All Chapters of When The Moon Hides Her Crown: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

SERAPHINAWas it my imagination? I whispered to Phina, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stared into the darkness.Phina’s reply was low, shaken by the shadow we'd seen. ‘If someone had seen us, they would have instantly exposed us.’Her comment made sense. The Alphas at the Lupine Academy were evil to the bone and hated me with a vengeance. If anyone had spotted me, they would have sounded the alarm without hesitation. But nothing happened. ‘Could it have been just an animal?’ I asked.Phina nodded slowly. ‘I think so. I didn’t sense another werewolf nearby. And our fear of being exposed was always gnawing at us—it could have made us imagine things.’Relief bled through me, and I exhaled shakily, forcing myself to focus again on the bison in the distance. Thankfully, I'd been concealed well behind the trees, far enough that it hadn’t noticed me.I crouched low, stalking through the underbrush, Phina humming with raw, electric energy beneath my skin.The bison grazed heavily,

RONAN“Alpha Ronan Volkstane,” one of the Alpha instructors called out, marking my name on the list as I stepped into the wide clearing with a tiger draped over my shoulders. Its body was still warm, its weight pressing into me like the price of victory carved in flesh and blood.The instructors stood like statues along the edges, arms folded, faces unreadable beneath the flickering glow of torchlight. They offered a single nod as I passed.I didn’t stop.With a sharp motion, I hurled the tiger to the ground. It landed with a dull, final thud—its lifeless eyes staring up at the stars, already fading with the approach of dawn.Done.I straightened, exhaling slowly, and let my gaze sweep across the clearing.It was filling now.One by one, the Alphas returned, dragging, carrying, or hauling their prey. Warriors, all of them. Bloodied, bruised, exhausted—and yet victorious.My eyes remained fixed on the forest.I spotted a familiar figure off to the left—Finn, with a coyote slung across h

SERAPHINA“What?” I snapped, stunned into disbelief. “You think I’m following you?”Ronan didn’t blink. He leaned back against the tree trunk, ankle over knee, fingers lazily flicking ash off his cigarette. “I don’t think, I observe. And lately, you’ve been showing up in places I don’t recall inviting you.”My mind went blank for a moment and the imagines of him and his wolf chasing me in the forest, hunting me instead of his assigned prey and poking his nose in my business in every possible point flashed in my mind. I locked eyes with him, barely holding the frustration, “Are you high or something?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s you who is always following me. You are the stalker and bully here. Please, I didn’t even see you here. You’re not that hard to ignore.”His mouth curved around the cigarette, slow and devilish. “Mm, that’s not what it looked like when you nearly dropped your plate after spotting me.”I gritted my teeth, heat crawling up my neck. Was this man for real? “T

SERAPHINAWe returned to the Academy the next morning, and the moment I hit the bed, I passed out—skipping lunch entirely. My body ached from the hunt, exhaustion pulling at my limbs, but catching any peaceful sleep in that dorm room was nearly impossible.The constant yelling, growling, and vulgar laughter of Reed and Cassius bled into my ears like an endless migraine. Today was even worse, they’d invited their equally obnoxious friends over. It wasn’t anything new, but lately, they’d been acting like absolute rogues, completely out of control.My head throbbed from the lack of proper sleep, and the relentless chaos they caused only made it worse. I couldn’t change, bathe, or even enjoy a moment of calm. They often walked around stark naked after showers without a shred of decency. And the way they talked about she-wolves—filthy, crude, and utterly revolting—made me want to vomit. The peace I so desperately needed didn’t exist, and over the past few days, I was slowly reaching my lim

SERAPHINA“Phina… Phina…” I gasped, standing beneath the icy spray of the shower. My body trembled as I moaned through clenched teeth, pain raking through me. I knew it had only been half an hour—far too early for this to pass—but the heat flooding my blood and my wolf’s growing need were driving us both to the brink.Phina whimpered weakly in my mind. She was fighting just as hard as I was, holding herself back from the primal urge threatening to consume us.My knees buckled.I collapsed to the cold tile floor, panting. “Just a little longer…” I murmured. “It’ll be over soon…”Truthfully, I didn’t know if this trick would work. But I couldn’t give up, not now. It had to work.The pain was unlike anything I’d ever known. My vision blurred, my mind clouded with fog. It felt as if something was tearing my soul from my body.Desperate to stay conscious, I dug my nails into my arm, pinching and scratching at my skin. “Don’t faint…” I whispered to myself, though my voice was already fading