Chapter 53: CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE | PEOPLE

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE | PEOPLE

RONAN

The noises in the hallway were loud and disturbing. I stirred from sleep as I heard a knock on the door.

I sprang up, realizing that the person at the door might be Aspen. I stared at her empty bed, and an empty void settled in my heart.

Her absence was noticeable. The room felt empty without her. The knock came again, distracting me from my thoughts.

“Coming.” I said, hoping the person behind the door would hear me despite the loud noises in the hallway. I slipped my feet into my flip flops and went straight to the door.

“Wasn’t expecting you.” I said, disappointment dripping from my voice as I made room for the person I didn’t want to see right now.

“I figured you might have missed my pretty face, especially after you called at dawn.”

I rolled my eyes and shut the door tightly. “I don’t think there’s anyone out there who would miss your face.”

“Well… there is, and he’s right here in my presence.”

I twisted my face in disgust. “Don’t say that again, Brian.”

“I don’t want to hear that.” He inserted his index finger into his ear and rolled his eyes.

I sighed heavily and smacked my forehead with my palm. “I have nothing to say to you, Brian.”

“Of course you don’t.” He smirked and jumped onto my bed.

“By the way, how did you enter the school compound?” I asked, despite knowing who Brian was. He was my mentor, my best friend, and also the best swordsman in my pack.

“Did it my way.” He shrugged and took an apple from my bedside table, biting into it like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Where’s your roommate?” He asked, nodding toward the empty bed inches away from him.

“Somewhere safe for now.” I sighed heavily, moving toward Aspen’s bed. “She’ll be back soon.” I told him and sat down on it.

“Alettoi is back?” His eyes searched mine with keen interest.

“Yes.” I replied, hunching forward with my fingers intertwined. “I think he’s forming an organization within the school.”

“What makes you think so?” He asked, dropping the half bitten apple back into the bowl.

“He had a tattoo on his wrist, and it’s the same tattoo the librarian had before he disappeared. And of course, he made references to the librarian when he visited the prison.”

“Prison?” He asked curiously. “You’re going to tell me a lot.”

I chuckled at his sudden peak of interest. I adjusted myself and cleared my throat, ready to tell him everything that had happened.

I started from when Adrian was found dead and how Aspen sneaked into the school with the help of her sister in law, Devenity, disguised as a male. I told him how I found out and decided to join her in finding Adrian’s murderer. Along the way, Devenity was found dead, though her death had not been confirmed yet, and Aspen was framed for it.

Still trying to find who was behind everything, it somehow led us to Pulp, the librarian. There was a school wide search that almost got Aspen caught.

While processing everything, the principal arrested my roommate and me for reasons I couldn’t even remember. While in prison, we met the librarian, who didn’t know something that we didn’t know.

And when we returned, my uncle decided to visit me in the prison. It turned out he knew Aspen, and he also had the same tattoo Pulp had on his wrist.

“Damn. That’s a lot.” Brian sighed heavily as he stared at me. “What are you planning to do now?”

“I want my uncle. He’s my target. He has the key to all these mysteries.”

“How are you so sure?”

“My uncle doesn’t bluff. If he’s going to do something, he will. If he knows something, he’ll let the whole world know that he does. And that’s exactly what he did.”

“I’ll make sure I cut every bit of his body into pieces once I lay my hands on him.” Brian said furiously, clenching his fists.

“We’re doing that together.”

“How in the world did he escape his exile?” He half yelled.

“He has his own people. Don’t forget that.”

“His presence is also a threat to your throne.” Brian scoffed angrily. “This school is a prison.”

“It’s not. I have a mission here, Brian.” I said calmly, hoping to tone down his anger.

“No! The elders joined hands with Alettoi to put you here, making you think you’re powerless. This is a prison, Ronan.”

“And am I not powerless?” I snapped back at him.

“What are you saying?” Shock was written all over his face.

“I was locked here because I was stupid. I’m nothing compared to my sister. She was everything a leader needs.”

“And you are too.” He stood up abruptly, glaring at me. “Are you going to let him win? What if he orchestrated all this? What if he killed Adrian?”

“That’s why I have to take him down!”

“Without support? Ronan, your uncle has a lot of people behind him. Do you think you can win without anyone backing you? You need to take back your power, Ronan. Come back to the pack.”

“I can’t just leave like that.”

“You’re a respected Alpha. You can.”

His words struck something in me that I had buried for a long time.

I had tried my best to live in the shadows, accepting that I was not good enough and never would be. But now, I wasn’t sure anymore.

I wanted to see the end of Alettoi, and I would definitely need the support of my pack members to make that happen.

Sissy, what do you think? I stared up at the ceiling. I think it’s time for me to avenge your death and our parents’ deaths.

“Are you ready?” Brian’s voice broke into my thoughts.

I tore my eyes away from the ceiling and glared at him.

“Let me meet my people.”