Chapter 160 Chapter 160

Chapter 160 Chapter 160
Amber
The smile was as if to say he knew what the alpha was truly asking him, how he truly hoped Damian would react but Damian just met the alpha’s stare without flinching. 
His voice stayed even, almost mild.
“I manage it the same way I have managed it every day since I arrived at this academy. I have been here for a few months already and I have kept myself in check. You may feel free to ask any student or the principal himself if I ever hurt anyone so far in the academy.”
To every question of theirs, Damian responded with calm and had solid proof to back him.
Principal Davison, who had been standing on the side, immediately perked up to be involved in the discussion.
“Oh yes, I can vouch for him. He has never caused any nuisance despite his family history.”
Alpha Thorne shot the principal a look who shut up immediately.
Meanwhile, Damian smiled.
“The Hunt will not be the first time I have faced large-scale violence. It will simply be the most public. I have systems in place that have held so far so I see no reason they will fail now.”
Damian was not just a good trainer, he was hands down one of the finest speakers I had met. The things he was good at were simply too many and the list seemed to keep increasing.
The alphas must have expected him to deny ties to his bloodline or come up with some kind of emotional defense but Damian offered them none of that. 
I watched the way Alpha Kane’s expression shifted slightly. It was still hard, but no longer openly contemptuous. 
The answer had been too measured to attack cleanly.
Alpha Vael spoke again, violet eyes cool.
“You delayed your formal participation until the final window. Some would interpret that as reluctance to submit to academy structure. Others might call it quiet defiance. Which is it?”
Damian’s reply came without pause. “Neither. It was preparation. Entering a trial of this scale without being certain of both my readiness and my hunter’s would have been the true defiance of the standards the Alphas themselves uphold. I chose competence over early appearance. The timeline was deliberate, not reluctant.”
I only blinked again, trying to dissect Damian’s words because those were very heavy, polished and my entire body was just struggling to continue breathing normally. I had no idea what he had said but somehow the alphas seemed to ponder over his words.
Ryker’s jaw flexed once at that and Soren’s smile returned as though he found the verbal maneuvering genuinely entertaining. Even Kade’s boot stopped tapping. 
Alpha Voss studied Damian for several long heartbeats, and I tried not to scoot closer to Damian yet again.
“One final question,” Alpha Voss said. “If the Hunt reveals that your single-hunter strategy places the academy’s reputation or the lives of other participants at unnecessary risk, will you accept external intervention, or will you insist on seeing your independent approach through to its conclusion, whatever that may be?”
This was the trap question!
It would force him to either submit or look insubordinate. I could see no way of maneuvering through it but once again Damian answered with the same unshakable calm he had worn since the moment he stepped onto the stage.
“I will accept any intervention that is based on clear evidence of unnecessary risk rather than discomfort with my methods. I do, however, expect that any such intervention will be applied evenly across all heirs and all strategies, not selectively against the one that looks different.”
My mouth fell open.
That was a truly masterful stroke!
He had agreed to stand corrected while simultaneously placing a quiet condition of fairness on it. The Alphas could not object to it without appearing petty, not when the entire academy was watching.
Goodness, just how sharp and alert Damian’s mind was, not just his body. I had ogled at his handsome looks and then at his training methods but now I truly felt like he had made it his mission to hone every single skill of his to make it work against his ‘mad heir’ label.
Fuck, I wanted to kiss him so bad!
A long silence followed as if his words had made everybody wait and think before reacting at all.
Then Alpha Voss gave a single, grim nod. The other three followed suit, exchanged glances before he spoke again.
“Very well,” Voss said. “Your answers are noted. We have urgent matters that require our attention elsewhere. The Hunt will proceed as scheduled. We will be watching the outcomes closely.” 
His gaze shifted briefly to the wider crowd. “Students of the academy—perform to the standards expected of you. Do not disappoint.”
The other three Alphas gave similarly curt, cold well-wishes and then the screens went blank without warning.
The sudden absence of their faces and auras left a strange vacuum in the night air. For a second no one moved. Then the crowd exhaled in a collective, uneven wave of whispers. The principal looked as though he might collapse from pure relief. The four younger heirs had begun discussing something already.
Damian turned his head slightly toward me, the corner of his mouth lifting in that small, private almost-smile again.
“Well,” he said quietly, voice dry. “That was interesting.”
The understatement was so complete, so absurd after the tension that had just crushed the entire grounds, that a hysterical little sound tried to escape my throat. 
I opened my mouth to answer and the last of the adrenaline that had been holding me upright simply vanished.
My knees buckled.
Before I could hit the stage, Damian’s hand closed around my upper arm, hauling me back against his side effortlessly. The heat of him cut through the chill of the night and the thin fabric of the dress. His other hand settled briefly at my waist, holding me firmly in place.
“Easy,” he murmured, low enough that only I could hear. “I’ve got you.”
I clung to the solid reality of him for a moment, breathing hard, still shaking, the entire nerve-wracking interrogation crashing down on me at once. The crowd was beginning to stir more openly now but all of it felt distant.
I looked up at him, still half in awe at the sheer icy brilliance of what he had just done, still half in  terror, and managed the only words that would come.
“You’re completely insane.”
His quiet huff of almost-laughter rumbled against my side.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
His hands, however, stayed firmly on my waist.