Chapter 29: The One Who Stays

Posters had taken over every wall on campus by the time Roxanne noticed them, all announcing the Moonstone Academy Founders’ Festival in bold gold lettering, with food stalls, music, student performances, wolf races, combat exhibitions, and something called the Alpha Challenge listed underneath. Isla was practically vibrating about it, insisting it was the biggest tradition the academy had, while Roxanne pointed out that it sounded like a lot of work for something that happened once a year. Isla gestured toward a group of students hauling boxes across the courtyard as proof, then mentioned almost too casually that the academy was still looking for volunteers, and Roxanne said no before Isla could even finish the sentence.

Unfortunately, a student council member walked past with a clipboard and called out her name before she could escape, checking the list and informing her she’d already been assigned to the festival committee. Roxanne turned slowly toward Isla, who smiled with far too much innocence for someone who’d clearly just thrown her under the bus.

The planning meeting was worse than she expected, mostly because Lucien was sitting at the head of the table already surrounded by schedules, maps, and color-coded folders before anyone else had even arrived. She muttered of course under her breath, and he glanced up to inform her she was late by thirty seconds, which she pointed out was exactly on time by any reasonable standard. Liam chimed in that she hadn’t even seen the color-coded schedule yet, and when she asked how many colors were involved, Roshan answered with total seriousness that there were seven. Kai suggested she should leave while she still could, and Lucien simply said she couldn’t, and Roxanne realized fairly quickly that all four of them were enjoying this far too much.

As Lucien ran through the festival assignments, Roxanne noticed most of the events centered on older students and the strongest packs, leaving younger students with almost nothing to actually participate in. When she pointed it out, Lucien said the schedule was already tight, and she told him to change it anyway. The room went quiet for a moment, everyone clearly waiting to see how he’d respond, but instead of dismissing her he simply asked what she’d change. She laid it out without hesitation, suggesting shorter events, mixed-age teams, a beginner race, a student performance section, and an open food area for students who weren’t athletically inclined. Lucien listened all the way through before saying that was better, and when she asked if he was actually going to change it, he told her she’d made a stronger argument, which she hadn’t expected at all.

He assigned her the student activity section afterward, and when she asked if he actually trusted her with it, he said plainly that he wouldn’t have given it to her otherwise. That distinction mattered more than she wanted to admit, since it wasn’t protection this time, just confidence in what she could do. Liam leaned toward Roshan and whispered that she liked being praised, and she denied it immediately, though the smile on her face gave her away before she could stop it.

The rest of the meeting descended into predictable chaos, with Liam pitching an increasingly ridiculous entertainment event, Kai insisting on stricter safety measures for the combat exhibition, and Roshan quietly pointing out scheduling conflicts nobody else had caught. Lucien handled all of it without ever losing patience, and Roxanne finally asked how he survived living with the three of them, to which he answered honestly that he didn’t. Liam gasped in mock betrayal, and even Lucien cracked a small smile at that, the tension in the room finally easing into something more comfortable.

By late afternoon, most students had cleared out, and Roxanne returned only because she’d forgotten a folder, finding Lucien still buried in paperwork at the same table. She pointed out he’d been there all day, and he admitted as much without any real concern in his voice, saying he’d leave once he finished. She recognized the pattern immediately, since it was exactly what she did herself, pretending everything was fine while quietly running herself into the ground rather than ask for help.

She sat down across from him and told him he didn’t have to do everything alone, and when he said someone had to, she pointed out that was usually what people said when they didn’t know how to ask for anything. That actually stopped him for a second, and he looked at her with something close to surprise before she shrugged and reminded him she was usually right about these things. He pushed half the paperwork toward her without another word, and when she asked if that counted as his version of asking for help, he thanked her so stiffly it made her laugh out loud.

They worked through the rest of it together in a silence that felt easier than it should have, and she noticed he never tried to control every decision she made, trusting her instincts even when she got something wrong and correcting it quietly without making her feel small about it. When he started rubbing his forehead from exhaustion, she slid a drink across the table without saying anything, and he looked at it, then at her, asking if it was for him. She told him he’d been staring at the same paperwork for three hours, and he thanked her again, this time without the stiffness. She warned him not to get used to it, and he said it was already too late, and for a moment neither of them said anything else, until Liam burst through the door demanding to know if they were both still alive.

The next morning brought the entire academy into the courtyard for the Headmaster’s announcement of the festival’s main events, and one name immediately dominated the conversation: the Alpha Challenge, a multi-stage competition testing combat, wolf control, speed, strategy, and teamwork, with a significant boost to inter-pack rankings for whoever won. Students started volunteering representatives on the spot, Liam clearly thrilled, Kai already assessing the competition, Roshan reading through the rules with quiet focus. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Roxanne assumed one of them would enter, until Lucien turned to her and told her she was competing. She stared at him, certain she’d misheard, but Liam confirmed it with a grin, and when she asked why it had to be her, Lucien simply said she was capable, as if that settled everything. Kai looked entertained by her confusion, and Roshan added that she’d be good at it, which left her looking between all four of them wondering why she kept ending up volunteered for things she never agreed to.

At the participant board, her name was already listed under the Moonstone team, and directly beneath it sat another name: Joanna Vale. Joanna approached with her usual polished smile, though her eyes carried something considerably sharper, asking if Roxanne was really competing. Roxanne confirmed it, and Joanna gave a small laugh before mentioning, almost sweetly, that royal protection wouldn’t do her any good in the Alpha Challenge. Roxanne told her she hadn’t planned on asking for help, and Joanna stepped closer, promising she’d make sure Roxanne regretted entering at all.

Liam looked far too entertained by the exchange, Kai’s expression went cold, and Roshan watched Joanna like he was already calculating something. Lucien didn’t react at all.

Roxanne looked back at the board one more time, her name sitting there in plain black ink, and instead of backing away she reached for the marker and wrote a single word beneath it.

Ready.