The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 98: Ashbourne’s Warning

Everyone stared at her like they were looking at a ghost.

Everyone.

Her name was whispered as she walked around school, and some openly pointed and stared at her with their mouths agape.

It didn’t take her long to figure it out. They all thought she had died last night, and honestly, she did die.

And now here she was, walking down the school halls like nothing had happened, hale and hearty.

Not exactly hale and hearty, since her heart was beating too fast. She needed to distract herself from her rampant thoughts of the kiss she had just shared with Zeke.

A loud, crazy distraction.

She knew exactly where to go. The place where Liam once took her. The Underground Club. The Crimson Demon.

Speaking of Liam, Theo’s eyes suddenly widened. She had been so caught up with Zeke since she woke up this morning that she had completely forgotten he existed.

And if she recalled well, he was badly injured last night and she had left him lying there alone when the vines had dragged her away. Did he make it back alive?

Fear gripped her hard. She would never forgive herself if he had died last night.

"Liam...," She breathed, and then headed back to the dorm.

She tiptoed past her door and stopped in front of Liam’s.

Trevor answered the door.

"Are you...," He blinked in awe, "You’re alive?"

"Where’s Liam? Please tell me he came back last night,"

Trevor was still bewildered, "Are you really alive? Damn! How did you make it out?"

"Liam, now!" She exclaimed.

"Chill. He’s alive, and recovering at the School clinic. But you gotta tell me how..."

She was already running off again. She zoomed past everyone, her rushed footsteps echoing through the halls, leaving trails of eyes following her in shock as she swept past them.

She threw the clinic door open and also zoomed past the receptionist like a blur.

"Huh?" The Young Alpha flinched, "Isn’t that Douglas?"

Theo didn’t find Liam on the regular beds as she expected, and traced his scent to a room in the corner. It was a single room, and Liam was lying on the bed. His eyes were closed and he looked very pale.

The monitors measuring his vitals beeped steadily next to him, and her eyes trailed up to the bandage wrapped around his head.

Her heart ached to see him like this, "Liam...," She whispered softly and fell onto the seat by his bed. She took his hand into hers and squeezed softly, "Liam, I’m here," She added.

Whatever those masked men had gone to him must have been deep. Theo felt so much guilt - those men had done this to Liam when she was the one they wanted. He got targeted because he was her friend.

He didn’t deserve this.

And those masked men were dead now. How was she supposed to know who sent them and what they wanted from her?

"I’m sorry," She whispered, then gently reached in and swiped a strand of hair from his face. She wondered how long he would stay unconscious and how much damage the head injury might have caused.

"You survived," A voice at the other side of Liam’s bed spoke.

Theo wasn’t shocked or surprised. She had seen him from the moment she walked in, but she was too worried about Liam to acknowledge his presence at the moment.

Alpha or not. Her friend came first.

She finally looked up at him, still clasping Liam’s hand in hers, "Two masked men," She began like she was giving a report, "They used Liam to lure me into the Forest. Your son got hurt because of me,"

Ashbourne sat there, watching her with terrifying calm. He didn’t say anything, and his grey eyes didn’t falter. His gaze fell to her neck, where the faint marks of strangulation sat.

"I hope he wakes up soon," She added.

"I’m leaving with him tomorrow with the sunrise," Ashbourne announced, causing Theo to look up at him with puzzled eyes.

"Leaving?" She cracked, "You’re pulling him out of the school?"

"Gravemont goes on its Monthly General student leave, doesn’t it?"

She secretly released a breath of relief and nodded.

"You and William survived the Hallow," He stated again, and she looked back up. He looked stern, with an undercurrent in his grey eyes. Suspicion? Curiosity? "Tell me something, Douglas.. What exactly did they want with you?"

They wanted her inside the hallow. They wanted her close to the veil, and if they did, that means they knew she was connected to it.

Her fingers froze on Liam’s hand, "I have no idea, sir,"

Alpha Ashbourne gave her a sweeping glare, not believing a word, "Yes, you do,"

She forced herself to remain calm, "I really don’t,"

"Then I’ll ask you differently," Alpha murmured, "Is there a reason why two masked men would manage to sneak into Gravemont, get past its wards and every defence without setting a single alarm, go through all that just to lure you into the forest and sacrifice themselves in the process?"

Silence.

"And yet, against all odds, you came back to life even after the guards confirmed they had seen your corpse,"

She remained quiet. She didn’t have anything to say. But there were Tremors in every breath she took, and Ashbourne saw it. Nothing slipped past him.

Absolutely Nothing.

"From the moment you stepped into the arena, I knew there was something odd about you," He said, holding her gaze.

She refused to look away.

"Your scent, your sharpened senses, your aura... It’s all unbefitting for someone who’s from the Draven Family,"

She kept her pulse beating normally.

Then, he stood up slowly and his power gathered around him like a silent storm, "I’m not going to demand answers from you right now," He said, "Not when my son lies here, and not when your mind is still reeling from arising from the dead,"

Theo’s chest tangled with a strange ache. Relief tangled with dread.

"But listen to me, Douglas," Ashbourne walked around Liam’s bed and stopped right next to her, his eyes fixed on the door, "Whoever you really are, you seem to drag trouble as your tail. And not the normal kind. Whatever those men knew about you that made them come after you, I’m pretty sure we haven’t heard the last of them... they’ll come again,"

He paused, long enough for his words to sink in.

"And they won’t stop coming till they get what they want,"

Ashbourne’s voice lowered, till it was colder than winter steel, "You are no ordinary student. No ordinary wolf. Whatever blood runs in you... whatever power you carry..." His eyes flicked to her neck again, to the faint scorch-like patterns from the Vines’ strangling grip,"...it is enough to draw predators."

She swallowed tightly.

Alpha Ashbourne headed toward the door, "And I will not let William be caught in their hunt a second time,"

"Wait!" Theo stood, her chair scraping softly, "Sir... I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t—"

He stopped at the doorway and looked back at her, his grey eyes finally showing something besides ice, "...I don’t blame you,"

Theo stopped.

"I’ve known my son long enough to know who he chooses and who he trusts," Ashbourne said quietly, "And he chose to stand with you. That means you’re worth something,"

Another pause.

"But it also means," He added, "that whatever secret you’re carrying... It’s bigger than both of you,"

He opened the door, "And sooner or later, it will come for you again,"