Silence fell among the alphas, so heavy it seemed to stretch on forever. But that was until Asher spoke again, his tone final. "Fine, then. I’ll chase after her alone. She’s mine."
At once, a rumble of protest erupted with all three of the other alphas speaking at once. Their voices overlapped, their words tumbling over each other, and making little sense, except for the collective tone that clearly said, You’re not taking her for yourself without a fight.
Roman was the first to speak up.
"She’s a rogue," He reminded Asher, as if the label was enough of a reason to deter him from going after her.
And yet, you had no issues sneaking into her bed, Asher wanted to snap back, but he bit his tongue. Griffin had already warned about them bickering and there was so much still to uncover. Normally Asher would have kept the information to himself, but even he couldn’t shoulder that many secrets alone.
So instead, Asher answered, "I believe we can all agree that this label is largely meaningless. No human can genuinely be a rogue. Not in the way we define it."
"But she rejected the Houses," Griffin interjected, "This is a werewolf academy, Asher. We have rules. A structure. A legacy. If we bend the system out of emotional attachment for one girl, what stops another human from doing the same?"
He breathed, "I feel bad for Violet, especially after Roman’s little stunt." Griffin glared at Roman, but pressed on, "But I’m thinking ahead. Jameson expects us to keep order. The humans here already fear what we can do. That fear is what keeps the balance. If they even sense a weakness in us, they’ll take it. The pack lines will blur. The system will collapse. We’ll lose control of the school."
It was a hard truth, one that even Asher with his deep desire to protect Violet, couldn’t easily dismiss.
Roman added, "Not to mention, these rules were put in place by Elijah. If we defy them, what makes you think he won’t come back to enforce them himself?"
"Then I say fuck him," Asher said bluntly, making everyone freeze.
"Asher," Roman’s voice was edged with warning, "it’s Elijah we’re talking about."
"I know who we’re talking about," Asher snapped. "But I also know Elijah graduated zillion years ago. So how long are we supposed to live under his ghost? This is our reign. We’re the cardinal alphas. We should be the ones making the fucking rules now."
"That’s open rebellion he’s speaking of," Alaric pointed out to the others, shaking his head. "I’d advise not to take it."
Asher’s lips curled into a mocking smile, sickly sweet and venomous. "Of course you would rather stay under your little safety net. No wonder you found it so easily to betray Violet."
Alaric’s jaw clenched, but what could he say? It was the truth, and Asher would cling to that fact until he exacted his pound of flesh. Griffin and Roman exchanged uneasy looks, recognizing there was no easy fix to this hostility.
Griffin cleared his throat. "Asher does have a point. Elijah treats us like pets under his control, assuming we’d never challenge him. I’m not afraid of him." He looked toward Roman and questioned, "Are you?"
The question hung quietly in the air until Roman finally answered, "No."
The word was a spark and just like that, the tides shifted. But one person hadn’t shifted with it.
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