Rhett
We trudged out of Vale’s office in silence.
I’ve never felt so helpless like I do now, and from the expression on Slater and Kael’s faces, I could tell they’ve been crushed, too.
Outside the administrative building, the air felt colder.
None of us spoke. Kael walked off toward the training grounds without saying a word to any of us or looking back. Slater shoved his hands in his pockets and walked the other way towards his dorm.
I stood there for a mont, staring at nothing and then turned towards the direction of my own house.
An hour later, I arrived at my house. My security details, who were in charge of driving around, were out in front, joking about sothing. The mont they saw , they all stilled before they ran to .
"Alpha Rhett? What happened? I’m sorry, but did you try calling?"
"No!" I shook my head, brushing past them. "I wanted to clear my head, and the walk did good."
As soon as I walked past the foyer, into the living room, I saw Lydia curled on the couch watching TV.
The second she saw , she bounded to her feet and rushed over to , pressing a kiss to my lips.
"Welco ho, dear. I missed you."
"Hey," I tried to sound warm.
"Your father’s here," she added with a whisper, and then mouthed "help" with a giggle that might have chard yesterday.
I’d forgotten about Lydia. That fact hit with a wave of guilt. I’d forgotten that I was engaged to this beautiful woman here, and our joining ceremony was scheduled to take place at the end of this sester.
Soti after midnight, after the pool incident, just before I’d gone after Charis, who ran into the garden, I’d sent off Lydia back to my house with a promise that I’d be back ho soon.
I didn’t keep my promise because I’d been so consud with the mate bond revelation that I forgot about everything else.
"Are you fine?" Lydia asked, studying my face with concern. "How was your day? I waited for you all night. Did you see my text? You look troubled."
"Ly!" I grimaced. "One question at a ti. I’m sorry, I should have texted last night, but I got carried away, and I was having a good day monts ago."
"Did sothing happen?" she asked, staring at curiously. "This is school hours, right? You’re supposed to be in class."
Before I could answer, my dad ca out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, the way he did when he’d been stress-cooking and didn’t want anyone to talk about it. He stopped in his tracks when he saw .
"Rhett?" he asked, crossing the room quickly to where I stood. "Is everything alright? Why are you back ho by this ti?"
As soon as I saw my father, a brilliant idea struck . My father was one of the most influential Alphas in the region, with superb connections both at ho and abroad. Notably, he was a significant funder of the Academy.
If anyone could get Charis released before the inquiry board destroyed her overnight, it would be him.
"Dad," I said with excitent, "I need your help with sothing urgent."
"Slow down, Rhett. Did sothing happen? Why are you ho by this ti?"
"Sothing did happen," I sighed, my gaze drifting to Lydia, who still stood there watching us curiously. I didn’t want to burden her with my many troubles "It’s regarding Headmistress Vale."
"Uhm, I’ll just go back to watching my movie," Lydia said with a bright smile and bounded back to the living room.
I grabbed my father’s arm and shoved him out of the living room, towards the backyard and a little far from the house. I didn’t want anyone listening in on us.
"You’re acting weird, Rhett. What’s wrong?"
"I need a favour, Dad. A friend of mine has been falsely accused of a serious cri at the Academy. They’re planning to hold him for a week and then put him through an inquiry board, but I know he’s innocent."
"By friend, I am assuming it’s Slater or Kael or Eamon?"
"It’s Char—Eamon," I corrected quickly. "Vale has him in detention. She wants to initiate an inquiry next week and also says there’s a twenty-four-hour hold before he can be allowed to go ho, but she’s not sure he will be released. That would depend on the interrogation team, but I don’t want him to spend a night there."
My father’s expression grew thoughtful. "What kind of accusation?"
"Data theft. They claim he leaked student information online and to the black market, but the evidence appears to be fabricated. I think soone is targeting him specifically."
"Why would anyone go after an Alpha’s bastard?" My father asked, boring into my eyes with eyes that mirrored mine, "Is there sothing —"
"Dad, c’mon," I sighed, interrupting him.
"Fine, what do you want to do?"
"I want you to use your influence to get him released before the inquiry board ets. Can we resolve this issue before it escalates? Please."
My father studied for a mont.
"Eamon must be so important to you," he observed.
"He is, Dad. I owe him my life."
He nodded slowly, "Let make so calls. If there’s a way to resolve this without destroying Eamon’s future, I’ll find it."
A few minutes later, I was pacing in front of my father as he made a final call to a friend who worked on the inquiry board.
The friend confird that they had received Eamon’s case file today and stated that there was no way he could request his release. In fact, due to the severity of the case, they were going to cancel the 24-hour wait period and prevent him from being bailed out.
"Calm down, Rhett," my father said quietly when the call ended. "Let’s wait until..."
"You don’t understand, Dad," I shook my head, interrupting him, "Eamon cannot be kept in detention. He’s not going away after all."
"It’s not that simple, Rhett," my father shook his head. "The law is the law, and leaking data of Alpha children is inciting war. If nothing is done, the parents will whine for a long ti and might withdraw their children. Given the current situation surrounding Ravenshore, this is bad PR."
"There must be sothing we can do, please," I insisted "There’s a reason why I cannot allow him to spend a night there."
First, her identity could easily be compromised. By evening, she would be removed from the holding cells and taken to the cells where other n are kept. The thought of her being amid strangers, with who knows what might happen, scared the most.
"There is a way," my father said suddenly, and I turned to him "It’s old-fashioned and, I doubt..."
"What is it?" I asked.
"We can invoke Founder’s Provision," he said quietly. "We could ask for an ergency transfer to House Thatcher custody on grounds of student welfare and public safety. The charter says a founding house may assu custody of any student if a credible threat exists to the student’s life or if their presence is required to prevent bigger harm."
"That provision hasn’t been used in so many years," I said.
"Yeah," my dad nodded. "The last person who used it was my father, your grandfather, to remove a boy out of the school clinic because the doctors were going to perform a procedure neither he nor his parents consented to."
"It’s worth a shot, right?" I asked desperately.
"Yes, it can only get him out of detention, but that doesn’t solve anything in the least, and it might also put him at a disadvantage during trial. The opposing party may say he’s trying to cover up his acts by taking advantage of his friendship with you."
"When we get to that bridge, we will cross it, Dad. Just tell what needs to be done."
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