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Chapter 111
~Jade’s POV~
The world seems to tilt on its axis, but not enough to send crashing, but just enough to make everything feel... off with at the epicentre.
The mont our nas were called, the spotlight imdiately shone on us.
For a second, I couldn’t move.
Murmurs rippled through the hall, followed by scattered cheers, but they sounded distant, like I was hearing them from underwater. My grip tightened slightly around the glass in my hand before I realized what I was doing and quickly set it aside on a passing tray.
My eyes darted around despite my better judgnt not to, scanning faces, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Shock, curiosity, so were impressed. Others... not so much. Then my gaze landed on Dean and Kai.
Both of them looked... pleased. My brows furrowed. That didn’t sit right.
Were they behind this? Did they have sothing to do with it? And if they did, why? The thought of being pulled into sothing that closely tied to the student council made my chest tighten. I didn’t need more attention on . I already had enough eyes watching my every move.
As much as I was bothered by all that, what truly disturbed was... When the fuck had I ever signed up for this in the first place?
Who even campaigned?
"Well," Ryland’s voice cut through my thoughts, sharp enough to pull back. "What are you waiting for? Co join us here on stage."
A nervous chuckle slipped out before I could stop it. "Umm... I’m sorry, I think there’s been a mistake."
For a brief second, Ryland’s expression remained the sa—polished, controlled. But then sothing shifted. His brow ticked, the warmth in his face cooling into sothing more official.
"I can assure you, Ms. Snow," he said evenly, "there is no mistake."
"There has to be," I replied in a much firr voice. "I never signed up for this."
A ripple passed through the crowd.
Before Ryland could respond or even look toward Dean and Kai, Vera stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply against the floor as she pointed directly at .
"It should have been mine," she snapped. "How did she win when she didn’t even compete? Did she tamper with the results?"
The shift was imdiate.
Judging eyes turned toward , whispers sharpening into accusations.
"It wasn’t enough that she had the alphas; now she wants to steal Vera’s shine?
"And here I thought she was the victim," another female student whispered bitterly.
Judging eyes turned toward , as whispers sharpened into accusations. I could feel it building, the tension rising in a way that could easily spiral out of control if I didn’t handle it quickly.
I lifted both hands slightly with my palms open. I never asked for it, and the last thing I wanted was for this to be a prank, where I later end up being called a fraud or a cheat.
"There’s clearly been a mistake," Ryland added, though his gaze remained calculating. "If it is true that you did not submit your na for voting, maybe soone else did, but then you—"
"I did it."
Her familiar voice cut cleanly through the noise. I wished it wasn’t who I thought it was, that it was a friend’s doing, but no.
My right brow lifted as I turned toward the sound to see Silvie’s smirk.
"I did it," she repeated, completely unfazed as all attention shifted to her.
For a mont, I didn’t know what to say. I hated even acknowledging her, but my eyes lingered on her anyway.
She shrugged, like she had done sothing trivial. Like she hadn’t just thrown into the centre of a storm.
"Since she’s so shy, I thought she’d want to co out of her shell and do sothing good for the students. Isn’t that right, Jade?"
She wanted to help ? Sylvie wanted to? Nah, I do not believe that.
In the sa mont, Vera’s head snapped toward her, fury flashing across her face. "You what?"
Silvie didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, her lips curving in the faintest hint of a smirk, as though she was above the entire situation.
The crowd, however, reacted differently.
Cheers began to rise again, louder this ti, more certain. My na echoed through the hall, mixing with Silver’s. The earlier doubt was slowly being drowned out by excitent.
I stood there for a second longer, still trying to process everything, before Ryland clapped his hands once.
"Well then," his tone shifted back into sothing brighter, "that settles it. Silver Blaze and Jade Snow, please co up for your crowns."
I exhaled slowly, my eyes searching for Silver’s. He looked just as shocked. But then Sylvie never ntioned she input his na for the voting, too. Did he do that or...?
I sighed when Silver moved in my direction. There was no getting out of this now. "Let’s go, Jade."
Saying that, Silver stepped forward towards the podium first, his hand brushing lightly against mine, prompting . I hesitated for only a second before following him. With every step we took, the weight of every gaze in the room pressed against my back as we made our way to the stage.
As we climbed up, the lights seed brighter, the air warr, thicker. I could feel the attention settling on , sinking into my skin.
Dean gave a nod when I exhaled, and I gave my most sincere, confused smile at that mont. Silver was crowned first.
The applause ca quickly as the crown was placed on his head. He barely reacted, only giving a small nod and keeping his composure.
Then it was my turn. I stepped forward, my gaze lifting instinctively towards the culprit, but instead, my eyes caught soone entering the hall.
Isadora.
She stood near the edge of the crowd, her eyes locked on .
It was cold, not just distant or hurt—cold in a way that made sothing in my chest tighten painfully. It wasn’t the look of soone simply upset. It was sharper than that. Deeper.
My stomach twisted as I felt everything we’ve built over the years slip away. I so much wanted to go to her, but I guess she really needed space to process everything and for her to know that I wasn’t her enemy.
My right foot moved forward a bit, then a soft creak loud enough for to notice, but would be missed by most, reached my ears.
"Jade."
My brows furrowed as my foot shifted slightly on the stage. The wooden board beneath gave another faint sound.
A strange feeling settled in my chest. I found Sylvie in the crowd. She still had that smirk on her lips like she knew what was happening.
Instinctively, I looked up, and everything slowed.
A large bucket tipped from above, its contents spilling downward—thick, green and black.
My body reacted too late, and before I could move, before my thoughts could fully process what was happening, Silver grabbed my hand hard, pulled into him in one swift motion, his arm wrapping around as he turned, placing himself between and the falling ss.
The impact ca barely a second later as a heavy splash landed on him.
The thick liquid poured over him, soaking through his tuxedo, dripping down onto the stage. The liquid was one problem, but the sharp foul sll was unpleasant as it hit the air.
Gasps erupted instantly, followed by the shutter sound of caras.
For a mont, I couldn’t move. I was pressed against Silver’s chest, his arm still firm around , shielding completely.
"Are you okay?" he murmured under his breath.
I nodded quickly, my heart still racing as the realisation of what he had done finally settled into my head. My gaze darted between his arms to find Sylvie.
That smug look was still plastered on her face. Silver coughed, making pull back slightly, my eyes scanning him.
Most of it had hit him with so slashes on the white of my gown.
Anger flared in my chest at the sight.
"You shouldn’t have done that, Sil."
His smile was infectious, even in his current state. "For you, anyti. I couldn’t let anyone soil my queen."
For a second, I almost forgot about the people responsible for this ss, and I smiled.
"So, Vera," Silvie’s voice rang out, dripping with mockery. "You still want to be Val Queen?"
My head snapped toward her. From the corner of my eye, I caught Vera’s expression, her shock, quickly twisting into sothing else, a triumphant smile.
"Hell no," she replied lightly. "No one wants to be the Queen of garbage."
Laughter broke out amongst the students, but it didn’t last long. Not everyone was happy about the situation.
Actually, a few feared the situation.
"The last ti soone humiliated the Alphas’ mate, it did not end well and now this?"
"Oh no. The school gossip site is going to go bonkers with this, and then cos the rage."
They weren’t wrong, and I definitely wasn’t going to plead for them.
Ziva and Adrian were already pushing through the crowd, climbing onto the stage to reach us. Ziva’s eyes were blazing, her gaze flicking between Silver and .
"Are you guys okay?" she asked quickly as Adrian helped Silver out of his tuxedo jacket and handed him his.
Behind them, Dean and Kai stepped forward, their expressions serious as they moved to take control of the situation.
"Everyone, calm down," Dean’s voice carried across the hall.
Kai stepped beside him. "There are security caras in this hall. This will be reviewed imdiately, and whoever is responsible will be dealt with accordingly."
The murmurs shifted again, unease replacing amusent. Adrian and Ziva escorted us down the stage, but rather than shy away, I held Silver’s hand. As soon as we reached near the door, Sylvie walked over to us.
"Looks like your mates aren’t here to save you," she mused, folding her hands in front of her chest.
I bead, feigning embarrassnt, lowering my gaze just enough to sell it, but my mind wasn’t scattered anymore. It was clear and focused.
Silvie’s smirk lingered in my head, the way she stood there like she had already won... like I was supposed to shrink and feel small.
No, not anymore.
My fingers slipped from Silver’s hand as I stepped closer. My hand brushed along his side before sliding behind him, gathering just enough of the thick, foul paint staining his clothes. It coated my fingers instantly.
Before anyone could catch on, I moved fast. My hand ca up and sared straight across Silvie’s face.
A gasp ripped through the crowd as the dark mixture dragged down her cheek, across her lips, and onto her white gown, staining it in ugly streaks.
For a second, everything went still.
Sylvie’s body stiffened, her eyes widening just enough as the smirk on her lips cracked.
And everyone in the room felt it.
Beside , I could feel Ziva’s stunned stare, Adrian’s disbelief, and even Silver’s attention lingering on in a way that felt... different.
I held her gaze. "Who needs saving," I enunciated, "when I can do this myself?"
The room reacted a second later—gasps, whispers, a few laughs slipping through. Silvie staggered back, wiping at her face, only making it worse.
"You—" she started, but the control in her voice was gone.
I didn’t spare her another glance. I turned to Silver, slipping my hand into his. "Let’s go, My King."
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