Chapter 180 Confession
Chapter 180 Confession
ROWAN
The intrusions were getting out of hand. There was another intrusionst week, which was why I had to go back with Zaria in the middle of the week.
The strange thing was that they all died before we could even interrogate them. They felt like empty husks programmed tosh out, then burn themselves out in the same breath. It was like fighting puppets whose strings cut themselves mid–battle.
I shook my head, trying to push that thought away. Dwelling on it too much made me restless, and I hadn’t been sleeping well.
Back at Elite, I found myself sitting in one of Mr. Thompson’s assessments. The subject was Pure Magic, and it was the final question that made me pause.
Cite an instance where dark magic can be used for the better.
stared <i>at </i>the nk space on the paper. My pen tapped against the edge of the desk, my jaw tightening as I thought. Most wolves flinched at the thought of admitting that any use of dark magic was justifiable. That was the Academy’s entire brand, after all.
After a while, I wrote-
To counter dark magic.
That was it. Simple and efficient.
I slid the paper forward, stood, and handed it in without hesitation. Mr. Thompson raised his brows before nodding in approval.
I left the ssroom, the first one out, running my fingers through my hair as I stepped into the corridor.
There was another matter that I couldn’t shake off.
It was Tessa.
I hadn’t seen her since that day. The image of her lingered in my head–her face pale, eyes ssy, body weak. She had wanted to say something, I knew it. I could see it in her lips, trembling as if words were waiting toe out. But before I could stop and let her speak, Zaria had tugged at my sleeve. We’d had to leave. The South had called us back because of thetest intrusion, and duty wasn’t something I could dy.
I clenched my fists <b>as </b>I walked down the corridor.
What if I had stayed?
What if-
No. Thinking like that was dangerous.
The truth was, I had been on the edge of going back. There were a lot of questions in my mind that I thought only she could
answer.
However, another intrusion came. And another. Each one more vicious than thest.
Cade had stepped up to lead the other factions in coordinated eradications, his reputation only climbing higher for it. I’d heard reports ofplete wipes<b>–</b>packs working together in efficient unison.
Meanwhile, the South insisted we handle it alone<b>. </b>
My parents, along with Wilder and the Council, insisted that we didn’t need help–that the South was strong enough, that I was strong enough.
However, we were being pushed to the breaking point, and I knew it.
<b>1/3 </b>
<b>4:33 </b>PM P <b>P </b>
Chapter 180 Confession
s
If I asked for help from Cade, if I reached across that fragile political line, the Council would only paint me as weak. Unfit. A son who couldn’t live up to Elijah’s shadow.
I exhaled sharply, raking a hand through my hair again. The corridor was too quiet, and my head was too loud.
Tessa’s face shed again in my mind.
What was she trying to tell me? Why did it haunt me like this?
“Alpha Rowan!”
A voice rang out from the other end of the hall.
I turned around at the sound of my name, expecting maybe a scout or one of the assessment aides. Instead, my eyes locked on a face I couldn’t immediately ce. He wasn’t familiar in the way ssmates are familiar, nor did he carry himself like a teacher. Still, something about the lines of his jaw, the way his eyes darted toward me with hesitation, made my memory twitch.
I frowned, searching my mind for the connection. I was sure I’d seen him before. Not in Elite. Not in our pack. Somewhere else. Somewhere in the… East.
And then it clicked.
My chest tightened slightly at the realization, though I forced my face to remain calm. He shifted on his feet under my scrutiny.
“What do you need?” I asked tly, already preparing to brush him off.
The stranger bit his lip before answering. “My name is Dustin.”
The name did nothing for me. I wasn’t familiar with his name, but only with his face.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while,” he said carefully, like he was tiptoeing through shards of ss. “But it’s only now that I have the chance to enter Elite that I can do so.”
I arched a brow. His voice carried sincerity, but that didn’t mean anything. People had approached me with all kinds of reasons before–most of them maniptive, some of them worse.
“What do you need?” I repeated, sharper this time. “I’m busy.”
He flinched, but didn’t back down. His eyes met mine with a strange kind of desperation. “I think you might want to hear it,” he said. “I really think you do.”
I stared before letting out a deep breath. “Talk, then. You have one chance.”
Dustin swallowed hard. “I… I did something unbelievably bad when I was younger.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I carried a lot of resentment,” he continued. “Toward people, toward circumstances, toward fate itself. And I-” He broke off, his breath hitching. “I’ve been eaten alive by guilt since then. Every year, it gets worse. Every time I look back, I can’t breathe.”
My silence stretched between us. I <b>wasn’t </b>going to offerfort–not when I didn’t know if this was some ploy.
“I know I might be doing this because of my own guilt,” he said in a low voice, “but I genuinely want you to know.”
Still, I said nothing. My instincts told me to let him talk until he ran out of the nerve<b>. </b>
Dustin let out a long, shaky breath, as though he’d rehearsed this moment a thousand times but still couldn’t believe it was happening.
“Back then,” he started again, his voice trembling. “It was true.”
His eyes flicked away, then back to me, his lips pressing together before he forced the words out.
<b>4:33 </b>PM
Chapter 180 Confession
“I
I am
Ena’s mate.”
C
0
<b>+5 </b>Free Coins
<b>3/3 </b>