The True Alpha of Lupine (Seraphina and Ronan) novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Watchdog

SERAPHINA

My breath caught as I reread the note, the words blurring slightly from the way my hands trembled.

“Finn…” Panic gripped me like a vice. The memory of Finn being attacked and wounded last night crossed my mind.

I spun around, scanning the crowd–wildly this time.

Where were Reed and Cassius?

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They were always lingering somewhere nearby. Shadowing me since the start of the trials. Watching. Whispering. Waiting.

But now?

Gone.

I didn’t like the coincidence. And it obviously was not one!

And then–bam—I slammed right into a wall of muscle as soon as I spun around again.

I stumbled back, and strong hands steadied me. “Hey, careful.”

I glanced up to find Alpha Asher standing there. Obviously lazing around since he was among the top three in the hierarchy and he also had one of those luxurious rooms.

He looked down at the note that had slipped from my fingers and now lay open between us on the ground. He bent to pick it up, casually brushing the dust off as he read.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. “Well,” he murmured, folding it with unsettling calm, “this was bound to happen.”

I blinked up at him. “What was bound to happen?”

He slid the note back into my hand, eyes unreadable. “Being friends with a newbie Alpha… a tiny one, no less, who was supposed to be weak and easy to ignore or bullied–but instead, turned out to be a savage little thing who beat every ass that’s shoved in his way.”

His gaze drifted toward the combat ring, where another brutal fight ended with blood on the dirt.

Then he looked back at me, one brow arched. “That kind of Alpha doesn’t just earn respect,” he said, meaning it was all about me. “That Alpha earns enemies. And being your friend? That just painted a target on your friends‘ back.”

My chest constricted. Why had I not realized it before? Finn had been living a quiet life but since he became my friend and

we started to hang out together he started being bullied more and more. It was all because of me.

I clenched my fists and then I strode past Alpha Asher and ran toward the Academy building without another word.

I didn’t see the way the atmosphere around the had field subtly shifted.

But Ronan did.

He watched me sprint from the combat grounds with sharp, narrowed eyes.

He’d been watching me all along, his attention never straying

But this…this was different.

There was a weight to my retreat, a desperation in my posture, he noticed it all and once his eyes met Asher’s, his jaw

clenched.

Ronan’s gaze slid toward Dante–still calmly standing at the far end of the field, arms folded, eyes pinned to my back–it all clicked.

Ronan’s eyes met his across the distance.

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8:18 PM P P ·

Chapter 35 Watchdog

Something unspoken passed between them before Dante smiled and walked away as well.

I burst through the door to the men’s restrooms.

“Finn?” I called, heart racing.

+8 Pearls

The room echoed with silence–stalls empty, lights flickering faintly. No sign of him. Not even the scent of his cologne.

Phina growled in my mind, “He hadn’t come here.”

I turned and sprinted out, checking every hallway, every stairwell, even the supply rooms along the east wing. Nothing. No trail. No sound. Not a single trace of him.

“Where the hell are you?” I whispered under my breath, panic clawing tighter with each passing second.

When I rounded the main corridor near the dorm wings, I met with Asher.

“Why are you here?”

He sighed and asked instead of replying to my question, “Still can’t find your friend?”

I shook my head; chest heaving. “He’s not in the Academy. I’ve looked everywhere. Every floor, every wing–he’s just gone.”

Asher’s jaw tightened slightly. “That’s because he’s most likely not inside the building.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are too many eyes in here,” he said simply. “Instructors. Dorm assistants. Patrol wolves. If someone wanted to hurt him, they wouldn’t do it where there was this much surveillance.”

A cold chill ran down my spine. “That means…” I realized something.

I didn’t wait. I took off again, flying down the empty hall. The moment I crossed the rear courtyard, the air changed.

It was quieter. Too quiet.

Then I saw it—the abandoned building tucked into the far side of the academy grounds, half–swallowed by shadows and wild ivy. Windows boarded up. Doors hanging half off their hinges.

Without wasting another second, I shoved the door open and stepped inside.

My heart stopped.

Finn was there.

He was on the floor–bleeding–his arms shielding his head as a group of Alphas surrounded him. Each one taking turns landing kicks or laughing.

And among them–

Reed and Cassius.

My stomach twisted.

Finn’s blood was on their fists.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. My body locked up.

They didn’t see me at first. My eyes were glued to Finn–his swollen lip, the deep purple bruises already blooming on his cheek, the crack of blood on his brow.

I stepped in slowly Then Cassius looked up, and that sickening grin spread across his face.

“Well, look who finally arrived,” he sneered.

Reed turned slowly, grinning wider. “You’re late, tiny motherfucker. The show’s already started.”

“Alpha Asher,” I cut him off and tilted my head to meet his gaze, “Can you do me a favour?”

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