Haiden:
I could hear their conversation, and it did not seem like Ian was even trying to be sneaky. He did not care. I had barely ever seen Ian afraid of anything. It was as if he was always ready to fight. So when I turned around to face him, I saw him looking at with clear interest.
"I feel like soone has been talking to soone," I remarked, annoyed that he had probably spoken with Fauna and that she must have said sothing unnecessary.
"Well, yes, we had a conversation. She was just telling so casual things about how you two used to be very good friends," Ian replied, not hiding the truth.
Troy looked shocked.
"Dude, you said you never liked her," Troy pointed out quickly, calling out on my lie.
"Well, it does not matter anymore. The friendship was so long ago, when we were just kids, that I do not even rember it. See, that is how little the friendship lasted," I explained, making things up.
That was not true at all. Our friendship had lasted a long ti, and we had made good mories. She used to bring food and save from punishnts sotis, until things started to turn bitter between us.
The truth was that I could tell from Ian’s eyes that she had told him more about us, maybe even that there was a short ti when I liked her. That was before Clentine ca into my life. When she arrived, everything changed. I used to bully Clentine. At first, I hated her, but then I grew attached to her.
That was when I completely cut Fauna out of my life, partly because her father had started to push the idea that we should be together. I had a feeling that maybe she had sothing to do with it. Maybe she told her father that she liked , and that was why he kept pressuring about a relationship.
"Anyway, why are we even talking about it? I just need to find Clentine," I muttered, then paused.
Once I thought about it, I did not even have a plan. There was nothing I could do outside the Academy. My back had been stolen, and so had my mate.
"You can take your pack back," Ian suggested, almost as if he had heard my thoughts.
"What?" Troy and I asked at the sa ti.
Ian gestured with his hand for us to move away from the hallway, to make sure no one could hear our conversation, and we followed. I needed to hear what he was planning. Knowing Ian, he would not say sothing like that without a reason. He had a clear plan in mind.
Once we were in the large hall, with no one near us and music filling the space, Ian began to speak.
"The reason they are marrying Mariana to ssi is because they want an Alpha for the pack, so that his daughter’s husband will control it," Ian explained.
The mont he started explaining, I already understood where he was going with this.
"No," I replied firmly.
Both of them went silent. Troy tilted his head, and Ian leaned forward, squeezing his eyes shut and giving a small shake of his head, as if asking to explain.
"If you are suggesting that I should marry Fauna for the pack, then you are wrong. I am not going to do that," I stated harshly, stopping their thoughts before they went any further.
"Um, hello, Haiden?" Ian waved his hand in front of my face.
"I was not going to say that. I do not know why you make up things in your head, but that is not what I was about to say," Ian added.
His words made clench my fists. Even Troy lifted his hand to his mouth to hide his laughter.
"I do not have her in my mind. I was just letting you know because I thought maybe... Okay, whatever. So what were you saying?" I asked, feeling embarrassed and trying to move on.
"Listen, since the marriage is not happening yet, that ans Patrick is the Alpha, right?" Ian continued, and I nodded.
"Well then, it is easy. Go ahead and challenge him for the crown," Ian finished, and my eyes widened.
"Before, you were just a young guy who did not know if you could fight a seasoned Beta, Gamma, or whatever that man is. You were afraid that if he brought in ssi, you might not be able to win because ssi would have a team preparing him while you would have nothing. And then the fact that he had already signed you up for the academy. But now, you are a better fighter than anyone in the pack. You improved your skills in the North, Haiden. I am sure fighting one Alpha will be no big deal for you."
Ian’s words made my shoulders straighten with pride. He was not wrong. I had learned a lot in the North. I gained strength and abilities I did not have before. It made sense.
"You are right," I replied.
"Yeah, let’s go for it," Troy said, patting my back.
"What about you, Troy?" Ian asked.
"What about ?" Troy replied quietly, looking down. I could tell he wanted to hear us praise him too.
Ian and I looked at each other, then both shrugged.
"Yeah, no, I do not think you can do it," we teased, and he scowled at us.
"You are so an. Just say sothing good about ," he insisted, making us laugh.
"Fine. I think you should fight too. You might get beaten a little, but in the end, I think you will earn yourself a royal Beta spot," I teased, and he rolled his eyes at .
"You know what? I will fight too. And I bet I will take back my crown as well," Troy declared.
It was a happy mont for us. We were finally thinking about doing sothing with our lives outside the Academy.
Then a thought hit , and I said it out loud.
"Um, this all sounds good, but do you not think we do not even know if the Academy will shut down properly?" I pointed out.
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