Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 45: Who Knows Asher’s Plans?

A cold like never before burrowed deeply into Violet’s skin, chilling her to the bone. The steps she took down the empty hallway felt heavy, almost robotically, as if she had been disconnected from her own body.

Nothing made sense anymore. Not when her head swirled with a thousand thoughts, all crashing into each other like waves in a violent storm. It was as if the world had tilted off its axis, and she was left grasping at straws to regain her footing.

Her instincts had always whispered to her to be wary of Asher, and now she knew they had been right all along.

"You, my purple queen, will take Elsie’s place." Those words kept echoing in Violet’s head, haunting her as she replayed them over and over. They looped through her mind, like a broken record that refused to stop.

It was chilling.

At first after he had said that, Violet had assumed Asher was joking. She thought it was another one of his games, you know, his own twisted way of riling her up. But there had been nothing playful about that dark, intent look in his eyes. And that was all the confirmation she needed to know he was deadly serious.

"You mad man!" she had shouted, pushing him away before taking to her heels, her breath catching in her chest as she fled. She hadn’t looked back. No, she didn’t dare to.

What the fuck was wrong with Asher? What did he mean by her "taking Elsie’s place"?!

Elsie was the one chosen by the Alpha King for one of them. Taking Elsie’s place would mean challenging the Alpha King himself, and only someone with a death wish would even consider that. It was madness. Suicidal.

And Violet, as reckless as she was, still wanted to live. So she clung to that desire fiercely, which meant there was no way she could go along with Asher’s ridiculous idea.

The first thought that rushed into Violet’s mind was running away. To leave Lunaris and escape Asher and his insanity as planned. But she couldn’t do it now. Not in broad daylight when his eyes and ears were possibly everywhere.

After all, Asher had made it crystal clear that he doesn’t plan on letting her go anytime soon. Violet shuddered at the thought of what he would do if he caught her trying to "leave him." so running wasn’t an option. Not while the sun was up.

to be smart. Strategic. Violet couldn’t afford any mistakes at this point in time. She had to figure out a

in her thoughts. By the time she realized herself, the hallway

walk in the direction of the classroom. The teacher would likely deduct points, maybe,

suddenly came to a complete stop when someone stepped out from the corner of the hallway, intentionally blocking her

and a chill ran down her spine. The blood drained from her face, leaving her feeling cold

when Griffin didn’t move and kept his gaze fixed on her, an unsettling reality dawned on her that this was

Hale had been waiting for

Oh God.

but she slammed right into someone else. She stumbled back, lifting her gaze to see who it was, and her heart leaped as she met the eyes of Alaric

But that was until she remembered that Alaric and Griffin were best friends, just like Asher and Roman. It made sense then. Alaric wasn’t here to save her; he was here to

Fuck her life.

and he knew at that moment what she was thinking. Violet’s fight-or-flight instincts took over. She tried to dash to the side, but Alaric

her might, twisting and squirming. But Alaric was strong—unbearably strong—and he pulled her back, holding her tightly against his chest. She could

with Alaric’s face, hitting his nose with a satisfying crack. He yelped, and his grip loosened, giving her a split second to escape. Violet didn’t waste any time as she pulled free, turning and driving her elbow into his stomach for good measure, feeling him double over in

free then, but it

around her shoulders, and then

upside down, her stomach lurching as she landed hard against his broad back. The

Let me go!" her scream

even flinch. Instead, his arm clamped around her

she was against him. Griffin was

on deaf ears as the hallway was deserted, and any

the heavy door slam shut behind them, the sound echoing off the walls like a final seal of her fate. Alaric followed them, his nose bleeding slightly