Aiden looked from Ashton to Julian and then back to Ashton, clearly puzzled. "But why would wolves be afraid of though?"
Ashton let out a dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes like he couldn’t believe Aiden was asking such a question. "Aiden, you literally bashed one of their heads in. And not just any wolf. The one you beat up has a middle-grade bloodline. Of course the wolves with low-grade bloodlines are going to be afraid of you after what happened.
And you know as well as I do that only low-bloodline wolves would take odd jobs around here, like delivering letters for extra credits. That is probably why whoever delivered that letter ran off the mont they dropped it. If you ask , they probably didn’t even want to be anywhere near you."
Aiden thought about it for a mont and realized Ashton’s reasoning made sense. There was no point in continuing to speculate about whoever delivered the letter. He exhaled quietly and decided to focus on the matter at hand.
He unfolded the bronze-colored letter carefully, the tallic shimr catching the light of the room. Ashton and Julian leaned in on either side of him to read along. Aiden’s eyes scanned the short ssage, his chest tightening with every word.
Dear Aiden Rivera,
You have been summoned to attend a eting with the disciplinary board and panel, where you will be given the befitting punishnt for your actions, on 05/08/2027 at 9:00 a.m.
Aiden lowered the letter slowly, staring at the words as if they might change if he read them again. He turned to look at Ashton and Julian, who had gone very quiet after reading along.
"Well," Aiden said dryly, "what were you saying earlier about us making life miserable for people together? Now look. I’m being summoned to face the disciplinary panel tomorrow morning."
Ashton’s earlier playfulness imdiately drained from his face, replaced with worry. "Wait—what? Why is the school reacting so strongly? You just bashed soone’s head in, that’s all. The guy will be healed in two days. Why do they need to drag you before the panel for that?"
Julian spoke before Aiden could respond, his calm and practical voice filling the room. "Ashton, have you forgotten the rules listed in the school brochure? The one that clearly states that fighting in school is forbidden? Sure, the school can overlook minor scuffles between students, but what Aiden did wasn’t just a minor fight. This was serious, and if the school ignores sothing like this, they set the precedent that anyone can fight whoever they want. That will create chaos, and sooner or later, soone will actually die."
Ashton made a face, clearly still unhappy. "But this feels unfair. Just yesterday, Ryker and Zane fought each other, and their fight was huge. Why haven’t I heard anything about them being summoned to the panel?"
Aiden cleared his throat softly and said, "Actually, my wolf class teacher told that Ryker will be facing the panel too."
That seed to shut Ashton up for a mont. He went quiet, then suddenly started panicking again. "But Aiden, do you know what this ans? The last ti a student was summoned to the disciplinary panel for fighting, it was because he accidentally killed another student. The panel expelled him imdiately. What if the sa thing happens to you?"
Aiden shook his head and spoke in a reassuring tone. "You don’t need to worry about being expelled. That’s not going to happen."
"How can you be so sure?" Ashton asked quickly, looking at him with wide eyes.
"Because the school doesn’t want to let go," Aiden replied. "Yesterday, when I was so angry after nearly being choked to death, I went to the staff building to submit my withdrawal from the school. But they didn’t let . They refused to process my withdrawal papers."
Ashton and Julian’s jaws dropped at the sa ti. "WHAT?" they shouted in unison.
Julian looked especially furious. "Aiden Rivera, do you even see as your friend? How could you decide to withdraw from school and not tell ? We share a dorm! And I had no idea you were planning to leave?"
Aiden quickly raised his hands defensively. "I swear, it was just a rash decision. I made it right after the fight, when I was still angry and shaken. But by the ti we t later that day, I had already decided not to leave anymore after being convinced by miss flecine. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think it mattered anymore."
He could see that Julian and Ashton were still annoyed, so he softened his expression and tilted his head slightly, putting on his best attempt at a cute, apologetic look. "Please forgive . I didn’t do it on purpose. It was just an emotional decision, okay?"
Ashton let out a long sigh and crossed his arms. "Fine, I forgive you."
Aiden imdiately turned his attention to Julian, silently pleading with him. Julian eventually relented with a small shake of his head. "I forgive you too. But promise us next ti that you’ll tell us first before making such a big decision."
"I promise," Aiden said quickly, nodding to seal the deal.
Once the tension settled, Ashton asked again, "You’re absolutely sure you won’t be expelled?"
Aiden nodded firmly.
Ashton sighed with relief. "Well, if that’s true, then all is well."
Aiden rolled his eyes. "Not everything is well. I still have to face punishnt."
Ashton shrugged, looking more relaxed now. "Don’t worry about it too much. It will probably just be a light punishnt. If the school is refusing to expel you, that ans they see you as important. Think about it—Ryker will also face the panel, but there’s no way he’ll be expelled either. First, because he’s the son of the school owner, and second because he’s a dominant true alpha with imnse potential. Zane too is powerful, probably one of the most powerful faes we’ve seen in a long ti. He doesn’t even know the full extent of his power yet. The three of you are very important to this school. With your three high bloodlines, they can’t expel you or give you overly harsh punishnts. You still have to practice and develop your powers. So really, there’s nothing to worry about."
Aiden sighed and muttered, "So corruption really is everywhere."
Ashton rolled his eyes again. "Of course it is. If it had been a low-bloodline student who did what you did, even if they weren’t expelled, the punishnt would have been extrely harsh."
Aiden nodded slowly, processing everything. Sothing Ashton had said earlier ca back to mind, and he asked, "So, the student who was expelled for killing soone—was it because they were a low-bloodline student?"
Ashton shook his head. "Yes and no. That student had a middle-grade bloodline, and in Skyline Academy, students with middle-grade bloodlines aren’t very common. That ans he was sowhat important too. But he killed another student who also had a middle-grade bloodline. The difference is that the student who died ca from a very powerful family. The family put heavy pressure on the school, and the school had no choice but to expel him. But if it had been a high-bloodline student who committed the sa cri, the school would have refused to expel them no matter how much pressure the victim’s family applied. The school might have been forced to punish them in so way, but they wouldn’t have let them go. At least the student who killed didn’t end up in prison thanks to the school’s influence, but he simply couldn’t stay in this academy anymore."
Aiden’s eyes widened. "Wait—what? The supernatural world has prisons and jails too?"
"Of course we do," Ashton replied, giving him a look that suggested he thought the answer should have been obvious. "We have our own courts and systems too. Otherwise, do you think our world, with all our power and pride, would be this well-behaved? There has to be a system to keep everyone in check and to make sure we stay hidden from humans. Who do you think created those rules? Our world is much like the human world, Aiden. The supernatural system mirrors the human system in many ways."
Aiden nodded slowly. "I guess I just wasn’t expecting it to be that similar."
Julian joined in, his voice calm and instructive. "Of course it’s similar. Think about it like this. A human court in Arica can’t convict soone from Europe for a cri they committed in Europe. It would be a violation of territory and authority. The supernatural world functions the sa way. A wolf court can’t judge a fae for sothing they did. Each race has its own system, and when a cri is committed, the person’s race is responsible for judging them. It’s simple once you think about it."
Aiden nodded again, this ti with a deeper understanding. "I see. That makes sense now."
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