The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 172: Lyra’s Effect

Ava couldn’t be more proud of Theo. She was so moved that there were tears in her eyes, and whenever she listened to Theo speak on stage, and how she moved, she wished she could see Theo’s face. She wished she knew what that female who dared against every odd look like.

Each time Theo appeared on stage, the mask hid her identity while amplifying her presence. The audience believed it was intentional, a bold artistic choice.

And from that moment on, Lyra’s scenes begin to shift the play’s emotional gravity.

In every appearance, she bent the narrative just enough to unsettle it, and stood her ground longer than the script demanded. She challenged Kael instead of yielding to him, and she spoke with certainty instead of sorrow.

The lights, which were controlled precisely by Ava, kept helping her vanish at the end of each scene, plunging her into shadow and pulling attention elsewhere, allowing Theo to slip back into the hidden room.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn has become more obsessed than ever with catching the mysterious woman. The only way she can step out as Lyra is when this lady is caught so she doesn’t disrupt them further, but every search she’s ordered between scenes has proven futile. It’s like the silver lady appeared out of nowhere, and disappeared with the falling light.

Damn!

Jocelyn peeked out behind the curtains and noticed how enthralled the audience was with every scene. Lyra becomes the soul of the play. Her presence has reframed Kael’s rage as conflict instead of dominance, and Kael’s character has changed in response.

Zeke’s performance deepened and his reactions had slowed. He listened whenever Lyra spoke, and hesitated when the script said he should strike. Everyone backstage knew the effect this silver lady was having on the entire play.

But he was worried about Theodora. He hadn’t seen her all night and wondered if she was all right.

So, he apprehended the first person he saw.

Jocelyn. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Hey," He called out curtly as she saw her strutting up and down with panic.

She turned to him and smiled, like he was the master and she was the obedient slave, "Yes, Zeke? Is there any problem?!"

"Where’s Hell...Where is Thaddeus? He’s supposed to have played Aeron, right?"

"Oh!" Her eyes shone with fake sincerity, "Didn’t you hear? Thaddeus was pulled out of the play by the Drama committee at the last minute. He has been the one in charge of the lights and curtains,"

"Pulled out of the play?!" Zeke growled, "After all the work he’s done for today?"

Jocelyn quickly took a cautious step back, slightly frightened, "Thaddeus was deemed unworthy for the role of Aeron. Also," She pointed at her bandaged nose, "He broke my nose. He punched a teacher in the face!"

"If he didn’t punch you, I would have," Zeke stated, glaring at her like she was dirt on the floor.

"Zeke!" Heather cried innocently from behind. She ran up to them and linked her arm around him, her eyes soft like feathers, "Please don’t get mad. I know Thad’s your roomie and you’re angry that he’s not in the play, but beating a teacher is out of line no matter what,"

Disgust rolled down his spine, and he felt that slight, uncomfortable churn in his stomach. Forcing it down, he turned to Heather with a light smile, "Maybe you are right,"

She blushed and looked away.

Zeke settled with a frown as she was not looking anymore, and then glared at the other woman till she got the cue and quickly walked away.

He was still pretending to be smitten over Heather to get some leads, and there has been a good development on this. He’s discovered some nasty secrets regarding the Sinclair family thanks to Heather’s blabbing tongue whenever they were alone.

Seriously, the girl was too easy.

All he had to do was ask and she would rant everything out without filter or thought.

Plus, he had a lead on Theo’s stalker.

Moving with Heather was just a distraction, and he used it to keep an eye on Theo and target the stalker.

The leads he’s found...were somewhere confusing. He would have to discuss them with Hellcat once the play was over. Maybe they could come to a conclusion on this.

Zeke’s face turned to the red curtains, where whoever the silver lady was was hiding behind. He could hear the noise from the seats, everyone greatly anticipating the next scene.

Each encounter with this mysterious lady had left Zeke more unsettled, more drawn, and more aware that something about this story was entirely different. He knew she was changing it, and the energy she was giving was so similar to his Hellcat.

Zeke paused. Hellcat?

His eyes widened. Could she be Hellcat?! It would make perfect sense! Because someone else had replaced Aeron on stage, and if Hellcat wanted to come out as Lyra, she would have to be smart about it.

A strange warmth filled his chest, and he let out a big sigh of relief and laughed a bit. He had been so afraid he was getting these emotions toward a total stranger, but at the end, only Hellcat had the ability to make him feel these things.

And now, it was time for their final act. They were to act the scene where she betrays and kills him after Aeron had successfully poisoned her mind in the previous scenes.

"Come back to me once you’re done," Heather purred as she slowly released his arms, "I’ll be here waiting for you here, okay?"

*Let’s tape her to the wall and rip her limb by limb* Moon snarled inside of him.

Zeke only nodded back at her, forcing another sweet smile that made her melt even further.

The props for the final scene had already been set by the other supporting students and it was time for the curtains to open.

And it was also time for the silver lady to step out again, for the last time.

Zeke had never been excited about much in his life, but as she stood there, watching the curtains open again and revealing the cheering crowd, adrenaline coursed through his veins so hard his gaze got blurry for a second. He feared that if he took a step forward, he would fall on his face.

He knew his lines.

He knew his act.

And...he had a feeling this last scene was going to change everything.