<h4>Chapter 453: 453-Yes, We Are Married</h4>


    <strong>Ian:</strong>


    "Okay, so everyone is aware of the academy situation now. What about Clementine? Are we not going to request the news channel to run a missing person ad?" Haiden asked me as we briskly stepped out of the Alpha’s mansion through one of the nearby back entrances.


    I had decided to go to every house by myself and look for Clementine’s presence there, at least her scent.


    Most importantly, I was checking ces right around the council leader’s mansion.


    I was also trying to get someone to hack into the cameras since everybody was iming, mostly the council leaders, that their cameras were not working or that the footage had been deleted.


    I wanted any help I could get to look for Clementine.


    "Okay, we will convince these people to give us their footage. At the same time, we will keep an eye on the council leaders," I stated as Troy and Haiden followed behind me.


    We were going crazy, but it had not been long. It had only been a day that we had met up with the council leaders at their mansion, and something told me that Clementine was still fine. At least I hoped she was.


    "I cannot believe Miss Rue attacked Clementine," Haiden remarked.


    I suddenly slowed down and watched their faces.


    "And why did it take you so long to prove Yorick’s innocence?" Troyined, resting his hands on his waist.


    Ever since they found out, they had been feeling very guilty.


    "Well, because I was in the north, and when I returned, Yorick had already gone home. We decided that we should first tell the council members and expose the academy rather than go back to the academy to clear Yorick’s name," I replied. "They would have captured us. But now that Clementine is missing, I feel like I wish we had gone to the academy first."


    I kept the rest to myself, but that was exactly how I felt. It broke my heart because if they had captured us, Clementine would still be with me.


    "We will find her. Do not worry," Haiden told me, patting my back.


    "And we will also apologize to Yorick," Troy added, and I gave them a small nod.


    "By the way, what were you doing in the north with Clementine? I mean, how did you two meet? You never told us about it. She was supposed to go get a watch, right? Did she get it?" Haiden continued to question me.


    I guess the best way for us to cope was to keep talking about Clementine. That gave us hope.


    "Yeah, she got the watch, and then Miss Rue attacked her," I told them, trying to be as discreet as possible so they would not turn their heads while looking around.


    "So where are we headed now?" he questioned, scratching the back of his neck.


    "There must be restaurants around the council’s mansion. We need to go and check their cameras," I uttered, suggesting it because we were not going to give up.


    However, the sad part was that a lot of people were on the council’s side because ever since the academy was exposed, they could no longer trust their own alphas.


    "Yeah, that is a good idea. Let’s go," Troy replied.


    As we were about to cross the road, we noticed a TV ying inside one of the shops. We slowed down outside the window when we saw Lady Sylvia, the council member, on the screen.


    "It is a very sad day for all of us. Hearing all the usations against the academy and many of the alphas, and finding that cave where they used to watch the poor kids suffer, broke my heart," she spoke calmly and carefully, making us share a nce.


    We knew the truth, but others did not. They would believe her lies, because if not, then who would they turn to?


    "In thest few hours, we have received manyints from all around the world, people requesting the truth, people requesting justice," she continued. "It is too soon to arrest the headmaster, but I assure you that will happen, and it will happen in the most professional way. All those people who have been a part of this nonsensical game will pay a heavy price."


    She was speaking as if she were someone important. There was a very understanding look on her face, almost like her heart had broken for those involved.


    "But I must tell you," she continued, "the headmaster might have had no chance, no choice other than to start an academy, because by the end of the day, all this was happening before the academy was formed. Whoever created the monsters in the north are still unknown people. The only thing the headmaster did was create an academy to save you all from the monsters." she paused.


    "Sure, he got carried away, but I guess it was more for emotional reasons," she added. "He wanted the parents to watch their kids do well in the north, because how else would they ever see their kids again? It was a kind of reassurance, telling them not to cry, that their child was fighting for the right cause, and that they would return either as heroes or die as martyrs." another short breath and then she sighed.


    "But of course, all that has been seen as wrong, which I understand," she went on, "but it does not change the fact that the academy was formed muchter. So I request you all to calm down and not stop the academy yet. There are still monsters in the north that need to be taken care of."


    It felt as if every word she spoke struck us hard.


    "What the heck, Ian? What is she saying? Does that mean the academy will continue to take teenagers to suffer?" Troy asked me, and honestly, I was just as clueless as them.


    "That sucks because now everybody knows, so they will not be afraid of broadcasting everything that is happening in the north to the entire world," Haiden agreed.


    I began to feel like there was still so much to uncover.


    "We need to look for Clementine," I told them, tapping the back of my hand against Haiden’s stomach and patting Troy’s back. "Come on, let’s go."


    "Because it does not seem like finding my wife is their priority at all," Imented as I realized that everybody was focused on the news, and nobody was looking for Clementine except us.


    However, through all the emotions, I let one thing slip, which made both of them stop and ask me in unison.


    "Your wife?"


    "Um, what?" I asked, trying to y a fool.


    "No, what did you just say?" Haiden asked me, one eye squeezing shut as if he were trying to hear me clearly.


    "I said let’s go look for her, because I do not think anybody else is looking for her," Imented, lying through my teeth.


    "No, no, no. You referred to Clementine as your wife," Haiden insisted.


    I started to shake my head and almostughed, trying to make them feel foolish.


    I had no problem, absolutely none, telling the world that I had married her. It would be an honor.


    But I knew it should be Clementine’s decision to tell her mates that she had married and epted one of them.


    I also did not want attention taken away from looking for her, because what if the two of them got upset and decided not to look for her?


    "What? You guys are losing your hearing. We should not be wasting our time. Let’s go," I told them, gesturing toward the road.


    When they did not move, I rolled my eyes and ced my hands on my waist, watching them with a tired look.


    "You guys do realize that if the council leader convinces everyone that they are doing nothing wrong, and that sending teenagers to the academy is the only way to stop the monsters, the academy will continue and we will all be summoned. Then we will not be able to find Clementine," I hissed at them, reminding them that instead of focusing on this, they should be thinking about finding Clementine before it was toote.


    "Wait a minute. Haiden is right. You said she is your wife," Troy remarked.


    Just as I expected Troy to say something sensible, he sided with Haiden instead, pointing his finger at me and moving it up and down.


    At that point, I only stared at their faces in silence.


    "Wait a minute. Is that a mark on your neck?" Haiden asked, suddenly rushing toward me to check.


    I tried to step away, but it was toote. He had already seen the mark. Of course, they both had.


    "You two are married? You marked each other?" Troy asked, looking shocked, as if he had been betrayed, as if he did not already know that we were dating.


    "How and when did that happen, and why did you not tell us about it?" Haiden raised his voice, which was already a sign that I had been right.


    Their entire attention had shifted to me and Clementine instead of looking for her.


    "Tell us. It is true, right? You two are fucking married?" he demanded.


    Troy grunted loudly, waiting for an answer.


    At that point, lying was not going to help. It would only make them angrier.


    "We did," I replied. That was all I said when I noticed the hurt on their faces.