The chamber erupted.
Not the way it had before.
This time, the uproar was sharp, panicked, and directed squarely at Hale.
"You can't put her in alone—!"
"That test was discontinued! This is illegal—"
"Miss Fonze is not an Alpha—she can't survive—"
"There are no medical staff prepared for this—"
But Hale simply lifted his hand.
And the entire chamber fell quiet.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"The Omega has expressed her choice.
She refused an Alpha partner.
Therefore, she will face the test alone."
Horace stepped in front of me again—
not slowly, not gently—
with the kind of movement predators made when protecting something irreplaceable.
"No," he said flatly.
"You are not doing this to her."
Hale didn't even look at him.
"That is not your decision."
Rowan darted between us and the dais, hands trembling.
"She'll die," he said.
His voice was too thin, too unsteady.
"She almost died in the suppression chamber—how is this—how is this supposed to be safer?!"
Chandler's voice rumbled behind me, deep and terrifyingly even.
"You push this test through without safeguards and you're signing your own removal papers."
Hale smiled thinly.
"My job is not to coddle Omegas."
Chandler took a step forward.
"Your job is not to murder them either."
The councilors murmured anxiously.
Renlow adjusted his glasses.
"We should not proceed without medical officials present. This is—"
Hale cut him off.
"The medical team is en route."
Lucian stiffened.
"Oh, you absolute liar."
The entire chamber looked at him.
Lucian continued, voice chillingly calm.
"Medical Unit 3 is on full lockdown due to an outbreak of omega flu. Medical Unit 1 is understaffed. Medical Unit 2 is closed for renovation.
There is no team coming."
Rowan gasped.
Chandler's jaw tensed.
Horace swore under his breath.
I felt cold down to my spine.
Hale simply folded his hands.
"Then we shall see whether survival is part of Miss Fonze's… skill set."
I finally understood—
He didn't want to test me.
He wanted me to break.
To fail.
To be removed.
Expelled.
Silenced.
But something in me refused to bend.
LUCIAN NEGOTIATES—AND EXPLODES
Lucian stepped forward, posture rigid.
"No. Not happening. We renegotiate conditions."
Hale raised one eyebrow.
"And what authority do you speak with, Lucian Vale?"
Lucian tilted his head slightly.
"Oh, I don't know."
He tapped his tablet.
"Maybe the authority of the student who holds administrative override codes for your entire east wing?"
Renlow froze.
Varn gaped.
Chandler whispered:
"The hell—?"
Horace blinked at him.
Rowan nearly fainted.
Hale simply smiled.
"You should be careful, Mister Vale. Threatening the Council is grounds for expulsion."
Lucian smiled back.
"Good thing I don't plan on being here long enough for you to try."
The room stopped breathing.
"Lucian—" I whispered.
"Elle," he said quietly,
"I've been calculating contingencies since the second you walked inside this room."
His gaze sharpened.
"I am not letting him kill you under the guise of 'evaluation.'
If this test proceeds, it will proceed under rules I set."
Hale chuckled.
"You think you can bargain with me?"
Lucian shrugged.
"You're already losing."
He pointed at the councilors.
"Half your committee is two seconds from turning on you.
You need legitimacy.
If you push too hard, they'll call for your suspension."
Renlow, startled, looked away.
Varn bit her lip.
The younger councilor glanced nervously at Hale.
Hale's jaw twitched for the first time.
Lucian smiled.
"So. Here are the terms:"
He raised one finger.
"First—this test happens in the D-Class resonance chamber.
Not the S-Class one."
Councilor Varn nodded rapidly.
"Yes, that's reasonable—"
Hale shook his head.
"No. S-Class is the only one with complete monitoring capabilities."
Lucian scoffed.
"S-Class is designed for Alpha power trials, not Omega stabilization.
Unless you're intentionally trying to obliterate her, D-Class is the only acceptable location."
The room murmured agreement.
Hale's fingers tightened.
Lucian raised another finger.
"Second—minimum of two observers inside."
The room gasped.
Horace turned sharply.
"No."
Hale smirked.
"She will be alone."
Lucian shook his head.
"No, she won't.
She chooses the observers."
I blinked.
"Observers…?"
Lucian's eyes softened at me.
"Not Alphas. Not participants.
Just people she trusts who can intervene if something goes catastrophically wrong."
Horace stepped forward.
"I'll go."
Rowan grabbed his sleeve.
"I want to go too!"
Chandler crossed his arms.
"She's not going in without me."
I opened my mouth—
but Lucian spoke before I could.
"No.
All of you cannot follow her inside."
They froze.
Lucian pointed at me.
"She chooses.
One.
Maybe two."
The boys all stared at me.
Rowan with fear.
Chandler with determination.
Horace with raw, unbearable worry.
Lucian raised a third finger.
"Third—
no chemical triggers.
No suppression dampeners.
No illegal induction drugs."
Councilor Varn nodded.
Renlow hesitated.
Two others whispered fervently.
Hale's face remained unreadable.
Lucian lifted the final finger.
"And fourth—
if she remains stable,
you drop all accusations and she returns to the Academy with zero disciplinary marks."
Hale leaned back.
"And if she is unstable?"
Lucian's jaw clenched.
"Then you drop only half the accusations."
Hale laughed.
A sharp, humorless sound.
"I accept the first condition. And the second. And the third."
He paused.
"But not the fourth."
Lucian stiffened.
Hale gestured toward me.
"This Omega has already proven disruptive.
If she fails to demonstrate stability—
she will leave the Academy."
Horace jolted forward.
"Over my carcass—"
Chandler seized his arm.
"Don't give him grounds to remove you too."
Rowan shook his head frantically.
"You can't make her choose this. You can't—"
I stepped forward.
"It's fine."
Horace spun toward me.
"It is not fine."
Rowan whispered, voice breaking:
"Elle…"
Chandler swallowed hard.
"You don't have to do this. We can fight this another way—"
I met each of their eyes.
One by one.
"I'm not leaving the Academy," I said softly.
"Not by failing.
And not by running."
They looked at me—
the prince,
the beta,
the rival alpha,
and the strategist—
and I saw it.
Fear.
Hope.
Pride.
And something deeper.
Something I didn't have a name for yet.
Hale tapped the desk.
"Prepare the resonance chamber."
Two guards moved instantly.
It had begun.
THE ESCORT
Horace touched my hand.
"Elleanore," he whispered,
"don't do this alone."
Rowan grabbed my other hand.
"Please. Let one of us come."
Chandler stepped closer.
"If something goes wrong, we jump in. No hesitation."
Lucian looked at me steadily.
"…well?
You have two observers."
Two choices.
Two lives I might need in that room.
Two hearts tied too tightly to mine now.
I inhaled.
And whispered:
"I choose…"
The Two She Brings With Her
"I choose…"
The chamber fell so silent
it felt like the air itself tightened around us.
Horace stood closest to me, barely breathing.
Rowan's eyes shimmered with dread.
Chandler's jaw clenched tight enough to crack.
Lucian watched with a strategist's stillness—but even he seemed to brace himself.
I turned to the three boys.
Not quickly.
Not dramatically.
Slowly.
One by one.
Feeling the weight of what they meant to me.
First, Rowan.
His fingers tugged gently at my sleeve, as if part of him believed I might vanish if he didn't hold on.
His whisper trembled.
"Please… please, if you need someone—
If it's me—if you want—"
His voice cracked before he finished.
Then, Chandler.
He wasn't trembling.
He was stone-solid.
Fear, fury, protectiveness—he hid all of it behind a wall he thought I couldn't see through.
His voice was low.
"I won't let anything happen to you.
But if you don't pick me… I'll understand."
He said it calmly.
And meant none of it.
And then—Horace.
He didn't reach for me.
He didn't beg.
He simply stood there, breathing unevenly, eyes burning with a kind of terror a Crown Prince should never show.
"Elleanore," he whispered.
"Let me be where you are."
Just that.
Just the truth.
No demands.
No conditions.
Only the raw softness of someone afraid of losing me twice.
THE CHOICE
I stepped forward.
"Horace."
His breath broke in.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Relief.
Almost painful relief.
Rowan's face fell for a moment—before he forced a small, trembling smile, trying not to let disappointment show.
Chandler looked down once, jaw tightening—then nodded stiffly.
Horace took a breath that shook his entire chest.
"Thank you," he whispered.
But I wasn't finished.
I turned again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
My heart pounding.
And I said—
"Rowan."
Rowan froze.
His lips parted.
His eyes widened, went glassy.
His breath caught on a sob he tried desperately to swallow.
"Me?" he whispered.
I nodded.
"Yes. You."
He let out a tiny sound—a mixture of shock and disbelief and relief so deep it hurt to witness.
Chandler inhaled slowly, shoulders lowering—not bitterness, not anger, but something like reluctant acceptance.
Lucian didn't react outwardly.
But his eyes softened.
Horace blinked, surprised.
"You want Rowan too?"
"Yes," I whispered.
"I want both of you with me."
Rowan pressed a hand to his mouth, shaking.
"O-okay… okay. I'm here. I'll be right there. I won't—
I won't leave you."
Horace reached out and squeezed Rowan's shoulder.
It surprised me.
It surprised Rowan even more.
"You'll keep her steady," Horace said softly.
Rowan nodded rapidly, tears threatening.
"I will. I promise."
Chandler stood silently for a few long seconds.
Then—quietly, with a small, unguarded softness—
"Good choice."
I turned to him.
"You'll be right outside."
He swallowed.
"I'll be the first one through the door if anything happens."
There was no jealousy in his voice.
Just love.
Fierce, relentless love.
LUCIAN REFLECTS THE REALITY
Lucian stepped forward.
"We don't have time."
His tone was flat, but something flickered in his expression—
relief that I chose, dread at what it meant.
He gestured toward the exit.
"Horace, Rowan—
you prepare with her.
Chandler and I will accompany the Council to set up the chamber."
Chandler nodded once.
"Fine."
Horace moved instantly to my side.
Rowan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and stood on my other side.
Lucian's voice lowered as he walked past me.
"Elleanore…
you do understand what you're walking into."
I swallowed.
"I do."
"It may not be survivable."
Rowan flinched.
Horace inhaled sharply.
I held Lucian's gaze.
"Then I'll walk out anyway."
Something flickered in Lucian's eyes—
something like pride.
"…good," he whispered.
"Don't break on my watch."
He turned sharply and strode toward Chandler and the Council.
The doors opened.
The Council members filed out, Hale among them, smiling lightly as he passed me.
I didn't flinch.
His smile widened.
And then he left.
THE WALK BEGINS
The council hallway emptied.
The chamber doors shut behind us.
The tension outside shattered into a different kind of silence—
personal, emotional, intimate.
Horace stepped in front of me, hands at my shoulders.
"You shouldn't have chosen me."
His voice trembled.
"I'm—
I'm too angry.
Too attached.
If anything happens—"
I placed a hand on his chest.
"You're who I trust."
His breath stilled.
Completely.
Rowan's voice was soft behind me.
"…I thought you'd choose Chandler."
"I trust him too," I said gently.
Rowan lowered his head.
"But you still chose me."
"I needed someone who hears everything," I whispered.
"And feels everything."
Rowan's eyes filled again.
"I won't let you fall," he said quietly.
"I won't panic. I won't freeze. I'll stay right beside you."
My chest tightened.
Horace inhaled deeply, grounding.
"I'll keep you steady," he murmured.
"And if anything goes wrong—
I will carry you out."
We stood like that—
the three of us in the quiet hall,
breathing the same air,
hearts pounding in sync.
For a moment, the world felt still.
Then Rowan whispered:
"…we should go."
Horace nodded.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He offered me his hand.
Rowan offered me the other.
I took both.
And together—
we walked toward the resonance chamber.
DESCENDING INTO THE LOWER LEVELS
The hallway leading to the testing floors was far darker than the upper corridors.
Steel instead of marble.
Dim lights instead of bright chandeliers.
Horace tightened his grip slightly.
Rowan pressed closer.
My heart pounded but didn't falter.
We reached a checkpoint.
Guards scanned us.
Horace glared enough that the guards nearly tripped over themselves.
Rowan hid behind me.
We continued down another corridor.
Then down a flight of metal stairs.
Then through a reinforced security door.
Where a sign glowed overhead:
RESONANCE CHAMBER — CLASS D
Rowan shivered.
"I hate this place…"
Horace's jaw flexed.
"Stay close."
The hallway beyond the sign pulsed faintly with low-frequency energy—
the kind used to detect unstable pheromonal fields.
I felt the thrum against my skin, like standing near static.
"Are you okay?" Rowan whispered.
"Yes."
And somehow, I meant it.
Horace exhaled shakily.
"You don't have to be brave with us."
"I know."
He swallowed.
"But you are anyway."
THE FINAL DOOR
We reached it.
A massive reinforced door with a circular window.
Lights pulsed from within the chamber—
soft blue, steady, waiting.
Horace's grip tightened.
Rowan stepped closer.
I inhaled.
And then—
the two boys released me at the same time.
Not pulling away—
just stepping into place beside me,
one at each side,
like a ritual formation older and deeper than any of us.
Horace whispered:
"When this begins…
listen for my voice."
Rowan's voice trembled.
"And mine."
I nodded once.
Lucian's voice echoed through the hallway as he approached:
"Everyone in position."
Chandler appeared behind him, eyes finding mine immediately.
"You come out," he whispered,
"or I break the door down."
Hale stepped forward last, face unreadable.
"The Omega will enter."
Horace inhaled.
Rowan swallowed.
I stepped forward.
The door hissed open.
Cold air drifted out.
I glanced back once.
At Horace—
his eyes burning.
At Rowan—
his heart in his throat.
At Chandler—
coiled and ready to fight the world.
And at Lucian—
who gave a small nod.
"You walk out," he said softly.
I stepped inside.
The door sealed shut behind me.
And the resonance chamber came alive.