Chapter 110 After All
TESSA
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It had been a week since Arden last stepped foot on campus, and I could feel her absence settling into every corner of the Academy. Things felt quieter without her. However, while I missed her, the others seemed largely unaffected. If anything, the Academy had only grown more intense in her absence.
Ever since the first poll was released, and Cade’s name appeared right beneath Winters, boasting a shocking 35%, it felt like someone had poured gasoline on a fire. Winters‘ supporters doubled down. His campaign banners grew larger, his speeches louder, and the pressure more suffocating.
Still, no one questioned anything.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The sudden push and the unspoken curfews placed on North–aligned students–it all felt well–planned. From my years of observing this school, I had learned that power never moves without hands discreetly guiding it from beneath the table.
That morning, I left my dorm early. The sun had barely risen, and most students were still in bed or shuffling half–awake toward the dining hall.
As I rounded a corner near the administrative wing, my fingers wrapped tightly around the strap of my bag, I saw them. Kieran and Mr. Winters.
They stood too close to be casual–positioned just at the side of the building, behind the ivy wall. I stopped. Winters clapped Kieran’s shoulder with a knowing smile.
“Good job,” I heard him say. “Keep this up, and you’ll be number two soon. I’ll ensure you get a good position at the United Factions once you graduate.”
My breath caught. Kieran’s shoulders relaxed, mirroring Winters‘ smile as he nodded once. “Yes, sir.”
I turned on my heel and walked away, faster than I should have.”
Crap. Crap. Crap.
So it was true. There was no need for guessing now. Winters was using the students again for his own gain. I needed to talk to someone–someone who could take action about this.
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And no matter how hard I tried to consider another option, I could only think of Rowan.
Rowan, who hated me. Or, at the very least, acted like he did. I pushed aside my feelings for Arden and found him by the east arch, hunched over a tablet and scrolling through with hist usual furrowed brow. Fortunately, he didn’t have any ladies by his side today.
That would have broken me even more.
I hesitated for a moment but stepped forward anyway. “Rowan.”
He froze for an instant before letting out a sigh. He didn’t look up as he spoke. “Busy.”
“I know.”
“I don’t have time, Tessa.”
I moved in front of him, forcing him to pause. “Please.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”
I reached out and touched his shoulders to steady myself. The moment my fingers made contact, a jolt surged through me–sparks leaping from my fingertips to my skin, trailing down my arms and right into my chest.
I stiffened, and he did too. “Talk to me,” I whispered.
He pulled back slightly. “Tessa-”
“I know you’re busy. I know there’s a lot to figure out, but I have a feeling this is something you’ll want to hear.”
His eyes searched mine, cautious yet still distant.
“Please,” I added softly this time. “Just for a second… can we forget what happened back then and just talk? Just about this?”
He didn’t respond, but he didn’t walk away, either. I looked down, my voice trembling even as I forced it to stay firm. “If you really care about Arden…” I muttered, “…then you’ll want to know what I just saw.”
Even if it hurt to say. Even if it ached in a place I kept buried. Because this wasn’t about me. It
never was.
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Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Speak,” he said flatly.
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I clenched my jaw, holding back a sigh that threatened to rise. Of course. He only listened when there was another reason. I shook my head slightly, pushing that sting down.
“I think Mr. Winters is using the point system,” I said carefully, “as a way to control votes. He’s wagering them.”
Rowan raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
I glanced down the corridor to ensure we were still alone. “Points, Rowan. He’s rewarding students with rankings and special access–if they show public support for him, if they campaign for him. He’s buying loyalty in the only way he knows how–through the system. he created.”
A slow breath escaped him, but he didn’t look surprised.
“You already knew,” I said quietly.
“I suspected,” he admitted. “But I didn’t think it would be that blatant.”
I stepped closer. “It is. And I don’t believe he just wants to win. His reason for running is personal and goes well beyond Elite. But only Arden and Cade know what that reason truly is.”
Rowan’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but he remained silent..
“We could help,” I pressed. “In our own way. You’re influential in the South. If you speak out -if you tell our people to stop supporting Winters…”
“It’s not that easy,” he interrupted.
I took a sharp breath, frustration rising in my chest. “Nothing is easy, Rowan! But that doesn’t mean we stop trying. Everyone’s fighting in their own way.”
“I know,” he said, his voice quieter. “I’m… I’m already looking into it
His words softened the edge of my anger, but only slightly. I nodded slowly, then, hesitantly, I said it. “Elijah.”
I saw the change immediately.
His shoulders tensed, and his eyes flicked to mine as if I’d uttered the one name he didn’t
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dare to acknowledge, much less hear aloud.
I swallowed hard. I knew, of course.
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Elijah was the golden child. Rowan’s older brother. The one his parents adored, the one they expected Rowan to become. But Elijah had died, and Rowan had been carrying that ever since. His relationship with his parents–whatever remained of it–had never been the same.
“Don’t talk about him,” Rowan said, his voice suddenly cold, like a winter gust.
“Why not?” I snapped, my heart thudding in my chest. “Why not, Rowan? You know how much he meant to you. He was a good person. And what happened to him–he deserves. justice. Just like Honey does.”
His jaw clenched tightly.
“You can become like Cade,” I added, hoping something would reach him. “You can rally our people. You have that strength inside you, Rowan. You always have.”
” lead. You
“I told you not to butt into my life,” he growled, his eyes hard as steel. “We have nothing to do with each other anymore.
I let out a deep breath. That hurt.
“I know,” I whispered. “You made sure of that.“”
There was a moment–a breath of stillness–where we stood across from one another as two people who once knew each other intimately but had become strangers clad in the same
skin.
“But this isn’t about us,” I said firmly. “This is about Arden. My precious friend. And our country.”
My voice cracked slightly at the word “friend.” Because Arden wasn’t simply my friend; she was my anchor. The only one who looked at me without comparison and judgment. Arden was my safe haven.
“If there’s one thing I know about you,” I continued, “it’s that no matter how much they compared you to Elijah, no matter how much it broke you…. you still loved him.”
Rowan’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“If you can’t do this for yourself,” I whispered, “and if you can’t do it for me…. then do it for
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Chapter 110 After All
him.”
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The wind outside stirred, brushing against the edges of the stained glass windows above us.
“Do it up. I
he believed in you, even when the rest of the world didn’t. And that belief–it didn’t die with him.”
< Elijah,” I said again, softer this time. “Because I know he’d want you to stand
Rowan’s breath hitched.
“Rally the South,” I urged. “That’s what a True Alpha can do. That’s what Elijah would’ve
done.”
He looked at me then..
I stepped closer.
“Please,” I whispered. “I know you still have that fight in you, Rowan.”
