Chapter 115: I Regret It

A dry, amused huff escaped him. "Don’t think much of it. My wolf has his own temperament, Brianna. You don’t need to burden your pretty little head over the territorial disputes of grown Alphas."

"I wouldn’t have to if you two didn’t turn my life into your personal battleground," I shot back, the irritation flaring up and thankfully burning away that stupid, lingering guilt. "Claiming you’re pursuing me, talking about suitor rights in front of my parents... and then Zero dropping that ridiculous mark nonsense. I told you, there is no mark. He was just messing around."

"Was he?" Edgar murmured, his tone shifting, shedding its light mockery for something far deeper, darker, and unnervingly quiet. "An instructor doesn’t just stake his educational license and invoke the Moon Goddess or the Day of Prosperity on a whim, little cat. He meant every word he said to your father."

My breath caught for a fraction of a second.

"And so did I," Edgar added, each syllable deliberate, landing with the weight of an iron anchor.

I froze, the ancient phone heating up against my ear as my pulse gave an erratic, traitorous kick. My mouth suddenly felt dry. "Edgar, don’t play games with—"

"I don’t play games when it comes to things I intend to keep," he cut in smoothly, the clink of his glass returning as he took a slow sip. "Get some rest, Brianna. The dossier on the other tournament contenders is already sitting on the console on your desk. Memorize their weak points."

I looked towards the desk. There was indeed a folder there. I hadn’t noticed it until now.

"I was just about to ask you to get that for me," I murmured. Before I even asked, he had it ready. I knew it—he was the best at these kinds of things.

"Brianna," he called my name, and then whispered, "I regret it."

He didn’t tell me what he was regretting. Something told me it was related to everything that happened today, but what part of it had made his voice sound so uncharacteristically hurt?

Before I could fire back or demand what he meant by keep—or what he could possibly regret—the line clicked dead.

I pulled the phone from my ear and stared down at the dim, cracked screen.

"Seriously, Edgar..." I muttered aloud to the empty bedroom. "You can’t just drop vague lines and hang up, expecting me to understand completely. When it comes to this wolf stuff... I’m really not that smart."

I let out a ragged breath, running a hand through my tangled hair. My past life had trained me to dismantle traps, decipher encrypted codes, and calculate an enemy’s route. None of those brutal survival lessons had prepared me to decode the messy, territorial psychology of powerful Alphas whose pride bruised at the slightest breeze.

And more than that—I reached for the gland in my neck, the same one they all wouldn’t leave alone—I didn’t exactly have the leisure of feeling a wolf’s longing.

As soon as young ones were brought into the organization, their scent gland was first burnt with iron rods, preventing us from ever going into heat.

We females were circumcised to prevent us from feeling pleasure. So we could not feel pleasure; not from our wolf senses and not from our body.

This is why... I still couldn’t wrap my head around the foreign feeling of my body when they got close and when they... touched me. But their touch aren’t harmful, that is why I let them be.

It is a strange sensation, but it is also comforting

I sighed. Why even think of the past right now? It won’t help me figure out what Edgar is thinking.

Pocketing the overheating device, I walked across the bedroom and pulled back the chair at the desk, sitting down comfortably.

I pulled the folder beneath the warm glow of the desk lamp. Flipping open the cover, my eyes scanned the neatly organized files: high-resolution surveillance photos, recorded kinetic output stats, preferred combat stances, and detailed physiological vulnerabilities for every single tournament participant registered from the Northern packs.

My assassin instincts instantly locked back into place, the quiet, analytical coldness washing away the lingering confusion of Edgar’s voice.

Names, bloodlines, combat ranks... and right at the top of the prospective matchups for the preliminary round sat the arrogant faces of the bigger packs top fighters, all expecting an effortless slaughter against Grey Moon’s wolfless girl.

I leaned back, a faint, razor-sharp smirk tugging at my lips as I memorized every flaw in their guards.

Tomorrow, I will be returning to Ravenhollow Academy after an official suspension. This meant walking straight back into an everyday battlefield that was just as filthy, if not more irritating.

Before I closed the dossier, my eyes landed on a familiar contestant and the corner of my lips curled. Kano Windfell. That’s right. That Alpha that thought he was all that in our class, the same one everyone wanted to ride his coattails, and the same guy naive Brianna had died for.

If not for her feelings for him, if not for his cruelty, she wouldn’t have had the entire school mocking her more than they already did. She wouldn’t have been on that rooftop... Valentina wouldn’t have had the opportunity to push her down.

It seems my opportunity to officially deal with Kano would come during the competition.

Can’t wait.

The next morning, the grand villa was quiet as the early dawn light filtered through the high glass windows.

Because of our sudden move to the Morningstar estate, our commute to Ravenhollow Academy had stretched significantly. My father, Bradford, still worked as a janitor on campus, and with the increased distance, his ancient, beat-up truck was going to take an eternity just to sputter down the roads.

He was standing near the grand foyer, checking his cheap watch and preparing to leave an hour earlier than usual so we could at least make it in time, when the estate’s house manager quietly approached.

"Mr. Wells," the manager spoke smoothly, bowing with practiced deference as he presented a polished silver key with a sleek leather fob. "Alpha Edgar left instructions that this vehicle is at your disposal for the commute."