Chapter 59: Malric Strangled Me

Theo

The moon hung heavy and silver over Moonside Academy, casting a cold, ethereal glow across the jagged stone spires and silent courtyards. It was the dead of night, the hours when the shadows stretched long and the air turned bitter with frost.

Silent as phantom mist, the three royal brothers glided into the medical ward.

The vast infirmary was eerie in its quietude. Rows of small, crisp white hospital beds stood completely empty, a testament to the rapid healing abilities of the shifter elite. Aside from one lone student sleeping soundly at the far end of the hall with a wrapped ankle, the room was entirely devoid of life.

Except for the boy resting in the center bed.

Theo stood at the foot of the mattress, resting a hand casually on the pommel of his silver dagger. His calculating eyes locked onto Whitelock’s sleeping form. The boy looked pathetically small beneath the white sheets, his chest rising and falling in steady, shallow rhythms. His shattered right arm lay encased in heavy plaster, and his glasses rested on the bedside table.

Beside him, Vance let out a low, predatory click of his tongue. Without a word, Vance snatched a glazed ceramic potted plant from a nearby windowsill. He yanked the bright yellow flowers from the soil, spilling a few petals, and tipped the heavy vase over.

A torrent of freezing cold water splashed directly onto Whitelock’s face.

The boy jolted upright with a sharp, strangling gasp, his body convulsing as he coughed out mouthfuls of water. His left arm flew up, frantically trying to wipe the icy liquid from his eyes as he blinked through the blur, his breathing coming in terrified, ragged hitches.

Malric stepped forward, his massive frame blocking out the moon’s pale light as he leaned down, his face inches from the trembling boy’s.

"You lying little bastard," Malric spat, his voice dropping into a dangerous, guttural growl that vibrated through the floorboards.

Vance leaned over the edge of the bed, his dark eyes gleefully manic. "If you don’t want to die tonight... you better tell me where the girl in the purple dress is."

Travis, squinted up at the three looming figures, his free left hand still frantically wiping wet bangs from his face. "Are you guys crazy?!" she gasped out as he tried to pull herself back against the headboard.

"Oh, I’ll show you crazy, Whitelock," Vance sneered, popping his knuckles with a sickening snap. "This isn’t crazy yet."

"You start talking," Malric demanded, reaching out to grip the wooden frame of the bed so hard the oak creaked in protest. "Now."

"I don’t know!" Travis shouted out loud, his chest heaving as she clutched her blanket with his left hand. "I don’t know where the girl in the purple dress is! I don’t know! I didn’t even see her in that room, if I’m being completely honest! I jumped out of the window before anything... before I even saw her! But when you guys harassed me the other day asking for answers, I just lied so that you would get off my back! I haven’t even set my eyes on this girl with the purple dress!"

Theo narrowed his eyes, his dark brows drawing together in quiet suspicion. He’s lying, his mind whispered coldly. I can hear the unnatural rhythm of his heartbeat... he is hiding something.

"Bullshit!" Vance barked, slamming his palm onto the metal bed rail. "Of course you saw the girl in the purple dress! Ain’t no way you’d miss her! You could have picked up her scent at least!"

Travis glared up at them through his wet lashes, his jaw tight as he gestured wildly with his uninjured arm. "Look at me! I have weak senses! I can’t smell anyone’s scent that much! I was so terrified because of your stupid little pig prank that I failed to notice anything that day! I just jumped straight out the window! That’s it! I didn’t see this girl!"

None of the princes bought it. The silence in the room stretched thin, taut as a bowstring.

Without a split second of hesitation, Malric reached out. His massive, calloused hand clamped directly around Whitelock’s pale throat, hoisting the small boy upward against the pillows.

"Listen here, you little twerp," Malric hissed, his golden wolf eyes flashing with lethal intent. "I will make your life a living, absolute misery. No one will be able to protect you from me if you don’t start talking right now."

Travis choked, his fingers clawing frantically at Malric’s thick wrist as she gasped for air, trying to break away from his grip. His small legs kicked uselessly against the heavy sheets. The air in his lungs began to fade into a terrifying darkness, his vision spotting with black dots.

CLICK.

The heavy wooden door to the medical ward swung wide open. "What is happening here?!" a sharp, authoritative voice boomed across the silent room.

Nurse Clara stood in the doorway, her hands planted firmly on her hips, her stern eyes glowing with absolute fury. Malric instantly loosed his grip, shoving Whitelock back onto the mattress.

Travis collapsed into the pillows, clutching his throat as a violent fit of coughing tore through his body. He gasped and wheezed, drawing in desperate, ragged gulps of air, his chest heaving painfully against his cracked ribs.

Nurse Clara marched into the room, pointing a wooden clipboard directly at the royal brothers. "You boys get out of here expeditiously before I call your mother!"

Vance, Theo, and Malric all let out a collective, bitter, "Ugh!"

Vance rolled his eyes, turning toward the door, while Malric leaned down one last time, glaring down at the coughing boy with promises of violence. "I am going to make your life worse than it already was," Malric promised in a harsh whisper.

Without another word, the three royal brothers turned on their heels and strode out of the medical ward, their dark cloaks trailing behind them as the heavy doors slammed shut.

Aina

Aina lay flat on her back, her left hand resting over her bruised throat as she continued to cough, tears of pain leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Oh... survived again," Aina wheezed out softly, a bitter, breathless laugh escaping her lips. "I survived by a tiny little chance..."

Nurse Clara hurried over to the side of the bed, pouring a fresh glass of clear water from a clean pitcher. "Are you okay, sweet child?"

"Yeah... yeah, I’m okay," Aina rasped, taking the glass with her left hand and taking a tiny, desperate sip to soothe her raw throat. She set the glass down and looked up at the older woman." The princes are so wildly angry?!"

Nurse Clara sighed, gently adjusting Aina’s blankets. "They are looking for their fated mate, child. The entire academy is buzzing with rumors about it."

Aina shook her head weakly. "Well, I don’t know where she is or anything like that! They’re losing their minds over nothing!" Nurse Clara paused, her perceptive eyes searching Aina’s face for a long, quiet moment. "Are you not their fated mate?"

Aina froze, her glass slipping an inch in her hand. "What?!"

"Well," Nurse Clara murmured, a knowing, gentle smile touching her lips as she crossed her arms. "I heard from outside that they’re looking for the girl in the purple dress... or rather, it’s going around the entire school that they’re searching for a girl in a purple dress. And the other day, when I attended to you... I personally took you out of a purple dress."

Aina’s heart stopped dead in her chest. Her eyes widened behind her wet lashes. "You... you know I’m a girl?"

"Oh, girl, please!" Nurse Clara chuckled softly, shaking her head in amusement. "The only reason this medical faculty doesn’t know you’re a girl is because I am actively protecting you! Yes, I know you’re a girl. I’ve known since you first arrived here. It’s quite obvious, dear. Frankly, I feel like everyone in this school is completely blind not to notice that you are a female."

Aina swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "And... you didn’t expose me? Why?"

"Because it’s none of my business," Nurse Clara answered simply, her tone warm and motherly. "But now I see you’re also mated to the princes. How are you going to handle that, child?"

Aina slumped back into her pillows, staring up at the stone ceiling with a tired, defeated sigh. "I don’t know. I’m just... I’m planning on riding it out. They only have like one year left of the academy, and then after that, they’re gone. I’ll still have my three years left, and I will never have to handle them ever again."

Nurse Clara tilted her head, her brows drawing together in quiet concern. "Are you sure? I mean... they’re your fated mates, Aina. You should want to be with them to some extent. It’s a natural pull you’re supposed to feel."

Aina turned her head away, her expression darkening as she thought of Roiner currently away at the capital. "No... I feel like one is more than enough."

Nurse Clara blinked, a sudden spark of realization flashing in her eyes. "That one... is Headmaster Roiner, right?"

A bright, fiery blush instantly erupted across Aina’s pale cheeks, burning all the way to the tips of her ears. She pulled the blanket up to her nose, hiding her face, but she couldn’t deny it. "Yeah... it’s him."

Nurse Clara let out a long, soft sigh, smoothing down Aina’s hair. "You know... I’m sure if you just told the princes the truth, things would be completely different. Well... you could have a much better experience here in the academy."

"No," Aina muttered stubbornly from beneath her blanket. "Chances are I’m never going to end up with any of those princes. They are far too egotistical for me. And besides... Malric literally just choked me. I’m never going to forgive that. Ever."

Nurse Clara sighed once more, knowing there was no changing the young girl’s stubborn mind tonight. She leaned down, gently placing her warm palm against Aina’s forehead, checking her fever.

"Get back to sleep now, child," Nurse Clara whispered softly. "You need the rest if you’re going to recover."

Aina closed her eyes, letting the soothing warmth of the nurse’s hand calm her racing heart. "Okay..."

And as the cold moonlight filtered through the high stained-glass windows, Aina drifted back into a deep, dreamless sleep, praying that the long days ahead would pass as quickly as possible.