Chapter 21 Morning Follows
Malia's POV
The sunlight pours through the window as I wake up, bringing with it the immediate, crushing memory of last night.
The video. The wine, everyone watching.
My stomach is in knots and I pull the blanket over my head, feeling like if I could just disappear.
Maybe if I just hang around long enough, they'll all forget me.
Maybe the humiliation will fade. Maybe—
A rap at the door halts my downward rush.
I freeze.
Please let it be not Lydia, please don't be campus security telling me I'm being expelled for causing a scene. Please don't be—
"Malia? It's us." July's voice, muffled through the door. "Let us in."
Relief floods through me.
I drag myself out of bed, still in the comfy clothes I changed into last night, and make my way to the door.
When I open it, there's July and Freddy, coffees, pastries in hand, with matching looks of fierce protectiveness.
"We brought breakfast," Freddy announces. "And moral support. Mostly moral support."
I move aside and then freeze because Aiden is still here. Sitting at his desk, laptop open, as if he’s been working for hours. He looks up as July and Freddy enter.
For a moment, nobody says anything.
The tension is palpable. Then Aiden stands, closing his laptop with deliberate calm.
“I’ll give you space,” he says, as he grabs his jacket.
“You don't have to leave,” I say quickly.“It’s your room too—”
"It's fine." His voice has a neutral quality, but as he looks at me, something twinkles in his eyes. "I have stuff to do, anyway."
He gives a nod to July and Freddy—a surprising ounce of courtesy—and exits the stage. The door snaps shut behind him.
July stares at the closed door. "Did Aiden Moonfall just… politely excuse himself? Without being a jerk?"
"Character development," Freddy mutters as he places the coffee on my desk. "Or maybe he’s sick."
I collapse on my bed, drawing my knees up to my chest. "He bought me a dress."
Both of them whip around to stare at me.
"What?" July says.
"After last night. That’s the least of my problems," I say, backing away. “He left a shopping bag on my bed. Designer dress. Really expensive. Said it was ‘for next time.’"
Freddy's jaw drops. "Aiden ‘I hate everyone’ Moonfall bought you a dress?"
"I know. It doesn’t add up."
"It makes perfect sense," July says, a knowing smile spreading across her face. "He's into you."
"He's not—"
"Malia." She sits beside me, taking my hand. "He publicly destroyed Lydia Ashford for you. He threatened her family. And now he’s buying you designer dresses. Those are not the things someone who didn’t care would do."
"But he told me to stay away from his brothers—"
"Because he’s jealous," Freddy interrupts, sprawling on Aiden’s desk chair. "Classic possessive alpha behavior. He wants you but doesn’t know how to deal with it, so he lashes out."
I shake my head. "That's not... we're just roommates. Unwilling roommates."
"Sure,"says July, as if she doesn’t believe me. "Anyway, can we look at this dress?"
I hesitate, then I get up and take it out of the closet.
July gasps. "Oh my god. That’s a Valentina Laurent original.”
"A what?"
"Valentina Laurent. She’s, like the designer for wolf formal wear. Custom gowns start at $5,000." July reverently traces the fabric with her fingertips. “And this is not off the rack. It was tailored. Look at the hem—it’s cut to your exact height.”
My stomach flips. “Five thousand—”
"At least," Freddy confirms. “Maybe more with the tailor work.”
"I can't take this."
“Sure you can,” says July, firmly enough. “Aiden Moonfall doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. He bought this for you. Keep it."
"But—"
"Keep it," she repeats. "Tell it to your daughter when she grows up on how you had to live with his moody ass."
That startles a laugh out of me—small, but real.
Freddy grins. "There she is. We thought you’d gone off on one of your despair trips,” we were worried we’d lost you to despair."
The laughter fades quickly.
Because reality crashes back in—last night happened, and I still have to deal with the aftermath.
“I don’t know if I can go to class,” I say quietly. “Everyone saw that video. Everyone saw Lydia make a fool out of me. How the hell am I supposed to just… show up? Pretend Everything’s Normal?”
July squeezes my hand. “Because you're stronger than Lydia. Stronger than everyone who laughed. And you’re not going to let them win.”
"But they’ve already won—"
“No, they didn’t.” Freddy leans forward, his usually playful demeanor serious. “They attempted to shatter you. They're still here. Still fighting. That’s not losing, Malia. That’s surviving.”
“Surviving is not the same as winning.”
“Sometimes it is,” says July softly. “Sometimes the biggest victory is just getting up and facing one more day.”
I want to believe them. But the idea of going into a classroom, of all those eyes on me, all those whispers—
My phone buzzes.
I pick it up, expecting another menacing text.
Instead, it is from Rowan:
Rowan: Hey. Just wanted to check on you. Last night was brutal. Are you okay?"
Something warm unfurls in my chest.
Rowan. Kind, thoughtful Rowan, who danced with me despite the stares, who got angry on my behalf, who cares enough to check in.
I type back:
Me: I'm okay. Or I will be. Thank you for checking up.
His response is immediate:
Rowan: If you need anything--AND I MEAN ANYTHING--tell me. Want me to bring you lunch? Coffee? A punching bag with Lydia's face on it?"
I smile, through all that.
Actually smile. For the first time since last night.
Me: The punching bag is tempting, but I’m good. I have July and Freddy here.
Rowan: Good. You need your people. But seriously, Malia—don't let this define you. You are so much more than last night that happened to you.
My throat tightens with emotion.
Me: Thank you. It means a lot.
Rowan: Any time. See you in class? Or take the day If you need. I'll get notes for you.
Me: I'll be there.
As I type it, I’m not sure I mean it.
But Rowan’s anxiety, his accessible kindness, makes me want to try.
I put my phone down, and here is July watching me with a knowing smile.
"Was that Rowan?"
"Maybe."
"Do you have a smile on your face?"
"Maybe."
Freddy grins. "Those Moonfall bros sure are working hard to convince everyone that they ‘care about Malia.’"
“They’re just being nice—”
“Malia.” July’s voice is soft but authoritative. “When are you going to stop thinking that no one wants to see you? That you don’t matter?”
The question gets under the skin more than anticipated. Because I’ve so long believed I don’t matter—that being a hybrid means being less-than, that my place is always at the bottom.
But Rowan's texts, Aiden's dress, Cian's quiet support, July and Freddy showing up with coffee and fierce loyalty—
Maybe I do matter.
"Okay," I say softly. "I'm going to class."
July's face lights up. "Really?"
“Really. But it's you two who will come with me. I'm not doing the stares by myself."
"Obviously," Freddy says. "Now we're a package deal. We go where you go, you go where we go."
"Pack mentality," July adds, grinning. "But we're the cool pack that couldn't give a shit about bloodlines and hierarchy."
I laugh – and this time ring a little less false.
We spend the next hour talking, eating pastries, and figuring out how to deal with the inevitable gossip.
July demands to assist me in getting dressed, selecting an outfit that is bold yet relaxed.
"You're not hiding," she says. "You're going into there head up high."
"Those are easy things for you to say. You didn't have someone sneak into your bedroom in the middle of the night and film a humiliating viral video of you."
"True. But I did have my shift go awry as a freshman and inadvertently decimate the dean's garden. In front of his wife. During a formal tea." She shrugs. “Survived that. You’ll make it through this.”
Freddy nods. "I mean, whenever you get an asshole, they'll have to go through us. And I’m obnoxious when I’m protective.”
“You’re annoying all the time,” July says.
"That’s right. Now imagine that weaponised."
Anyway, surveying them makes the whole thing seem a little less impossible, even though I’m scared stiff.
As we are on our way to leave, July suddenly holds me in a very tight hug.
"You're all right," she whispers. "We've got you.”
Freddy joins the hug, and there I am, sandwiched between the two of them.
"Trio power," he exclaims. “We can’t be stopped. But I’m getting a feeling that we will win.”
It’s corny and ridiculous. And just what I need.
When we finally pull apart, I feel steadier. Not completely okay.
But ready to try.
—-----
We left the dorm together─July to my left, Freddy to my right.
My phone buzzes once more. Another text from Rowan.
Rowan: That was good of you to show up today. You're braver than you think.
I save the message.
Then take a deep breath. And out you go to meet what lies ahead.
Because maybe living through it, is winning.
Maybe rising and trying again is the biggest middle finger you can give the people that want to make you disappear.
Maybe I'm stronger than I realize.
And maybe — just maybe — I'm not alone anymore.