Chapter 12

Ronan’s POV

I paced the length of my private study, my footsteps heavy against the polished wood. 

Every time I closed my eyes, the same scene came back to me. I saw Vexley—Ravenna—with her shaking fingers pressed against her throat and the top buttons of her silk blouse left open. The image stayed stuck in my head, refusing to leave no matter how hard I tried.

Seeing the exposed skin of her chest hit me hard, but what hurt even more was the situation itself. My pride burned with jealousy and anger. What was she doing there? And why was Kael staring at her like she already belonged to him?

"It’s none of your business," I muttered to myself, gripping the back of a leather chair until the wood groaned. "She’s just a transfer student. A stranger."

But my wolf ignored reason. It kept circling in my mind, filled with a strong possessive anger I hadn’t felt in years.

 The jealousy was a physical weight, thick and suffocating. I had spent three years being loyal to Thalia’s memory and then to the hollow arrangement of our current status but one look at this girl had my instincts screaming to claim, to protect, and to destroy anyone who touched her.

*Especially Kael.*

"Took you long enough to notice," he had said. The words haunted me. I racked my brain, searching for a face, a name, a grievance. Had I crossed him in the city? Had my father executed a relative of his? 

Nothing fit. 

The man was a ghost with a PhD, a shadow that had somehow integrated itself into the very heart of my education.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was walking into a trap, and Ravenna was the bait.

A knock at the door startled me. "Come in," I barked.

My Beta, Silas, stepped inside. He was the only person who could read the storm on my face without flinching. 

He took one look at my disheveled hair and the way I was hovering near the window like a caged animal, and he sighed.

"You look like you're ready to start a war, Ronan," Silas said, leaning against the doorframe. "The coronation was supposed to settle your nerves, not set them on fire."

"I need you to do something," I said, ignoring his comment. I walked over to him, my voice dropping to a low, urgent tone. "Find out everything. I mean *everything* on Professor Kael. I don't care how many favors you have to call in. Check his birth records, his previous university posts, his bloodline. Something about him is rotten, Silas. I can smell it."

Silas nodded, his expression turning serious. 

"Consider it done. He’s always been a bit... off. I'll dig deep."

"And one more thing," I added, my heart skipping a beat. "Bring Vexley Aleron to me. Now."

Silas froze, his eyebrows shooting up. "The transfer girl? Ronan, why? She’s a student. You’re the Alpha heir. If you’re seen summoning her to your private quarters—"

"I don't care what it looks like!" I snapped, the growl in my chest leaking into my voice. "Just get her here."

Silas didn't move. He looked at me with a mixture of concern and pity. "Control yourself, Ronan. Thalia is already on edge after the scene at the bar. If she finds out you're paying this much attention to another woman—especially one who humiliated her in front of the pack, she’ll make that girl’s life a living hell. And your mother... you know Luna doesn't tolerate scandals."

"This isn't a scandal," I lied, turning my back on him. "It’s an investigation."

"Right," Silas murmured, his voice thick with disbelief. "I'll get her. But for the sake of the pack, tuck your feelings back in before she gets here. You're radiating 'mate-hunger,' and it’s loud enough to wake the dead."

He disappeared before I could throw something at his head.

Left alone, I tried to breathe. Silas was right. I was a man engaged to be married, a man with a crown waiting for him. I shouldn't feel this magnetic pull toward a girl I had known for forty-eight hours. 

It was more than just beauty. It was as if my soul recognized the frequency of her voice. Every time she was near, the cold void in my chest—the one left behind when my first mate died seemed to flicker with warmth.

"It’s a coincidence," I whispered, the same lie I had told myself at the bar. "It has to be."

Minutes felt like hours. I straightened my jacket, checked my reflection, and tried to mask the desperation in my eyes. When the knock finally came, my breath hitched.

The door opened, and she stepped in. She had fixed her blouse. Every button was done up to the throat, hiding the skin that had haunted my thoughts. She looked composed, her silver eyes cool and distant.

She bowed slightly. "You sent for me, my Alpha?"

I didn't waste time with pleasantries. I stepped toward her, stopping only when I was close enough to catch that intoxicating scent of lilies and rain. I crossed my arms, looming over her, trying to regain the dominance I had lost in Kael’s office.

"What were you doing with the professor back then?" I demanded, my voice echoing in the quiet room.