Their Hidden Princess Chapter 86

That afternoon, I slowly spilled into the campus auditorium with the rest of the school. I’d taken Valentin’s robe back to my dorm and changed into a sweatsuit. I’d pulled the hood high over my head as I walked in so no one would notice me. I’d already heard a plethora of students cursing my existence on the walk there.

Just then, a hand darted out and yanked me out of the crowd and into the vestibule. I yelped and threw my hands up immediately but I was only meet with the stern, hard face of Maximus.

Something about his face immediately soothed me. I threw my arms around his neck and buried myself in his arms. His hands came around my back and ran down mine spine. He pulled back slightly to press his forehead to mine.

“I’ll kill him,” he said into my cheek. “I’ll kill every one of them.”

“Don’t,” I yanked away from him so I could look at him in the eyes. “You didn’t seen Lunerly. He was pissed. He’ll take care of it. I don’t need you expelled.”

Maximus nodded but then hardened his face as he saw something behind us. I turned and saw that Thorne had somehow found us. He wore a scowl on his face as he stormed into our hiding spot.

“The fuck are you two doing?” he hissed.

“Checking in on my protectorate,” Maximus threw back. “Something you clearly do not possess the ability to do.”

Thorne’s eyes widened, nostrils flaring as he puffed up his chest. He looked like he was about to attack Maximus so I did the only thing I knew would keep him from it. I stepped in between the two men and pressed a hand to each of their sternums. Maximus immediately relaxed. Thorne flinched then settled a second later.

“Stop it,” I said, evenly. “The fighting is why we’re here in the first place. Just calm down and think rationally.”

“Rationally isn’t a word Maximus knows,” Thorne snapped.

“Go shove your dick back in a book, you knob,” Maximus countered. “Maybe you’d learn to be a better Knight.”

“Hard to be a good Knight when you’ve got a psychotic, feral puppy as a Protecterate—”

“Enough!” I cut through Thorne’s insult. “Jesus Christ, would you both just calm down for two seconds!?”

“I’m calm,” Maximus stated. From the look on his face, I believed it. Thorne looked like he was in between throttling both of us and fleeing entirely.

He threw a hand my direction. “Whatever,” he scoffed. He started back out of the vestibule. “Just don’t get in anymore trouble, alright?”

“I’ll try,” I called after him. Maximus chuckled lightly besides me. I pulled my hood back on top of where it slipped off my head and gave him a nod. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

The two of us walk back into the crowd of people and funnel our way into the auditorium. It was nearly full at that point, so we managed to shuffle into a seat in the back. In the front, I spotted the back of Thorne’s head sitting next to Amara. She still had the ridiculous sling around her neck. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

Further to the front was Loren. She was standing on her feet, gnawing at her bottom lip as she looked for someone. A pang of guilt hit me as I realized it was me.

Up on the stage, a woman in a human suit and low heels walked out. She was stout and had greying hair that was wrapped up in a bun. I recognized her as someone who I’d seen in the Admissions building before. She tapped her throat twice then cleared it. The sound echoed through the auditorium as if she was using a microphone.

“Good afternoon,” she said. “Headmaster Lunerly has gathered you all here today to address recent on-goings at Lunaton Alpha Academy. Please give him your utmost respect.”

She padded down the stage stairs and took a seat in the front row with a bunch of other staff. Valentin took the stage and tapped his throat just as the woman did. “Students,” he voice bounced off the silent walls of the room. “I have brought you all here to discuss what seems to be a problem with decorum.”

He paced across the stage. His cloak was still missing (it was in my room – duh) so he was only clad in suit trousers and his usual jacket, a long robe. He looked frazzled, hair frizzing out of it’s bun. The dark circles under his shiny gold eyes felt like a warning alarm.

“What has transgressed this semester,” Valentin continued. “Started as petulance and has cascaded into a sort of behavior I’ve never seen in my twenty years since I started at the school.”

I frowned. Twenty years? How old was Valentin??

“Fights breaking out in inappropriate places,” he said. “Parties in which people are becoming ludicrously intoxicated. Assault of one’s fellow students. It’s deplorable behavior.”

A murmur grew over the crowd. I heard my name mentioned a few times. I slunk further in my seat. Maximus grabbed my leg, trying to reassure me. It did anything but that.

“Lunaton Alpha Academy is the highest regarded Academy among wolves,” Valentin stated. “It was founded by our Queen, the great breaker of enslavement. She, herself, has retired some of her great warriors to teach at this school. For the purpose of making the next generation of warriors.” He paused in both his speech and movement. He narrowed his eyes at the crowd. “Wolves who see themselves above others do not have the makings of a great warrior. A great warrior is selfless. A great warrior is kind. None of the actions that have occurred this semester have been selfless or kind.”

Another murmur rose over the crowd. A hand shot up. Before Valentin could even call on it, the person was on their feet and shouting at the Headmaster. I recognized it as the guy who’d been sitting with the girls and Kairos when I’d attacked him that morning.

“Great warriors are also not weak,” he snapped. A few people cheered. “Weakness must be squashed.” He slammed his fist into his palm and more people cheered.

Valentin gave him a fake smile. “Mr. Yvette,” he stated. “Has your weakness in History of Wolves subsided? Last I checked the registrar stated that you were failing that course.”

There were some chuckles as well as low “ooh”s from the crowd. The Alpha grunted before he slammed back down in his seat. Valentin resumed pacing. He glanced back out in the crowd.

“None of you wolves are ‘weak’,” he said. “You all have unique talents that will make you formidable warriors. Even those of you who cannot shift. Or those of you who do not spar well. Or those of you with additional circumstances that some may label as ‘weakness.’”

He paused to run his tongue over his teeth.

“There are threats beyond your comprehension beyond the walls of this school,” Valentin said solemnly with the shake of his head. I knew he meant the vampires even if no one else did. “If you wish you fight for your kind, stay and focus on what matters. If not, I suggest you leave. Or ignore my suggestion and be forced like Miss Laitery, Miss Jones and Miss McSilver.”

Another murmur rose up from the crowd. The names sounded vaguely famillar. It must’ve been the three girls who’d taken the photos of me. A pang of guilt hit me. It was quickly countered by Mona.

It’s what they deserved, she said softly. It was the first time she’d spoken since that morning. I nodded to myself in agreement.

“This session is dismissed,” Valentin said from the stage. “I will not be holding another.”

The entire auditorium rose and started to vacate the room. I stayed glued to my seat until Maximus hoisted me up. I felt as though Alpha Academy was turning more on its head with each day I was enrolled.