ARDEN
I didn’t want to go.
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Every part of me screamed to turn around and run in the opposite direction. Elite didn’t feel like a school anymore; it felt like a theater–a stage where the scripts had been written long before I arrived, and I was only just realizing I was part of a play I had never auditioned for. But I still went. Because something in my gut told me there would be answers waiting for me.
The bleachers were full, students murmuring with curiosity, when he appeared.
Mr. Winters.
His gaze swept past the crowd, finding me instantly, like a wolf sensing blood in the snow. Then, he smiled as though he had been expecting me.
He held a microphone and wore a wide smile. “Good morning, Elite.”
The crowd responded on cue.
He continued, “First of all, I want to congratulate all of you. The campaigns are going splendidly! We’re gaining traction faster than anticipated. The support from students has been overwhelming. This is what progress looks like.”
“For Elite!” someone shouted.
“For Elite!” others echoed, and then, like a wave, the chant spread through the gymnasium.
“Elite! Elite! Elite!”
So cult–like.
Mr. Winters raised a hand, calling the room to silence. “With that said… I bring unfortunate news.” His voice dropped, sighing in a rehearsed manner. “It’s come to our attention that one of our students has falsified his identity.”
No. No.
“The evidence is undeniable,” he continued. “As of today, Cade Callahan has been officially expelled from Elite.”
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The crowd stirred.
Expelled?
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Falsification?
My head spun. So this was his move. This was how he’d do it–he was going to expose Cade after warning them. He was going to disclose the one secret Cade had kept hidden all this time: that he wasn’t born into the True Alpha family.
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat; my heart cracked down the middle. I knew how afraid he was of being seen as anything less after proving himself time and time again, of being stripped of the only identity that had granted him access to his current world. And now, Mr. Winters had just shouted it into a crowd of thousands.
Tessa’s hand slid into mine.
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
But even she knew it wasn’t.
“That brings Jaxon Trevane,” Mr. Winters continued, smiling like he hadn’t just decimated a life, “to be the current top student of the school. All benefits, privileges, and resources will be forwarded to him effective immediately.”
The lights glinted off Jaxon’s smirk as he looked straight at me.
The crowd cheered again, a hurricane of voices swallowing Cade’s name. And just like that- he was gone.
The Echo lit up within seconds. Notifications piled in as the application buzzed repeatedly.
“Cade Callahan isn’t a True Alpha?”
“Was he adopted this whole time?”
“So he lied to Elite? How is that allowed?”
“Impostor.”
“Wow, even the Callahans have fakes now.”
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.
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“I need to find him,” I murmured.
Tessa nodded.
Owen, pale and tense, did too.
Even Rowan, his mouth set in a hard line, gave a single, grave nod.
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But before I could move, before I could even make it past the bleachers, someone stepped in front of me.
Jaxon.
His voice dripped with faux sympathy. “It’s a shame about Cade. Really.”
“But you know…” He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “You can stay by my side now. I’m at the top, Arden. You’d be protected. You’d have everything. We could win together. Don’t waste your tears on someone who lied to you.”
I stared at him, disbelief flooding my senses.
He tilted his head, confused by my silence.
“You could have me,” he murmured. “And now–now you actually can.”
Something inside me snapped.
“You think that’s what I wanted?” I whispered. “You think power would make me want you after everything we’ve been through?”
His smugness faltered.
“I never wanted you, Jaxon,” I spat, feeling my blood fill with disdain. “Not when you were second. Not now that you’re first. Not even if they handed you the entire world on a platinum tray and made me queen of it.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because you’re not Cade.”
Jaxon’s face hardened, his jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed with fury.
“You rejected me once, and you never gave me the chance to do the same.”
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“Jaxon Trevane of the West, I fucking reject you.”
With that, I pushed past him, nearly running as my heart slammed against my ribs.
It clicked with me now.
I knew where he’d be.
Our sanctuary.
Cade, please be there.
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I didn’t stop running. I could barely feel the ache in my chest from pushing too hard or the sting of the wind slicing against my cheeks. All I could think about was Cade.
The halls blurred past me; none of it mattered.
The moment my feet hit the soft grass of the maze gardens, I slowed, breathing hard but still moving. The towering hedges surrounded me as I followed the path we always took.
And then–there he was.
Cade stood at the center, where the trees opened up to a clearing. He wasn’t pacing; he stood there like a shadow carved from gold and dusk, his back slightly hunched, hands resting on
his knees.
He looked up the moment he sensed me.
I gasped. So did he.
For a moment, we just stood there, a breath between us, a thread stretching.
And then I ran to him.
His arms were already opening, and I crashed into his chest. His hands found my waist like they belonged there. My fingers curled into his shirt, desperate to hold on.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered first. “I’m sorry this happened.”
“I’m not,” he murmured. “You came.”
I pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark and wild, yet I saw it–the hurt, the exhaustion, the way he had been pretending to be fine when he wasn’t. His lip bore
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a small cut, and his knuckles were bruised.
“I thought I could handle it,” he said. “I thought it was worth it if it meant getting answers. But I didn’t think he’d go this far.”
“He’s trying to ruin you.”
“He already did,” Cade replied softly. “Everyone’s going to believe it. That I’m not who I say I am.”
“I don’t care,” I whispered back.
His brows furrowed in confusion.
“I don’t care if you’re adopted, if you’re not from some fancy bloodline, or if they take everything from you,” I insisted. “You’re still Cade. You’re still mine.”
His eyes darkened even further.
I cupped his face gently, my thumb brushing the side of his cheek. “You’re not alone. We can face this together.”
Then, I kissed him.
I poured everything into that kiss. Every moment I missed him, every second I longed to be near him, every time I watched him carry burdens that weren’t his to bear, every smile he gave me, every time he challenged me, and every silent look we shared when words weren’t
necessary.
He kissed me back as if he’d been holding it in for far too long.
And then, something stirred.
I felt it in my chest first–a warmth, a tether tightening between us. His hands trembled slightly, and he pulled back just enough to look me in the eye.
“Did you feel that?” he breathed.
I nodded slowly, my heart racing.
The mark on his scent gland began to glow faintly.
“You,” I muttered, struggling to find the right words.
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Cade stared at my own mark, and I saw his eyes widen. From his pupils, I could tell that mine. was glowing too. I hadn’t seen it do that since… since I discovered Jaxon was my own mate.
“We’re-” he started.
“Second chance mates,” I finished.
His gaze snapped back to mine.
The silence wasn’t heavy; it felt like the universe had been waiting for this moment to arrive. Like all the heartbreaks, all the scars, and all the nights spent wondering why had led us here.
To him.
To us.
“You’re my second chance,” I said, my voice cracking. “You.”
He touched my face gently.
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to get one,” he murmure. “I thought someone like me didn’t get to have this.”
I smiled through the tears welling in my eyes. “You were always meant to.”
He kissed me again, softer this time.
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