When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 209

SERAPHINA

My fists were clenched as I made my way to my dormitory room, every step heavy with the weight of the day. That was when the Academy’s assistant, Mr. William, appeared in my path.

“Alpha Seth Darven,” he said, stopping me. For once, his expression wasn’t the usual stone mask. His eyes softened slightly as he delivered the news. “Grace has woken up from her coma.”

My breath caught. “Grace… woke up?”

Before he could say anything more, I turned and bolted from the dormitory building, my heart hammering.

Unknown to me, Healer Aran watched my retreating back as he appeared behind William.

“You seem to have softened toward him, finally,” Aran remarked casually.

William, caught off guard, immediately denied it. “No, I just thought I should tell him since he was worried about Grace. I still dislike him.”

Aran tilted his head, intrigued. “I’ve always wondered why you dislike Seth Darven so much.”

William’s expression darkened. He looked away, frowning. “He reminds me of who I used to be. Shorter than the other Alphas, thin, mocked behind my back for not being… well, masculine enough. I was a late bloomer. My teenage years were hell because of it. Seth Darven brings all those memories rushing back – the ones I try so hard to forget. I chose to be the dormitory assistant at Lupine Academy, even though I’m Alpha–blood, because I needed to escape all that.”

He clenched his fists, his frustration growing. “But when I see Seth standing up again and again, fighting without giving up, despite being short and underestimated, it pisses me off. I feel like I’m being mocked. Why does he keep fighting, knowing he can’t win this battle? Even with those four powerful Alphas out of the next trial and straight into the finals, Seth still can’t win. He knows it. Everyone knows it. Asher, Finn, Ronan, Ryker – they’re stronger. Seth can never defeat them. So why keep playing this losing game?”

He said it all in one breath, his voice trembling with suppressed anger. His hand shook as ne spoke, his face flushed with frustration.

Aran listened quietly, then a faint smile touched his lips. “William, you see Seth Darven as a reflection of your past, but I see a huge difference between the two of you, despite his size. He’s shorter, thinner, yes, but there’s something he has that you don’t.”

William turned toward him, brow furrowing. “What is that?”

Chapter 209 The Coming Storm

“Willpower,” Aran said, his voice soft but filled with conviction. “You lost the moment you let others‘ mocking and judgments define you. Seth Darven wins because he lets others underestimate him and he smacks them down with his confidence and inner strength. His obstinacy is what drives him to stand up and fight, time and time again. It is you who think he can’t win because of the other four powerful Alphas but not him. You need stubbornness to achieve anything. You have to be mentally strong enough to accept defeat and only then will you have the strength to rise again. I bet Seth doesn’t even know that four of the powerful Alphas are out of the picture for the next trial. He’s still fighting as though they’re all still in the game. But look at him. He fought against the Council and saved two powerful competitors when he could have let the knowing they’d be his toughest competition for the throne, followed his heart, and didn’t give a damn who he would stand against in the finals.”

pelled easily. Despite nat was right. He

Aran’s eyes gleamed, his tone quiet yet full of admiration. “That kind of willpower, that heart that’s what makes a winner, William. Just because those four Alphas were cut from the trial doesn’t make it easier for Seth to win. If he wins then it is because he has guts. Luck favors those who believe in themselves. And that boy seems to have all four Alphas wrapped around his little finger. So tell me…” He paused, his gaze locking with William’s, “Who’s really playing the losing game? The one who attracts power, or those who can’t help but be drawn to him in spite of being powerful?”

William’s ears turned bright red in embarrassment as he quickly looked away. “You read too much, Healer Aran. I wonder how you haven’t noticed what’s odd about Seth Darven. That beautiful face, that thin body, those loose clothes. Don’t you see it?”

Aran chuckled, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Oh, I see more than anyone else. From Alpha Ryker’s wolf condition to Alpha Ronan’s gaze on Seth Darven. From Alpha Asher’s silence to Alpha Finn’s calm façade…” He walked past William, handing him a can of cola with a sly smile. “But I like to enjoy keeping those things to myself. For my own amusement.”

William stared at him leaving, confused, then took the can and chugged the rest of it with a frown. “Why do I suddenly feel like crap?” he muttered to himself, his mind still racing with the weight of Aran’s words.

***

My feet barely touched the ground as I sprinted across the courtyard toward the healers‘ wing. Only when I reached her door, my courage faltered. My hands trembled, my legs refusing to carry me forward. I stopped just outside, peering through the window instead. Grace was truly awake. Her skin was still ghost–pale from blood loss, her body fragile, but she was sitting up, speaking softly. Smiling even. Alpha Jude sat beside her, holding her hand. From the outside, they almost looked normal, like they hadn’t just lost their unborn pup. But I could see it in the shadows behind their smiles. The grief was still there. The pain. They must have cried when they thought no one was watching.

My heart clenched painfully. I pressed my back against the cold wall, listening to the muted

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Chapter 209 The Coming Storm

sound of their voices through the door.

I wanted to go in. I wanted to ask how she felt, to tell her I was sorry, but I couldn’t. The guilt wrapped around my throat like a noose. I had seen the vision. I had known something terrible was coming, and yet I had been powerless to stop it. An innocent life had been lost before it even had a chance to begin, all because of me.

Slowly, I turned away, my footsteps echoing down the corridor I’d just run through moments before. The evening wind brushed against my cheek as my mind spiraled back through everything, what had happened on the balcony, the c

tion with the Council

in the Grand Hall, Ronan…and ‘him‘.

The realization that Ryker and Dante were the same person still sent chills down my spine. Dante had torn his face away right in front of me, revealed himself, and chased me. Then he died. His lifeless body had been found at the foot of the mountain for the entire Academy to see while I lay unconscious. He was dead.

So how had he returned? How had he come back with a new face and a new name?

How had he known my secret all along? My identity. He’d been aware from the very beginning, yet he had pretended ignorance, never once exposing me to the Council or the Academy. Why? Why keep my secret?

I couldn’t understand what he wanted from me.

More importantly, ‘who the hell was Ryker?’

The fight between him and Ronan replayed in my mind like a cursed memory. No, that wasn’t it. It wasn’t just the fight. It was Ronan’s aura. Even now, I could still feel it wrapped around my wolf, pulsing like a phantom heartbeat. His aura…it wasn’t like anything I’d ever sensed before. It was dangerous. Terrifying. Beyond dark.

Lost in my thoughts, I crossed the courtyard and entered the dormitory building again, my feet carrying me down the hall toward my room. My head was so full of questions I didn’t even notice someone walking toward me until it was too late.

He stopped directly in front of me, towering over me.

I looked up. It was Austin.

Phina stilled inside me, my wolf instantly sensing his lethal aura. Why was he here? The other Council members were gone, every single one of them. Yet he remained. If the Council had dispersed, why was he still here?

“Seth Darven,” he growled low, his eyes blazing like molten steel.

I met his gaze without flinching, though my heart thundered in my chest.

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“You’re a sly one,” he continued, his tone a mixture of contempt and reluctant admiration. “You planned your escape before you even stepped into danger. Clever. No, thrilling.” His lips curled into a grin, but the malice in his eyes never softened. “For the first time in my life, someone defeated me. Me. And you know what? It’s fucking thrilling. ‘He‘ said I wouldn’t be able to win against you, and I really did lose. It’s fucking adorable, you know?”

He grinned wider, but there was nothing warm in his smile, only something sharp, predatory. “But do you want to know something…” His voice dropped as the grin faded, his steps closing the distance between us until his breath brushed my skin. He murmured, almost gently, “It would have been better to lose to me. Because now…he’s coming for you.” My wolf stilled, something deep and unexplainable rose up inside me. “Who?” I asked, my voice tighter than I intended.

The corner of his lips lifted into a slow, knowing smirk. “You said he wasn’t here himself, didn’t you? Well, now he’s coming for you. And when he does…” He bit his lower lip, a strange flicker of amusement passing through his eyes. Then he moved past me, leaning close enough for his whisper to graze my ear, “Run before he gets here.”

I watched his back as he walked away, the coldness in his posture seeping into my bones. My fists clenched at my sides. Did he mean the Head of the Council? Why would

he be coming for me?

Note: Double update is coming tomorrow!