Chapter 4

Henry had barely gotten used to the rhythm of the scholarship school. Every hallway still felt like a gauntlet, every whisper an accusation of what he was—“the exile’s son, the rogue’s boy.” But for the first time, he also felt a flicker of possibility. Books, teachers, even the scent of ink and chalk—it was all so human, yet so freeing.

But freedom had a way of never lasting.

It began in the courtyard. Henry was sitting under the shade of a tree, quietly eating his lunch, when a shadow fell across him. He looked up and froze.

It was Elias.

Not Elias the student, not Elias the stranger. Elias, the newly restored Alpha of the Blue Moon pack. His presence was a storm dressed in calm skin. His shoulders carried authority, his eyes burned with the weight of command.

“Henry,” Elias called, as if they shared a secret only wolves could hear.

Henry’s hand stiffened around his sandwich. The whispers of nearby students rose quicker. They recognized Elias, too. An Alpha didn’t just appear at a school full of humans unless there was a reason. And Henry was clearly the reason.

“What do you want?” Henry asked already fuming.

“To talk. Just talk.” Elias said sitting his box down.

Henry didn’t answer. He didn’t trust him—not after everything his pack had done to his mother.

And then another voice broke through the tension.

“Elias,” said Principal Adrian, walking towards them with authority. His presence was quieter than Elias’s but just as commanding. Where Elias was fire, Adrian was water— calm and steady, but capable of drowning.

“Principal,” Elias said, with a smile. “This is school property. I don’t intend to break any rules. Only to speak with Henry.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. He looked at Henry briefly before stepping closer. “You’ve had years to speak with him. Years to right what your pack did to his family. Now you show up here?”

“Don’t lecture me about duty. I wasn’t the Alpha then. Darius was. I didn’t order their exile. I didn’t betray them. I’m trying to repair what was broken." Adrian’s voice cooled.

“And what exactly do you want to repair, Elias? His trust? His life? Or your pack’s reputation?”

Henry sat frozen, staring between the two men like prey caught between predator and protector. The courtyard had gone silent for a moment. Dozens of students stared.

“Henry belongs with his people,” Elias said. “He belongs with the Blue Moon pack. With me. I will not allow him to be cast aside like he’s nothing.”

Adrian’s tone dropped to a near growl, unusual for a man who was supposed to be human. “He belongs where he is safe. And right now, that’s here.”

“Stop deciding for me.” Henry finally spoke, voice shaking.

Both men turned to him, but neither backed down.

“Henry… your mother was wronged. I know it. I want to bring you back, give you your rightful place. You’re not a rogue. You’re one of us.”

Adrian stepped forward quickly. “And what will you do with him once he’s back? Throw him into your world of politics, hierarchy, and bloodshed? He’s building something here. He has a chance to finish school, to choose for himself.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed. “And in the meantime, what? You keep him here, under your watch, pretending you’re not already trying to make him yours?”

A ripple of tension cracked the air. Henry’s breath caught. Adrian didn’t flinch, but his jaw tightened.

“I won’t let you take him, not yet.”

Elias stared at him, then back at Henry. “Then at least give him the choice. Don’t hide behind him.”

Henry wanted to scream at them both, to tell them he didn’t understand any of this—why they suddenly cared, why they were fighting over him like some prize. But the words stuck.

Finally, Adrian spoke again. “You can wait, Elias. Wait until after graduation. If Henry chooses you, if he chooses the pack, then so be it. But until then, he stays here. With me.”

Henry looked at Adrian, stunned. Adrian hadn’t asked him what he wanted. He had simply decided.

Elias’s lips curved into something halfway between a smirk and a snarl. “Fine. I’ll wait. But don’t fool yourself, Adrian. When the time comes, he won’t stay with you.”

He turned to Henry, his gaze softening for a moment. “Think about it, Henry. You know where you belong.”

And then Elias walked away, his presence leaving a void in the courtyard. The students scattered quickly, whispering furiously, leaving Henry and Adrian standing.

Henry’s heart hammered. “You can’t just—”

“I can,” Adrian interrupted gently. “Because you’re not ready, Henry. He’ll only confuse you, drag you into a fight you’re not prepared for. Here, you have a chance to finish school, to live without the weight of his world pressing on you.”

Henry stared at him, anger rising. “And what if I don’t want to wait? What if I don’t want you making that choice for me?”

Adrian’s eyes softened. “Then when the time comes, you’ll tell me. Until then… trust me.”

Henry’s throat tightened. He wanted to shout, to argue—but part of him also wanted to trust Adrian. The man had sheltered him, protected him, given him this scholarship in the first place.

But Elias’s words echoed in his mind too. You know where you belong.

Two worlds pulling him in opposite directions. Two men who wanted him for reasons they weren’t fully saying.

And Henry? He was stuck in the middle, suffocating.

That night, Henry lay awake, staring at the moving ceiling. His thoughts spun, his chest tight with confusion. He was supposed to feel grateful—grateful for the chance Adrian had given him, grateful for safety. But was safety enough?

He thought about Elias’s eyes. The way they had burned, not with pity, but with recognition. Elias had looked at him like he was more than just an exile. Like he mattered.

And Adrian—Adrian’s eyes had been different. Fierce, protective, but also… longing.

Henry turned over, burying his face in the pillow. It was too much and too fast.

Then, just as sleep began to drag him under, a thought pierced through him.

If Elias hadn’t exiled them, if Adrian hadn’t been there all these years, then why now? Why suddenly did both of them want him?

What were they hiding?

The next morning, Adrian acted as though nothing had happened. He gave Henry a calm smile, spoke about his classes, and reminded him about an upcoming exam. But Henry could see it—the tension in his shoulders, the watchful glance towards the gates, as though expecting Elias to appear again.

And he did.

By lunch, Elias was waiting. Not approaching this time, just watching from a distance. His eyes never left Henry.

And Henry realized with a jolt that his life was no longer just his. It was a battlefield.

A battlefield between an Alpha who claimed him by blood and a principal who held him by circumstance.

And somewhere in the middle… Henry’s choice would decide everything.

That night, Henry found an envelope slipped under his door. His name written in elegant script.

Inside was a single note:

“The Alpha and the Principal are not your only choices. Meet me tomorrow night, midnight, at the old library. —D”

Henry’s heart stopped.

Another contender had entered the game.