The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 175: A Kiss Loud Enough

Music Background: Love me like you do, By Ellie Goulding.

For a long moment, nothing moved.

Everyone was still caught in the shock of the moment, and the hall stood frozen, as if time itself was waiting for permission to continue.

Theodora stood barefaced beneath the lights, her chest rising and falling quickly, facing every confused, bewildered eye that stared at her like she was just pulling a really huge prank.

Slowly, she turned and her eyes found Zeke’s.

Guilt flickered through her expression, and she squeezed her hands. She hadn’t told him about this. Not about revealing everything in front of everyone who had ever known her as Thaddeus.

The weight of it crashed down all at once. Was he gonna get mad at her again for keeping it from him and going ahead on her own? Oh God, she couldn’t handle breaking his heart one more time.

"I didn’t plan to—" she started softly.

Zeke didn’t let her finish.

He crossed the distance between them in a stride, and his hands came up and cradled her face like it was the most precious thing he had ever been trusted with. His eyes were burning now~ those orange glints looked like precious twinkling stars, with something fierce and undone and reverent all at once.

Theo’s breath hitched.

For the rest of the world, it must have looked sudden and another moment of raw shock that added to the one they were still trying to reel out from.

For Zeke and Theo, it felt inevitable.

He arched her chin up gently, and his head leaned over and met hers. Theo sucked in a sharp breath as he kissed her, a kiss so different and delicate from the ones he usually gave.

It was awe and relief and pride tangled together. It was the answer to every pull he hadn’t understood right from the moment they had met that evening at the Greenhouse.

His mouth moved against hers with a depth that made her knees weaken, like he was anchoring her to him before the world could tear her away.

The hall and the audience vanished around them, and Theo felt like she was walking on clouds.

There was only her breath, his hands, and the kiss. And she kissed him back with everything she had in her. She kissed him back with not a shred of guilt left in her soul.

Zeke pulled back, just barely, his forehead resting against hers.

He looked into her eyes, and the words fell out naturally, "I love you, Theodora Blackthorn,"

Her heart had soared many times, but this time it swelled so hard and then shattered from his words and rearranged itself there again. Theo’s eyes burned. Her hands fisted in his jacket like she might fall apart if she didn’t hold on.

A tear fell down her face, and she whispered back, "I love you too, Hezekiah Pendragon,"

Then, the world came back all at once.

The applause hit like thunder.

It exploded through the hall, sudden and violent and endless. People were on their feet, shouting, clapping, and cheering like they had witnessed something historic. Some were laughing in disbelief, and others stared at her like their understanding of everything had just shifted beneath their feet.

Theo turned to the crowd, overwhelmed by their faces.

For a heartbeat, it almost felt okay.

Like she could stand there and breathe.

But she knew it wasn’t.

She could feel the ripple of authority stirring, and the sharp pull of attention turning dangerous. Eyes no longer just impressed but calculating, and the knowledge crashing in that what she had done could not be undone.

Zeke felt it too.

His Alpha instincts flared hard and fast, snarling beneath his skin.

"No," he muttered, already moving.

Before she could ask what he meant, his arms slid under her knees and back, lifting her clean off the stage. Theo gasped, instinctively curling into him with her arms wrapping around his neck.

"Zeke—"

"We’re leaving," he said flatly.

The applause faltered into confusion as he turned and ran.

He didn’t look back.

He cut through the side exit, his feet making no noise as usual, but she could hear his heart pounding like a drum, getting louder every second with every protective instinct of his screaming at once. Voices rose behind them, and they heard someone shout his name.

Too late.

Cold night air slammed into them as he burst outside, and the moon sat full and unapologetically beautiful in the sky, its silver light falling down on them.

Theo stayed in his arms, feeling the night quickly turn into something else. It was finally fully crashing down on her, and her fingers dug into his shoulders, trembling now, not with adrenaline but with shock.

"I did it," She whispered. "I really did it,"

The bond flared in Zeke’s chest, and he wanted to drop and kiss her again. But he couldn’t. Not when the whole school could be haunting for them at this moment.

With the Full Moon on the rise, it was going to be an all-night hunt. Theo hadn’t thought about this through and through. She was regretting her decision, and what hurt even more was how Zeke was now involved in his.

If they got caught, he’d also be punished for it.

Zeke never stopped moving. He headed down the path of the archer’s range, and she knew he was planning to take her out of Gravemont through the path underground.

Behind them, several howls shot into the night and you could hear the earth trembling as paws slammed into it, the spark of hunt infecting them all like wildfire.

They got to the path and Zeke shoved it open and helped her down first. Once they were inside the mountain, Zeke didn’t even bother to let them run down.

He suddenly carried her again, and this time, he jumped down without a second thought.

Fear zeroed in on her mind on what he had just done, and her heart jumped all the way to her throat as they descended down that massive height, relying on air resistance only which obviously, didn’t amount to much!

"Zeke!" She yelped as she pressed her face into his chest.

It was far too high. It was the height of a whole mountain for crying out loud, and he had just jumped down between the staircase like it didn’t mean a thing. Theo saw her life flash in her eyes for a second, but in between then fall, she managed to look up at Zeke.

He looked...calm, despite the fall. But something was trying to plunge through behind the calm.

And then, he landed on the ground.

On both feet. Like it was nothing.

When he looked down, his eyes were soft, "You ok?"

She nodded slowly, her head still in a daze and her mind still reeling, "I...guess,"

Then, he set her down on her feet. They wobbled for a few seconds, before she finally found her strength again.

When she turned to Zeke, he was suddenly pressed against the wall with both claws pressed hard against it. He looked physically in a struggle, and low growls kept rumbling up his throat.

"Zeke?" She called softly, cautiously approaching him.

He snapped his gaze at her, and the look in his eyes had her instantly knowing what was wrong with him.

Hunger.

Want.

The mate bond.

The Moon’s effect every full moon.