Filed to story: When The Moon Hides Crown
His cold, displeased blue eyes hadn’t left me.
He hadn’t spoken to me since that day. Since my indirect, yet unmistakable warning: Don’t get in my way.
He’d heard it loud and clear. But his fury was simmering just beneath the surface. The flare of his aura, the sharpness in his gaze-it was all there. He didn’t like being dismissed.
Not by anyone.
Especially not by me.
I could feel the heat of his anger even from a distance.
And then there was Ronan.
“Here,” Finn’s voice cut in gently, breaking my train of thought. He tossed me a water bottle.
caught it just in time and looked up to find him drenched in sweat, his chest heaving slightly from the run. “Thanks,” I offered a breathless smile.
He sat beside me on the dry grass, brushing sweat from his brow. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I replied, unscrewing the cap.
“Why don’t you take off your shirt during training? Even during push-ups, you keep it on.”
I nearly choked. The water stuck in my throat, and for a moment, I forgot how to swallow or spit it out. Most of the Alphas tossed their shirts aside during training. I was the only one still fully dressed, my shirt soaked through, sticky and uncomfortable. I hated it, but I had no choice.
1 met his gaze and calmly replied, “Since I was a kid, I’ve never been comfortable showing skin.”
His brows furrowed. “Were you… assaulted? Molested?”
I blinked, taken aback by the bluntness. Molested? Me?
My wolf chuckled bitterly in my head. How about we tell him how the molesters left the pack without their limbs?
I forced a small smile.
“Something like that,” I lied.
Before Finn could speak again, Cassius tossed a training bag toward him with an arrogant smirk. “Carry that for me, will you?”
Reed followed up with a scoff. “And grab my water while you’re at it.
Be useful for once.”
Without a word, Finn stood and did as they asked. I watched, silently. I had noticed how they treated him, like a damn errand boy.
“Do you always let them treat you like that?” I muttered when he returned.
He shrugged with one shoulder, his expression calm. “I don’t mind. I’m not here to make enemies. If doing a few favors keeps the peace, l’d rather do that.”
I studied him quietly. There was no bitterness in his voice. Just quiet acceptance.
Over the past few days, we’d grown closer. I had come to learn more about him-how he came from a prestigious, wealthy pack. How he was the second son of his Alpha father, soft-spoken and gentle because he hated violence. A rare trait in a place like this.
Yet, here he was-sent to this brutal Academy because his father believed even second sons needed to be hardened.
The final whistle blew across the field. Training was done for the day.
Under the evening’s cold breeze, I stood and tugged at my sweat-drenched shirt, which clung to my skin like a second layer.
“You really need to get a new uniform,” Finn said beside me, concern lacing his voice. “You’re going to overheat wearing that much in this weather. Why not ask your pack or family-the one I mentioned before?”
I forced a small laugh. “I would… if I could. But I’m not exactly on speaking terms with my family right now. Personal reasons. So, I can’t really ask them for help.”
Finn frowned, then reached into his training bag and pulled out a neatly folded uniform. “Here,” he offered.
I blinked. “Oh, no. I can’t take your uniform.”
“I have three, and I’ve only worn this one twice,” he said gently. “What’sone less? You need it more than I do. And it’s clean.”
I hesitated. For the past few days, I’d been washing and re-wearing the same uniform. Sometimes it didn’t even dry properly. I needed a new one, but this was Finn’s. His offer felt too generous. Too sudden. But was I really in a position te refuse?
“What are you waiting for? Take it-my arm is hurting,” he chuckled.
I pursed my lips and slowly accepted it. “Thanks,” I murmured, a smile breaking through the exhaustion on my face. “T’ll repay this kindness one day.”
He smiled back, modest and sheepish. “Really? Just don’t beat me up, okay?”
I giggled despite myself. He laughed with me.
Neither of us noticed the pair of intense violet eyes watching from the distance.
Up on the ridge near the weapons shed, Ronan stood silently, arms crossed. His gaze was locked on me, on the way I smiled at Finn. On the way Finn looked at me.
Then, in the next second, the ground shifted beneath me.
A blur of movement caught my eye. A massive black Alpha wolf charged toward me-too fast to dodge. Too close to defend. Finn barely backed away in time as the wolf barreled past, knocking the neatly folded uniform from my hands.
“No!” I gasped as it flew through the air, landing over the edge of the cliff. My jaw dropped. My eyes widened.
Gone. Just like that. The only spare uniform I could’ve had… lost to a place l’d never reach.Slowly, i turned
The black wolf had shifted into his human form. Ronan stood there, naked and unapologetic.
“What the hell was that?!” I snapped, barely holding back my fury.
He strode toward me. “What’s all the fuss over a dirty uniform?”
Dirty? He dared call that clean, folded outfit dirty?
“You were in my way. This is the training field-not a place to laugh and chat,” he said coldly.
Something inside me cracked. Laugh and chat?
“What the hell does that mean?” I shot back. “You knocked away the only extra uniform Finn could give me! What am I supposed to wear now?!”