Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 181: Alone

Violet stood paralyzed, watching the chaos unfold around her, her heart hammering against her ribcage. She had known her decision would shake the school, but she hadn’t expected it to unravel into complete madness.

Griffin struggled to keep the peace, but it was a losing battle. Asher was beyond livid, his rage rippling through his pack, igniting an instinctive aggression in them

His wolves had taken aggressive stances, snarling and baring their fangs, their bodies coiled. They were ready to defend their Alpha, to strike down anyone who dared oppose him.

On the other hand, Roman, who had borne the brunt of Asher’s punch was not pushing for revenge, no, it was his pack demanding for violence. Both packs might have been friends in the past but they weren’t about to stand back and let their Alpha be attacked without retaliation, especially when Asher had already sunk his teeth into him.

The agitation was too much, with the low growls and hisses filling the air like the prelude to an all-out war. The human students were frozen in place, unsure whether to flee or stay, while others whispered anxiously among themselves, their eyes darting between the enraged Alphas.

"That’s enough!"

Alaric’s voice thundered across the space, carrying a command so powerful it shattered the air like a storm’s fury.

As if the heavens themselves answered, lightning tore across the sky, striking the earth with a deafening crack. The ground sizzled where the bolt landed, dangerously close to where Asher, Griffin and Roman stood.

The reaction was instant. The Cardinal Alphas recoiled, breaking apart as another bolt of lightning struck closer to their wolves. The scattered sparks sent the snarling pack members scrambling, their yelps filling the night as they backed away in alarm.

All eyes snapped toward Alaric Storm.

He stood at the spot, his eyes sparking with uncontained electricity, his platinum hair glowing under the eerie flicker of lightning. The air around him pulsed with so much power that no one dared to move or speak.

Slowly, Alaric ascended the stairs leading to the entrance, elevating himself above the others and demanding the full attention of everyone present.

He gazed out at the crowd, his expression looking like it was carved from stone. Then he spoke with a voice so cold it felt like a death sentence.

"You heard them. They rejected the four houses. They refuse to be governed. They deny the protection of a pack."

The bitterness in his tone was obvious, and was edged with something close to betrayal and disappointment.

"They have turned their backs on the natural order. They owe no allegiance to the Cardinal Alphas. And we all know what that means."

Alaric let the words settle, his furious gaze sweeping over the assembled crowd, challenging them to speak the truth aloud.

At first, there was nothing but silence until a lone voice whispered. "Rogues."

Another voice picked it up, louder this time. "Rogues."

Then another, and another, until, like a flood breaking free, the entire school chanted in unison, their voices filled with scorn and condemnation.

"ROGUES! ROGUES! ROGUES!"

reverberated through the school ground, the collective

twisted into

ran a hand down her face. "Fuck. I knew

a step back, eyes wide with panic

on purpose like a predator sizing up its prey. His nostrils flared as he

"Violet, what is happening?!"

their eyes locked onto Violet, Lila, Ivy, and Daisy with unhidden

like a stone as she realized this was a mistake. A

rejecting the houses would mark her as an outcast, but she never thought it was this serious. Her decision marked her and her friends as

burned with the primal need to put

do this. The look on his face was indecipherable,

set her up for this. And now,

he mean, Rogues?" Lila cried with disbelief. "We’re

home, wolves without a pack. Some were outcasts, banished for breaking the sacred laws of their kind. Others were lone wanderers, forsaking their packs for reasons of their own. But

was

was no structure. Without structure, there

established order of werewolf society. And if a rogue gathered enough numbers, they could pose an even bigger threat to the alphas, to the packs, to

was an unspoken rule

friends had just been

heavy with resignation. "Even if we aren’t werewolves or rogues in the

you forgotten that Lunaris Academy operates under a strict

now why you did what you did." A dry, humorless laugh escaped her lips. "But congratulations, Violet. You just doomed

in a sharp breath, the words

She had told them not to follow her. And yet, they had still chosen to stand by her side. It was no excuse but

invisible noose had cinched around her neck. Her mind scrambled for something to say, for a

she could even attempt to apologize, Alaric’s

that concludes today’s events.All changes to the houses would be executed tomorrow. Enjoy what’s left of your morning." His

His broad shoulders, once squared with strength

like this before. Defeated.

wait!" she blurted, stepping

she never

tore through the air, stopping her in her tracks. A wolf stood in her path, its gleaming fangs bared, hackles

Alpha from now on, rogue." His voice was as cold

just need to

growled this time, it’s sound vibrating deeply in his chest. It was a

no room for negotiation. Violet clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palm. Fine. She would find a way to