When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197 The True Bond

SERAPHINA

The news of the she–wolf’s suicide reached the Alpha instructors swiftly, and the fury it sparked in Alpha Gideon was palpable. As the Head of the Academy, he could not tolerate such disgraceful events happening under his watch. He was especially triggered by the CCTV footage of her hanging herself in the room, her pitiful, lifelessness leaving everyone speechless. In a blind rage, he beat the Delta wolf senseless.

If not for Alpha Hugo’s timely intervention, the Delta would have been dead by Alpha Gideon’s hands. Alpha Hugo had handed the wolf over to the Council for their judgment. The healers‘ wing was in utter chaos, and I could hear healer Aran calling for Ronan to assist him getting the Omega down from the ceiling fan.

As everyone scrambled, I grabbed a tablet from a side table and, with quick, careful movements began scrolling through the Academy’s footage from that night. I needed to see what had happened before she’d taken her life. I watched intently as her image appeared on screen, walking down a corridor. My finger froze when another figure suddenly appeared, pulling her into the blind spot behind the Academy building.

I turned up the volume, and what came next sent a chill down my spine. The she–wolf’s moans echoed through the room. She wasn’t screaming, nor was she resisting. Instead, there was an eerie, unsettling calmness to it all, almost as if she had willingly gone with him. But why? If someone had forced themselves on her, why wasn’t she fighting back?

Phina’s voice broke through my racing thoughts. “Didn’t her mate say that she thought the man was her mate?”

Her words hit me like a blow to the chest. I rewound the footage, fast–forwarding until I reached the moment she bolted from the building in fear, tears streaming down her face. The darkness of the scene obscured much of what happened, but I could see her terror.

Then, another figure emerged from the shadows. His face was too dark to make out, but his physique was unmistakable. It wasn’t the build of a Delta–Deltas were weak, small, and scrawny. No, this was the body of an Alpha.

I replayed the footage over and over, trying to make sense of it. And then I noticed it–the way the man held his cigarette. The angle at which he placed it on his lips was familiar. A tremor shot through my chest.

“Is that Ryker?” I whispered to myself.

Before I could dwell on it any longer, Alpha Jude’s voice rang out from the hallway. “Everyone, get out here and return to the Academy building!”

I quickly put the tablet back where I had found it and headed toward the door, hoping no one noticed. As I walked down the corridor, my thoughts were in turmoil. Was it really Ryker? Could it have been? Even if it was, why had the she–wolf believed he was her mate? She couldn’t have mistaken his face or his scent. Could she?

Chapter 197 The True Bond

Could it be he looked like her mate at that time?

No. What the hell I was thinking? It was not possible. I felt like going crazy.

Sure, this case would be closed with the Delta being punished, but it left a lot of questions and suspicions in my heart.

Back in my room, I collapsed onto Ronan’s bed, curling up in the center. I ran my fingers over the sheets, inhaling his familiar scent. His declaration of love for me from earlier that day brought a smile to my lips. The love he spoke of had left no fear in my heart, not even after the curse. It was a love I’d been blessed with, something every woman would wish for.

“Soulmates or not, this life or another…I will only choose you,” I whispered, my voice soft as I felt his hand slide over my waist from behind.

His lips brushed against my neck, his voice a low murmur. “And I’ll keep waiting.”

We lay there, together, smiling, as our heartbeats matched in perfect rhythm.

The next day was quiet. Ronan and I had our breakfast together. We had another good time however after we were finished, one of the lower–rank Alpha instructors approached, his expression unreadable. “Alpha Seth, you’ve been summoned to Alpha Hugo’s office.”

It was obvious what this was about. Cassius‘ death. I had been there first, of course Hugo wanted to question me.

“I’ll go,” Ronan said immediately, rising to his feet.

I caught his hand before he could move. “No, I’ll go.”

He frowned, stepping closer, his voice dropping. “You don’t need to walk into this mess because of that low–life mutt, Seraphina. I killed him, you just happened to be there. I’ll handle the testimony and everything. You don’t-”

“Ronan,” I interrupted gently. “I get that you want to protect me, but let me do this. If you hadn’t killed Cassius, my secret would have been out and I’d be expelled from the Academy. This is the least I can do. After all…” I let my last words deliberately hang, “…you were never at the scene.”

His eyes searched mine before a small, reluctant smile curved his lips. “Okay, but don’t take responsibility for anything. If something goes wrong, deny even being there.”

I laughed softly at his absurdity. “Alright, I will.”

Ronan let me go with visible reluctance, his gaze following me until he received a mind–link from Mace. His expression instantly sharpened. Without another word, he turned and left.

Chapter 197 The True Bond

When I entered Alpha Hugo’s office, Finn was already seated, his posture calm but unreadable. I hadn’t realized he’d been summoned too.

Our eyes met briefly before I lowered myself into the chair beside him, across from Alpha Hugo.

“You’re too late, Alpha Seth,” Hugo said flatly. “The interrogation is already over.”

I blinked, confusion prickling through me.

“Alpha Finn has told us everything,” Hugo continued.

My stomach dropped. Everything? Did he tell them about Ronan-?

But Hugo’s next words cut the thought off. “You weren’t the first at the scene. It was Alpha Finn. He saw Alpha Cassius being killed by something…white. A light, almost divine.”

“What?” The word slipped out before I could stop it. White light? Not a curse but something divine?

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Finn. His face was a mask of calm. He’d lied. A pure, immaculate lie.

He’d even erased my name from the murder entirely, making himself the first to arrive.

“You two may leave,” Alpha Hugo ordered at last.

We walked out together, silent until the corridor curved away from Hugo’s office. When we were finally alone, I turned to him. “Why did you do that?”

Finn’s eyes met mine, steady and unflinching. He smiled faintly, his voice low as he leaned closer, “Because the bond was true, Seraphina.”

I stopped dead, his words echoing in my chest as he turned and walked away.

The bond was true? What did he mean by that? Did that mean he was my keeper?

When the Academy bell rang, every Alpha gathered in the Grand Hall. Cassius‘ name lingered on every tongue, spoken as the intruder, the traitor, the one who had broken the Academy’s law.

Deep down, I felt an undeniable relief that Cassius was gone. Yet the unease in my chest remained. It was still a mystery who had sent that bouquet to my uncle and aunt’s anniversary party under Seth’s name, but I knew something wasn’t right.

How had Cassius come to suspect me after so many months? Not only had he called me by my true full name, but he had also addressed me as the Alpha King’s runaway bride. That knowledge should have been impossible. None of the Alphas here should know that!

Chapter 197 The True Bond

had fled because they had all been at the Academy before I ever escaped.

So how?

Had he overheard something? And if so…from whom?

My heart clenched with unease just as Alpha Gideon stepped onto the raised platform before us. Instantly, silence fell over the vast hall.

“Everyone is aware of the incident that happened in the Academy last night,” he began, his tone cutting through the tension. “So I will not waste words on it. Just know this, the criminal received his punishment for breaking the Academy’s rules. Let this serve as a reminder, follow the rules if you wish to survive here. Because as of right now, we stand only two steps away from the Supreme Alpha Throne.”

With that, he pulled the heavy curtain away, revealing the leaderboard.

Excitement and thrilled howls erupted among the gathered Alphas, but the world around me dimmed. My heart thundered so hard it felt as though it shook the air from my lungs.

All the voices, all the noise, vanished.

I saw it.

My name, glowing among the twenty–one Alphas. Just two steps away.

Finally.

A smile spread across my lips, even as my limbs trembled with cold, uncontainable

notion. After everything I had risked, after putting my entire future on the line, I was here.

The Supreme Alpha Throne. My freedom. My life. I was going to seize it.

Only just as my joy began to settle in, an Alpha instructor rushed to the platform and whispered urgently into Alpha Gideon’s ear.

His expression twisted instantly. Without a word, he stormed out of the hall, leaving the noise of excitement behind him.

I watched his retreating back, dread coiling in my gut. Something was wrong. Deeply, terribly wrong.

Suddenly, a sharp pain lanced through my skull, white–hot and blinding. A hiss tore from my lips as I clutched my head, stumbling out of the hall and into the nearest restroom. My steps faltered, the tiles tilting beneath me as my vision blurred to a watery haze. I dropped to my knees, gasping, just as a vision slammed into me.

It was one I knew, one I had endured before. A vision from the past.

Chapter 197 The True Bond

The same terrible images: my parrot, my dearest friend, my nanny, my mother all slipping

away. Loss, grief, and blood tangled together.

Only this time, something was different.

This time… Grace was there.

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