The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 85: Into the Lion’s Den

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Into the Lion’s Den

Lorraine’s POV

The hospital bathroom was small, barely more than a cubicle with flickering lights and cracked tiles, but it might as well have been a palace and I wouldn’t have cared, not when I knew what was waiting for me this morning. The warm water stung as it hit the cuts on my skin, a brutal reminder that comfort in this academy was never without pain. I let the water run down my body, washing away the sweat, and the exhaustion, at least the physical kind.

But nothing could rinse the heaviness in my chest. Elise was gone. Just like that.

I closed my eyes, willing the water to numb me, to freeze the storm inside. It didn’t work. It never did.

Once I was done, I stepped out and reached for the folded uniform Adrian had gotten for me, crisp, neat, and smelling faintly of cedar.

I wore the uniform and stared at myself in the mirror.

I needed to survive the conference. I needed answers. And if the Alpha King was the only way to get them, then I would face him wearing whatever mask they expected of me.

When I stepped out, Felix was standing in the room and Adrian was standing just beside him, arms crossed. His eyes swept over me, assessing "You look ready."

I didn’t feel ready. But I nodded.

Together, the three of us walked through the academy’s early morning hush, the cold biting at the corners of my sleeves. The towering northern wing loomed ahead, its polished stone walls gleaming beneath the early sky. The North Conference Room, where power gathered, and where people like me didn’t belong.

We reached the tall arching doors of the conference hall, two guards stationed at either side like statues carved from stone.

Adrian stopped and turned to me. "We’ll wait for you here." _{f|ree(w)ebn\o.vel.com}

"And if anything happens," Felix added, stepping forward, "we’ll come running to get you."

His fist clenched at his side, the muscles in his jaw tight. I could see it in his eyes, he wanted to be inside with me, but he knew this wasn’t his battle. Not yet.

I looked at both of them. Their loyalty was the kind that had been earned through blood and terror and, shared survival. I couldn’t afford to lose them, not now, not ever.

"Sure," I said, giving them a nod. "I’ll be back."

Hopefully, I added in my mind as I turned away.

Then I pushed open the doors and walked into the lion’s den.

The doors closed behind me with a weighty thud, sealing me inside the grand chamber. The conference room was far larger than I’d imagined. The air was chilled, polished floors gleaming with the reflection of the intricate gold-and-black chandeliers that hung high above like twisted vines of elegance and menace.

At the far end of the hall sat a massive chair, no, a throne, carved from dark stone and metal, its back rising like spears into the ceiling. Before it was a long obsidian table, empty for now but exuding power. The room felt less like a place for discussion and more like an execution chamber dressed in royalty’s disguise.

Dozens of guards lined the walls already, each armored in black with weapons strapped to their backs. Silent. Alert. Waiting.

I was still taking it in when the side doors creaked open and Astrid Voss strode in, straight-backed and smug as ever, her coat swinging with authority. Behind her, the dragging of chains scraped sharply against the floor, and I turned to see them dragging Alistair in.

His body was bruised and bloody, silver chains locked tight around his wrists and ankles. He wasn’t struggling anymore, too weak, maybe, or just broken, but his eyes flicked up when they threw him to the center of the room like garbage.

I didn’t know whether to be happy to see him like that after everything or to feel bad for him

Astrid took her place behind the throne, her arms folding over her chest with the precision of someone who enjoyed every second of what was about to happen.

Then.... everything stilled.

A chill swept across the room, not from the cold air, but from something deeper, darker. My breath caught in my throat as an invisible weight pressed down on the room like an iron shroud.

The doors at the end of the hall creaked open.

The Lycan King had arrived.

His aura stormed in before his body did, frost and rage laced in a suffocating wave. Without a word, every person in the room, guards, officials, even Astrid, dropped to one knee.

And I did too.

It wasn’t submission. It was survival. Or both

From beneath my lashes, I dared a glance, and my heart lurched.

He walked in like a storm dressed in black. Tall, powerful, death in every step. His silver streaked hair caught the light like moonlight, his eyes scanning the room with a calm, cruel precision that chilled my blood. This was a man who didn’t blink before tearing someone apart. A man who ruled not with respect, but fear carved in flesh and bone.

And behind him....

Kieran.

My breath stilled.

He was just a few steps behind his father, dressed in black and red, shoulders squared, jaw tight. His presence was quieter than the king’s, but no less dangerous. His eyes didn’t sweep the room, they pierced through it. And for one terrible second, his gaze locked with mine.

My heart betrayed me and skipped.

He looked like him. Exactly like the Alpha King in that moment

Cold. Calculating. Cruel.

And all I could remember in that moment was Adrian’s voice echoing in my head, She died because of him. Because of Kieran.... his only sister had died.

My stomach twisted violently.

Was this who he truly was beneath the smirks and taunts? The man who would stand silent as the world burned? Would he be even worse than his father?

Everyone rose as the Alpha King took his seat, the throne embracing him like it had been carved solely for his weight and wrath. The heavy silence returned, thicker now, every breath shallow, every movement cautious.

Kieran stood tall at his side, hands clasped behind his back. His expression was unreadable, stone-faced, distant. Not a flicker of emotion betrayed what he might be thinking. Not a glance in my direction. Just stillness.

My eyes darted around the room. More people had followed the King in than I initially noticed, each group distinct in color and posture. Groups of old powerful lookinng wolves, some in red looking strong and proud; some wore blue robes, their heads were held high but there was fear in their eyes as they all saw Alistair on the ground; the others wore green, and they looked older and indifferent. They all watched, all waited.

And the moment the Alpha King cleared his throat, the air locked into place again.

He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to.

"Voss," he said, voice cutting and low. "Barricade the door. And bring me my sword."

My heart stopped.