When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 183

SERAPHINA

Using a heater’s check up as an excuse to rest I managed to slip away long enough for a long pleasant shower By the time I dressed in my academy uniform and headed to the cafeteria, guilt nipped at me, Donan was starving and I had taken too long

Yet for some reason I felt as if someone was behind me. Still whenever I stopped to look back no one was there Since I exited the dorm room, I had this feeling of being stalked Pursing my lips, I looked straight ahead and resumed my walk Was it my imagination?

As expected, Ronan was there Leaning against the corridor wall, arms crossed, waiting. He hadn’t even stepped inside the cafeteria My steps faltered

The instant he sensed me, his head lifted, and his eyes found mine. His smile, casual, sure, possessive, polled at my chest. “Let’s go,” he said.

I almost smiled back, but caution tugged at me. My gaze flickered around, making sure no one thought us odd, before I took a step toward him. That’s when the dormitory assistant, Mr. William, appeared

“Alpha Ronan Volkstane,” the assistant bowed slightly, his tone official.

I froze mid–step.

“Alpha Gideon has summoned you to his office.”

Every muscle in my body tensed. Alpha Gideon’s summons were never good.

“Go and look for Alpha Ryker Wraithe,” Mr William ordered the other dormitory assistant, “His presence is also ordered to Alpha Gideon’s office,” saying he bowed to Ronan, “please come with me, Alpha Ronan.”

Ronan’s eyes lingered on me, steady and unreadable. “You go eat. I’ll be back.”

I nodded, lips pressed tight, as he walked away. My heart twisted uneasily. Why Ronan and Ryker? Could it be because of what happened in the Moonstone chamber? Or the curse? Had the Alpha instructors found out that Ronan and Ryker fought in the chamber breaking the rule?

“Don’t worry. He’ll be back.”

The voice behind me sent panic rushing through my veins. I turned and there was Asher. Calm, almost amused, like nothing had changed. That’s when I remembered. The Ghost Forest. The trial. The bond. His words. Crush. He knew my secret.

My mouth went dry. “Asher, I-”

“You are what?” he cut in, lifting an eyebrow

My pulse stumbled. “I didn’t mean to hide. I just-”

He chuckled, stepping closer, his expression easy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Seth.”

I froze. He said my false name. His smile was the same as always, his calm the same….yet behind it, the truth lingered. He knew. And he wasn’t pushing me.

My fists clenched against my pants. What was he doing?

“Let’s not talk about that trial,” he said smoothly. “It’s not our place to dwell on things that never mattered.”

My breath caught. He wasn’t talking about the trial at all. He was talking about me, about Seraphina. About my disguise.

He knew. He wouldn’t expose me.

Chapter 183 The Fake Bond

Relief washed through me, loosening my fists. ‘So he’s protecting me. Still my friend… even if I’m not Seth.

That was when Phina’s voice curled in my head, anxious. “That bond during the trial… should we really be ignoring it? He had called us his crush,” she reminded, greatly unsettled.

I swallowed and looked into Asher’s eyes. Searching. “Then…I should be ignoring what the bond said in the trial, right? We are friends, right?”

“Yes,” he answered without a flicker of hesitation. “It was just a trial made by the Academy. The trial ended and the bond ended. Moreover, it was meant to be a pack bond, not a real bond. The bond was fake.”

My chest loosened at his certainty. Relief swept me clean. If he could dismiss it so easily, then so could I. I was not his crush. That also meant that I was not Finn’s first love or anything.

“That’s what I thought,” I smiled brightly, more grateful than I could admit. “The bond was fake. Just meant to mess with us.”

“Yes,” Asher nodded coolly, that calm mask never breaking.

“Let’s go for breakfast then,” I offered.

“I’ve already eaten,” he said with a small smile. “You should go.”

“Alright then,” I returned the smile and turned toward the cafeteria happily. I was truly glad that I did not lose a friend because of that fake bond.

However, I didn’t see the way his smile slipped the moment my back was turned.

His gaze fell to his hand, curling slightly as if it still remembered the bond that tied us once. His lips moved in a quiet murmur only he could hear.

“So this is what it feels like to have a crush…a forbidden crush,” his voice was low, almost bitter.

The cafeteria was quiet when I walked in. Only a handful of Alphas sat scattered across the room, eating in silence. I didn’t know how many had returned from the Ghost Forest, but the emptiness here told me enough, many had fallen.

I carried my tray to a window seat, grateful for the hush. The breeze slipped in, cool and gentle, matching the calm I desperately needed. I began eating slowly, waiting for Ronan.

But then a chair scraped against the floor across from me. Without needing to look up, I already knew who it was. His aura was unmistakable.

Ryker.

I slowly lifted my gaze, first to his plate bare, untouched then to him. He leaned back in his chair lazily, one hand in his pocket, those piercing blue eyes fixed entirely on me.

“What?” I asked, raising a brow.

His hand came forward, and before I could react, his fingers brushed my lower lip. His gaze sharpened, unwavering. “What happened to your lips?”

My heart lurched. Ronan. His teeth. His kisses. The rough, desperate passion of last night had left marks, and I had been so lost in it I hadn’t even considered that someone might notice. Now it was Ryker of all people.

I swallowed quickly, pulling back. “It’s nothing. I bit it by accident during the trial.” The lie slipped out fast, too fast.

His blank stare told me he didn’t believe a word. Heat climbed up my neck as I shoved another spoonful into my mouth, feigning calm even though panic was rising inside me.

Chapter 103 The fake flond

“To be honest,” I said, forcing a casual tone, “I’m surprised you’re sitting here when Alpha Gideon summoned you. Shouldn’t you hurry?”

“No one has informed me officially,” his reply was smooth, calm. Then his words struck like claws. “So I’ll eat breakfast with my Luna first.”

I froze. My lungs forgot how to breathe. Luna?

When I finally looked up, his expression was composed as ever, but there was weight in his gaze possessive, claiming. My fingers curled around the spoon.

“Alpha Ryker,” I said evenly, “I didn’t know we were still playing that pack bond trial. Do you love that game so much?”

“I think I loved being called your Alpha more.” He lifted an apple to his lips, biting lazily, his gaze never leaving mine. “It’s thrilling. Puts me in a very good mood.”

My eyes narrowed. “Well, it ruins mine. Even in a game, I hate being called Luna.”

For the first time, something shifted in his calm façade. A faint crack. “I wonder why,” he murmured.

“I came here to claim the Supreme Alpha throne. Not to become someone’s special person because I choose who I want,” I said coolly, setting the spoon down. “I am Alpha, and I will always be Alpha. Since the day I came of age, I swore to carve my own destiny. So when some so–called bond whispers lies to me, it disgusts me.”

A soft chuckle escaped him. Low. Dangerous. “So, you’re saying the bond in the trial was fake?”

My gaze sharpened. “Do you believe it was real?”

“Who knows,” his voice was calm, but there was certainty in his eyes, “Maybe.”

“So it was real?” I leaned back, lips curling into a smile, “Then in that case, I find the bonds nothing but a joke. Because I deny them all.”

His eyes flared, darkening, but I didn’t stop.

“I am no one’s pack member. No one is my Beta, no one is my Gamma. No one is my protector or my keeper. I am no one’s crush. No one’s first love. No one’s Luna.” I rose from my seat, picking up my tray. “I belong to no one but myself. That is the only bond I accept.”

Without waiting for his response, I turned and walked away.

I didn’t notice Finn leaning on the wall outside the window where I sat, shadows veiling his face. His blank eyes had been fixed on my back as I exited the cafeteria. His mind stuck at my words when I said, ‘I am not anyone’s first love. Through the loose collar of my uniform, he had seen it, faint but undeniable, the mark on my neck. A love bite.

I left without looking back.

Back in the cafeteria, Ryker didn’t move. His hands clenched so tight the veins in his neck bulged, his wolf flashing in his eyes. His calm shattered, his voice dropping into a growl.

“Then why the fuck do you reek of Ronan’s rut?”

His plate clattered as he shoved it away violently and stormed out mind–linking someone.

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