For a moment, raw hurt flashed in Roman’s eyes as he asked her, "Are you that ashamed of me?"
Elsie stiffened. The question caught her off guard, as if she hadn’t realized the full extent of her words until now. Perhaps she had pushed too far. And that was warning enough for her to be careful.
Roman was the only one left. Out of all the Cardinal Alphas, he was the one who had never truly turned against her. The one who still followed her lead, respected her, and defended her. If she lost him too, she’d have nothing.
So, with perfectly measured grace, she softened.
"Of course not, Roman," Elsie said, her voice dipping into something gentler. "I’m only concerned about you making a fool of yourself in front of my parents. My people."
She touched his face, her fingers light, coaxing him. But the doubt in Roman’s eyes didn’t fade.
So she tried again.
"You’ve known me for years."Her voice dropped into something more intimate, weaving through the space between them. "I was the one who took care of you during your..." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully, "unexpected shifts."
Her grip on his face tightened slightly as she pushed on. "All those times your father would—"
But she didn’t get to finish because Roman’s sharp glare cut her off immediately, his eyes flashing a silent but absolute warning.
Elsie swallowed hard. Fine. She wouldn’t mention it.
Instead, she exhaled slowly, lowering her gaze as she murmured, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things."
Then, she leaned closer, her forehead pressing lightly against his, her breath warm against his skin.
"You’re the only one I have left." Her voice wavered, tinged with something raw and desperate. "Don’t leave me like the others."
Roman closed his eyes for a brief second. The vulnerability in her words wrapped around him like a chain, pulling him in despite himself. She needed him. And just like that, he made up his mind.
"Don’t worry," he promised, his voice filled with quiet devotion. "I’m not like the others. I’m not leaving your side."
No matter how tempting Violet Purple might be. Roman didn’t say the last part out loud, but he knew it. Violet was nothing but trouble and distraction, he wouldn’t fall into her trap.
Then, as he stared into Elsie’s piercing blue eyes, and something in him shifted.
Roman couldn’t help himself. Slowly, he leaned in. His fingers moved up, brushing against her jaw with an almost reverent touch, his breath mingling with hers. He was close, so close to kissing her only for Elsie to turn away at the last minute. Roman’s lips landed on her cheek.
His jaw locked.
"Remember the rules," she reminded him smoothly, her voice cool and detached, as if he hadn’t just been a breath away from kissing her.
Roman pulled back slowly, his face twisting into something bitter.
"Yes. The fucking rules."
Alpha King Elijah had made his decree clear. The Cardinal Alphas could fight for Elsie. They could court her, compete for her, claim her. But there would be no kissing. No sex. No physical intimacy of any kind until one of them won the Alpha King title and made her his mate.
She was to remain untouched. A temptation, a prize. A queen waiting for her king.
And she had been.
Until Violet Purple showed up.
Violet, the one with no rank, no standing, no rightful place among them, had stolen what should have belonged to Elsie. She had captured the attention of the alphas. Attention that wasn’t hers to take.
At once, Elsie drew back, the vulnerability in her eyes vanishing as though it had never existed. Her expression hardened, and she turned the conversation back to Violet.
"We need to find a way to break Violet once and for all," she declared, voice cool with determination. "The girl is too stubborn for her own good, and we can’t have her stirring up a revolt. Imagine how it’d look if the humans decided they no longer want to ally with us wolves. There’d be no one to keep them in line."
"You’re right," Roman agreed. "She’s too stubborn for her own good." He said it with a layered tone, one that Elsie didn’t pick up on.
"Violet and her roommates are rogues," Elsie continued, "condemned, ours to do with as we please."
"She’s human, though," Roman pointed out softly, only for Elsie to glare at him so fiercely he lifted his hands in surrender.
"I’m only saying, let’s not take it too far. They’re human, after all, and if something unfortunate happened, it’d be terrible publicity for Lunaris Academy, especially if people found out the details."
Elsie’s lips twisted in discontent. "Then we’ll go easy on them," she said, though her voice hinted at a very different plan.
"Hmmm, I guess," Roman echoed, lacking any real enthusiasm.
Elsie ignored his disinterest and pressed on. "We still can’t break Violet as long as Asher keeps getting in the way. He’s always done whatever he pleases, and maybe you could’ve talked sense into him if the two of you weren’t at each other’s throats." She said it as though the fallout between Asher and Roman wasn’t entirely to her advantage.
The light in Roman’s eyes died. He and Asher had once been inseparable, but then Violet came along and it goes down the drain. Despite the pang in his chest, he shoved the feelings down.
Elsie continued, "I went to find Asher, to talk some sense into him. He can’t just throw away years of tradition for that whore. And guess what?"
"What is it?"
"He’s not on campus."
"What?" Roman’s head snapped up. "Where did he go?"
"Jeremiah wouldn’t tell me." Elsie’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Actually, he almost bit my head off, claiming I was responsible for what happened at the dining hall. Said I’d better control my girls, and if anything else happens to Violet, I’ll answer for it." She gave Roman an exasperated look. "So what’s the point of branding them rogues if we can’t treat them like rogues?"
But Roman’s mind was elsewhere, turning over Asher’s sudden absence. Back in the day, Asher would’ve confided in him. Now, he’d vanished without a word. Roman could only guess it had something to do with Violet; maybe Asher knew something about her the rest of them didn’t. Roman was all too familiar with how Asher’s head worked.
"Are you even listening to me?" Elsie demanded, snapping him back to the present.
"Of course, Elsie," he said, rising to his feet. "You’re the queen of this academy, and no matter what cheap moves Violet tries to pull, she can’t dethrone you." He paused. "Now, if you’ll excuse me."
He left before Elsie could say another word.