Chapter 121 The Choice To Trust
SERAPHINA
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The flames blocked my view of the man, but left me with questions that burned deeper than the fire itself. Who was he…and why was he there?
We burst from the tunnel into brittle dawn, smoke clinging to our bodies like a second skin. My lungs ached. Every breath felt like inhaling ash. The air outside was cold and raw against my sweat–damp skin. I looked around.
Most of the she–wolves had already fled, running toward homes that may or may not still want them. Only the Academy Alphas remained now, bruised and breathless beneath the curling smoke behind us.
That’s when I froze.
Why were they still here?
“What’s wrong?” Ronan’s voice came low beside me.
I looked down at myself, breath catching. “I can’t go back like this,” I whispered, “Not in these clothes…plus my perfume’s gone.”
I hadn’t even realized when I’d lost the bottle. Somewhere in that chaos…it was just gone.
“Everyone, return to the Academy immediately,” Alpha Jude commanded, his voice stern as it echoed across the clearing.
Panic bloomed inside me.
If I didn’t return on time, questions would rise. Doubts would surface. Then all of this, all my effort, would come undone.
“Think, Sera…think,” I clenched my jaw.
“Only Lily can get us that perfume,” Phina said.
“I can’t mind–link her or contact her without a phone,” I muttered, “Even if I managed to reach her… she’s hours away. She wouldn’t get here in time.”
Phina stayed silent. My throat tightened. I felt cornered, unraveling at the seams.
Just as I started spiraling, Ronan took my hand.
I flinched at the sudden warmth and blinked up at him.
“Come with me,” he said, not asking, telling.
“What? Where?” I gasped as he pulled me toward a different path into. the forest, away from the other Alphas.
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Chapter 121 The Choice To Trust
“Of course we’re going back to the Academy,” he murmured, eyes scanning left and right.
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I tugged my hand back. “I can’t go without my perfume, Ronan. You should go. I’ll figure something out…”
But he caught my hand again and pulled me closer. “I’m not going without you, Seraphina.”
His eyes were deep and dark, his voice like velvet wrapping around my name. I’d never heard it spoken like that before. Possessive. Intimate.
I tried to keep my heart steady. “Then what? You want me to march back in these clothes and expose myself?”
He gave me a slow, shameless once–over and smirked. “Well, I certainly can’t let anyone else see what’s exclusively mine to enjoy.”
My cheeks flamed. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist, leaning in until his breath brushed my lips. “Do you really want me to say it out loud, Seraphina?” his eyes twinkled with mischief, “I love you. Like crazy. And when a couple’s in love…everything they are belongs to each other.”
Couple in love? I blinked. “I–I never said I loved you!”
He tilted his head like I was being ridiculous. “Really? We kissed. We held each other.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself just because of… of that-” I stopped, unable to say the word.
“That kiss?” he teased, leaning even closer.
I tried to pull back, but he cupped the back of my head with one hand, keeping me in place. His entire body pressed against mine, making me painfully aware of how close we were.
“You–You do anything perverted and I swear I’ll kill you,” I growled, claws lightly pressing under his neck.
He just smiled, unfazed. “I’d gladly die by your hands, if it means I get one more kiss.”
My heart skipped. My claws wavered.
I looked away before he could see how red my face had gotten.
He laughed softly, releasing me from his hold. “If we shift, we’ll reach the Academy in time using this path,” he explained. Before I could argue, he added, “Trust me. I’ll handle everything.”
Then he shifted into his wolf form, sleek, black, powerful.
I hesitated.
Without my disguise…what was the point of going back? Still standing here wouldn’t solve anything either. Plus, the way his wolf stood there calm and patient as if he would wait forever I felt something in my chest melt.
Should I trust him?
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Chapter 121 The Choice To Trust
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My mind wandered to everything he’d done. Saving me. Fighting for me. That kiss. He wasn’t the arrogant Alpha I thought he was. Not when it mattered.
