Chapter 68 Until Tomorrow

SERAPHINA

The Supreme bAlpha /bthrone 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 bAlphas /bbowed before the Supreme bAlpha/b, whose word wasw and whose presence could silence kingdoms.

To sit on bthat /bbthrone /bwas to hold the fate of all bpacks /bin the bpalm /bof your hand, to shape the future with your will alone. It brought freedom, authority, and bunmatched /bstrength. It was feared, coveted, worshipped–and it was the very reason I bhad /brisked everything by entering this Academy.

If I couldn’tpete for the Supreme bAlpha /btitle, then what the hell was I even doing here?

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

bAnd /bnow, 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, bthat /bbit /bsliced 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.

bThis /bcouldn’t be happening. I would not, could bnot/b, 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 bturned/b, his face unreadable. bI /bapproached him quickly, my bbreaths /bshort and uneven. “Why bam /bI not bon /bthe blist/b?” I bdemanded/b.

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 bout /bof me. “A murderer? Who? Me?”

He bgrowled/bb, /bbhis /btone full of finality. “Yes. My investigation into the murder isplete, Alpha Sethb. /bAnd without ba /bshadow of doubt, you are the killer. As of bnow/b, only I know this–but bsoon/b, the other binstructors /bwill be informed

The ground slipped out from beneath me.

“That’s impossible!” I yelled, disbelief twisting through every word. “I bdidn’t /bbkill /bDante!“

“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 bnow/b, the truth is clear. bYou /bare the murderer.”

“I’m not” I yelled bagain/b. louder this time, voice bmsing /bbwithout /bcontrol. “Just because I was found near his body doesn’t bmean /bI killed him! I had no reason bto /bkill Dante, how could I kill someone like him?!”

““Enough with your lies, bAlpha /bSeth. A witness bhas /balreadye forward and named you. bThat’s /ball 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 bwhat /bI’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. bWhat /bwoulde next. I didn’t even bwant /bto imagine.

My hands trembled violently at bmy /bsides.

“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 blying/b! I am innocent,”

He turned slowlyb, /ba bitter frown creasing his face.

“Are you challenging our judgment?” he growled.

“No, but all I bam /btelling 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 blisten /bto bthe /bbwitness /bthen why can you not do the bsame /bwith 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 bone /bchance, to prove my innocence, Alpha Hugo!”

bThe /bbwords /bechoed bdown /bbthe /bcorridor, bouncing off the cold stone walls like a war cry.

For the first time, he faltered.

The stern mask he wore, etched with fury band /bjudgmentb, /bbwavered/b. His brows furrowed slightly, his bjaw /bckened. Beneath the rigid lines of bhis /bauthority, I saw it. A flicker of doubt. The smallest crack in his certainty. The bfire /bin my voice had touched something he hadn’t expectedb–/bconviction.

His eyes scanned me, not like a judge weighing guilt, but like a man reevaluating what he thought he knew. He bwas /bquiet, studying me as if hearing bme /bspeak for the very first time.

Then, bfinally/b, he bexhaled/b.

“bVery /bwell,” he bsaid/b, the bwords /bslow band /bheavy, bas /bif each carried the weight of a gamble. “bYou /bhave until tomorrow morning

prove your innocence.”

My heart leapt in my chest so bviolently /bI thought it might burst. bThe /bbtension /bbhadn’t /bleft, but a sliver of light cracked through the darkness surrounding me.

I stepped closer, the air between bus /btaut. “bWhat /bdo I bhave /bto do?” I asked, my voice steadier bnow/b, but no less urgent

“Make the witness take back their testimony,” he said bluntly, as if daring me bto /beven try. “Convince themb. /bbProve /byour innocence to them, beyond doubt.”

My pulse thundered in my ears. I’d thought he bmight /bbask /bfor a duel. A btrial /bby fire. A physical test. But this? Changing the mind of someone who already betrayed me? That felt like walking into a bden /bof knives with no armor

Sull. I nodded. “Who is the witness?” I asked. bbreathless /bwith dread.

They’ve already left for their next trial, he muttered, bncing /bdown at the parchment in his bhands/b. “Each bAlpha /bhas been dispatched to a different forest. The witness was assigned bto /bThornfall Forest”

My blood chilled

He looked up, his eyes sharp bas /bbdes/b. “If you can do it–if you can bmake /bthem retract their bstatement/b–111 bclose /bthe murder investigation. Not only that, I’ll breinstate /byou in the Supreme Alpha race.”

1153 AM

Chapter 68 Until Tomorrow

My ears bbegan /bto 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 bnothing /bbut 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 himb. /b

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 bagainst /bmy ribs. I stumbled to a halt as his face came into view.

My eyes widened bin /bdisbelief. “You”

Ronan’s lips curled into ba /bwicked smirk, his eyes bglinting /bwith amusement and danger.

“Why is it youb…/b”

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

“Time to strip,” he murmured.