Stolen Fate: Bound to Seven Alphas

Chapter 36: Alpha of House Valerius

WILLA

"My... my ex-boyfriend?" I stammered, my eyes widening.

Suddenly, everything about Elliot started making sense.

The hostility. His determination to stay away from me. The strange looks from the other students.

I palmed my face with a groan. I really should’ve guessed.

Though honestly, even if I had tried, that still wouldn’t have been my first assumption.

I stared at Verah speechlessly while she stared right back at me with wide, unblinking eyes.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

"I... forgot," I muttered weakly.

The excuse sounded pathetic even to my own ears. Someone like Elliot Ashford didn’t exactly seem forgettable.

He had the looks, the confidence, and the kind of presence that demanded attention the second he walked into a room.

Verah glared harder. "Yeah," she snapped. "You forgot."

I groaned quietly.

There was no way to defend myself here, especially with the suspicion slowly creeping back into her expression.

She cut me off before I could even attempt to explain.

"You literally embarrassed yourself trying to cozy up to him."

I winced internally. Because unfortunately...She wasn’t wrong. I regretted every second of it already.

Lowering my gaze to my shoes, I gave a small nod. Silence stretched briefly between us before Verah suddenly sighed.

"But whatever." She grabbed my wrist again and started pulling me along.

I didn’t question where we were going until we passed the classroom building entirely.

"Are we going home?"

"Headmaster Alaric wants to see us."

A slight frown tugged at my brows as I looked toward the towering administrative building ahead.

Did this have something to do with the amnesia letter I’d given him earlier?

He hadn’t said anything afterward. I honestly thought handing it over was the end of it. freeweɓnøvel.com

Maybe not.

We reached the administrative building less than five minutes later and headed straight for Headmaster Alaric’s office.

Verah knocked twice before pushing the door open and stepping inside. I followed quietly behind her, shutting the door softly after me.

The faint scent of pinewood and old leather drifted through the room.

I remained near the entrance, both hands tucked into the pockets of my blazer. Verah walked toward the desk first.

"We’re here," she announced, even though Headmaster Alaric was already staring directly at us with one hand resting beneath his chin.

Verah dropped into one of the chairs opposite him before turning to frown at me.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, motioning for me to come over.

I nodded quickly and moved forward before taking the seat beside her. For several long seconds, neither of us spoke.

Headmaster Alaric simply continued staring. I flushed beneath the intensity of his gaze.

Awkwardly, my eyes drifted upward toward the numbers glowing on the air conditioner before wandering elsewhere around the office.

A large framed portrait hung behind him. It wasn’t a personal photograph.

Seven people stood in the image dressed in old-fashioned riding attire, each holding riding crops with rigid expressions on their faces.

I squinted slightly, trying to read the plaque beneath the frame. The only word I managed to make out was:

Founders.

Then to the seven flags near the pictures, each representing a house colour.

"Um..." Verah finally broke the silence.

My attention snapped back toward her.

"The important thing you wanted to tell us?"

"Right," Headmaster Alaric grunted softly.

Only then did he finally peel his gaze away from me. I let out a slow breath and shifted slightly in my seat.

Headmaster Alaric opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out the brown envelope I had given him earlier that morning.

The same envelope containing Steven’s report. He placed it neatly on the desk before lifting his gaze back to me.

"I read through the report your parents sent."

I swallowed hard and quickly looked away. I hated the way he stared sometimes.

Like he already sensed something was wrong and only needed enough time to peel every truth out of me piece by piece.

Headmaster Alaric sighed quietly. "That’s the reason I asked both of you to come here."

"Okay," Verah said slowly, nodding once before immediately frowning in confusion. "I think I’m a little lost here."

"Miss Maddox is suffering temporary memory loss due to the attack," Headmaster Alaric explained. "And the reason you’re here is—"

"To help her remember things and explain whatever she’s forgotten," Verah interrupted quickly before wincing. "Sorry."

She flashed him an apologetic smile for cutting him off. Surprisingly, Headmaster Alaric didn’t look annoyed.

"That’s correct," he said instead. "Your responsibility is to help her recover whatever memories she may have lost and explain any important matters she doesn’t understand."

"Leave that to me," Verah interrupted again immediately. Then under her breath, she muttered another quiet, "Sorry."

Headmaster Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head lightly.

"It’s reassuring that you understand things quickly enough that I don’t need to explain everything in detail."

Verah grinned brightly. "We may look ditzy in House Valerius," she said proudly, "but we’re actually very smart."

Once again, Headmaster Alaric agreed with her.

The two of them continued talking for several more minutes, mostly discussing House Valerius and what changes they believed needed to be made while I sat there quietly listening.

"That’ll be all," Headmaster Alaric finally dismissed us once the conversation ended.

Verah and I stood and headed out of the office together. The moment we stepped outside, Verah turned toward me.

I braced myself for another lecture. Instead, she gently cupped my face.

"The first thing you need to remember before leaving here," she said seriously, holding my gaze.

"Elliot—"

"Yeah, I know," I cut in quickly. "Stay away from him."

"Yes," she said slowly, "but that’s not all."

Did she want to warn me that he was a jerk?

Because I had already figured that out myself. Avoid him?

Fine. I had zero intention of getting anywhere near him again anyway.

"Never mind," Verah muttered suddenly, releasing my face. "It doesn’t matter if you’re both avoiding each other."

"Tell me," I pressed immediately.

If I was going to keep pretending to be Elyse, then I needed to understand exactly what happened between them.

I couldn’t afford to make another fool of myself. Verah hesitated before sighing.

"Besides the family feud making everything worse," she admitted, "your relationship with Elliot was... messy."

I lifted my brow in questions. "Then why would staying away from him not solve the problem?"

Verah let out an exasperated huff.

"I’m saying that because avoiding him isn’t enough," she stressed. "Elliot is the Alpha of House Valerius, Elyse."