Chapter 236

The investigator hissed out a sharp exhale and finally lowered the gun. With those silver bullets safely aimed away from the love of my life, I finally felt myself breathe.

When he released his tight hold on my arm, I barreled forward toward Asher, raising my arms. He caught me easily, clinging me to him like a second skin.

He combed his fingers through my hair and placed soft kiss after soft kiss along my forehead.

“I have you,” he said. “I will never let you go.”

“Thank you,” I breathed in reply. I held him around his waist as tightly as I could. He didn’t say one word against the way I squeezed him.

We held each other for several long moments, before the investigator cleared his throat, and I remembered where we were.

“You should get back to campus while I get these men cleaned up,” the investigator said. He returned his gun to the holder under his jacket. “You’ll forgive us for not giving you a ride. Though perhaps you want a change of clothes?”

“I’ll shift back to wolf form,” Asher said.

The investigator nodded.

I was so confused. After all this, he was just going to let us go? Why the change of heart?

“What happened?” I asked.

Asher kissed my forehead again.

The investigator came closer, to help one of the fallen goons back to their feet.

“True soulmates with an Alpha are so rare, I cannot legally separate you,” the investigator said. “Whether you have the projection ability or not no longer matters.”

“You’re kidding,” I gasped.

He shook his head. “The old laws that protect soulmates supersede even the will of the King.”

How ancient and old the rules must be to be so untouchable even the King couldn’t change them.

I had trouble believing it could be true, but the investigator simply continued helping those that were injured. Those goons eventually rose to their feet, rubbing at their bruises. They didn’t even bother with us anymore.

Looking up at Asher, I was amazed by him. Not only had he chased me the whole way here, but then he stood up against such a numerous group of men and at last declared his bond with me for all to hear.

I was ashamed of myself for ever thinking he could abandon me.

Holding my hand, he led me out of the garage and onto the sidewalk. There, he released my hand so that he could shift into wolf form.

I waved down a cab. The driver didn’t even blink when he saw Asher.

“Where are you headed?” he asked.

I didn’t know the answer. I was supposed to leave campus, not run back to it.

Asher watched me with unblinking blue eyes. Expectantly.

I supposed my suitcase was still on campus. I hadn’t said goodbye to Aimee or Nicole, and Asher likely wanted to change before he saw me off.

“The Academy,” I told the driver, and the car started moving.

When we returned to the dorm, Aimee and Nicole were beside themselves with worry. The moment I came through the door, they pulled me into a hug.

“We didn’t know what to do,” Nicole said. “We tried to follow, but…”

Aimee motioned to a pile of tattered clothes on the bed. Among them was a cell phone and a wallet. “We found Asher’s things.”

Asher chuffed, likely in thanks. He hadn’t shifted yet. When he would, he’d be naked after all. He probably didn’t want to be nude in front of our friends.

The girls seemed to understand that too.

“We’ll head out now so you two can talk,” Aimee said, as she pulled Nicole toward the door.

“We will?” Nicole looked at Aimee, who dipped her head toward Asher. “Oh, right! Yes, we will.”

I saw them out, then closed and locked the door behind them. When I turned back to Asher, he was already at the dresser in human form, pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

“Why have you packed?” he asked.

My suitcase was propped up beside the bed. I frowned at it.

“You know why,” I said. “It was in the email. I only have twenty-four hours to leave campus before they force me.” I weaved my fingers together. I’d been manhandled enough for a lifetime already. “It seemed easier to be ready.”

I didn’t tell him about me spiraling in his absence. How when he had disappeared, I had assumed the worst: that he had wanted me gone.

It seemed so silly now. I should have known better. Sometimes it seemed like these pregnancy hormones made me lose my mind. My emotions so often overwhelmed logical thought.

“Unpack,” Asher said.

I looked at him with wide eyes. “What? But the email…?”

Asher stood tall and proud, like how he had done when he declared our soulbond in front of the investigator.

“When I was gone, I used some of my resources to look into things. I know how hard you studied, and how confident you were. Something didn’t seem to add up, so I looked into it.”

My throat felt dry. “And?”

“You failed because of the literature question. They unnecessarily docked you extra points for your response.”

My heart sunk. I had made the wrong choice then. I should have complied with what I knew the values of the Academy to be. I should never have ventured off course like I did, talking about how much I ranked my family and friends equally to my own future, even if honesty felt right at the time.

I still couldn’t quite regret what I wrote, however. I had meant every word. I hadn’t compromised my values.

I only wish those values held any kind of weight at the Academy.

“I guess it doesn’t matter,” I said, after a moment. “Not really. Failure is failure, no matter the reason.”

Asher came closer to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, drawing my attention up to his face.

“You did well on every other section of the exam, Cyn. They failed you over one question. They were biased. That should never have been allowed.”

“I know that, but that’s the way things are, Asher. That’s the way they’ve always been. Remember how unforgiving they were about delaying my athletic entrance exam because of my pregnancy? They don’t care about me as a person, they never did.”

I wasn’t surprised things turned out the way they did. It still hurt though, to hear that I wasn’t accepted into the Academy simply because of who I was as a person. I had hoped with enough hard work and effort, I could succeed at anything. That mindset felt so naïve now.

“This is the way things are,” I said, gloomy. “There’s nothing we can do to change it now.”

Asher squeezed my shoulders before letting his hands drop.

“Don’t be so sure,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

He walked over to the bed where Aimee had deposited his ripped up clothes and personal items. He dug out his cell phone from among them.

“Asher?”

He unlocked his phone and tapped at the screen. He placed the phone on speak so I could hear it ringing. He had called someone.

They picked up on the third ring. “Hello, little brother. What can I do for you today?”

“Chase,” Asher said. “I need you to write another exposé.”

Chase laughed through the phone. “Excellent. The last one flew off the self. What do you have for me this time?”

Asher held my gaze. “This time we want to take down the Academy itself.”