Chapter 29 Walked Out
The room stayed frozen after Christopher’s question.
Selene didn’t answer right away.
She looked at him for a long second, long enough that the silence became uncomfortable. Long enough that people started shifting in their seats, waiting for either a denial or a confession.
Instead, Selene smiled.
“Is the rumor true?” she repeated softly, as if tasting the words. “That depends.”
Christopher’s jaw tightened. “Depends on what?”
“On what version you heard,” Selene replied calmly. “Because apparently there are several.”
A ripple of murmurs spread through the class. Small, sharp sounds like stones dropping into water.
Kate scoffed. “Don’t play games, Selene. Just say yes or no.”
Selene turned to her slowly, like Kate had just reminded her she existed. “Games?” she echoed. “Kate, if this were a game, you’d have lost the moment you confused walking with betrayal.”
A few students inhaled sharply, eyes darting between them. Someone shifted in their seat. Someone else pretended to fix their notebook, as if writing could hide their curiosity.
Selene faced Christopher again. “You see, Chris, what fascinates me isn’t the rumor itself.” She gestured vaguely around the room. “It’s how eager everyone was to swallow it.”
Christopher’s brows knit together. “Selene—”
She raised her hand gently. “No, let me finish. I promise I won’t take long.”
Her gaze drifted briefly—just briefly—to Kai.
“Kai,” Selene said, her voice softening like she was speaking to a child who’d scraped her knee. “You must’ve been so shocked.”
Kai flinched. “I—I was. I still am.”
Selene nodded sympathetically. “Of course. Finding out things without being told can be… unsettling.”
Kai’s fingers curled into her skirt, knuckles whitening. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were glossy enough to convince anyone who didn’t know her.
Selene tilted her head. “Funny thing, though. I thought sisters talked. Shared concerns. Worries.” Her smile stayed gentle. “Guess some people prefer to hear things secondhand.”
The implication slipped into the room like smoke—thin at first, then suddenly everywhere.
Christopher shifted uncomfortably, shoulders tightening. “What are you trying to say?”
Selene met his eyes. “Nothing specific,” she replied easily. “I’m just surprised how fast ‘cheating’ came up as a conclusion.”
She turned slightly, addressing the room again. “I mean, if we’re accusing people based on proximity and secrecy, that opens a very wide door, doesn’t it?”
No one laughed.
The silence was louder than laughter.
Kai’s breathing grew shallow, the way it did when she was trying to keep her face under control.
Selene continued, her tone light but edged, as if she was reading from a funny headline.
“By that logic, anyone who spends time together without announcements, explanations, or permission slips could be… suspicious.”
Kate’s mouth fell open for a second before she recovered. “You’re deflecting.”
“Am I?” Selene asked, genuinely curious. “Because it sounds more like I’m being measured by standards no one else seems eager to apply to themselves.”
She glanced at Kai again but this time holding the look just a second longer.
Kai swallowed.
Christopher’s fists clenched at his sides. He stepped forward, his alpha presence pressing against the room even without a growl. “Selene. Enough.”
Selene blinked slowly. “Enough what? Words?”
“Enough twisting this,” Kate snapped. “You were with him. Say you weren’t. That’s all.”
Selene’s eyebrow rose. “With him?”
The class leaned in without meaning to. Even the ones pretending not to listen couldn’t stop their ears from stretching.
Selene pointed at Kate lightly, like she was calling on her in class. “Let’s clear something up. Who is ‘him,’ again, Kate?”
Kate hesitated—just a flicker. But her pride wouldn’t let her back down.
“You know exactly who,” she said, voice lifting. “Ryzen.”
There it was.
The name hit the room like a spark.
Whispers exploded instantly.
“Ryzen Morwood?”
“The one from the Morwood line?”
“The guy who doesn’t talk to anyone?”
Selene’s lips parted in something close to disbelief. Not fear. Not guilt. Pure, exhausted disbelief.
“Ah,” she said softly, and her smile returned—slow, sharp, amused in the way someone laughs when a joke is too stupid to be real. “Right, right. It was about Ryzen.”
Christopher’s expression darkened. “That night.”
Selene looked at him again, and this time the tiredness in her eyes shifted into something colder.
“You mean the time I walked out from Lunaria with a book and a headache?” she asked lightly. “Yes, Chris. Very romantic.”
Some students snickered. Someone immediately covered their mouth.
Kate flushed. “Don’t act like it was innocent! People saw you. You came out of Lunaria with him like…. like you belonged together!”
Selene’s smile widened. “Do you hear yourself?”
Kate’s jaw set. “You don’t even look ashamed.”
Selene took one slow step forward, stopping in the center aisle again, like the classroom had turned into her stage without her asking for it.
“Ashamed?” she repeated. “Kate, if I was going to be ashamed of something, it wouldn’t be walking.”
She glanced around the room, making eye contact with students one by one—long enough to make them squirm.
“But it’s sweet,” Selene continued, voice calm, “how you all decided I must be guilty because you saw me with someone you think is attractive. As if attractive people are contagious.”
A few students laughed. It died quickly when they saw Christopher’s face.
Christopher’s voice dropped, rougher now. “Selene, stop.”
Selene turned to him slowly. “Stop what? Being calm?”
“I asked you a question,” he said, stepping closer, anger tugging at his control. “Answer it.”
Selene tilted her head. “I did.”
“No, you didn’t,” Christopher snapped. His eyes flashed, and for a moment the wolf in him slipped through. “Did you cheat on me with Ryzen?”
The room held its breath so hard it felt like the air thinned.
Selene stared at him then she laughed.
“Chris,” she said softly, “you’re asking that here? In front of everyone?”
Kate crossed her arms. “Why not? If you’re innocent, you should be proud to deny it.”
Selene’s gaze flicked to Kate like a knife. “Proud?” she echoed. “Of what? Of begging people to believe me?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. I’m not doing that.”
Kai stood abruptly, voice trembling. “Everyone, please stop. This is getting out of hand.”
She turned to Selene, eyes wet. “Selene, if something is wrong… you can tell me. I’m your sister. I won’t judge you.”
Selene looked at Kai for a long moment, expression unreadable.
Then she smiled—sweet enough to fool anyone who didn’t know better.
“That’s kind,” Selene said. “Really.”
Kai’s shoulders loosened, as if she’d just won something.
Selene’s next words sliced right through that relief.
“But it’s funny,” she continued softly, “how the people who say they won’t judge you are usually the ones who already did.”
Kai’s face tightened.
Selene turned back to Christopher, voice calm again. “Since you want it simple. No. I didn’t cheat.”
Relief flickered across Christopher’s face. It was brief. Almost desperate.
Selene didn’t stop there.
“But,” she added, “I also won’t do a full performance just to comfort the crowd.”
Kate scoffed. “So you admit you were with him.”
Selene shrugged. “I was seen with him. Yes. Congratulations. Your eyes work.”
“And why were you with him?” Kate pressed.
Selene smiled politely. “Because I can walk where I want.”
“That’s not an answer,” Kate hissed.
“It is,” Selene replied, still calm. “You just don’t like it.”
Christopher stepped closer again, voice tight. “Selene, don’t do this.”
“Don’t do what?” Selene asked, gaze sharp now. “Don’t speak like I’m not guilty? Don’t refuse to cry on command?”
Christopher’s jaw clenched. His eyes flicked fast to Kai, then back to Selene. Like he was trying to ground himself.
Selene noticed.
Her smile softened in a way that didn’t reach her eyes. “You know,” she said lightly, “it’s interesting. Everyone’s so focused on who I was seen with…”
Her gaze drifted just for a second to Kai.
“…and not on those who've been very careful to never be seen at all.”
Kai froze. Christopher stiffened like he’d been slapped. The room went dead quiet again.
“What does that mean?” Christopher demanded, voice rising.
Selene blinked innocently. “Nothing,” she said, too sweet. “Just an observation.”
Kai’s voice came out small. “Selene… please.”
Selene tilted her head. “Please what? Be quieter? Make it easier?”
Christopher exhaled sharply, like he’d reached the edge of his patience. “I don’t have time for riddles.”
Selene nodded. “Of course you don’t.”
Her tone was polite.
But there was something hidden in it, something that made Kai’s fingers tremble.
Christopher looked around at the students watching like this was entertainment, at Kate standing too proud, at Kai with tears ready, at Selene calm and refusing to break.
“This is pointless,” he muttered.
He turned abruptly toward the door.
“Christopher?” Kai said softly, voice pleading.
He didn’t look back. The door closed behind him with a sharp click.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then the room erupted not loudly, but in shocked whispers.
“He just… left?”
“The Alpha walked out?”
“He didn’t even punish anyone—”
“What does that mean?”
Selene stood there for a moment, letting it settle.
Then she shrugged like she’d just watched a boring play end early.
“Guess that answers some questions,” she said lightly.
She picked up her bag and walked toward the door.
As she passed Kate, she paused.
Kate stiffened, trying to look brave, but her eyes flickered.
Selene leaned in just enough for only her to hear. “Next time,” she said softly, voice calm as a lullaby, “do better when you spread rumors.”
Kate swallowed.
Selene’s smile sharpened. “This one lacked effort. If you’re going to try to ruin someone, at least make it believable.”
Kate flushed, mouth opening, no words coming out.
Selene straightened and looked at the class, like she was bored of them already.
“Enjoy the story,” she said simply. “Just remember, stories have a habit of circling back.”
Then she left.
The hallway felt cooler, quieter, like it didn’t want any part of what happened inside.
Selene didn’t slow until the campus fell away behind her and the forest welcomed her back with familiar shadows. The path to Lunaria unfolded beneath her feet like an invitation she didn’t refuse.
By the time the glowing leaves came into view, her expression had settled into something unreadable.
“Figures,” she murmured to the ancient tree, stepping into its hush. “Even lies get louder when they’re afraid.”
And under Lunaria’s light, Selene finally allowed her smile to return.