The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 197: After the Bite

There was only a blinding pain afterwards. No refreshing feeling after. So blinding she fell back, expecting to feel her back hitting the hard floor.

But Cain held her up. A large hand holding her back to keep her from falling. His teeth and lips were stained with blood, and a bit of it rolled down her open neck.

Another weird sensation pulsed through her body, followed by a headache. She could hear Seraphina also groaning in the background - the bite had affected her as much as it did Theo.

"Let go of me," She croaked out weakly, her hands coming up to push against his chest. It didn’t make a difference.

Her vision was blurry, and the next thing she knew, he was lowering her onto her bed. Her head touched the pillow, and he watched him hover above her for a short while before he moved back.

"Don’t worry, the pain would go soon," She heard him murmur, gently stroking her hair, "And you’re used to pain already. If you behave this way with just a simple bite, how would you feel when the procedures begin?"

She wished she could claw his stupid face right now. But she could barely raise her hands. Her neck was pulsing wildly as though he had dropped a heart there, and it kept surging to other parts of her head.

"Get...out,"

He didn’t.

He chuckled again lowly, and then he took her right arm and caressed her fingers. She thought for a second he might pull it out, then she saw him pull out a glistening jewelry from his pants.

Her eyes narrowed at it. Was that a ring?

No!

Summoning whatever strength she had left, she yanked her hands away. There’s no way she’s letting him put a ring on her finger, but his reflexes kicked in, and he caught her arm and dragged it back.

"Calm down, Runaway," He said to her, and raised his other hand where a similar ring now sat on his fourth finger, "It’s just a ring,"

It wasn’t just a ring!

She loathed every moment of him inserting it into her finger, and when he was done, he held her palm in his.

"Perfect,"

She was just going to have to flush it down the toilet once she could move. That would be the first thing she would do.

Her eyes twitched as she watched him stare at her finger, his fingers caressing the diamond-encrusted jewellery. Then, his eyes moved further down her hand and stopped at her wrist.

The smile vanished.

He was staring at the bracelet Sylas had given her.

"Bone-pearl bracelet," He said, "Where did you get this from?"

She almost released a sigh of relief. If he knew it was a gift from Sylas, it would have been long gone by now.

"I’ve had it for a long time,"

"Not before you went to Gravemont, you didn’t," He intercepted, still eyeing her wrist, "You have nothing with you when you arrive at Gravemont. I gave Eric the luggage he gave you that day, and I know every single article of clothing inside it. This bracelet wasn’t a part of it, which means someone in that school gave it to you, and it couldn’t have been any of the other heirs because they do not have the ability to get their hands on something this rare. Which brings me to my conclusion,"

The headache had gotten worse during the course of his little explanation. And she really didn’t have to know that everything she had worn on Gravemont grounds was provided by him. It’s scary how much he had done even when he was so far from her.

"Zevon gave you this Bracelet," He finished.

"I’ll advise you to ignore that bracelet. Do anything else, and you’ll regret coming to see me today,"

He didn’t even flinch.

"Remind me what you’ll do to me, exactly?"

"I’ll kill you!"

"Is that before or after I’m done with you?"

She managed a snarl, which only worsened the headache.

She tried to sit up, but her muscles didn’t answer.

Panic flared sharp and ugly in her chest. She strained again, her fingers curling uselessly against the sheets. Seraphina stirred weakly again beneath her skin, a low whimper of silver pain, and the bond between them trembled like a thread pulled too tight.

Cain noticed.

He always did.

"Ah," he said softly, straightening, "There it is. That fear. That helpless little realisation." His thumb brushed the pulse in her neck, right over the bite. You see," Cain continued calmly, "That bite wasn’t about claiming you. You’re already mine by law. By oath," His eyes flicked briefly to the ring on her finger, "No. That was about calibration,"

Her stomach dropped, "...Calibration?"

"Yes." His gaze returned to her face, sharp now, analytical. "I needed to see how your soul would react to direct interference. How fast the demon stirred. How you can you keep resisting before breaking,"

"I didn’t break," she spat.

He laughed quietly, "Not yet,"

The word echoed too loudly in her head.

Then, she felt a slow, invasive pull deep in her chest. Like fingers sliding between layers of her existence, testing seams that were never meant to be touched. It was the mark now settling inside of her, claiming where Zeke once sat, forming a small bond between her and Cain.

Seraphina whimpered again. The bond was wrong.

Theo squeezed her eyes shut, *Stay with me,* She begged silently *Please. Close your eyes and rest. You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure you get better, I promise*

"Oh, don’t bother hiding her," he said, amused, "She’s loud tonight,"

Theo’s eyes snapped open, "You can hear her?"

"I can feel her," he corrected. "Silver howls differently, and my senses are sharp enough to hear it. It resists corruption the way light resists rot," His lips curved. "Which is precisely why breaking you and her will be so satisfying,"

Rage surged through her fear, white-hot and reckless, "You think you’ve already won," Theo said hoarsely, "But you haven’t. You never will."

Cain tilted his head a bit, "Is that what you tell yourself when you’re alone in this room? When your mates are dead, your allies are divided, and every path out of the east ends with my shadow?"

"You’re not untouchable," she whispered, "The others will move, they will come for you. They know what you’re doing and they won’t let you swallow the world whole,"

Something dark flickered behind his empty eyes., "So," he said slowly, "the cub still listens to war drums,"

He stepped back from the bed at last, giving her just enough space to breathe, but not enough to feel safe.

"Let them gather," Cain continued. "Let them posture and bare their throats in council halls. Let the Argent Tribunal polish their silver laws and pretend judgment still belongs to them." His smile returned, sharp as a blade. "I welcome it,"

"You’re lying," Theo said, "You’re afraid."

He was in front of her again in an instant, and this time, his hand wrapped around her throat. He didn’t squeeze, just held her firm enough to give a stark reminder.

"I am not afraid of war," he said softly, "I am counting on it,"

Her pulse thundered under his palm.

"Because war gives me permission," he went on, "Permission to erase bloodlines. To burn packs until only the strongest truths remain," His thumb brushed her jaw, "And at the centre of it all, Runaway... is you."

"I won’t be your weapon," She uttered, panting a little.

"No," Cain agreed. "You’ll be my doorway. Because Runaway, even if the pendant fails to open the veil, you will not!"

A chill crawled down her spine. There were a lot of things she thought Cain didn’t know, but it turns out he does. What exactly goes on in this world that’s out of this man’s knowledge?

He released her abruptly and stepped away, adjusting his cuff as if they’d merely been discussing politics.

"Rest," he said lightly, "You’ll need your strength. The procedures won’t begin until you are strong enough,"

"What Procedures?!"

"You know exactly what I’m talking about," He glanced over his shoulder, "Your wolf isn’t weak, Runaway. She’s dying,"

"W...what?"

"She knows she’s dying. You can ask her when I’m gone," Cain walked up to the door, "And the only thing that can promise her survival is the procedures. Knowing you, you’ll cling to anything that promises her survival, am I right?" He smirked.

She stared at him, horrified.

"Oh," Cain added casually, pausing, "Do try not to remove the ring. It doesn’t like being separated,"

Her eyes widened, "What does that mean?"

"You’ll find out," He walked out, shutting the door behind him while the locks slid back into place.

Theo lay there shaking, her neck burning, and her soul humming painfully out of tune. The ring on her finger felt heavier. She could feel a tiny pulse from it, as though it were alive.

And deep inside her, the demon laughed softly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

*You poor thing* She said, *No one is coming to save you*

Theo swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling as fear, rage, and something dangerously close to resolve twisted together in her chest.

*I don’t need anyone to save me* She replied grimly, *I’ll save myself!*