Chapter 3
1473 Words
Roxxane's POV
I never expect I'll be awestruck by the makeup of Garrick Academy but here I am gawking.
The tall buildings, the spacious grounds all radiate supremacy. And as expected, the occupants thawing around are all brooding males. Though some are heftier than the others, one could easily tell they are all Alphas.
No one seems to have noticed a new presence though as everyone is all engrossed in their different activities.
Some are engaged in combat training, some punching against punching bags, some just strolling around with batches of males. Their faint voices make the whole place bustle with life but I have barely walked ten steps into the building when dead silence drops in the atmosphere.
Footsteps halt at different angles. Punching sounds stop. A battalion of eyes spin towards me from all angles.
It takes quite a long trail of silence before a masculine voice whispers from a near distance. "Ronan?"
And as I keep walking, a million voices are grunting and talking all around me. "It's Ronan."
It's a bit surprising the number of males that all seem to recognize and remember him. It's been about three years since Ronan's disappearance.
Definitely means Ronan must have been quite popular and his bullies are still here. If not all, most.
"Hey Ronan, what a pleasant surprise." I'm still walking when a group of males dart out from nowhere, blocking my path.
I come to an abrupt halt.
"What are you doing here in Garrick?"
With the mischievous looks on their faces, I know at once they don't mean well. The one who speaks, has obvious mockery dripping in his tone and a taunting smirk is etched on his face as he stands right before me.
Not like I care about whatever they are here for, I just pray by the moon goddess, I don't get to make any rash moves that'll disqualify me from getting accepted here.
Keeping a calm facade, I fix him with my gaze. "Why?" I grunt, tuning into a masculine voice. "What's so surprising about my reappearance. I mean, I came back to finish where I left off." I shrug casually but if they are smart enough, they should know I'm not chitchatting with them.
And maybe they do because the male before me instantly has a change of countenance. The taunting look on his face slips off, replacing with a deep frown. One that almost makes me wonder if he notices anything different about me.
"Woah," he chuckles, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Is this really you Ronan? Or your clone?"
Everyone else around has similar surprise as him. My chest pulses once but I do a good job, hiding my agitation.
What does he mean by that?
Thankfully his next statement makes me realize this doesn't even have something to do with me.
"But Ronan... Looks like you've toughened up. Little wonder you dare to come back here. What now? Guess it's the damnation of Garrick, as the legendary Ronan who would never look in the eye of anyone, returns back brave!"
Rumbles of laughter erupt around me and the male before me also joins them.
Funny how he thinks he just made a joke to mock me not knowing he's damn right.
Guess I unknowingly make my identity known - the new version of Ronan - without actually voicing it.
The itch to tell that to every one of them gnaws at me but I force myself to hold it back. Instead I calmly ask the moron blocking my path to get off my way. But he doesn't move a muscle. Probably taking me for a joke he attempts to say something but I've way exhausted my patience.
I cut him off with a push but because he probably doesn't expect it, he crashes down to the ground. His crash is accompanied by shocked grunts and howls from every one of the males around.
Ignoring every one of them, I walk past the male on the ground but everything happens swiftly. The male I push springs up from the ground and grips my shoulder attempting to flip me back but I catch his hand with a harder force and I twist his hand.
I feel fragments of his bone break beneath my grip making a painful grunt tear out of his lips. Stunned eyes watch me as I c***k his arm and by the time I'm done, I push him ferociously.
Unlike the force I apply, he only tumbles back trying to gain balance but only crashes into another male. A male who seems to have just walked into the scenario.
There's a sudden shift in air as everyone else's attention glazes towards the collision that just happens.
"Alpha… Alpha Canan." The male I just push mutters terrifyingly as he stares up at the brooding male he just collided with. His breath seems to have been knocked off and it's definitely not from my push.
The male before him seems to radiate a kind of aura that can knock the breath out of any creature. His towering build alone is enough to make anyone cower at him, his fierce demeanor looks like he's out to kill.
But none of that really affects me. Among the other males here, I can say I'm the only male who seems to be unbothered and I'm even prepared to take my exit when the male beneath him speaks… the one I push.
"It's... It's Ronan. He pushed me." He barks angrily, his hand points towards my direction and for some reason, the speed at which the other male snaps his gaze towards my direction appalls me.
He never seems to have noticed me all along and when his dark piercing eyes meet mine, he dissolves with a shocked frown. He looks more stunned than the other males here but there's something about him that unnerves the insides of me.
Dead silence stretches the atmosphere as our gazes lock. Something in me tells me, I shouldn't be staring at him or more or less matching his cold gaze but I push that voice behind.
One of us is going to break this gaze and it's not going to be me.
"Ronan?" As if recollecting himself back, the male draws out. His voice barely above a whisper. "Is that really you?"
I'm thrown in a fix as I wonder if he's taunting me like the rest of the males here. It's quite hard to tell as he looks… emotionless.
"Yeah… you don't have a problem with that I presume?" I don't intend to sound rude but blame it on the side of me that hates every single one in Garrick.
However, my face and voice remain emotionless just like his but his emotionless face doesn't last long.
A subtle frown appears on his face, his lids forming an arch and what really bedazzles me is the way every other male releases stunned gasps. Those who don't gasp, all have astonished looks on their faces. Like they just watched a common slave omega face-slap an Alpha king.
The subtle bewilderment on the male's face before me, slips off. "Woah," a ghost of amusement forms on his face but it doesn't seem to reach his eyes.
They are still as cold as ice, piercing right through me as he takes predatory steps forward.
Then when he gets close to me, he stops. Our gaze doesn't break off. "Seems like your exile altered your memory that you can't seem to recall who I am?" With the menacing look on his face, I know he is not asking.
For the most part, I don't need an oracle to tell me he seems to be a highly respected figure in this academy. Feared and worshiped. But what he doesn't know is that I'm not going to be his lapdog.
But I prefer not to indulge him as I only maintain a confident poise. Making sure I match him and that alone seems to drive him mad.
His eyes suddenly spark fire, humor draining off him. "You know, I think I'm impressed by this new Ronan. You better keep this up because it'll be too reproaching for an Alpha like Cyrus if his only heir flees Garrick for the third time."
He smirks and his statement doesn't seem to sound like a threat but a forewarning. Finally bringing his hand from his pocket, he gives me a soft pat on my shoulder before walking past me.
The rest part of the day trails off with me following the necessary procedure to get registered into Garrick. Since I'm impersonating Ronan, I go through every process with extreme carefulness so as not to get suspected.
But a ground for suspicion actually arises when I'm told to head back to my dorm.
Like back to Ronan's dorm.
- Writer
