Chapter 225

**He Promised to Give Me the World, Yet the Price Was My Soul by Caden Blake**
**SERAPHINA**
The instant I broke free from my pack and stepped into the imposing gates of Lupine Academy, I felt a seismic shift in my destiny. It was as if the universe had forked into two divergent paths before me. One path led to the throne, a place of power and authority, while the other would condemn me to a life of shadows as the Alpha King’s runaway bride, forever haunted by my choices.
This was the fate I had consciously chosen, fully aware that each step I took was a dance on the edge of revelation.
In the depths of my being, I had convinced myself I was prepared for the inevitable confrontation, but never in this way. I wasn’t ready to face the truth until I had amassed enough strength that no one would dare challenge me. I longed for the moment when I could stand tall, unwavering, and declare to the world:
I was the woman who claimed the throne.
But now… it felt as if everything was crumbling around me.
What terrified me more than the prospect of exposure was the thought of Ronan discovering the truth.
That I was bound to the Alpha King by a promise.
That I was the runaway bride.
I had never found the right moment-or the courage to confess my arranged marriage to Ronan. Now that my carefully constructed facade lay in tatters, a visceral fear gripped me, not of punishment or dire consequences, but of him. Because if he learned the truth, he would unleash destruction upon the world for my sake. He would raze this Academy to the ground, just as he had obliterated Nightshade Alley. And I could not allow that to happen.
My heart twisted painfully in my chest as I fought the urge to look at him. I had already betrayed him by concealing the truth. I couldn’t afford to let him sense my turmoil now. If he did, his wolf would awaken, feral and uncontrollable.
So, I buried every tremor, every tear, and masked my face with an expression that was cold and empty.
Then, my gaze collided with Finn’s.
He was not the man I thought I knew. Or perhaps I had never truly known him at all.
His words from the other night reverberated in my mind, “What if I’m not who you think I am?”
Now, the pieces fell into place.
His kiss, the sudden farewell, that unsettling calmness—all of it had been a prelude to this moment.
He was the Head of the Council that Austin had spoken of, the one who had orchestrated Ronan and Ryker’s expulsion. The very individual Austin had warned me was “coming for me.”
Everything suddenly made sense. The laughter that had erupted from Austin when I mentioned that the Head of the Council was absent that day-
The secrecy, the tension-it was all because the Head of the Council had been lurking among us all along.
No… he had been by my side for three months.
Sharing a dorm room. Training alongside me. Dining at the same table. Pretending to be weak and timid…
When in reality, he was the Eagle who threatened to consume my very essence.
Elder Milton’s furious shout reverberated through the hall, a thunderous declaration. “ALPHA GIDEON, HOW DARE YOU HIDE A SHE-WOLF IN YOUR ACADEMY AND ALLOW HER TO COMPETE FOR THE SUPREME ALPHA THRONE?!”
Alpha Gideon blinked, still grappling with the shock of the moment. “I had no idea Seth Darven was a woman.”
Milton’s teeth ground together in frustration. “HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?! LOOK AT HER! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MAN WITH A FACE SO BEAUTIFUL? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS CRIME? NOW, NOT ONLY WILL THIS ACADEMY SUFFER, BUT ALL OF YOUR INSTRUCTORS WILL PAY THE PRICE!”
Gideon’s jaw clenched, a storm brewing within him. He had never been addressed in such a manner by another Alpha. He responded, his voice low and measured, “You may have looked at her face, but I have witnessed her strength. Pursuing the Supreme Alpha throne is no trivial endeavor, especially not for a woman. Even now, she triumphed in the trial while other males fell before the Eagle in an instant. Had the Head of the Council not been present to expose her, none of you would have discerned whether Seth Darven was a man or a woman.” His expression darkened, fury simmering just beneath the surface. “I implore the King’s Council to refrain from targeting the Academy and its inhabitants. We abide by the Alpha King’s orders and shoulder his burdens.”
Milton opened his mouth to retort, but another voice sliced through the tension like a knife.
“Elder Milton, you would do well not to bark in my presence,” Finn’s words were soft yet resonated with absolute authority.
Milton stiffened, his bravado deflating like a punctured balloon as he lowered his gaze.
Alpha Austin stepped forward to stand beside Finn’s chair, and it struck me with a jolt-the Council’s Snake was, in fact, the Head of the Council’s Beta.
Finn’s Beta.
“Seraphina Nightbane,” Finn’s voice boomed across the hall, deeper and more grave than I had ever heard during our three months of sharing a dorm. “I will pose
a few questions before I determine your fate here and now.”
I remained silent, my jaw clenched tightly.
“Why did you enter Lupine Academy under disguise?”
“To claim the Supreme Alpha Throne,” I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Finn’s expression remained inscrutable. “Were you not aware that only male heirs are allowed to participate?”
“I was aware,” I replied, holding his gaze unwaveringly, “But the one who occupies the throne is determined by power, not gender.”
Austin’s lips curled into a thin, frigid smile as he glanced at his Alpha. “True,” Finn conceded, “The one who sits upon the throne is indeed power, and that power has established laws. Laws that dictate only a male heir may lay claim to the throne. You, of all people, the daughter of a respected Alpha, should understand these rules. Yet you chose to defy them. Do you comprehend the ramifications of your rebellion?”
My pulse raced, but I refused to look away. “I have not committed a crime,” I asserted, my voice steady despite the tempest within my heart. “It is your rules that unjustly oppress women and strip them of their rightful inheritance. I have merely claimed what is rightfully mine. I have done nothing wrong.”
Gasps rippled through the hall, a wave of shock washing over the gathered crowd.
Finn slid a cigarette between his lips, igniting it with a flick of his silver lighter. The tiny flame danced in his eyes as he spoke. “So,” he drawled, “You harbor no regrets?”
“I do not.”
He exhaled a plume of smoke, slow and deliberate. “If you apologize now and acknowledge your mistake, I will allow you to leave the Academy unscathed. If you refuse His gaze turned icy, “Then I will be powerless to shield you from what follows.”
“I’m not leaving this Academy, Alpha Finn Hart,” I declared, my voice reverberating through the stunned silence. “Not when my name, whether real or fabricated, is already inscribed in the Academy’s records. Not when I have triumphed in this trial and qualified for the finals for the throne-”
He interrupted me sharply. “Not even when your father, Darius Nightbane, is already here?”
My stomach plummeted. The blood drained from my face.
Dad?
Wait.