Chapter 322
Chapter 322
Cora’s POV
I had already risen.
Funished
My heels touched the red carpet, its crimson path stretching toward the podium like a promise I had never once doubted. Victory had always felt inevitable-something woven into my bones, as natural as breath.
Then the Head Judge spoke.
And the world tilted.
Lylah.
Not me.
The name cut through me like a silver blade.
My body locked where I stood, every muscle seized, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat. Even my wolf-so loud, so certain moments ago-fell into a stunned, disbelieving silence.
Slowly, I turned.
Lylah rose among the others. She dipped into a perfect curtsy before the podium, every movement measured, controlled. But it was her face that made my wolf stir again. This time, not in pride, but in warning.
Her eyes were knowing. Her smile was calm. Certain.
As if she had already seen this ending long before the rest of us arrived.
“There must be a mistake!” My father’s voice tore through the hall, sharp and feral, carrying the authority of an Alpha unwilling to be challenged. “I refuse to believe any student has surpassed my daughter, unless there has been interference. There is no world where Coraline loses p>
A low ripple spread through the hall-whispers, shifting bodies, the restless stir of wolves sensing conflict.
My mother reached me in an instant, her hand firm around my arm, grounding me before! could falter.
Then came the cold, cutting voice of Professor Grimwood.
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“The winner is decided by eleven master healers,” he said, rising calmly. There was no warmth in his gaze as it met my father’s-only quiet disdain. “Outsiders would do well to remember their place. If you’ve come only to disrupt, you are free to leave p>
“Leave?” My father’s lip curled, a low growl building beneath his words. “My daughter is being robbed, and you expect me to walk away? I will stand here until justice is served p>
“Robbed?” Grimwood let out a soft, amused chuckle.
Something in it made my skin tighten.
“We only just announced the results, Alpha Eldric. The judges conducted everything in secrecy.” His eyes flicked to me then-sharp, invasive, like claws peeling back flesh. “By your logic, I could just as casily claim Lady Cora rob from another student. And who, exactly, would prove me wrong p>
The murmurs deepened.
I felt it then.
Not just the weight of their attention-but the shift.
Doubt.
It crept through the hall like scent on the wind.
My stomach twisted.
The way he said it, the way his gaze lingered on me, it felt like being stripped bare before a pack.
Then his attention slid past me, to my mentor.
I straightened, forcing my shoulders back despite the unease clawing at my chest “It would be wise for all of us to refrain from slander without any evidence. Professor Grimwood p>
Even to my own ears, the certainty I once carried was….. fraying.
A male rose from the judges’ row,
“Andrei,” he called, “since unrest has taken root, perhaps it would be best to reveal the full scoring. Transparency may quiet unfounded suspicions p>
“Yes, do it!” my mother urged beside me, her grip tightening. “For everyone’s sake. Let the truth speak p>
“Everyone?” Grimwood echoed, turning toward us again.
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His smile sharpened.
“Tell me, Luna Daia, who exactly is everyone? So far, I hear only one voice in protest. The rest seem quite content with the outcome. None of the participants is contesting Lylah’s victory p>
His tone dipped, edged with quiet mockery. Then he added softly.
“Strange, isn’t it? How those with no stake in the trial appear the most eager to decide its result p>
Silence followed. It pressed in from all sides, coiling through the hall, sinking into bone.
And for the first time-
My parents had no words.
And neither, I realized with a sinking chill, did I
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