Chapter 78 ~The Ultimatum~
(Fiona's POV)
I heard a soft knock on my door just as I was about to sleep. I climbed out of bed and walked towards the door, still groggy. I had no idea who it was.
‘I would have been able to sniff out who it was if I still had my wolf senses,’ I thought with dismay.
I opened the door, and it was Xander. He was in his pajamas, his hair still wet from the shower. He looked as handsome as always.
“I didn’t know if you were asleep.” he said.
“I was about to,” I said truthfully. “Is there a problem?”
“Well, I wanted to tell you something.”
I was only just noticing the dark circles around his eyes. He must have been overwhelmed with everything happening.
I put on a robe over my nightie to protect myself from the cold as we stepped out to the balcony.
“Mom came,” he said, finally.
“Yeah, I saw her earlier.” I folded my arms as the cold wind blew.
“She told me who sent death threats.”
My breath hitched, as did my pulse.
When I said nothing, he continued. “They were from Beckett… and Loki.”
I shook my head. “How is that even possible? Loki and Beckett—that's an unlikely pair.”
I just couldn't understand it.
“Loki is now part of the Ashridge pack.” Xander laughed humorlessly. “And apparently, they're working together to take us down.”
The news came to me like a punch in the gut.
“How did you find out?”
“Mom told me.”
“How did she find out?”
“She said, ‘sources.’” Xander made air-quotes. “But I know she's still in contact with Loki.”
Wow… so it had come to the point of sending death threats. They just never gave up.
I tried to steady my breathing, anxiety growing in my chest. What if, just what if, whatever plans they were cooking up succeeded?
I spoke finally. “How were they able to plant the letters in your car?”
He looked at me, uncertainty evident in his eyes. I knew it was a question none of us could answer.
“I'll tell Calvin to keep security tighter.” he said, his eyes unfocused.
I felt anger growing in my chest, and I didn't know why.
–------------
Yara's eyes widened as I told her about the letters and who they were from.
“What can we do about this?” I asked, overwhelmed.
The question hung unanswered in the air.
“I’m sure Calvin and Alpha Xander will figure something out.” She tried to reassure me… but I was still uneasy. There was a sinking feeling in my chest that wouldn’t go. And I hated it.
“We could confront Cassia,” Yara said finally.
“Confront Cassia?” I was confused.
“Yes. She's our only link to Ashridge.” Yara sounded so sure. “If we let them know that we're aware of their plans, it might deter them from pushing through. Hopefully, it'll scare them off.”
Or… it would give them a chance to re-strategize.
But no one could tell.
“It's a good idea.” I said, after weighing the options. “Dangerous. But good.”
–----------
The next morning at school, I was waiting impatiently as Mr. Jeff, our math teacher, handed out the test results to the class.
We needed to find Cassia… and fast.
“Fiona Hepburn.” Mr. Jeff called out.
I collected my script and stared at my score.
“Once again, you got the highest score,” he said. “Keep it up.”
I beamed with pride. At least one thing was going right in my life.
Yara was handed her results next.
“What was your score?” She whispered.
“Ninety-Five.” I spoke in a low tune. “What was yours?”
“Ninety.” She turned to look back and her eyes widened a bit. “You might want to turn around.”
I looked back and my eyes were met with Brianna, Frances and Jasmin, throwing death glares at us.
I looked away immediately.
If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under.
The bell rang soon after signalling lunch period.
As soon as Mr. Jeff left the class we went looking for Cassia.
We'd looked for her everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Let's check the bathroom.” I suggested.
We went there and sure enough, there she was, touching up her makeup.
We walked up to her. Our reflections showed in the mirror.
If she was surprised to see us, she didn't show it.
Finally, she chuckled. “Oh look, it's dumb and dumber.”
I rolled my eyes at the irony.
But, of course, Yara was quick with her comeback. “That's rich coming from someone who had to wait until her friend died before she stole her position as Luna.”
Cassia shrugged. “Better late than never, am I right?”
“We're not here to banter words with you, Cassia.” I cut in. “That has never amounted to anything good.”
I stepped towards her. “Why is Beckett sending us death threats?”
Her eyebrows twitched faintly. Her eyebrows twitched faintly. She didn’t look surprised—just calculating.
“How did you figure it out?” she asked finally.
We ignored her question.
My voice came out cold. “Be a good Luna and warn Beckett that he's playing with fire. Remember what happened the last time he overstepped his bounds?”
“Don't say you weren’t warned,” I said, finally and walked out of the door, not waiting for a response.
–-------------
(Xander's POV)
I couldn't believe that Matt convinced me to do this, but here I was, walking towards Coach's office.
I knocked twice on the door.
My mind was replaying my earlier conversation with Matt.
‘Why do I have to confront him?’
‘Because it's unfair for him to do what he did. And you know this, Grayson.’
Coach Bruce's voice startled me out of my trance. “Come in.”
I sucked in a deep breath to brace myself.
I opened the door and ignored the annoyed tic in his jaw.
“What is it?” he spat out, taking a sip of water.
“I know you've been collecting bribes from Senator Griffin.”
The cup crashed from his hand, water spilling everywhere. “H-how?”
I smirked. “And I know about the gambling. The debt. The blackmail.”
He shot up from his chair in horror.
We stayed that way for a while.
Finally, he sank back into his chair, a resigned look on his face. “What do you want?”
For some reason, bile was growing in my chest as I stared at him. “You made me doubt myself. You constantly berated me for not meeting ‘standards’. All of that! Not knowing it was all for money.”
His face looked ashen, exposed. He lowered his head. “I'm sorry.”
Unfortunately, ‘sorry’ doesn't fix all problems. “You don't deserve to coach anyone, not even yourself.”
I stepped forward, facing him squarely.
My voice was laced with venom as I spoke.
“I give you three days to resign, or else I'll expose you for the monster that you are.”