The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 90: The Real War

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: The Real War

Lorraine’s POV

The academy grounds were quiet now, eerily so. The blood had been washed away, but the scent of death still clung to the air. The Lycan, Elite and Noble elders had dispersed. The show was over. All that remained were the shadows and the silence they left behind.

Adrian walked beside me, hands in his pockets, his usual sharp energy dulled to a quiet simmer. Felix was on my other side, his brows drawn together, shoulders stiff with whatever storm was raging inside him. We didn’t talk much as we walked. We didn’t need to. The tension still hung in the air, wrapping around our throats like invisible chains.

We reached a courtyard behind the east wing. It was far enough from the Lycans’ quarters, far from the patrols and the surveillance eyes built into the academy walls

An old tree stood in the center, gnarled, ancient. Its roots twisted through the stone like it refused to be tamed, and I sat beneath it, back resting against the bark. Adrian dropped down beside me with a grunt, stretching his long legs. Felix sat cross-legged, watching me closely.

"So?" he asked after a beat. "What did the Alpha King say about Elise? Is he going to help us find her?"

I didn’t answer.

"And did you tell him?" Felix pressed, voice rising. "Abiut us ferals being killed and dragged out of our rooms and tossed like garbage, did he say anything? Is he going to do something about the way we’re treated worse than dirt?"

I looked at him, at the faint desperation in his eyes. His fingers trembled. He wanted hope.

And all I could do was laugh.

A cold, bitter sound escaped me. Not because it was funny, but because it was the only thing I could do to stop myself from screaming.

"We have no hope in this academy, Felix," I said, staring up at the branches swaying above. "None of us do as long as we are weak. Nobody cares about us. Not even the Alpha King."

"But...."

"The system," I interrupted. "The entire power structure of the werewolf kingdom, this academy, the councils, the Lycans themselves, everything is built to serve the strong. And right now, we’re not strong. We’re the weak ones. So we don’t matter."

Felix looked like I’d slapped him. He looked down, jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might crack.

Adrian snorted beside me, bitter and unsurprised. "I knew it," he muttered. "That bastard king, he is the worst of them all. Heartless tyrant wrapped in gold."

He looked at me, his amber eyes sharp. "It would’ve taken a damn miracle for him to listen to you. Hell, it’s a miracle he didn’t just rip your throat out for challenging the bloody system in front of everyone."

"He almost did," I murmured.

Adrian’s expression darkened.

Then I looked at him and said, "It wasn’t a miracle."

He blinked. "What?"

"It wasn’t a miracle that he didn’t kill me. My death was just.... postponed." I paused, letting the words hang in the air like a blade. "They want to make it more of a spectacle."

Adrian sat up straighter. "What the hell do you mean?"

Felix leaned in too, brows furrowed deep. "Lorraine, what are you talking about?"

So I told them.

I told them everything.

How I had walked into that meeting, expecting at least a shred of dignity from the so-called Alpha King, but instead found nothing but cold, ruthless power. How his presence alone had felt like drowning in ice. How he had looked at me like I was filth for even daring to speak in his presence. I told them about the moment he nearly crushed me with his sword, how I’d tasted blood in my throat, how my body had started to shut down just standing near him.

And then... I told them about her intervention

Astrid Voss.

How she had stepped in, not to save me, but to entertain herself.

"She told him my execution was too quick," I said, bitterness seeping into every word. "That it would be a waste to kill me quietly. She wanted it to be fun. Wanted it to be a game."

Adrian was already shaking his head. "No. You’re joking."

"I wish I was."

Felix’s hands curled into fists, eyes wide with horror. "What.... what are they going to do?"

I looked them both in the eye.

"At the next assembly," I said slowly, "Astrid Voss is going to announce a bounty."

Their confusion froze into stunned disbelief.

"A bounty?" Adrian echoed, disbelieving. "Like.... an actual hunt?"

I nodded. "On me. Every student in this academy will be told they can do whatever they want to me and they’ll be rewarded for it. I’m going to become the most wanted wolf in this place. Not because of a crime. Not because I broke a law. But because I stood up to their king."

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. Just breathing. Processing. Trying not to explode.

Then Adrian shot to his feet, pacing violently beneath the tree. "This place is insane. Completely rabid. Do they even hear themselves? They’re going to turn the entire academy into a blood sport! You’re not prey..... the are making you into some kind of sick entertainment to pass time."

Felix stared at me, voice hoarse. "Lorraine, you can’t stay here. You can’t survive that."

I smiled, but there was no humor in it. "I don’t have a choice. And you two should stay away from me now"

Adrian turned to me sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I need you and Felix to leave" I said softly. "I’m now targeted. If you continue to hang around with me.... you probably won’t be safe either."

Felix laughed. "You are a fool if you think I would leave you at this point Lorraine, we’ve been in this together and I am never going anywhere"

Lorraine nodded and turned to Adrian

"I don’t expect you to stay with me Adrian, you are not a feral like Felix and I, you are a noble and a very good person, you have a good future ahead of you, don’t ruin it by getting caught in the crossfire between me and everyone else"

Adrian was silent at first, then he marched over and dropped beside me again, fire in his eyes. "You think I’m scared of a bunch of prideful and pathetic mutts parading themselves as student? Let them come if they want to, I am not abandoning you for anything Lorraine"

Felix nodded fiercely. "Me too Lorraine"

My throat tightened. I didn’t know what to say.

They had chosen to stay by my side

They weren’t just my allies.

They were choosing to become part of my war. _{fr.e ewe.bno.vel .com}

Kieran’s POV

The sun had already begun to set, bleeding its last light across the academy’s marble courtyard as Astrid Voss and I flanked my father, the Alpha King, on his final walk toward the gleaming black fleet that waited at the edge of the steps like loyal beasts. Every one of his cars, armored, spotless, and glinting with lethal elegance, stood ready, engines purring low, almost reverently. His guards fell into formation behind us, all in black and red, matching his colors. The academy staff bowed low from a distance. No one dared breathe wrong.

I walked behind him, exactly one pace behind

I wasn’t sure how I felt about him leaving. Relief? Maybe

We stopped at the car designated for him, the largest of the convoy, with tinted obsidian windows and the royal crest engraved into the door handles. He turned then, regal and cold as winter steel, his eyes sharp as if they could strip me bare with a glance.

"You do know why I am punishing you, right?" he asked, voice low but cutting.

I met his gaze, chin high, throat dry. "Yes, Father."

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t look away.

"I spoke against you.... for a mere feral. In front of a crowd. I was disrespectful," I said, my voice even, rehearsed. "And I deserve and accept the punishment."

He studied me in silence. The pause stretched thin between us.

"Maybe you aren’t as immature as I thought you might have become," he finally said, with something like reluctant acknowledgment.

I didn’t respond. I wouldn’t mistake that for praise. The Alpha King never praise anyone except himself

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You still remember our deal, right?"

My jaw tensed, but I nodded. "I remember."

I must attain the Total Lycan Ascendancy, and in a month.

Or be mated to someone, anyone, he chose.

A girl of high standing. Perfect bloodline. Political value.

It wouldn’t matter who she was. She’d never be mine.

"Good," he said with finality, then turned his sharp gaze to Astrid, who stood to his right, ever stiff, ever unreadable. He tilted his head slightly. "I’ve already sent word to come and join Magnus Thorn to join you in running the academy."

Astrid’s eyes widened.

The name dropped like a thunderclap.

Magnus Thorn.

A Lycan war legend. A brute. A tactician. A relic of blood-soaked glory days who’d vanished into the king’s inner sanctum a decade ago. And now..... he was coming here.

"To help you restore order," my father continued, casually. "This place reeks of weakness. You need a hand, and he’s the perfect one."

Astrid bowed low, but I didn’t miss the tightness in her posture. She didn’t dare speak against him, but she wasn’t pleased. Not even close.

"You two have a history that goes way back," he added with a faint smirk. "So you shouldn’t have any problem reconnecting with him."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Astrid murmured, her voice polished and obedient. But her knuckles had gone white.

I stepped forward and opened the car door for him.

"Wishing you a safe journey back, Father."

He paused for a fraction of a second. His gaze lingered on me, unreadable. Something flickered in his eyes, almost like pride. Almost like approval.

Almost.

Then he stepped inside, settling into the shadows of the luxurious leather interior. The red embroidery caught the last light as he adjusted the ceremonial cape around his shoulders. The door shut with a heavy finality, sealing him in.

A moment later, the first car rolled forward, the others following in perfect sequence like hounds on a leash. The entire convoy surged toward the academy gates, engines humming in unison, wheels whispering across the stone like thunder restrained.

I stood there watching them disappear, every step of their departure feeling like a weight lifting and another being chained to my back.

Because now it begins.

Now the clock starts ticking.

Thirty days.

Total Lycan Ascendancy.

Or a bondless, empty mating.

And worse still, Magnus Thorn was coming. He is literally the King’s right hand man

Which meant the king wasn’t done with this place. Not by far.

And Lorraine?

The real war hadn’t even started yet.