Asher, Alaric, and Roman finally arrived at their humble shack, and it was safe to say that their presence made the whole place look a whole lot smaller than she remembered. The temperature in the room had risen, and the air felt thick with tension.
While the cardinal alphas occupied one side of the living room, her roommates stood on the other. Although Lila had finally agreed to listen, the way she glared made it painfully obvious this wasn’t going to be easy.
Violet just couldn’t understand. Lila had liked them at first, well, some of them. She had never really liked Asher or Roman. What went wrong? Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to dwell on Lila’s issues.
"So what’s going on, love?" Roman started in his usual jovial tone, trying to dispel the tension. "Big man here sounded really serious on the phone. Did something happen? Did the both of you finally...?" He didn’t finish the words, but the insinuation was clear with the way he wiggled his brows.
The tension eased a little, considering everyone gaped at Roman in disbelief until Griffin glowered at him.
"Get your mind out of the gutter and focus on the problem you created," Griffin said darkly.
Roman frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Violet spoke up. "A group of students, mostly humans, arrived at the shack this morning demanding to be part of the Rogue Pack."
At that, Alaric, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened up at once. Even Roman looked genuinely surprised. If there was anyone whose expression didn’t change, it was Asher. Violet wondered if anything ever surprised him.
Asher had taken off his bandages before arriving, a good sign he was healed. Right now, he was the only one comfortably seated, and even after such a concerning announcement, he didn’t look fazed.
"What do you mean, demanding to be part of the Rogue Pack? When did rogues become a pack? And how the hell is that my fault?" Roman demanded.
"Catch up, pretty boy. You made Violet rogue, hence this situation. And no, we don’t need your validation to become a pack," Lila taunted him. Then muttered under her breath, "Anyway, I shouldn’t be surprised. All you know how to do is fuck. What was I expecting anyway?"
Unfortunately, these were werewolves with sharp hearing, and Roman heard Lila clearly. "What did you just say?" he hissed, his expression deadly.
Lila looked at him challengingly. "What do you think I said?"
"How dare you!" Roman was already walking over to her. Lila, in turn, flexed her shoulders, clearly anticipating the fight.
"No, Roman, don’t!" Violet got in his way at once. "I didn’t call you here to fight!"
"Leave him, Violet. Let’s fight it out. If he dies, that’s one less contender for the throne," Lila said proudly.
"Shut it, Lila!" Daisy and Ivy snapped at once. Was she asking for death or what?
So while Violet was trying to calm Roman, Daisy and Ivy were talking to Lila.
"Are you people done?" Asher asked casually. He didn’t raise his voice or roar like Griffin would’ve. He simply asked, and the question reverberated through the room with weight.
With everyone’s attention now on him, Asher stood and began walking toward Lila. Before he could get close, Violet got in his way. "Asher?" she warned. No matter what, she wouldn’t let him hurt her friends.
But Asher simply smiled, patted her on the head, and said, "Don’t worry. I’m not in the mood to kill anyone today."
Violet relaxed. Her Asher was growing up. She was so proud.
But she shouldn’t have rejoiced too soon, because he added, "I’ll just compel them to kill themselves instead. I won’t have a hand in it. Literally."
Violet face-palmed mentally. You can bring a man out of the streets, but you can’t take the streets out of him.
Asher continued. "So should we have one civilized conversation, or should I put my skills to use?" The threat was clear, and directed precisely at Lila.
"Let’s talk," Lila muttered grumpily.
"Good," Asher said, returning to his seat. Then with his legs crossed, he told Violet, "So speak up, love. What’s the cause for the alarm?"
Violet licked her lips, heart pounding as she prepared to tell the truth. She glanced back at her roommates, silently asking for support
Ivy shrugged. "They’re here already. Just let the cat out of the bag."
"What cat are you letting out of the bag exactly?" Roman asked.
Violet squeezed her eyes shut. Then with a deep breath, she spilled it. "We planned to expose you guys tonight at the gala."
All four cardinal alphas looked at each other in confusion.
"By exposing," Alaric said, "what do you mean exactly?"
"By exposing, I mean reveal to the world your excessive power plays. You all sit on your high seats like kings, forgetting you’re still students. Asher decides who enters the Academy and who leaves. You have a ranking system where the elite get everything from the best rooms, to the best foods and classes while the bottom feeders end up scrambling for the crumbs you allow them. No one can rein you in and that’s not just unfair. It’s wrong. So yes, that’s what we intended to reveal to the world today."
For a moment, no one said a word.
Then Roman said, "Fuck. She really wants to end us."
"No," Violet shook her head when she saw the betrayed look on his face.
Alaric was the one to speak this time, sternly. "This is a wolf academy, Violet. We follow structure. That hierarchy keeps things in order. Keeps the students in line."
"Except this is not just a wolf academy!" Daisy argued. "There are humans here too! Lunaris Academy claims to be a place where humans and wolves can coexist, but they don’t actually create space for the humans. That’s why your so-called order is already cracking. Students are beginning to get restless."
Griffin’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of hurt crossing his face. "And you thought exposing us to the public would fix that?"