CHAPTER 70: _ AWAKENING CEREMONY (TEST ENDS)

"Keep your mouth shut, Daphne!"

Their side of the hall jerks. The sharpness of his tone echoes. And Daphne, who always plays at control, goes pale, realizing she’s slipped. Too much truth spilled from her tongue.

The truth... what truth is that? Amias’s curiosity and anger are more than piqued.

Morgan and Grayson freeze, and their eyes widen as their sharp minds lock onto the scent of blood in the water. "Wait," Morgan says slowly. "What do you mean by that, Daphne?"

Grayson jumps in with a more feral squint. "Are you talking about this morning? You and Heidi emerging from within the estate together?"

Daphne’s eyes widen, then narrow. She crosses her arms defensively, and when she speaks, her voice is too shrill to sound convincing. "No. I already explained. Heidi was with me because she’s my friend."

Morgan snorts. "Some friend you are. You humiliated her in front of the entire school an hour ago, and you expect us to believe she’s your bosom companion?"

Grayson chirps in with a cynical curve of his lip. "Yeah, sounds solid."

"Leave me alone!" Daphne snaps, her facade already blown. The crimson flush of her cheeks is a dead giveaway.

Grayson’s gaze swivels onto Darien. Amias notes it instantly... he sees the way Darien’s usual indifference is gone, how he seems... guarded and coiled. It’s pretty sure this has struck a chord.

"You! Tell me the truth. Did our dear sister just admit you’ve already done something with Heidi? To her body?" Grayson dangles a finger in Darien’s way, angry fumes almost blowing up around him.

Darien’s eyes harden into frost. His reply is low and a stupid attempt to dismiss the claims which obviously hold some truth and weight on him. "You’re dumb to even think it." He scoffs.

"Dumb, maybe," Morgan growls, "but if it’s true..."

"If it’s true," Grayson snarls, "you’ll regret ever touching her."

The air bristles. Wolves in the crowd are already picking up the scent of tension. But before claws can come out, a new voice slices through.

"Hold it."

Isolde’s tone is stern as she stops the brewing fight. She throws her hands between them, eyes blazing. "What is all this fuss over Heidi? I’ve been wondering since yesterday what makes her so special. She’s an ordinary Moon Blessed. But now I see..." She gestures at the now re-organized stage.

"...She’s touched by the Moon Goddess herself that’s why everyone can’t stop talking about her, isn’t it? It’s something about that distinct aura Luna Rayne speaks of."

Maybe Heidi’s touched by the goddess, maybe not. She’s definitely got to be touched by something to be fated to four Alpha bloods. The girl’s no ordinary wolf, that much is certain. However, does that give Darien the right to claim her all for himself—behind all of their backs when he knows quite well that she doesn’t belong to only him? Amias’s blood chills. His fists itch to collide with the bastard’s jaw.

"No. Not here, Amias. Not now." Vark calls the enraged wolf to order.

He can hear Daphne hissing. "The goddess would never touch someone like Heidi. If she were to bless anyone, it would be me, an Alpha’s daughter—or you, Isolde. Not some dumb Moon Blessed who was a human two weeks ago."

Isolde rolls her eyes. "The goddess blesses whoever she wants. She doesn’t ask your permission, Daphne."

Amias can hardly hear them. His chest is roaring with another more personal and darker truth. Daphne’s slip wasn’t just a mistake. It was confirmation.

He had wondered—why Heidi had been in the Alpha’s estate that morning. Why Daphne lied so easily. Why Darien, who is always so damn composed, looked a little less indifferent now.

Now he knows.

Heidi had been with Darien. All night.

His vision tunnels. Fire burns in his gut. He doesn’t need Morgan and Grayson’s limited perception to see what’s plain.

Vark purrs, delighted. "Ah, now you get it. She’s been in his arms. Maybe under him. And you? You gave her a nod from across the hall. Pathetic."

Amias grips the arms of his chair so hard the wood groans. His mind flashes with images he doesn’t want; Darien’s hands on Heidi, Heidi’s lips parted, Heidi’s hair spread across a pillow. His brother’s name on her mouth.

He wants to tear his skin off and rip something open.

Vark laughs. "Don’t blame him. Don’t blame her. Blame yourself. You let her slip. You were cold. Silent. Negligent. You left a door open, and Darien walked through it first. You don’t get to rage. You get to rot."

Oh, so now it’s his fault? It’s his fault for trying to figure out with a mess the Moon Goddess dumped him in out of the blue? What does Vark expects? For him to simply embrace the bond the moment it surfaced?

Hell no. No Alpha son can do that. People process shock. It needs time. He doesn’t know his perfect littlebrother isn’t so perfect when it comes to Heidi, after all.

Amias can’t breathe. His chest is a cavern of knives. He wants to punch Darien. He wants to punch himself harder. The jealousy is molten, it sears through every vein of his. Darien has everything: an exemplary mother, Father’s love and respect, real siblings bound to him by blood, not just half ties...

And now, now, he’s taken her too.

By the time the ceremony rounds to a close, Amias’s skin is crawling. Teachers announce the venue for the mate ball. Students cheer, their minds already filled with dancing and wine and stolen kisses in dark corners.

But Amias doesn’t stay. He can’t. He rises so abruptly his chair screeches. Morgan calls after him, Grayson too, but he doesn’t hear anything. He moves like a man chased by his own shadow. He heads for the library building, for their private study where silence and dust smother everything. Where no one will see. Where he can bleed out the poison.

Because the pain inside his chest? The jealousy that claws and tears at him? That, he can’t bear. But physical pain? That he knows. That he understands. That he can control. And if he has to cut, to scrape, to bruise until the world makes sense again...

So be it.