We trudged out of Vale’s office in silence.
I’ve never felt so helpless like I do now, and from the expression on Slater and Kael’s faces, I could tell they’ve been crushed, too.
Outside the administrative building, the air felt colder.
None of us spoke. Kael walked off toward the training grounds without saying a word to any of us or looking back. Slater shoved his hands in his pockets and walked the other way towards his dorm.
I stood there for a moment, staring at nothing and then turned towards the direction of my own house.
An hour later, I arrived at my house. My security details, who were in charge of driving me around, were out in front, joking about something. The moment they saw me, they all stilled before they ran to me.
"Alpha Rhett? What happened? I’m sorry, but did you try calling?" Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt
"No!" I shook my head, brushing past them. "I wanted to clear my head, and the walk did me good."
As soon as I walked past the foyer, into the living room, I saw Lydia curled on the couch watching TV.
The second she saw me, she bounded to her feet and rushed over to me, pressing a kiss to my lips.
"Welcome home, dear. I missed you."
"Hey," I tried to sound warm.
"Your father’s here," she added with a whisper, and then mouthed "help" with a giggle that might have charmed me yesterday.
I’d forgotten about Lydia. That fact hit me with a wave of guilt. I’d forgotten that I was engaged to this beautiful woman here, and our joining ceremony was scheduled to take place at the end of this semester.
Sometime after midnight, after the pool incident, just before I’d gone after Charis, who ran into the garden, I’d sent off Lydia back to my house with a promise that I’d be back home soon.
I didn’t keep my promise because I’d been so consumed with the mate bond revelation that I forgot about everything else.
"Are you fine?" Lydia asked, studying my face with concern. "How was your day? I waited for you all night. Did you see my text? You look troubled."
"Ly!" I grimaced. "One question at a time. I’m sorry, I should have texted last night, but I got carried away, and I was having a good day moments ago."
"Did something happen?" she asked, staring at me curiously. "This is school hours, right? You’re supposed to be in class."
Before I could answer, my dad came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, the way he did when he’d been stress-cooking and didn’t want anyone to talk about it. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me.
"Rhett?" he asked, crossing the room quickly to where I stood. "Is everything alright? Why are you back home by this time?"
As soon as I saw my father, a brilliant idea struck me. My father was one of the most influential Alphas in the region, with superb connections both at home and abroad. Notably, he was a significant funder of the Academy.
If anyone could get Charis released before the inquiry board destroyed her overnight, it would be him.
"Dad," I said with excitement, "I need your help with something urgent."
"Slow down, Rhett. Did something happen? Why are you home by this time?"
"Something did happen," I sighed, my gaze drifting to Lydia, who still stood there watching us curiously. I didn’t want to burden her with my many troubles "It’s regarding Headmistress Vale."
"Uhm, I’ll just go back to watching my movie," Lydia said with a bright smile and bounded back to the living room.
I grabbed my father’s arm and shoved him out of the living room, towards the backyard and a little far from the house. I didn’t want anyone listening in on us.
"You’re acting weird, Rhett. What’s wrong?"
"I need a favour, Dad. A friend of mine has been falsely accused of a serious crime at the Academy. They’re planning to hold him for a week and then put him through an inquiry board, but I know he’s innocent."
"By friend, I am assuming it’s Slater or Kael or Eamon?"
"It’s Char—Eamon," I corrected quickly. "Vale has him in detention. She wants to initiate an inquiry next week and also says there’s a twenty-four-hour hold before he can be allowed to go home, but she’s not sure he will be released. That would depend on the interrogation team, but I don’t want him to spend a night there."
My father’s expression grew thoughtful. "What kind of accusation?"
"Data theft. They claim he leaked student information online and to the black market, but the evidence appears to be fabricated. I think someone is targeting him specifically."
"Why would anyone go after an Alpha’s bastard?" My father asked, boring into my eyes with eyes that mirrored mine, "Is there something —"
"Dad, c’mon," I sighed, interrupting him.
"Fine, what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to use your influence to get him released before the inquiry board meets. Can we resolve this issue before it escalates? Please."
My father studied me for a moment.
"Eamon must be so important to you," he observed.
"He is, Dad. I owe him my life."
He nodded slowly, "Let me make some calls. If there’s a way to resolve this without destroying Eamon’s future, I’ll find it."
A few minutes later, I was pacing in front of my father as he made a final call to a friend who worked on the inquiry board.
The friend confirmed that they had received Eamon’s case file today and stated that there was no way he could request his release. In fact, due to the severity of the case, they were going to cancel the 24-hour wait period and prevent him from being bailed out.
"Calm down, Rhett," my father said quietly when the call ended. "Let’s wait until..."
"You don’t understand, Dad," I shook my head, interrupting him, "Eamon cannot be kept in detention. He’s not going away after all."
"It’s not that simple, Rhett," my father shook his head. "The law is the law, and leaking data of Alpha children is inciting war. If nothing is done, the parents will whine for a long time and might withdraw their children. Given the current situation surrounding Ravenshore, this is bad PR."
"There must be something we can do, please," I insisted "There’s a reason why I cannot allow him to spend a night there."
First, her identity could easily be compromised. By evening, she would be removed from the holding cells and taken to the cells where other men are kept. The thought of her being amid strangers, with who knows what might happen, scared me the most.
"There is a way," my father said suddenly, and I turned to him "It’s old-fashioned and, I doubt..."
"What is it?" I asked.
"We can invoke Founder’s Provision," he said quietly. "We could ask for an emergency transfer to House Thatcher custody on grounds of student welfare and public safety. The charter says a founding house may assume custody of any student if a credible threat exists to the student’s life or if their presence is required to prevent bigger harm."
"That provision hasn’t been used in so many years," I said.
"Yeah," my dad nodded. "The last person who used it was my father, your grandfather, to remove a boy out of the school clinic because the doctors were going to perform a procedure neither he nor his parents consented to."
"It’s worth a shot, right?" I asked desperately.
"Yes, it can only get him out of detention, but that doesn’t solve anything in the least, and it might also put him at a disadvantage during trial. The opposing party may say he’s trying to cover up his acts by taking advantage of his friendship with you."
"When we get to that bridge, we will cross it, Dad. Just tell me what needs to be done."