Chapter 157 Chapter 157

Chapter 157 Chapter 157
Amber

The principal’s mouth opened and closed and no sound came out. 

His flippant composure cracked visibly. He looked suddenly smaller under the combined weight of four ancient stares.

Meanwhile, I felt my heart beating so fast, I feared my ribs would crack.

I had feared this would happen when the alphas first asked about their own kids’ hunters but seeing it actually come to life made me visibly uncomfortable.

I scanned around quickly but there was still no sign of Damian.

Every head in the crowd turned in my direction as I felt the weight of hundreds of eyes land on me at once. 

My skin prickled from the base of my skull to the backs of my knees and heat climbed the back of my neck even as the wind grew colder. 

My hands had begun to tremble so I curled them into fists at my sides to hide it, nails biting into my palms hard enough to hurt. 

Ellie stood close enough that I could feel the warmth of her shoulder against mine, but even that small comfort did nothing against the sudden, crushing spotlight of attention.

Sharp and hungry whispers rose immediately.

“Look at her, she’s shaking”

“Why would he choose her?”

The principal tried to deflect the alphas by rambling something about the academy and its glorious culture again.

“Perhaps this is not the ideal moment to discuss individual arrangements. The evening is meant for celebration of Silvercrest academy’s glorious history, after all. Can we perhaps move on to…”

Alpha Voss’s growl rolled through the speakers, making several students nearest the stage took an instinctive step back.

“Do not waste my time!”

The principal blanched so thoroughly that even in the imperfect light his face looked bloodless. He cleared his throat twice, straightened his robes with hands that were no longer steady, and looked directly at me across the sea of faces.

“Amber. Come forward.”

My stomach dropped as though the ground had opened beneath me.

Ellie’s hand landed lightly on my shoulder from behind. She whispered urgently.

“It’s alright. Breathe. Go. You’ve got this. I’m right here.”

I swallowed hard. My mouth had gone completely dry. 

The crimson dress suddenly felt too thin, the open back too exposed to the wind and the stares, the high slit too revealing under the weight of so many eyes. 

My legs did not feel entirely steady but I forced them to move anyway.

The walk to the stage felt endless and I felt as if the grass whispered under my heels with every step. 

Even without looking at them, I could clearly see the expressions on the faces I walked past to reach the stage.

Some were curious, pitying, or hungry for drama, some already judging. 

I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears which felt too loud and too fast. The wind cut across my bare back and I had to fight not to shiver openly with all the four alphas watching.

When I finally climbed the steps, the wood creaked faintly under my weight. I came to a stop in the center of the stage, the giant screens towering behind and above me, four pairs of powerful, ancient eyes looking down with expressions that ranged from cold assessment to open contempt.

I gave them all a formal bow, the way we had been taught in the early days of the academy. When I straightened, my hands were still trembling so I pressed them against the sides of the dress to still them.

I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of them.

Alpha Thorne spoke first, still wearing that lazy, dangerous smile, though it had thinned.

“Where are the rest of his hunters?”

The principal’s voice sounded thin and strained as he spoke from somewhere to my left, the charming edge still trying to assert itself and failing.

“She is the only one.”

Silence fell again, heavier than before.

Then the screens erupted into overlapping voices.

“One?” Alpha Kane’s scarred face twisted, the heavy aura around him seeming to darken even through the digital barrier. “He dares to mock the tradition with a single girl?”

“Against every precedent that has existed for generations,” Vael said coldly, his eyes narrowing yet again. “The structure exists for a reason. And the rules were laid out very clearly. This is either arrogance or a deliberate insult.”

“A lone hunter?” Voss said, each word cutting through the air like a sharp knife. “I am not sure whether to call this the height of arrogance or the admission of weakness. It's possibly both.”

The argument between the four Alphas heightened as I stood there alone on the stage, feeling the heat of it all. 

Despite that, I stood frozen in the middle of it, hands still curled into fists at my sides and repeating the words ‘stay calm’ in my head like a mantra. 

The alphas were clearly unhappy with his decision and to see a weak and pathetic girl standing in front of them as a lone hunter.

I knew I wasn’t the strongest, neither was I delusional to think I deserved to be the lone hunter under Damian.

I had no idea what to do and how to defend him. Part of me just wanted to disappear into the stage floor.

Meanwhile, the whispering among students behind me was growing like the restless croaking of night insects.

“She’s going to get torn apart”

“Look at the Alphas, they’re furious!”

The principal tried to intervene, and take matters into his hands with a placating gesture that looked increasingly desperate.

“Alphas, the academy guidelines state that heirs should ideally select ten hunters. It was never written as a strict requirement. Flexibility has always been permitted in special cases…”

Alpha Voss turned his full attention on the principal and the temperature on the stage seemed to plummet. The principal’s face went even more white as he quickly bowed his head

“I apologize if this issue is causing distress”

But the alpha ignored him and instead he turned toward me. The rest of the alphas did the same.

Alpha Vael’s soft, precise voice cut through the others.

“Girl. Look at me.”