The True Alpha of Lupine (Seraphina and Ronan) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Hearing

SERAPHINA

Silence followed my words, a silence so taut it hummed in my ears.

Alpha Jude’s fingers paused mid–thought against his chin. Alpha Hugo leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly through his nose, though his expression remained unreadable.

No recordings?” I asked, tilting my head as my eyes flicked to Reed and Cassius before shifting back to the instructors. “No witnesses beyond those in this room? Then it’s all hearsay, isn’t it? And if that’s the game we’re playing, I’d prefer mine be heard in full.”

Reed shifted uneasily. Cassius refused to meet my gaze, chewing the inside of his cheek like it might erase the whimpering

he’d done earlier.

“I asked a question,” I said again, calm but firm, directing it at the two Alphas. “Is there any proof I struck first?”

“Why does this hearing revolve around who struck first?” Dante lazily interjected from the corner, his tone almost bored. “You assaulted them. They’re injured. You’re not.”

Ronan’s voice cut through the air like a blade–smooth, cool, and terrifying in its certainty. “Injuries don’t prove guilt. They only prove who lost.”

All eyes snapped to the two of them. Curiously, they never looked at each other, not even while arguing.

The Alpha instructors exchanged a glance, clearly mind–linking. Then Alpha Hugo leaned forward and asked me directly, “Alpha Seth, let’s start at the root of the matter. Did you attack them?”

My muscles tensed. The truth could doom me, declare me guilty before this hearing even began. But I straightened my spine and nodded.

“I did.”

Their expressions hardened in unison.

“But,” I continued before any of them could speak, “I had a reason.”

Alpha Gideon’s voice cut in, sharp as a whip. “And what reason could possibly justify the extent of violence you used? A broken hand, a shattered knee-”

I glanced at Ronan.

His expression was unreadable–no worry, no tension, as if this dangerous hearing had nothing to do with him. He looked like a man watching a play he already knew the ending of.

“Alpha Ronan,” I said meaningfully.

He rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug, then, without a word, nodded toward the door. A moment later, it opened.

Alpha Asher entered quietly, bowed respectfully to the instructors, and approached the desk. He placed a small black glass bottle in front of them, then stepped back.

Alpha Hugo lifted it with a puzzled frown. “What is this?”

“That,” I said, my voice unwavering, “is Alpha Ronan’s cologne. Tampered with. Reed and Cassius laced it with a rare wild berry known to trigger rut in unmated Alphas. Their intent was to humiliate me by making me lose control, and drag Ronan down with me.”

The air in the chamber shifted. Alpha Gideon’s gaze snapped toward Reed and Cassius like a bullet–sharp, deadly, and full of

rage.

“Tampering to force an Alpha into rut?” he snarled. “Are you out of your damn minds?”

“It’s a lie!” Reed shouted, his voice cracking. “We never–he’s framing us!”

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8:18 PM P.

Chapter 39 Hearing

+8 Pearls

Cassius jumped in quickly, voice rough with panic. “You asked for proof, didn’t you? Then where is it? You expect us to believe this berry proves anything?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything,” I replied coolly. “But I do expect you to listen.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, crushed berry–the same one I’d picked up in the chaos. I placed it beside the bottle.

“This fell from Reed’s pocket during the fight,” I explained. “That’s how I figured it out. He even admitted it, in front of Ronan and the others. They all heard him.”

I gestured toward the berry, its faint scent still clinging to my fingertips. “Even squeezed and crushed, you can smell what was mixed into that cologne.”

Alpha Jude leaned forward and brought the bottle to his nose. He inhaled, his eyes narrowing.

A moment later, he looked at Alpha Gideon and gave a single, grim nod.

Confirmation.

Alpha Jude narrowed his gaze, his voice a low snarl. “Is this true? How dare you two stain the sacred legacy of this Academy with such vile behavior?”

I tilted my head slightly and gave them a razor–edged smile. “Of course you haven’t seen those berries before… because someone else gave them to you. Am I wrong?”

“You mean like accidentally revealing that someone with rank was involved?” I shot back, my tone deceptively light. “Cassius dropped the word ‘hierarchy.‘ And the only two involved in this mess with that kind of status are Alpha Ronan…” I paused, letting my gaze drift.

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