CHAPTER 63: 63-HE MIGHT BETRAY US

Clementine:

"What? I’m just saying—it’s for you. You two want to be together so badly that you’re ready to introduce him to your father. So don’t put all the burden on his shoulders. You should be the one apologizing and convincing me to agree to visit your pack instead."

Ian pointed out that Haiden was the only one who had shown genuine interest in visiting my pack for me. I, on the other hand, had just been in the background, taunting and mocking him. And for Haiden’s sake, I realized we had to act right.

"Fine, I’m sorry. Please, Ian, come with us to my pack," I said dramatically, but his smirk showed he didn’t mind that I was being sassy. He just wanted to hear me apologize, and he had done a great job making that happen.

"I’m sorry, Men, for being rude," Troy added in his usual alpha tone.

"Now, we should head to bed, because I have to go and watch the Warriors leave for North." Haiden suddenly went quiet, and Ian raised his head again, squinting one eye slightly, almost like he was judging Haiden for wanting to check if the Warriors were leaving to fetch Sadie back. At the same time, Haiden was trying to convince Ian to come with us to my pack so he could introduce himself to my father as my mate.

"Anyway, good night," I said, trying to change the subject and help Haiden escape Ian’s gaze.

We all went to bed, but Ian paced around the room for a while. He had some very annoying habits, and one of them was walking around while everyone else was trying to sleep. It made everyone uncomfortable. Troy had once mentioned it to him, asking him not to do that, because sometimes it felt like someone had come in to attack us. With Ian moving around every night, every few hours, it gave us a constant sense of unease. What if one of these days it wasn’t him, and someone else was in the room, and we were just comfortably sleeping—too used to the sound of Ian pacing?

But he wouldn’t listen, so we just let it go.

The morning arrived, and we all rushed back to the main hall for breakfast, where the ringleaders were announcing a new set of rules. Of course, no one mentioned that we had decided to quit, or that the rules came from the deal they made with us because then the other crusaders would object. They’d want to go home too, hoping for deals of their own. So none of that was brought up. The ringleaders made it seem like they had come up with these changes on their own, just to make the crusaders feel a little more relaxed, less like prisoners.

"You may decide whether you want to visit your packs as a group or go alone," Lenora said. She gave the instructions clearly.

Just before that, the warriors had left to look for Sadie, but we weren’t allowed anywhere near the station. We all woke up together, and apart from Ian, the rest of us went to watch the train leave. It was packed with warriors, food, and supplies. This was the first time something like this had happened, and none of the other students or crusaders were informed because, like I said, then they’d start questioning why they were never given such opportunities.

"So, I would like you all to come and begin giving us your decisions. We will start with the Green Squad," Lenora said. A huge table had been placed in front of them, with all the ringleaders seated behind it. After finishing breakfast, the plates were cleared, and they now sat waiting for the crusaders to come up, team by team, and announce their decisions.

Most chose to go back to their packs alone, probably because many hadn’t formed strong enough connections. We wouldn’t have done the same. I wouldn’t have done it either, but I did, to help Haiden. In fact, if it were entirely up to me, I wouldn’t have gone back to my pack at all. But there were some unfinished matters I needed to handle.

Of course, Joshua, Jack, and Suki had no problem going back to theirs. The others didn’t have a say, the three of them were from the same pack. Joshua had been the alpha, though not anymore, since his brother took over, from what I’d heard. But they still called him an alpha, just to give us a false sense of status. They used our old titles like they still mattered, but it was all just to fool us into thinking we were still crowned.

Suki used to be the royal beta, and Jack had been the royal gamma. Once Joshua was removed from the throne, his beta and gamma were also thrown into the academy. It was clearly done in a calculated way. Stepmothers often tried to get rid of an alpha’s closest allies. Since I had none, I came alone. I’m pretty sure the others didn’t have any close allies either, or at least not ones who stood by them.

And then it was our turn.

We reached the table, and I noticed the way the ringleaders looked at me, everyone except Miss Rue. She looked disappointed, but she still managed to give us a weak smile. Of course, she avoided looking at Ian and Haiden, since they had been rude the day before.

As we all began to sign under my pack, Ian started to smirk. He picked up the pen, bent down, and began tapping the nib under his own pack’s section. We started getting anxious. What was he doing?

But We’ve decided to go to my pack.

I felt the tension grow between us, and then Yorick uttered, "Is he seriously doing this to us right now?"

I watched Ian place his other hand on the table to support himself, and then his lip curled upward, forming a smirk.

"I think he is," I added, feeling defeated.