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Chapter 98
~Valerie’s POV~
It wasn’t entirely big news to , considering I knew soone wanted gone—dead gone as well as kept sending anonymous letters.
But so far, my suspicions had narrowed things down for a little.
The person sending the letter was a student who felt threatened by , either openly or discreetly.The person who wanted dead was a different person among he higher-ups with a possible link to a teacher or a student who was skilled in hacking or had access to high-level clearance.
Still, that did not stop the walls from seeming like it was shrinking. I took a step back, steadying myself against a desk.
Outside the window, clouds rolled in—grey and slow, like the sky had decided to mirror my mood.
Soone had built a trap with my blood in mind. And suddenly, I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore.
At the very least, I knew I could trust Erik, Isla, the alphas (a bit) and... maybe my other roommates.
People I didn’t trust? There were many with Titania as number one on the list.
"I’m sorry soone with high-level access did this," Erik says again, quieter this ti, like the words will hurt less if he whispers them, but they don’t.
They never did. I would know because all the ’sorries’ and ’accept my condolences’, I got as a child did not spare the pain or hurt, nor bring my parents back.
His voice trembled slightly at the edges, but his gaze didn’t waver. "This wasn’t random."
My hands clench at my sides. Principal Whitmore’s words—the ones she’d spoken to in that private eting days ago—slam into my mory like a blow to the chest.
This wasn’t random. There’s soone on the inside we haven’t caught yet. Soone who’s hiding in plain sight.
Soone had gone far enough to use my DNA.
"Is there anything else?" I ask, though I was almost afraid of the answer.
Erik shifted uncomfortably. "I tried to trace the code pattern—it led to an encrypted node buried in the academy’s private server, but a multi-layer firewall protects it. I hit a dead end."
I exhale through my nose, slow and sharp. "Can you get through?"
"I can try." He looks down, jaw tightening. "But if I get caught... they trace it back to , and I don’t have immunity the way you might ."
My stomach twists with guilt. "Then don’t. It’s too dangerous."
"I didn’t say I wouldn’t," Erik replied, his voice suddenly steady. "Just... let be careful about it."
I nodded once. Not because I agree, but because I knew better than to try stopping him.
"Thanks," I say quietly. "Really."
"It’s the least I can do after not contributing during our fight and leaving you behind."
"Thanks still." I smiled at him before nodding.
We exchanged contact information and WhatsApp ID before leaving the empty classroom.
The mont we stepped back into the corridor, the noise of the academy rushed back like a wave I’d been holding off.
I watched Erik disappear down the hall before turning the opposite way. The walls didn’t feel as safe anymore. Even the air carried a weight now, like every step echoes louder than it should.
I carried that tension into my next class.
Tactical Hunting and Tracking was supposed to be one of my better subjects.
It was practical and instinctive—half wild and half calculated. Today, though, my focus slipped. I missed a cue during a terrain assessnt and was tagged by a mimic trap illusion.
Kai, Axel, and Xade didn’t let it slide.
"Val, what was that?" Axel said with a crooked grin as we climb the ridge back to the field station. "You let a shade beast sneak up behind you. Rookie move."
"Think she’s finally losing her edge," Xade added, nudging my shoulder with his. He was trying to be lighthearted, but there was sothing wary in his glance. "Must be the air. Slls like nerves."
"Or guilt," Kai mutters under his breath and ca too close for comfort.
I stopped walking, which got their attention.
Kai turned around, his usual sarcasm gone, replaced by sothing unreadable. His erald green eyes narrow just a bit.
"What’s wrong, mate?" he asked in a low voice, almost gentle—but still carrying the rumble of a warning beneath it.
I look away. "Nothing."
"You sure?" he steps closer. "Because if soone’s ssing with you again—"
"I said I’m fine," I cut in. It ca out sharper than I ant and too raw. But I didn’t backpedal.
Kai watched another beat longer, then exhaled through his nose. "Fine. But don’t shut us out. We’re your mates. Whether you like it or not."
He brushed past , the faint contact of his arm against mine left a trail of heat that made my pulse jump.
I sighed. This was not the ti nor place for this and definitely not what I needed right now.
By the ti night crept in, the moonlight had made strange shapes on the dorm ceiling. My sketchbook lay open beside , half-finished drawings of the rose emblem haunting every page.
I hadn’t even touched my howork and did not feel like it.
Astra’s curled in my mind was watching , I could feel it.
"Val... you need to talk to soone. This is eating you up."
"You don’t say, Astra."
"Valerie."
"Is this out of concern or are you just eager to be with one of them again?"
"Both," she answered, though I wasn’t too surprised. It was always our mate for Astra.
"I’m serious. You’re not sleeping. You’re pacing at night. You flinch at shadows. And you’ve been staring at the sa damn drawing for hours."
My hand tightened on the pencil. "I can’t," I whisper. "Not yet. There’s too much I don’t know."
Astra’s voice softens. "Then talk to your mates. At least one of them."
I look down at the pages. The emblem stares back, that thorned rose in the centre twisted slightly differently each ti.
I’d drawn it over and over, trying to capture the flaw, the hidden elent, that thing that made it wrong, as though just staring would give so answers.
"They might be involved," I muttered.
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