Chapter 90: The Real War
Lorraine’s POV
The academy grounds were quiet now, eerily so. The blood had been washed away, but the scent of death still clung to the air. The Lycan, Elite and Noble elders had dispersed. The show was over. All that remained were the shadows and the silence they left behind.
Adrian walked beside me, hands in his pockets, his usual sharp energy dulled to a quiet simmer. Felix was on my other side, his brows drawn together, shoulders stiff with whatever storm was raging inside him. We didn’t talk much as we walked. We didn’t need to. The tension still hung in the air, wrapping around our throats like invisible chains.
We reached a courtyard behind the east wing. It was far enough from the Lycans’ quarters, far from the patrols and the surveillance eyes built into the academy walls
An old tree stood in the center, gnarled, ancient. Its roots twisted through the stone like it refused to be tamed, and I sat beneath it, back resting against the bark. Adrian dropped down beside me with a grunt, stretching his long legs. Felix sat cross-legged, watching me closely.
"So?" he asked after a beat. "What did the Alpha King say about Elise? Is he going to help us find her?"
I didn’t answer.
"And did you tell him?" Felix pressed, voice rising. "Abiut us ferals being killed and dragged out of our rooms and tossed like garbage, did he say anything? Is he going to do something about the way we’re treated worse than dirt?"
I looked at him, at the faint desperation in his eyes. His fingers trembled. He wanted hope.
And all I could do was laugh.
A cold, bitter sound escaped me. Not because it was funny, but because it was the only thing I could do to stop myself from screaming.
"We have no hope in this academy, Felix," I said, staring up at the branches swaying above. "None of us do as long as we are weak. Nobody cares about us. Not even the Alpha King."