When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216 The Real Me

“I spent over nine years of my life searching for that answer,” he said, his voice deep and edged with something darker. His wolf flickered in his eyes, glinting like molten fury beneath the surface. “I researched, met with wizards, even hunted down forgotten legends. Until finally, I learned the truth.”

He exhaled slowly, his tone thick with restrained rage. “For years, the Lupine Academy has been performing rituals on unborn Alphas, pure, powerful bloodlines still in their mothers‘ wombs. No one knew the real purpose behind it, but some whispered they were searching for something hidden within those unborn Alphas. Something forbidden.”

His jaw tightened, voice darkening. “The Blood Petal was the key to finding it. The problem was that the flower wasn’t just cursed, it was beyond evil. Many she–wolves who took part in the ritual simply disappeared. Gone without a trace. My mother was one of the few who survived…but she lived in torment for fourteen years, slowly losing her mind under the Blood Petal’s effect.”

I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

He continued, every word heavier than the last. “There was no record of her anywhere. No mention of the missing. The Academy erased everything. But after years of digging, I found enough proof to know one thing for certain, Lupine Academy still has that Blood Petal.”

His voice dropped into a growl. “The same evil that destroyed my mother. The same evil that consumed countless innocent lives.”

He looked at me then, and I could feel the burn of his determination through our bond like fire raging beneath his calm expression.

“I entered this Academy for one reason,” he said quietly, “To find that Blood Petal. To uncover what this ritual truly was, the mystery behind why my mother received the kind of death she did, what the Academy is really after, and to destroy that fucking flower once and for all.”

I let out a shaky breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. My hands were cold. The truth about the Academy, the one known for its pride, for shaping the future Alphas, for serving the realm selflessly was darker than I could have ever imagined. I was not sure if it was Goddess‘ grace or something else. The supreme Alpha throne was under the Alpha King’s command so the Academy was just a source to organize the trials.

“Then…did you intrude into the secret chamber for the Blood Petal?” I asked quietly. “Did you find it?”

He shook his head, his expression dark and grim. “It wasn’t inside the box where it should have been. I’m not sure if someone removed it or when they did. My wizard, Felix, believes that if the Blood Petal isn’t there anymore, it means it’s already been used.”

“Used?” I blinked. “In what way?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, his tone dropping lower. “It’s said that the Blood Petal is living, breathing somewhere in this world. And it’s destined to return to the place it once belonged.” His gaze flickered with crimson light as he added, “That means it will return here…to Lupine Academy.”

My heartbeat stumbled.

“How will you recognize the Blood Petal when it comes in front of you?” I couldn’t help but ask.

He showed me his little finger where he wore a ring. “This is my mother’s ring. It has shone towards the box where Blood Petal was kept and it will shine when the Blood Petal comes in front of me,”

He went on, voice rough with restrained fury. “Before the Academy turns to ash, which will happen soon, the Blood Petal will appear again. Once it does…” His wolf’s growl merged with his own voice, primal and dangerous. “I’ll erase it from existence so painfully that it’ll regret ever being born.”

Chapter 216 The Real Me

The hair on the back of my neck rose. The weight of everything, his mother, the ritual, the Blood Petal, the Academy’s dark secrets pressed down like a storm.

Among all of it was Ronan…and that terrifying red aura pulsing around him.

My breath caught. The air seemed to thicken as I watched his aura darken, deepening into a violent shade that devoured the light around him.

Beyond intimidating. Beyond anything human.

His mother was triggered by his aura. His father had not said anything about it but there it was coming out of him, part of him. Was the Blood Petal responsible for this? If so then why did I feel otherwise?

His wolf was taking over.

He was slowly slipping.

Without thinking, I crawled closer and settled on his lap, pulling all of his attention back to me.

“Look at me,” I whispered, my hand sliding up to his cheek.

His eyes met mine, fierce and untamed, but flickering with something softer when my lips brushed against his. He froze beneath the kiss, his breath uneven, eyes locked on me.

“Being the man in our matebond doesn’t mean you’re the only one who gets to be the protector or savior, Ronan,” I murmured against his lips. “If happiness belongs to both of us, then so does the pain, the sorrow, and everything in between.”

My thumb traced his jaw as I held his gaze. “I don’t know much about the Blood Petal or the darkness surrounding it…but from now on, you’re not alone in this…mate.”

A small smile curled his lips as he crushed them to mine. I closed my eyes as I was pulled into his hot and wild kiss while the sunlight entered the room from behind Ronan and both of our shadows fell on the wall behind me.

Unknown to me Ronan slowly opened his eyes between kisses, his gaze falling on his shadow on the wall burning red. “You did tell her about us.”

Ronan suddenly flipped me on the floor under him, so that I gasped loudly. He sat on my thighs, and hovered over me as if it was not him but his wolf there. Leaning down, he crushed his lips to mine.

His mouth devoured mine like he’d been starving for years hungry, rough, and unrelenting. My gasp vanished against his lips as his hand slid into my hair, tilting my head just where he wanted. The world blurred into heat and heartbeat; every drag of his mouth demanded, possessed, burned. His tongue swept in, tasting, teasing, claiming until I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, I could only feel him. When he finally tore away, his breath hitched against my swollen lips, his voice low and wrecked.

“Seraphina…” he whispered against my lips.

“Yes…” I gasped, barely catching my breath.

“I love you,” he murmured.

A small, breathless smile curved on my lips at his sudden confession. “I love you too.”

“When I say that I love you,” his voice dropped, deep and rough, “I mean you are my entire life, Seraphina.”

Something in his tone shifted. Our eyes met and my lungs froze. His wolf’s violet eyes were gone, replaced by a fierce, burning red.

2

Chapter 216 The Real Me

“You are my everything. My life starts and ends with you,” he breathed, the possessiveness in his words making my pulse stutter. “So never…never run away from me.”

He leaned down, his tongue grazing the sensitive spot on my neck. My heart jolted, the sensation so sharp it felt like he might mark me right then and there. Every lick, every brush of his canines carried a promise dark, consuming, unyielding.

“No matter what happens,” he murmured against my lips, “Don’t run. Don’t hide from me.”

His teeth caught my bottom lip in a rough bite and when he opened his eyes again, those blazing red eyes met mine.

“Because if you do…” he whispered, voice a growl that trembled through me, “You’ll see the real me.”

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