RONAN

    I knew I’d messed up but I hadn’t expected to fuck things up this badly. Seraphina didn’t just avoid me, she ghosted me like I never existed. She’d switch directions the second she spotted meing, vacate any space I was already in, and if we happened to be stuck in the same ce, like the training grounds where walking away wasn’t an option, she’d treat me like I was invisible.

    After what I saw between her and Finn, his fingers brushing her lips, the way he smiled at her with that cocky charm, I’d barely kept from tearing the whole ce apart. The way he looked at her, talked to her; it was obvious, Finn was more than interested in Seraphina. And what was worse? She hadn’t pushed him away. She let him touch her. Comfortable. Familiar. Like I’d never existed at all.

    Calming down after seeing them like that? Was fucking impossible. But I swallowed it, locked it in a cage, because I didn’t want to blow it any further. Not after how I’d already snapped the night ishe /icame back smelling like Ryker’s rut. She told me not to say her name, and ever since then, I’d been ipletely /ishut out. She’d fall asleep before I returned to the dorm, leave before I woke up, and always ce herself at the front row if I was at the back during drills.

    What really made me realize just how badly I’d destroyed everything was when she stood up and walked out of the cafeteria the exact moment I sat beside her.

    “She hates us!” Varkas snarled in my mind as she disappeared through the door. My fist mmed down on the table, rattling tes, knocking food to the floor. The entire room tensed. I didn’t care. I, Alpha Ronan Volkstone, the one who never gave a damn about she–wolves, was losing his mind over one. The reason? Him. Ryker.

    That bastard. I shifted my gaze and locked onto Ryker lounging five tables away, legs up, rxed, smug. He had been there the entire time she ate, watching her like a predator stalking prey, biting that damn apple in slow motion like it was some fucking love scene. And now? He tossed thest piece in his mouth as if he had imed his prize. The worst part? I had this gut–deep feeling Ryker knew that she wasn’t a man. A woman.

    I didn’t touch my food. I got up. And just like that, so did he. We moved, about to cross paths, until we both stopped. Shoulder to shoulder. Breath to breath.

    “Did you think sending him ito /ime covered in the scent of your rut would make him yours?” I growled low.

    He didn’t flinch. Instead, ihe /ishoved his hands into his pockets and murmured with a maddening calm, “Ever heard of destiny? That ce iyou /iend up because it was designed, that person you were always meant to meet?” He looked right at me then, his voice like ice. “I’m that destiny. The one he’s fated to crash into, no matter how far he tries to run,” his eyes bled into his wolf’s, burning with possessive certainty.

    Destiny? Did this fucker seriously just suggest that ino /imatter where Seraphina went, she’d always end up in his rut room? That they were meant to collide?

    A furious smile curled across my lips. “Destiny?” I scoffed. “I don’t believe in fairy tales. I don’t give two shits about them. But what I do believe in is thisb, /bI rip apart anything standing between me and what’s mine. I’ll tear down walls, burn kingdoms, and devour the fucking stars if that’s what it takes to take back what belongs to me. This so–called destiny doesn’t amuse me. I’ll crush it.”

    Ryker’s eyes darkened with amusement. “Funny,” he said quietly, “So funny I almostughed.” He took one step closer, his wolf ring, pushing into mine like a challenge. “But maybe I can’tugh….because for the first time in years, someone’s trying to gnatch what’s mine. And now? This chase just got fun.”

    The moment his wolf’s aura shoved into mine, Varkas nearly lost control. He was wing at me, snarling to break free and rip Ryker’s throat out. Ryker’s wolf was doing the same. We were seconds from going full beast in the middle of the fucking cafeteria when Alpha Hugo’s voice cracked through the air.

    “What’s going on

    inere/i?”

    He stormed toward us, his presence making the rest of the Alphas at the tables stiffen in excitement.

    Chapter 132 Confrontation

    “I trust everything is….perfectly fine between you two, Alpha Ryker and Alpha Ronan?” he asked, his tone heavy with warning.

    Ryker and I pulled away at the same time, both straightening like nothing had happened. “Yes,” I said tly, and we passed each other without another word.

    Though my fists were still clenched. What had I just felt? It was the first time I had an interaction with Ryker and for some reason I felt as if Dante was standing in front of me. More like a darker version of Dante. Eviler and stronger. But at the same time he did not seem like Dante.

    The Dante I knew was the pr opposite of Ryker. Dante would act before thinking and Ryker was the person who made every move with calcted ease.

    Other than his full name there was no information about him and it made him even more unsettling. Especially when I had just be a hundred percent sure that he was after Seraphina.

    He called himself her DESTINY!

    I stormed into my dorm room, rage buzzing beneath my skin, and walked straight to the window. Mind–linking Mace, I asked, “Did you find the map yet?”

    “Not yet, Alpha. All the records show a standard Academyyout.”

    “Then break into the royal library or hack the fucking Council’s archive if you have to. I want that goddamn map. Now! I’m running out of time.”

    I cut the link and narrowed my eyes iout /ithe window, only to freeze.

    There she was, Seraphina.

    Asher was beside her as they talked,ughed and he even plucked something for her from a tree.

    Asher, usually awkward around the people other than his friends, was now looking at her like he was under some damn spell.

    My hands curled so tightly my knuckles turned white. Varkas growled deep in my soul.

    “Don’t tell me he also knows…”

    Wait! I Have Something to Say!

    Send a Gift to the Writer!

    SERAPHINA

    The leaderboard was updated three days after we returned from the Nightshade Alley. I didn’t dare risk my lunch ifor /iit, if I didn’t eat first those assholes would steal my share. So, only after I’dpletely filled my stomach did I make my way to the Grand Hall.

    I was excited. Okay, really excited, to check the rankings, but the crowd of tall Alphas hadpletely blocked my view. I was trying to squeeze past them when a warm hand suddenly closed around mine.

    My breath hitched, heartbeat quickening. Slowly, I looked up only to find Asher, not Ronan.

    “Let’s go,” he said with a smile.

    smiled back automatically, letting him guide me through the crowd. No one dared to block his path. Still, deep inside, my heart thudded even harder because I realized something iridiculous/i. I’d been expecting Ronan.

    It had been three days since I’d started avoiding him. So why was Asher suddenly holding my hand? The other day in the garden, his gaze had lingered on me differently…

    “Shit! It’s crazy!!”ughter and excitement rolled through the hall.

    “Oh? What is it?” I asked curiously, gently slipping my hand from Asher’s grasp causally ibefore /ianyone noticed. I had enough ugly rumors swirling around, I could thank Reed and Cassius for that.

    Speak of the devils, they were standing right there when I reached the leaderboard.

    Reed’s mouth twisted in disgust the second he saw me. “A good–for–nothing also passed the trial!”

    Then he turned away, Cassius in tow, both wearing smug expressions.

    “What did he say?” Asher’s voice was low, but there was a sharpness beneath it, his frown following their

    retreat.

    “Just nonsense,” I rolled my eyes, “Don’t pay attention to them.”

    He gave a slow nod, but his gaze lingered a beat longer on their backs before turning to me.

    I focused on the leaderboard and froze. “No one’s eliminated?” I scanned the names twice to be sure. All forty Alphas remained, the rankings unchanged. Everyone had passed the trial.

    “That’s great,” I said, grinning.

    Asher crossed his arms, ncing down at me. “It wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

    My smile faltered. “I did nothing” I forced my tone to stay light. “Grace was rescued because everyone did their best and put their lives on the line,”

    “No,” he stepped closer, close enough that I caught the subtle shift in his scent, woodsmoke, leather, and something sharper, “Grace was saved because…” his head dipped, his lips brushing near my ear, “the dollboy was the prettiest and bravest of them all.”

    My breath caught. His warm breath against my skin sent a shiver down my spine. Prettiest?

    I could ept bravest, but prettiest? Was that really something you’d call a man? To him, I was supposed to be a man. Right?

    When we were trapped in the vampire cave, he’d even apologized for calling me beautiful. So what had changed? And that smile on his lips was the same as usual, yet somehow…different.

    First Finn. Now Asher. Why were these guys suddenly acting strange toward me?

    Chapter