CHAPTER 77: DO YOU KNOW MY FAMILY?

Angela struggled to breathe. Her chest felt tight as she stared at the woman before her. How was she going to get out of this? Lies wouldn’t work this time. This wasn’t just any Alpha or student. It was the principal. A woman who must have gone through her file and, still not convinced, had probably gone to meet Principal Jane.

Angela could only imagine what happened during that meeting. Maybe Miss Valois had forced the truth out of Jane. Maybe she even paid a visit to Grace. That would only make things worse.

Then her heart sank deeper. What if she had met her uncle too? What if they had reached an agreement to send her away from the Academy? A cold shiver ran through her. Her legs felt weak, her eyes cloudy. She could see stars dancing in her vision, but she held on. Fainting wouldn’t help her now.

"You think this is some kind of game?" Principal Valois asked, her voice sharp, her eyes hard. "If the board finds out you’re a girl disguised as a boy, you won’t like what happens next. You have no idea what you’ve brought on yourself."

"I-I had to," Angela’s voice trembled as her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it. This could be the end. Any moment now, her uncle could come take her away. And the Academy board? She didn’t even want to imagine what they would do to her. Her life here was already falling apart. "I had problems at home. I ran away. This was the only way. I didn’t want this life, but I had no other choice."

"You don’t break such a Golden Rule just because you have problems at home," Valois snapped. "Whatever you were facing, you should have faced it. Not run away."

"Have you solved all your problems?" Angela asked before she could stop herself. She saw how shock spread across the principal’s face. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

"You can’t solve everything, no matter how strong you are. I’m just a young girl with the worst kind of mother anyone could have. Do you know how many times she chose money over me? What kind of mother does that? Would you do that if you had a child?"

The look on Principal Valois’s face didn’t change. In fact, it deepened. Her eyes were wide as Angela’s words hit her one after another. She clearly hadn’t expected this.

"I grew up in a town where no one wanted me," Angela went on, her voice shaky as hot tears slid down her face. She tried to stop them, but they kept coming. "Not because I did anything wrong, but because of my mother. I couldn’t live a normal life. People mocked me, insulted me, and I became bitter. I pushed everyone away because that was the only way to protect myself. I had no choice but to leave home. I didn’t want to become like her. I don’t want to be a mother that my child would grow up hating. I don’t want to turn into my mother."

She held back the part about her uncle trying to sell her. If the principal found out that she was supposed to be a surrogate to a werewolf, especially from the western pack, she might not care. She might even be angrier. So Angela kept it to herself.

But what happened next, she didn’t expect.

Tears slowly ran down the principal’s face. She pulled out a white handkerchief and gently dabbed her eyes. She wiped her face and cleared her throat, but she still couldn’t meet Angela’s eyes.

"This... this isn’t what I expected," she said softly. Her voice was low and shaky. It was clear that something inside her had shifted. She looked away, her hands shaking slightly. "Excuse me."

Angela stood still, unsure of what just happened. She wondered if it was just her words that had made the woman so emotional. The way the tears kept falling said something more. Maybe the principal had gone through something similar. Maybe she saw herself in Angela. But would she ever open up to a student like her?

"I’m sorry, Principal Valois. I didn’t mean to upset you," Angela said quietly. She avoided the woman’s eyes. Everything was getting too embarrassing, and she prayed no student would walk in and see them like this. "I just wanted you to understand where I’m coming from. I know nothing I say can make what I did right, and that’s why I’m only asking for your forgiveness, nothing more."

As the words left her mouth, she felt stupid. Maybe she should’ve begged to stay instead. Now they would throw her out for sure. Her tears had dried, so she forced herself to look stronger, even though she felt like falling apart.

Principal Valois looked at her for a moment, then said, "If I let you stay here, you have no idea what that would mean for both of us. I run the Academy, yes, but the real owners are the sponsors and the board. If they find out you broke the golden rule, they won’t take it lightly."

"You shouldn’t let me go," Angela said before thinking. The principal’s expression changed sharply, and Angela wished she had kept her mouth shut. "I mean... maybe no one will ever find out."

Valois stared at her. "I was wondering why you didn’t go to the Luna Girls Academy."

"Because this place was my only escape. It was the only way I could hide from everyone, including my mother. If you can just give me a little time, I’ll find a way to disappear."

"How long are you asking for?" the principal asked.

"Three to five years. That’s enough for me to finish and go," Angela replied without hesitation.

"You really are something else. Just like your ex-principal said."

"Please don’t listen to anything she said about me. That woman hates me, I swear," Angela said as she folded her arms across her chest. She should’ve known Principal Jane had been the one to talk. That woman never kept her mouth shut. "So... are you going to report me to the board?

"Do you think I would report you? If I wanted to, I would have done it already instead of calling you here," Principal Valois said as she slipped her hands into her pockets. "Who else knows you’re a girl here?"

"No one," Angela replied, lowering her eyes to the floor. It was a lie, but she had to say it. If she mentioned anyone, they would be dragged into this mess. Her friends didn’t deserve that. And Renn... Why was she even trying to protect Renn of all people?

"Good. Keep it that way," the principal said, her eyes scanning the surroundings. She turned and looked around carefully, as if she felt they were being watched. Then she leaned in and spoke in a low voice. "Have you noticed anything strange since you got here? With your body... or your health?"

Angela blinked, confused by the sudden question. She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she asked, "Like what? If you’re talking about physical changes, I’m still the same."

"Not that... I mean something different. Like you’re not exactly human, but still are," Principal Valois said, her voice calm but heavy with meaning. She wasn’t being direct, but Angela understood.

That was enough to shake her.

The principal knew more than she had ever imagined. Angela didn’t want to say too much. Not yet. She needed to be sure. How did this woman even begin to suspect she might be a werewolf? Angela had only shared the truth with two people. If either of them had said something, the principal would have come in here with full details, not just questions.

So that left only one explanation.

"Ma... do you know my family?" Angela asked, her voice quiet but firm, eyes narrowing as she watched the woman closely.

And there it was.

The tiny reaction she had been looking for.

A flinch. Small, almost unnoticeable, but it was there.

Angela’s chest tightened. The principal was hiding something. She knew. Maybe not the whole story, but enough. Maybe she knew who Angela’s father was. Maybe she had known all along.

Then why hadn’t she said anything? Why keep it a secret?