CHAPTER 94: WHAT BUSINESS DO YOU HAVE WITH PRINCIPAL VALOIS?

Angela swallowed hard as he began speaking. Her heartbeat quickened, and it felt like the weight of all her problems was crashing down on her at once. She pushed herself up from her seat, determined to leave the hall before Kaito made the announcement. If everyone was going to find out, she didn’t want to be here to watch it happen.

She started toward the door, but a sharp pain shot through her head, making her hold it with both hands. Her vision blurred, her legs felt weak, and just as she reached for the nearest pillar to steady herself, everything went dark.

Much later...

Angela opened her eyes and found herself still in the cafeteria. The hall was quiet now. All the students were gone, leaving only her friends and Renn. They must have been worried sick.

"How do you feel?" Renn asked as soon as he saw her awake.

Angela nodded slowly and sat upright on the long bench they had laid her on. Her eyes searched the room, but Kaito was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank. Had he already made the announcement? The thought made her want to cry.

"Did Kaito... tell them about me?" she asked, her face dull with disappointment.

"He made an announcement for the senior students, but it had nothing to do with you," Renn said. He took her hand and kissed it gently. "I know this is a hard time for you. I tried to talk to him about it yesterday, but he was too angry to listen. And this morning? Kaito doesn’t listen to anyone. I wonder how he ever managed to listen to you."

Angela gave a faint nod. She understood what he meant. "I wonder how he even found out. Does he know you already knew?"

"Yes. We were together when he found the picture of you in Evan’s room," Renn said, his eyes never leaving her face. She could see that what was happening to her was hurting him too.

"That stupid Evan," Angela muttered, slapping her lap lightly in frustration. She was shocked he had a picture of her. At first, she had suspected him, but when Alex insisted he was innocent, she tried to believe it. Now she saw she had been right all along. "Where is he now?"

"On the run. We searched for him all last night, but he was nowhere to be found," Renn replied with a shrug. His grip on her hand tightened. "You don’t have to be scared. He’ll be caught soon. The school authorities will make sure of it."

Angela nodded. Then she remembered what Hiro had told her last night. She didn’t want to sound jealous, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking, "What business do you have with Principal Valois at night?"

The way his eyes widened made her heart skip. He was clearly shocked that she knew, and from the look on his face, he could already guess who had told her. The boyish smile returned to his lips as he nodded. "Hiro told you about it. Now I understand why you didn’t pick my calls through the night."

Angela rolled her eyes. That wasn’t the real reason, but it was easier to let him believe it. She didn’t back down. "So you went to her? Look at me, Renn... are you two dating? I need to know what I’m doing, because you can’t hide something like that from me. I want to know if she’s also your mate."

Renn laughed and glanced around. Their friends weren’t looking, their attention turned elsewhere, so he shifted closer to her, closing the space between them. He rested his head against her chest, and what happened next, he didn’t see coming.

Angela wrapped her arms around him. She hadn’t meant to, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, she did. "Come on, Renn. Tell me what’s going on between you two."

"Your heart’s beating fast. You’re afraid of the truth, even though I haven’t said anything, baby," he murmured. "Are you jealous of your principal?"

"Seriously, Renn? You think this is funny?"

"No," he said with a small chuckle, pulling back to look at her face and the way it burned with anger and jealousy. "I’m not dating her. Do you understand?"

"So what is going on?" Angela pressed. She could see he was still playing with her.

"She called me to help with the search... nothing serious," Renn said, his voice turning more serious now. "You don’t have to worry about me seeing her or anyone else. I’m all yours."

He cupped her face with both hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his voice steady as he promised he wouldn’t make a fool of her. "By the way, she’s nobody’s mate. The woman is just Principal Valois... and she’s cursed."

"If you say so, Renn. I believe you," she said, watching him stand up from the bench. He came to her from behind, and she looked up at him. The spider web tattoo on his neck always came to her mind whenever he was close. She wanted to ask him why he had it, but Renn never gave her the chance.

He pulled her into his arms without warning. It was unexpected, but she held back from shouting or drawing attention. Being in his embrace after everything that happened today made her feel lighter.

Angela tightened her arms around his neck as he spun her around. A laugh almost escaped her lips but stayed caught in her throat. When he finally stopped, their eyes met and locked. He kissed her briefly, but the effect it had on her was powerful—she could feel it deep in her bones.

"Don’t worry about your Alpha. We will talk to him," Renn told her. "He’s just processing everything, and I hate to admit it, but he’s been good to you and didn’t deserve what happened."

She nodded, and he slowly set her back on the ground. His gaze shifted to her friends. They still weren’t watching, and it made him shake his head in surprise. "You have good friends. You’re lucky."

Angela glanced in their direction and felt grateful. "We have to read. I also have combat practice with them today."

"Good. Take care of yourself," Renn said before kissing her cheek. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his breath. He watched her walk away to join her friends. She spoke to them, and then they all stood up and left the cafeteria.

Renn sighed as soon as they were gone. Of course, Principal Valois was going to get him into trouble someday.