The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 216: The Last Thread

The First Dance of the night was for the special guests.

The music shifted. The moment Cain stepped forward and turned toward the center of the hall, the orchestra obeyed instinctively. He offered Theo his hand, and she stared at it absentmindedly for a short while before she placed her gloved fingers in his palm.

The floor cleared the moment they approached, with Alphas guiding their Lunas back, their eyes sharp with the attention narrowing to the pair at the centre of the Grand Hall.

Cain drew Theo close.

His hand settled firmly at her waist, and the other lifted hers. He led the dance effortlessly, holding her fallen weight on his. Every step was precise, for this was not his first gala, and definitely not his first conquest dressed in the guise of diplomacy.

Theo’s feet followed the rhythm even as her mind lagged behind. The room blurred at the edges when she looked around, and every face smeared into colour and motion.

She focused on Cain’s chest instead. On the rise and fall of it. On the steady, unbothered rhythm of his heart.

"You’re fading," he murmured quietly, lips barely moving.

She didn’t answer.

Her vision flickered again, and she stumbled this time.

Cain caught her immediately, his grip tightening on the small of her back as he drew her closer as though the misstep had been intentional. To anyone watching, it looked intimate and controlled.

"You’re doing beautifully," He murmured again, sounding pleased, "Just a little longer,"

The music swelled.

Theo’s head tilted back slightly, breath coming shallow. The pressure was rising even more. She could feel the absence forming before the loss itself.

The song ended, and they separated from each other. To be more precise, Theo pulled away and walked to the other side of the room. She felt like she was going to collapse and couldn’t afford to do so where everyone was watching.

Cain stepped away, just far enough to watch.

But Theo’s private moment was cut short as some Lunas approached her.

One by one they came. Drawn by curiosity, by obligation, and by the need to inspect the woman standing beside Cain.

"My dear," One said with a smile too practised to be kind, "You look radiant tonight,"

Theo turned her head slowly, "Thank you," she replied.

Another Luna stepped in, "The dress is exquisite. East craftsmanship, I assume?"

Theo blinked.

East.

The word echoed without meaning.

"Yes," she said after a pause, "It is."

Their faces shifted, confusion flashing briefly before politeness snapped back into place.

"You must find the West... different," Someone else offered gently.

Theo opened her mouth, but nothing came out this time.

Her chest tightened, and the pressure surged up enough to steal her breath. Her hands curled unconsciously by her sides, her nails biting into her palms beneath the gloves.

The demon stirred, and this time she felt it stretch inside of her. It was so hungry with anticipation and delighted.

Her thoughts slipped again, panic and desperation finally cut through the numbness.

Wait...

She reached inward, clawing blindly for something familiar.

And found her wolf.

She was far, so very far away.

A faint presence at the edge of Theo’s existence, scratching and howling, its pain raw and frantic. She felt it crying out to her, felt its claws rake against the inside of her chest from a distance that felt infinite.

’Theo,’

The name reached her like an echo through water.

’You’re Vanishing...you’re going...’

Her knees buckled.

She barely registered the chair before she collapsed into it, breath shuddering out of her. The Lunas stepped back at once, startled murmurs rising between them.

Cain did not move. He watched from across the hall, his eyes bright and satisfied. The air around him hummed with anticipation.

Theo slumped forward slightly, one hand clutching at the pendant at her throat. She could tell it was glowing, reacting to the emergence of the demon. But what good will it do when Theo’s soul is gone?

She exhaled, a long, trembling sigh, "I’m tired," She whispered to whoever could hear her. A small tear slipped from her eyes, slow and warm... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then, the crying faded, and the scratching stopped.

The pressure eased, as there was nothing left to erase. The pendant flared once, a gentle pulse of light.

And then, it died down.

Theo’s body stilled in the chair, her eyes dulling, and her breath evening out into something empty and perfect. The last thread unravelled silently, without spectacle...

and her soul slipped away as if it had never been there at all.

Across the hall, Cain smiled.

Something began rolling out of Theo’s body, like heat bleeding through stone. The air around her thickened, enough to press against the lungs and instincts like. The lunas around her stiffened without knowing why, their pulses spiking in silent alarm. Their wolves recoiled, and they all cautiously stepped back.

The chandeliers began to flicker as a new pressure wrapped around the room. Everyone turned to the source of it, trying to remain composed even though they screamed WRONG!

And then, Theo’s body stirred and she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

The Lunas swallowed hard

The Demon tilted her head, studying the woman with idle curiosity, her pupils swallowing what little light dared remain in her eyes, "You worry so easily," she said gently, "Your heart is racing, and your wolf is hiding,"

They all took another step backwards.

Theo rose to her feet without hurry. Her movements were fluid now and unburdened. No tremor or weakness remained, and the green silk of the dress whispered around her like it had finally found the body it was meant to adorn.

The Luna swallowed hard.

The Demon tilted her head, studying the woman with idle curiosity, her pupils swallowing what little light dared remain in her eyes.

"You worry so easily," she said, "Your heart is racing. Your wolf is hiding,"

The Lunas took another step away.

Cain’s attention sharpened, satisfaction curling into reverence as he felt it fully breach the surface.

Theo rose to her feet without hurry. Her movements were fluid and unburdened. The girl who was shaking and struggling to speak a minute ago was nowhere to be found. The green silk of the dress whispered around her like it had finally found the body it was meant to adorn.

She glanced around the hall, taking in every sight, "So this," She murmured, almost fondly, "Is what you built in my absence,"

The temperature dropped another degree.

Alphas around stiffened, and the Lunas fought the instinct to kneel or run.

Her gaze flicked briefly to Cain across the room, and her empty eyes suddenly shone with bright, excited sparks. Then she looked back at the Lunas.

"You asked what the West feels like," she said, her voice as warm as velvet, "It feels..." She paused and her smile widening just enough, "...fragile."