It had been a full week since Jade was expelled from BrightStar Boys High School.
When Alpha Norman told her that she would not be enrolling in any other school, she had put on the expected act, lowered eyes, tight lips, visible disappointment.
She had even let her shoulders slump slightly, as though the decision weighed heavily on her.
But the moment she reached her bedroom and shut the door behind her, she let out a long breath and grinned.
Her body dropped onto the mattress with a soft bounce, arms spreading wide as if she had just been freed from a sentence rather than condemned to one.
School had never been her favorite place. Sitting still, pretending to listen, pretending to care about whatever the teachers were saying at the front, it had all felt tormenting to her.
The only thing that ever made school bearable, even entertaining, had apparently been classified as a crime.
A crime serious enough to get her expelled from five different schools.
So really, she saw no reason to mourn it.
For the first few days, freedom tasted sweet.
She slept in.
She watched movies until her eyes burned and played video games until her fingers ached.
She roamed her room aimlessly, ate whenever she felt like it, and enjoyed the rare silence that came with not having to wake up early or follow a rigid schedule.
But by the end of the week, the novelty wore off.
The days began to blur together, slow and suffocating. The walls of the packhouse started to feel closer and heavier.
Boredom settled in regardless of video games and movies.. she felt restless, it felt unsettling in a way that crawled beneath her skin.
She started thinking about her own life.
She couldn't shake the thought that she was the one hiding while her parents' supposed murderers roamed freely outside.
She was the one locked away, stripped of choice, forced into lies and disguises. She wanted to live openly.
She wanted to date, to fall in love, to experience life the way other girls her age did, without pretending to be someone she wasn't.
She wanted a normal life.
If her uncle was going to continue dragging his feet, then she would do something herself.
But there was a problem.
She wasn't allowed to leave the packhouse. Security inside the estate was too tight. Guards everywhere, eyes always watching. Sneaking out from here would be nearly impossible.
Which meant she needed a reason to leave.
Maybe school.
If she could convince Alpha Norman to enroll her in another one, she would at least gain access to the outside world.
The security at a school would never be as strict as it was here. She would have space.
The moment the decision settled in her mind.
She climbed out of bed and stripped out of her pajamas.
She wrapped her chest the way she always did, fingers moving automatically, and as usual, she muttered a quiet thanks to the moon goddess for sparing her from having larger breasts.
It made things easier.
She pulled on a baggy black T-shirt and loose sweatpants, clothes that hid her body completely.
After adjusting her short hair... dark strands falling over her forehead and brushing the nape of her neck, she tugged on a beanie, letting just enough hair remain visible to complete the look.
She studied herself briefly in the mirror. A boy stared back at her.
Not an exaggerated one. Not someone trying too hard. Just a quiet, dangerous-looking bad boy, effortless and convincing.
She was used to it, even her poses came naturally.
With her hands shoved into her pockets, she left her room and walked down the hallway, then down the stairs to the first floor.
Along the way, she passed servants and maids going about their duties. As always, they blushed when they saw her.
Every single time.
None of them knew her real gender. To them, she was Alpha Norman's defiant, extremely charming, good-looking nephew.
The only exception was the elderly maid who had cared for her since birth, sworn to silence under threat severe enough that Alpha Norman knew the truth would never leave her lips.
~
Normally, Jade would flirt with the maids she passed without noticing them ,today. Their reactions now came from her endless flirtation, and most of the time their faces burned red the moment they saw her, which she enjoyed
But today, her mind was too consumed with other thoughts to even notice them.
As she went down the other hallways, she found herself hoping she wouldn't run into her aunt, the Luna.
Jade had never stopped wondering what she had ever done to deserve her aunt's coldness. Even her quiet presence seemed to irritate her. She knew that her aunt hated her for reasons she could neither see nor understand.
When she reached Alpha Norman's home office where he sat most of the time, and found it empty, irritation sparked in her chest. This couldn't wait.
She thought..
Even so, she already knew he wouldn't agree easily. It would take persistence, pleading, pestering, following him around relentlessly until he gave in.
Spotting another maid in the corridor, Jade stopped her.
"Seen my uncle?" she asked. Her voice hovered perfectly between masculine and feminine, practiced and controlled.
The maid bowed slightly. "Yes. He's in the visitor room with Emperor Gregory."
Jade groaned under her breath, but then she paused.
Emperor Gregory..
Maybe… maybe this could work in her favor.
Surely the Emperor wouldn't agree that someone her age should be denied an education entirely. Maybe he would speak on her behalf. Maybe this was exactly the opportunity she needed.
With renewed determination, Jade headed toward the visitor room.
As she neared the door, voices reached her ears, voices that made her slow to a stop.
"Yes, yes," Emperor Gregory was saying warmly. "The wedding preparations are almost complete. It's a wonderful thing, truly. They're already spending time together, clearly fond of one another. I see no reason to delay their union any longer."
His voice carried excitement, pride.
"Nineteen is a perfect age," he continued. "In ancient times, we were bound to our lifelong mates much earlier than that. I cannot wait to have grandchildren."
Laughter filled the room.
Alpha Norman spoke, his tone just as pleased. "My Lord, you mirror my own desires. I, too, look forward to grandchildren."
More laughter followed.
"Then our wishes will soon be fulfilled," Emperor Gregory replied. "In just a month, they will graduate. And then, the wedding."
Jade stood frozen outside the door.
Nineteen?
Aria was getting married at nineteen?
The surprise barely lasted before it faded into understanding. Of course Aria would be happy. The way she adored Sean bordered on worship.
To her, he was perfection incarnate.
Jade had never met him, but she already despised him. Everything she'd heard painted him as arrogant, cold, prideful.. someone who believed himself untouchable simply because he was the Enigma heir.
Someone who expected the world to bend around him.
She hated that kind of arrogance.
Most of the time, whenever she heard his name, she thanked the moon goddess that she wasn't fated to him. She couldn't imagine binding herself to someone like that. She would rather die.
What Aria saw in him, Jade would never understand.
Jade scoffed quietly at her own thoughts. Imagining herself chosen for an enigma heir was ridiculous.
Really laughable. That could only happen to someone as powerful and perfect as Aria. She told herself.
Her attention snapped back to the present as footsteps approached the door, which only meant that the meeting was ending.
Before she could second-guess herself, she raised her hand and knocked.
She knew her uncle would kill her for what she was about to do, but she also knew this might be her only chance.