When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 213

RONAN

Her laughter was rare and melodious at the same time. Rare, because her disguise didn’t allow her to act or be herself. But the more time we spent together, the more I got to see how beautiful and precious her true self really was. She carried herself with pride, lived by her own rules, and stood stronger than any Alpha I’d ever met. She wasn’t just powerful, she was resilient, inside and out.

When she saved me from expulsion, I fell for her even more.

My wolf had waited eagerly to see what she would do. I’d left my card hidden in my sleeve while my woman played chess, just in case, to protect myself, but deep down, I wanted to see how she’d stand up for me. And she did. No one had ever saved me before, not like that. It felt… heavenly. Because she did it for me. Only for me.

We ended up talking more than eating, learning each other piece by piece. Beneath all her strength, she carried so much emotion, guilt, sadness, life. When she spoke about Grace and the baby, her voice broke in,ways that shook me. That vision had been haunting her. The grief of seeing it, of being unable to stop it, was eating her alive.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms before she could drown in that guilt again. She always thought she was cursed. I never believed that, not for a second even though such visions were unsettling for me as well. Those visions didn’t make her cursed; they made her suffer more than anyone. She was living with those nightmares. No one who suffered like that deserved the blame.

I held her until she finally calmed, her heartbeat slowing against my chest. Then, trying to lift her mood, I pulled out the cupcakes I’d saved to surprise her. It worked instantly, her face lit up and that small, genuine smile of hers made everything feel lighter.

We drifted to other topics, letting the heaviness fade. When she asked about what had happened in Alpha Gideon’s office, my answer left her completely stunned.

“All of you are cut from the next trial? Then you can’t participate in the race for the Supreme Alpha throne?” Her amber eyes widened, shining in disbelief.

Only she could look that cute while being serious.

I decided to tease her, “Should you not be happy that now you will win without having to handle the four of us?”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t want such victory that comes easily. I will defeat all four of you and claim my throne,”

Verkas felt proud and lured by her bold side.

“You think you can take me down, little wolf?” I slid my hand into her shirt and bit my lips seductively, “You would need a lot…a lot of energy to do so…”

She slid her hand into my pants, clutching my cock, making me hiss, “When I can take down this big guy of yours here then I can handle you very well, Mr. Reaper,” She squeezed my cock teasingly before sliding her hand out with a wink.

I groaned, feeling my cock getting up. Fuck. it was a bad idea to test her.

She slid to her side and started enjoying her coffee as if she did excite me. I adjusted my cock in my pants before continuing.

“Being cut from the next trial doesn’t mean we’re banned forever, I explained patiently. “It just means we’ve been stripped from the leaderboard and sent back to zero. When we’re allowed to participate again, after the next trial, we’ll have to work twice as hard to reclaim our standing.”

She pressed her lips together, thinking hard. “So you’ll be allowed back directly in the finals, but you’ll need to put in more effort than anyone else,” she said softly, her eyes filled with worry.

I nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal to hit that score again. This punishment is the result of everyone’s actions.”

Her expression instantly darkened. “Then who the hell told you to fight with Ryker?!” she snapped.

I met her glare without flinching. “He was going to attack my mate. I couldn’t let that bastard lay a finger on you. If Aran hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve killed him.”

She felt my anger and emotions through our bond, just like I’d felt hers when she was afraid. Then her voice dropped to a quiet confession.

“Ronan, I think Ryker is Dante.”

My hand froze on the glass I was holding. “Why do you think that?”

She took a deep breath, her gaze distant. “That day on the mountain, Dante tore his face and chased after me, screaming for me to run. And on the balcony…Ryker did the same thing with the same madness in his eyes. I felt the same fear I did that day. Ryker is Dante. I just don’t understand how he came back with a new face.”

She noticed me watching her silently and hesitated. “I know I sound insane, and I have no proof that’s why I did not speak aloud my suspicion that Ryker was the one who was with that omega she–wolf in her soulmate’s face. No one will believe me and call me crazy but

“No,” I softly cut her off. “You don’t sound insane. Because I feel the same. But the Ryker we’re seeing…he’s something else.”

Her eyes widened. “Something else? What do you mean?”

I sighed, rubbing my neck. I didn’t want to worry her, not when I wasn’t even sure myself. “It’s just a wild thought, Seraphina. But whatever he is, I fucking hate that asshole.”

Her expression softened a little. “I get that, but Finn did nothing wrong to deserve such a harsh punishment. He lied for me.” A shadow of guilt flickered across her face. “He’s innocent in all of this. It’s because of me, his peaceful life at the Academy got ruined.”

I froze at the word innocent. She said it like he was the good one among the bad. From the very beginning, I’d had a feeling that Finn wasn’t what he seemed. His calm demeanor, his quiet eyes, none of it felt genuine. The fact that he only ever talked to Seraphina…that made it worse. There was something hidden behind that mask of his.

My thoughts broke when her voice pulled me back.

“Asher got unnecessarily dragged into this too. I still don’t understand why Healer Aran mentioned his name in front of the Council.”

“Hey,” I softly interrupted, placing a finger between her frowning brows. “Why are you worrying about other guys when your mate’s sitting right in front of you? Are you trying to make me jealous?”

She narrowed her eyes and slapped my hand lightly. “Get jealous all you want, you deserve it. Before that, you might want to think about how you’ll make up for Asher’s loss.”

“He’s not really at a loss,” I said with a sigh. “From what I’ve seen, Healer Aran doesn’t lift a finger unless something interests him. I’m guessing Asher asked him to mention his name when Cassius‘ death came up just to divert suspicion from me.”

Her eyes gleamed with admiration. “So your friendship runs that deep?”

I nodded, picking up the glass of water beside me. “Yeah, Asher and I are more like brothers. We know almost everything about each other…no secrets between us.”

I stopped mid–sentence when I felt her aura flare, sharp, sudden, questioning. I lifted my gaze slowly, meeting her eyes. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

“You don’t have secrets with your friend,” she said quietly, “But you’re full of them when it comes to your mate. Mysterious.”

I tilted my head, one brow arching. “I’m mysterious to you, huh? Why do you say that?”

Her voice was steady but soft. “Your aura,” she said. “It’s different from everyone else’s. It’s red, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of anyone having a red aura.”

Verkas went still inside me. I’d known this moment would come, the question I’d been dreading since the day I lost control of my aura while Ryker was chasing her.

But she wasn’t done.

(లు

“It doesn’t end there,” she continued, her eyes piercing mine. “You entered the secret chamber and I don’t understand why. You disappear in the middle of the night somewhere. You are not afraid of being expelled, making me feel that you are at this Academy for some other reason than the Supreme Alpha throne. And your mother, she asked you to kill her. Why?” Her words came out in one breath, but her eyes said far more, pleading, confused, desperate to understand.

I silently met her gaze. There was no accusation there, just the raw need to know who I truly was, the man the Moon Goddess had tied her fate to.

Her next words landed like a blade between us.

“Who are you, Ronan?” she finally asked.