex shouted, running after her. "Calm down! If you go like this, you might actually kill him!"