When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 195

SERAPHINA

The next morning I woke from a deep sleep to find my body loose and achingly tender, a strange warmth blooming under my skin. I couldn’t tell if it was the intensity of satisfying sex with Ronan or the fact that I woke in his arms, both felt possible. I had never imagined being with my soulmate could feel like this.

Before heading to the training grounds he woke me gently, insisting I take a peaceful shower while everyone else trained. Since the Academy had returned to their old routine and training, I too was expected to follow it but he seemed to have talked to the Alpha instructor and made an excuse for me so that I could sleep more even if it was just for a day.

When I returned, refreshed from the shower, we walked to the cafeteria together for breakfast.

kept one eye on the other Alphas while we sat across from each other to eat, old habits die hard, but Ronan held my attention so completely that I realized nobody else was watching us as closely as I had feared. Everyone had their own worries; people were absorbed in their own lives.

Then he surprised me with a warm bowl of chicken soup, toast, eggs, fruit and nuts, nothing like the standard menu that morning.

“What is all this?” I asked, blinking.

“You sweated a lot and burned calories last night. Time to refuel,” he said, passing me the spoon without breaking eye contact.

I couldn’t help smiling. I didn’t know what strings he’d pulled to have the kitchen prepare this, but the feeling of being cared for, of being chosen, was unlike anything I’d ever known.

Happiness bubbled in my belly. I tried to keep my composure, took a cautious sip, and murmured, “It’s too much for me to finish,” The soup was, undeniably, delicious.

“Eat as much as you can. I’ll finish the rest,” he winked.

I nudged his leg under the table with my shoe. “Behave,” I said, forcing a tight smile. Finishing my leftovers sounded intimate and if someone heard him saying that, especially winking at me then it might mean trouble.

There were too many people around for anything overt between us, and I kept my movements measured, keeping the same distance friends usually did. Still, Ronan’s eyes lingered on me more than his food. It felt as if he were undressing me with his eyes. My ears burned and the heat crept up my neck.

1

“Eat. Don’t just stare,” I muttered, hurriedly stuffing another spoonful into my mouth to make him look away. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and watched me more intently.

My cheeks flushed and I couldn’t manage another bite. “Hey!” I jabbed his leg harder, and he laughed.

“Sorry–sorry. I was just teasing,” he said at last, picking up his fork. I let out a relieved breath and bit into an apple, when he said my name softly, “Seraphina.”

“Hmmm?” I glanced up, casual, and found his gaze softened and full of something like love. “When all this ends, is there a place you want to go with me?”

My heart stumbled. When this all ended? Did he mean when we all left the Academy? In the outside world? Free and together? My heart skipped a beat. No one had ever asked me that. I hadn’t even allowed myself to think in those terms; it was something ordinary couples did, something I’d never expected for myself. Yet here he was, my soulmate. Sitting opposite me, sharing a quiet breakfast, smiling. It felt like a fairy tale I’d never dared to hope for.

Suddenly I understood, this moment would become one of my most treasured memories,

ours.

A small smile curved my lips. “Let’s go to the seaside together,” I said.

He returned the smile, handsome and real. “Okay.”

My heart kept racing for the rest of breakfast, as if we’d been on a date. The sensation was intoxicating, hard to name.

I wished I could freeze that moment, hold it suspended forever so this happiness would never end.

That’s when piercing scream echoed from somewhere in the distance, sharp enough to cut through the quiet hum of the cafeteria. Ronan’s eyes immediately met mine. We both shot to our feet and hurried to the window, just in time to see a healer sprinting out of the healers‘ building, panic twisting his face. “There…there…” he pointed inside the the healers building.

“Let’s go,” I said, already moving.

By the time we reached the building, chaos had erupted. Dozens of Alphas crowded near the entrance, whispering, running, some healers too afraid to go inside. Ronan and I pushed through the throng until we reached the common room.

Several Alphas stood frozen, gasping. Aran was there too but his face was ashen, his eyes

2

wide and fixed upward.

I followed his gaze and my breath stopped.

A young she–wolf hung from the ceiling fan, her body limp and swaying slightly.

My stomach lurched. My heart stopped beating for a second.

“Isn’t that the omega who wanted to become a healer?” someone from the healers whispered behind me, voice trembling. “Why would she…commit suicide?”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify