Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161: He Betrayed Her

The shift in the atmosphere was so subtle at first that Violet almost missed it. One moment, they were dancing, laughing, swaying in rhythm and letting the night carry them away. Then the next, everything stopped after the strange horn blared.

The music faltered, stuttering like a broken record before cutting off completely. Conversations amongst the students trailed off mid-sentence, laughter died in the air, and a tense silence settled over the field like a thick, suffocating fog.

Violet stilled, her senses prickling. Something was wrong.

"What happened?" Ivy asked, her voice uncertain.

But she wasn’t the only one asking.

Confusion rippled through the crowd as murmurs rose among the new students. Except that was the thing— it was just the new students.

Violet’s sharp gaze darted across the crowd, and that’s when she noticed it. A pattern.

The older students weren’t asking questions.

No. They weren’t confused at all.

Their faces twisted with barely-contained amusement. Their masks of casual friendliness had cracked, revealing cruel intentions beneath. The air around them pulsed with a sick anticipation, like predators waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

They had been waiting for this.

To make it worse, the werewolves no longer blended into the party. Their stance had shifted instead. They now stood taut, muscles coiled like springs, eyes sharp and poised for instruction. What instructions?

Her throat dried as realization clawed at her. This was it, the event Adele had warned her about. The one no one spoke of. Her gut screamed at her to make a move immediately.

"We have to get out of here. Now!" Violet’s voice cut through the growing unease, loud and desperate enough to make Lila, Ivy, and Daisy exchange uneasy glances.

Daisy, ever the sharp one, quickly fell into step beside her. "What’s going on?" she asked urgently.

Violet moved fast, weaving through the dazed crowd, her breath coming quick as she explained. "I don’t know exactly. I only caught snippets, but there’s supposed to be some sort of event today. Some kind of initiation I think..."

Daisy sucked in a sharp breath. "Hazing," she whispered, horrified.

It made sense.

No wonder no one talked about it. No wonder the upperclassmen looked so hungry for what was about to happen. It was a secret tradition.

Hazing wasn’t exactly common in high schools, but Lunaris Academy wasn’t just any school. It was an elite school built on conformity, hierarchy, and deep-rooted secrets. It only made sense that the older students would find a way to remind the newcomers of their place.

And yet, this didn’t feel like a normal hazing ritual. Nothing about Lunaris Academy felt normal.

A cold dread settled in Violet’s stomach as they hurried forward, pushing past the clueless crowd of new students who were still murmuring, still asking questions, still too slow to react.

Fools.

Couldn’t they feel it? The air itself had changed.

A thick, buzzing charge hung in the night, crawling over Violet’s skin like static, making the fine hairs on her arms stand on end.

If this was truly tradition, then they were already too late. The thought clawed at her mind, but she shoved it down.

No. No. No. Keep moving. The entrance is close. Once we’re out of sight, we run.

Just a little farther—

Then a low, vicious bark cut through the night.

A massive wolf stepped out from the trees, its hackles raised, lips curled back in a snarl so feral it sent ice racing through Violet’s veins.

Its eyes locked onto them, gleaming with intelligence