CHAPTER 350: 350-EXPOSED AND IN TROUBLE

Clementine:

"Let them know that I am not a heartless man who enjoys sending others’ children to war. My own son is part of the crusader team, and he has been sent to the north just as many times as the rest of you."

After he said Ian’s name, chaos erupted. Everyone started to gossip, gasp, and turn toward Ian. But I stopped hearing anything the headmaster said after he introduced Ian as his son.

"Anyway, that was my truth. I hoped it explained a lot for you. You were not the only ones being dragged here. I had to follow the rules as well."

The headmaster continued while I felt my heartbeat settle in my chest.

When a brief silence halted him, I lifted my head to see what was happening and found him listening closely to Ms. Lenora, nodding along.

She stepped back, and the headmaster looked up again. I could tell he was looking straight at me.

"Now that we have decided to be transparent, I want to talk about someone who is not being very transparent," he stated.

My heart thumped even louder.

"There is someone who has been breaking rules left and right. And the same someone who has been calling others out for lying and being a hypocrite," he remarked.

Another gasp rose around me, and an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.

"Clementine, please step forward," he ordered.

The moment he said that, I swallowed hard.

"What have you said about your mate?" he questioned.

My fist clenched.

"You previously said Haiden was your mate, correct?" he asked, and I neither nodded nor shook my head.

"But rumors say you are mated with four alphas, four of your crusaders. Yorick, Haiden, Troy, and my son, Ian," he announced.

Yelps erupted. I even felt a small nudge at my elbow from one of the red squads trying to ask whether it was true.

"How is that even possible?" Oriana uttered.

I shifted in my spot and sent her a glare. She was attempting to stir everyone up, but confusion and shock had already taken over the room.

"It is not normal. It has never happened before, so we will be conducting thorough research on you and your wolf," the headmaster declared, making sweat gather at my temples.

"That is not fair," Ian voiced.

I turned to him. He stopped speaking when he caught my eyes, and I assumed he understood what I truly felt.

I was not only shocked but disappointed in him.

He mumbled something under his breath as if trying to comfort me, but I looked away again.

"With that being said, a week from now and Clementine will transition in front of the entire council, the crusaders, and the other pack alphas because we suspect there is something wrong with her wolf," he finished.

Once again, commotion erupted behind me.

"Now, one last thing. Since there are no crusaders left in the white squad, we have decided to merge the packs after Clementine’s wolf transitions. I believe it will also reveal whether she will remain in the academy, or be deemed a monster," the headmaster stated.

At this point, I had grown numb to his words. My world had fallen apart, and there was only one person I could blame for now—myself, for trusting too easily.

"That is unfair. She has been here since the beginning. She has slayed monsters like nobody else," Renee yelled.

For the first time in minutes, I pulled myself back to reality.

I turned toward her and noticed she did not look at me with anger for hiding the truth about my wolf or about having too many mates.

"Yeah, that is unfair. Just because her wolf is different does not mean she is a monster," Mira screamed, and Sebastian stepped forward, showing they were with her.

"I think we all agree with that," Troy voiced.

I could not bring myself to turn toward him. I was embarrassed.

"Well, that will be decided once she transitions. For now, enjoy the rest of your day. The white squad will turn into the red squad. However, this time Miss Rue will be replaced by Mr. Rick."

Then he struck one last time, and this time it was not only directed at the Crusaders, he dragged his own ringleader into it as well.

I lifted my head and saw Miss Rue release a deep sigh, looking disappointed and upset that she was the one being let go, even though her Crusaders were still alive.

"But wait, what does that have to do with anything? Our squad is fine, so why is Miss Rue being let go?" Yorick complained.

The headmaster raised his palm toward him.

"She is the newest one, and I am not going to let go of Mr. Rick or Ms. Lenora. So Mr. Rick will be the new ringleader of the Black Squad. Joshua will be part of the Red Squad. For now, I will end things here."

The headmaster’s tone carried authority with a touch of agitation.

"Now dismissed." The headmaster stepped back.

It felt as if this entire meeting existed only to bring me down. And he succeeded.

Even if he had only spoken about me being mates with the others or given me a week to transition, I would not have felt this defeated.

But knowing Ian was his son and that he never allowed me even a hint of it, I felt broken. I felt wronged by him.

Everyone began to step out of the hall. I noticed Miss Rue took a few seconds before moving away from her spot.

Ms. Lenora and Mr. Rick looked pleased, clearly satisfied because everything had gone their way.

And on top of that, I was now the one being punished.

The moment I stepped out of the hall, I saw everyone gathering on the open ground.

Ian stood a few steps ahead of them, cracking his knuckles until his eyes found me.

He started to stride toward me.

"Not right now," I hissed, refusing to look at him as I lifted my palm in front of me to stop him from approaching.