Chapter 144 An idea to spend time with her

Chapter 144 An idea to spend time with her
Chapter 144

DARIUS

"You are lying," I shot back immediately. "It is against werewolf custom to have humans anywhere near a sacred ritual like the moon ceremony. My father knows that. He upholds all customs and traditions religiously. He would never break something that fundamental."

Marcus shook his head slowly. The movement was heavy with meaning. "Richard personally told me this during a meeting we had last week. He was very specific about it. But when I asked for his reasoning, he cut me off and told me it was not my place to question Alpha decisions."

"That does not make sense—"

"Having been Richard's beta for years," Marcus continued, his voice dropping lower, "I have learned to read him. I know when he is planning something. And I do not like what I am sensing now."

I started pacing the room. My mind was racing, trying to piece together what my father could possibly be planning. Why would he break centuries of tradition? What could he gain from having humans at the moon ceremony?

The confusion tore at me. The not knowing made everything worse.

"Why do you think it is centered around Ravenna specifically?" I demanded, stopping mid-pace to face Marcus.

"Because the moon ceremony is going to be held here at the academy this year not at the pack territories like we normally do."

Dorian jumped to his feet. "That is not possible. The different packs would never unite to do a ceremony together. It goes against everything we stand for."

Marcus shrugged, but his expression remained grim. "Richard is already working on making it happen. I do not know how he is managing it, but he is convincing the other Alphas. The moon ceremony is only days away now." He turned his full attention back to me. "You need to be prepared. Be alert. And for the love of the Goddess, you need to warn Ravenna about the danger."

"Wait." Dorian held up his hand. "Why are you telling Darius all of this when you are supposed to be keeping it secret? When you are supposed to be loyal to Richard?"

Marcus was silent for a long moment. His eyes went distant, like he was looking back through years of memories.

"I was with Richard when Darius was born," he finally spoke. "I watched Richard bring him up from a baby. I saw the brutal training sessions. The endless lessons. The shaping and molding to create the perfect Alpha heir for both the pack and the business empire."

I felt something tighten in my chest at his words. Those memories were not pleasant ones.

"I know you hate your father, Darius," Marcus continued, looking directly at me. "I have watched you go out of your way to rebel against him at every opportunity. So, I am giving you this information now. This small piece of intelligence. Use it and find a way to rebel against Richard properly this time."

With that, Marcus turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

Silence filled the room.

"Are you going to trust him?" Dorian asked carefully.

"Marcus? Yes. I trust that man more than I trust my own father."

"Then what are you going to do?" Dorian started pacing now, his usual calm demeanor cracking. "If the moon ceremony is going to be held at the academy and all humans are invited, that means it will be mandatory for them to attend. They will not have a choice."

The reality of that hit me hard. "I cannot just tell Ravenna that my father is planning to attack her. She already thinks I hate her. She will think I am making it up."

"And you cannot possibly stay with her during the ceremony," Dorian pointed out. "You will be with your father, leading the procession and performing the rituals."

"Which leaves only you to protect her."

Dorian stopped pacing and looked at me. "But we cannot be sure yet about what Richard actually has planned. What if it is some kind of public elimination? Something where both of us would be powerless to help? What if he does something in front of everyone and we cannot stop it without starting another war?"

The helplessness crashed over me like a wave. I sank down onto my bed and put my head in my hands.

I did not know what to do. For once in my life, I genuinely did not know how to protect the person I cared about most.

"We will figure something out," Dorian's voice was quiet but firm. "We have a few days. We will come up with a plan."

I nodded but did not look up. "We have to. Because if anything happens to her..."

I could not finish the sentence. I could not even think about what would happen if my father succeeded in whatever he was planning.

We both went to bed, but sleep did not come for me.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning through endless scenarios and possibilities. Ways to protect Ravenna and to destroy my father once and for all.

“Do not worry,” Atlas's voice rumbled through my mind. “If Richard dares to harm our mate, I will tear him apart myself.”

"I will help you do it," I promised internally. "We will make him pay."

Together, we spent hours planning thinking through every angle and possibility.

Somewhere around dawn, exhaustion finally pulled me under.



Something hard slammed into my ribs.

I jerked awake with a grunt. "What the hell, Dorian? Are you high?"

Dorian stood over me, looking completely unapologetic. "Sorry. Not sorry, actually. You made it very clear the other day that you do not want me having any kind of physical closeness with you. So, I had to kick you awake instead."

I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "What is your problem?"

"It is time for our interrogation. Remember?"

Reality came crashing back. "Right. Give me five minutes."

We washed up quickly and dressed in clean clothes. Then we made our way through the empty corridors to the investigation room.

A security guard met us at the door. "Darius Pike?"

"Yes."

"Come with me. Dorian Rook, you will wait here until you are called."

I followed the guard into a small room. Two people sat behind a table. An elderly man with grey hair and sharp eyes. A middle-aged woman with a notepad.

"Please sit down," the man gestured to the chair across from them. "I am Investigator Harry. This is my colleague, Investigator Martha."

I sat down, keeping my expression neutral.

"Thank you for cooperating with this investigation," Hendricks started. "We just have a few questions about the recent violence at the academy."

"Of course. I am happy to help."

Martha opened her notepad. "Can you describe what you witnessed during the first major incident in the classroom?"

"Caleb Nightshade killed a Mooncrest student," I replied bluntly. "He snapped her neck right in front of everyone. That is what started the fight."

"And before that incident? Was there any provocation?"

"Not from our side. We were just sitting there in class. Then a girl started arguing with some of my pack members. Things escalated quickly."

Harry leaned forward. "But you had challenged Caleb to a private fight before that classroom incident, is that correct?"

I had to be careful here. "Yes. But that was a personal matter. It had nothing to do with pack politics."

"What was the personal matter?"

"He was pursuing a girl I care about. I did not appreciate his methods."

Martha scribbled something down. "And during the cafeteria incident with the machine guns? Where were you?"

"In my room. I heard about it afterwards." I lied and just hope they don’t sense it.

"Did you participate in any of the violence that day?"

"Only in self-defense when Silverthorn students attacked me in the corridors."

The questions continued for another twenty minutes. Each time, I carefully steered my answers to make it clear that Silverthorn pack, and Caleb specifically, had been the primary aggressors.

It was not even lying. They had started most of it.

Finally, Harry closed his folder. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Pike. We may call you back later if we have additional questions."

"Any time."

I stepped out of the room and found Dorian waiting in the hallway.

"How did it go?" he asked quietly as we started walking.

"Fine. They asked about Caleb mostly. I told them the truth—that he killed that girl in cold blood."

"Good. Hopefully they will actually do something about him."

We turned a corner and nearly walked straight into Caleb. All three of us stopped. The tension in the corridor immediately became thick enough to cut.

Caleb looked between us with a cold smile. "I am hoping you lied about me in that investigation. Because if you told the truth, it is going to make things much heavier on the Mooncrest students."

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Caleb's smile widened. "You know, I have always wondered something. How did someone with such a low IQ manage to get into this academy? Did your daddy buy your way in?"

A smirk spread across my face, taking on the challenge "Even with your supposedly high IQ, you did not know you were being monitored by someone. You did not notice how someone got the hotel room you booked with Selene. Your wolf was so dumb that he did not even pick up the scent of another person in the room. Otherwise, you would have stopped that live video before it destroyed your entire reputation."

Caleb's face went bright red. Fury flashed in his eyes. "I know it was you. I know you were the one who posted that video."

"I wish I could take credit for it," I replied honestly. "I genuinely love whoever exposed your secrets. If I could meet them, I would give them a wonderful gift."

"Watch your step, Pike."

"You got in the first blow," I reminded him. "And you will get in the last one too."

Caleb stormed off down the corridor.

I laughed at how easy it was to get under his skin. Then I saw Ravenna and Samantha walking towards us from the opposite direction.

Both Dorian and I immediately waved happily.

"Hey!" Dorian called out. "Where are you two heading?"

"Back to our room," Sam replied as they reached us. "We just finished our interrogation."

"How did they go?" I asked Ravenna specifically.

She shrugged. "Fine. They asked a lot of questions. I answered honestly."

An idea suddenly formed in my mind.

"How would you both like to leave your boring room for a few hours?" I asked, making sure my tone stayed casual. "Go somewhere else and actually enjoy life for a bit?"