Chaos erupted.
Not the loud, explosive kind—
no shouting, no screaming—
but the sharp, overlapping hum of political panic.
Councilors leaned into each other, whispering urgently.
Others scribbled notes.
Renlow slammed a palm onto his desk.
Varn rubbed her temples like she'd aged fifteen years in a minute.
Hale watched all of them with a wolf's smile.
Horace hadn't moved.
He still stood in front of me, shielding me with his body, jaw locked in fury.
Rowan hovered close, almost pressed to my side, trembling but defiant.
Chandler stood slightly behind me, back straight, presence steady and immovable.
Lucian's eyes darted rapidly as he calculated angles—
political, legal, emotional, structural.
And I—
I stood in the center of it all, breathing calmly.
No part of this room scared me anymore.
Not compared to the chamber.
Not compared to losing myself.
Not compared to losing them.
I finally understood what scared Hale:
I wasn't fragile.
Not to myself.
Not to them.
And now—
not to the Council either.
THE COUNCIL LOSES CONTROL
Councilor Renlow slammed his hand again.
"Order! We demand order!"
No one listened.
The chamber buzzed with frantic murmurs.
"She shouldn't be here—"
"The princes are compromised—"
"The Beta's testimony—unreliable—"
"What even are they implying—"
"Three Alphas? Impossible—"
"She must be manipulating—"
Rowan's fingers curled.
His shaky whisper reached me:
"They're lying…"
Chandler squeezed my shoulder gently.
"It won't matter. They're desperate."
Horace's voice dropped low, dangerous.
"They think they can railroad her into a corner.
They're wrong."
Lucian suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough."
The room didn't quiet instantly—
but it froze enough.
Lucian's voice sharpened.
"You wanted transparency?
You wanted oversight?
Then look."
He raised his tablet.
Holographic footage shot upward, illuminating the chamber.
Everyone stilled.
The footage showed the moment the automatic lockdown was triggered.
The screen displayed:
CHAMBER 7A — RESTRICTED USE
Authorization Override Code: Hale-1129
Approved by: Councilor Varyn Hale
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rowan's mouth fell open.
Chandler swore under his breath.
Horace's eyes snapped to Hale with lethal clarity.
And I—
I felt my breath stop.
Lucian let the footage loop once.
Twice.
The chamber slowly filled with the knowledge of exactly what that meant.
Lucian's voice was deadly calm.
"Councilor Hale personally authorized putting Elleanore Fonze into a suppression room designated for unstable Alphas—
not Omegas."
The room shattered into uproar.
"How—?"
"That chamber is illegal for Omega restraint—"
"He approved that?!"
"This is a violation—"
"Impossible— fabricated—"
Hale exhaled softly through his nose.
"I see."
His tone was cool.
Unfazed.
Renlow, however, rounded on him instantly.
"Hale, did you tamper with the student registry?!"
Varn's voice trembled.
"You swore this was a clerical error—!"
Another councilor spat:
"You put a minor in a high-risk chamber!"
Hale merely folded his hands.
"Are we truly going to trust the word of a student over a Council member?"
Lucian smiled—sharp and merciless.
"You think I didn't back up every time stamp, every internal authorization?
This isn't my word."
He tapped the tablet.
"It's yours."
Hale's smile thinned.
"So.
You're saying I deliberately placed her there."
Lucian held his gaze.
"I'm saying you almost killed her."
Horace took a step forward.
The floor almost trembled.
"If you had harmed her," Horace said quietly—too quietly—
"you would not be standing."
Rowan's voice trembled.
"You hurt her…"
Chandler's eyes darkened.
"You wanted her to break."
Hale looked at them all—
the furious prince,
the trembling Beta,
the stone-faced Alpha,
the steadfast strategist—
and then at me.
And he smiled.
"Of course I did."
THE ROOM EXPLODES
Gasps.
Shouts.
Three councilors rose from their seats.
Renlow sputtered:
"You admit—?!"
Varn covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Two older councilors exchanged outraged looks.
Only Hale remained composed.
It was a mask.
A calm one.
A frightening one.
"If the Omega is strong enough to survive," Hale said,
"then she is strong enough to be tested."
Horace's knuckles cracked audibly.
Rowan whispered, horrified:
"That's not testing… that's torture—"
Chandler bared his teeth.
"You placed her there knowing what would happen."
Hale looked at me again.
"Of course," he said softly.
"How else would we learn what she's truly capable of?"
I felt my breath catch.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something cold.
Something sharp.
"I'm capable of standing right now," I said quietly,
"after surviving what you put me through."
Hale's eyes gleamed.
"Exactly."
Horace moved toward him—
but Lucian grabbed his arm.
"Horace. No."
Horace jerked out of his grip.
"He tried to kill her!"
"Then let him hang himself with his own arrogance," Lucian snapped back.
Several councilors were already shouting for Hale's removal.
Others demanded investigations.
Two called for immediate recess.
But Hale simply watched me.
Like I was something he recognized.
Something he wanted.
Something he feared.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
"So."
He leaned forward.
"Let us test her properly."
Horace snarled.
"You will do no such thing—"
But Hale held up a hand.
"Unless you wish this committee to declare her unstable by default."
Lucian froze.
Chandler's jaw clenched.
Rowan whispered:
"He's cornering her…"
And he was.
Hale was maneuvering the Council into forcing a direct assessment—
one where he could twist the results again.
Lucian swore quietly.
Horace's fists trembled.
Rowan's breath came in small panicked bursts.
Chandler's stare locked onto Hale with silent fury.
But I—
I stepped forward.
The room quieted instantly.
Horace turned to me, eyes wide.
"Elleanore—"
Rowan grabbed my sleeve.
"Wait—don't—"
Chandler whispered:
"Be careful."
Lucian's eyes sharpened.
I stood in the center of the chamber.
Calm.
Steady.
Alive.
"You want to test me?" I said softly.
Hale smiled.
"Yes."
I lifted my chin.
"Fine."
A Trial Designed to Break Her
Silence spread through the chamber like a crack in glass.
Even the councilors—who had been murmuring, arguing, and snapping at each other seconds ago—fell quiet.
My voice still hung in the air:
"Fine."
Horace turned to me so fast the movement stirred the air.
"No," he breathed.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't shouted.
It wasn't even sharp.
It was desperate—
quiet, frantic desperation that didn't suit him, didn't fit the controlled, calculating prince.
Rowan tugged my sleeve with trembling fingers.
"Elle, please—don't agree. It's a trap. He's trying to push you into something they can't twist around later—"
Chandler's voice was low, rough.
"He wants to watch you suffer again. That's all this is."
Lucian pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Of course he does. Because he knows the Council will accept any test he proposes if it promises 'impartial data.'"
Hale tapped his stylus lightly against the desk.
"Will the Omega step forward?"
Horace stepped between us without thinking.
"She is not stepping anywhere—"
But I moved around him.
Not because I didn't want his protection.
Not because I wasn't afraid.
But because I refused to let Hale make me a piece on his board.
I stopped directly in front of him.
"We'll hear your terms," I said.
Hale smiled like a man who had already calculated every step.
"Excellent."
THE COUNCIL REACTS
Councilor Varn shook her head.
"Miss Fonze, you don't have to comply with this—"
Councilor Renlow scoffed.
"She absolutely must.
Without a direct evaluation, how can we determine whether she is safe to remain enrolled?"
Another councilor—one of the younger ones—stammered:
"But Hale authorized the chamber—shouldn't he be suspended pending—?"
Hale didn't spare him a glance.
"It was a legitimate test of her abilities. Nothing more."
Horace nearly lunged.
Lucian caught his arm with both hands.
"Horace. Stop. Stop."
Chandler folded his arms tightly and murmured to Rowan.
"This is a setup. Every line of it."
Rowan nodded quickly, voice shaky.
"He's going to make her heat reaction look dangerous—like she can't control it—he's going to use it to—"
I took a slow breath.
"I won't break," I whispered.
Rowan's voice cracked.
"But you shouldn't have to."
HALE REVEALS THE METHOD
Hale clasped his hands behind his back and paced along the dais with infuriating calm.
"The Omega will undergo a resonance test," he announced.
Lucian's head snapped up.
"No."
Chandler's expression darkened.
"Absolutely not."
Rowan's breath hitched.
Horace looked ready to tear through the front row and strangle Hale with his bare hands.
I looked between them, confused.
"What is a resonance test?"
Hale smiled at me.
"It is a harmless stability assessment in which an Omega's pheromonal frequency is monitored while in proximity to an Alpha."
Rowan made a small, horrified noise.
Lucian exhaled sharply.
"Let me translate that for those who don't speak 'Council euphemism,'" he snapped.
"It's a controlled heat induction."
My stomach flipped.
Heat induction.
Rowan grabbed my hand.
"Elle, that test was banned ten years ago! It's dangerous—"
Chandler moved closer, voice low and furious.
"It forces your pheromones into overdrive and monitors how you affect an Alpha—physically and instinctively. You can't consent properly, because the test disables suppression treatments."
Hale waved a hand dismissively.
"The Academy reinstated it in special cases."
Horace's eyes were murderous.
"Over my dead body will she be subjected to that."
Hale lifted a brow.
"So you admit she cannot withstand it."
That was the trap.
A perfect trap.
If I refused, they'd say I was unstable.
If I agreed and struggled, they'd say I was dangerous.
If the test showed a spike—expected or not—they'd call for expulsion.
Lucian stepped between Hale and the boys.
"Then we propose an alternative assessment," he said quickly.
"One that doesn't involve unethical, outdated methods—"
"Denied," Hale said smoothly.
Chandler took a single step forward.
"You're not touching her."
Hale's smile sharpened.
"Touching?
No, no, the test requires no physical contact.
It requires an Alpha in the chamber with her.
That is all."
Horace's breath caught.
"Who?" he demanded.
Hale's smile widened.
"You choose."
THE CHOICE
The council chamber crackled with tension.
I felt the boys freeze behind me.
Horace whispered:
"No."
Chandler said:
"Not happening."
Rowan whispered:
"This is wrong…"
But Hale merely watched me.
"You may pick any Alpha in the Academy," he said.
"Surely that will reassure you."
Lucian muttered under his breath:
"He's giving you false freedom. The test is rigged from the start."
But I understood now.
He didn't care about the test.
He cared about the reaction.
He wanted the boys to fight over it.
Wanted instability.
Wanted to show that I could destabilize them with a glance.
"You said any Alpha?" I asked.
Hale nodded.
"Yes. Anyone you trust."
Horace stepped in front of me again, voice breaking between anger and fear.
"Elleanore, don't do this."
Chandler touched my arm, grounding.
"You don't owe them anything."
Rowan looked like he would cry.
"Please… please don't let them hurt you again."
Hale tapped the table.
"Well?
Choose."
Silence.
Then—
Horace spoke.
"If someone must go in, it'll be me."
Chandler stepped forward instantly.
"No. It'll be me. I'm more stable."
Rowan trembled.
"Shouldn't—shouldn't she choose someone she feels safe with?"
Lucian whispered:
"…stars help us, he's right."
Hale leaned back, arms folded.
"Go on, Miss Fonze.
Choose your Alpha."
I felt every pair of eyes in the room settle on me.
Horace's breath held.
Chandler's chest rose and fell sharply.
Rowan, Beta or not, watched with terrified intensity.
Even Lucian seemed to brace himself.
The wrong choice would ruin everything.
The right choice…
might still ruin everything.
I inhaled.
Slow.
Steady.
And stepped forward.
"I choose—"
The room froze.
Rowan's hands clasped in hope and fear.
Chandler's jaw tightened.
Horace shut his eyes for a brief, pained heartbeat.
Hale leaned forward eagerly.
I finished:
"—no Alpha."
Silence.
Shocking, absolute silence.
I held Hale's gaze.
"My stability doesn't depend on proximity to an Alpha.
Test me alone.
Or not at all."
Hale's smile faded.
Completely.
The councilors began whispering frantically again—but this time, not with condescension or superiority.
With fear.
Unease.
Uncertainty.
Horace exhaled shakily—something like relief and awe mingling in the sound.
Chandler closed his eyes briefly, tension leaving his shoulders.
Rowan whispered:
"…she's incredible."
Lucian let out a long, low breath.
"Well," he murmured.
"That just changed the entire game."
Hale stared at me.
For the first time—
for the first time in this entire hearing—
I saw something flicker across his expression.
Not amusement.
Not arrogance.
Not satisfaction.
But something… colder.
Sharper.
Older.
He leaned forward very slowly.
"Miss Fonze," he said softly,
"the tests have always required an Alpha."
I didn't blink.
"That is not my fault."
Hale's eyes narrowed.
"You refuse.
You defy the Council."
I stood steady.
"I choose myself."
AND THE ROOM BREAKS OPEN
Hale stood suddenly.
The councilors flinched.
Rowan backed up.
Chandler braced.
Horace stepped in front of me again.
Lucian went still.
Hale's voice was low.
"Very well."
He pointed directly at me.
"Then you will undergo the resonance test alone."
Lucian froze.
"That's—"
He swallowed hard.
"That is significantly more dangerous."
Hale smiled terribly.
"Yes."
Horace turned on him.
"If she gets hurt—"
Hale cut him off.
"She will.
That is the nature of the test."
Rowan gasped.
Chandler snarled.
Lucian cursed under his breath.
Hale continued:
"But if she truly is stable—
she will survive it."
The room spun.
Not physically.
Politically.
Emotionally.
Everything shifted.
Hale thought he'd cornered me.
But he hadn't understood—
I had chosen the one option he never prepared for:
my own strength.
And that terrified him.