The Hidden Moon goddess at All-Boys Academy

Chapterfour

Chapter 4

Valery's POV

After we buried my brother quietly, Ally and I returned to my room. My eyes were bloodshot red, after I cried so much I didn't think there was any liquid left in my body.

Ally’s eyes were wide and glistening as she knelt beside me, still clutching my hands as though letting go would make the world collapse entirely. “Princess… what are we going to do now?” Her voice trembled with fear, but there was also a flicker of determination that mirrored my own.

I pulled my hands free slowly, letting them fall to my sides. My reflection in the silvered mirror caught my attention for a fleeting second, and I barely recognized the girl staring back at me. My long hair, usually a cascade of silver down my back, had been cut short, jagged at the jaw, framing a face that was pale, sharp, and devoid of the softness it once carried. My eyes, once filled with mischief and hope, were now narrowed, steel-hard, and burning with anger. The kind of anger that had no room for sorrow. Not yet.

“I don’t know what the first step is,” I admitted softly, my voice low and steady, though my chest ached with the emptiness Rafe left behind. “But I know one thing. Malric… he thinks he can take everything from us. From me. From Rafe… and I won’t let him.”

Ally swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around her skirts. “But Princess… if you go after him… if you confront him… it could be dangerous. You’re alone in this…”

I let out a short, humorless laugh, the sound hollow in the quiet room. “Ally… I’ve never been alone. Not really. Rafe trusted me. He believed in me when no one else did. That’s enough for me. It has to be.”

Her gaze softened, and she touched my arm gently. “I just… I don’t want to lose you too.”

“You won’t.” My tone was sharp, almost brittle, but there was conviction behind it. “I can’t afford to be lost. Not now. And I won’t be.” I stepped back from her, the anger in me rising, not just at my uncle, but at the injustice of the world that had allowed him to poison my brother. “First… we need a story. We need people to believe I’ve left for something they can’t question.”

Ally frowned, confused. “A story?” she asked.

I pulled my fingers through the short strands of hair at my jaw, the jagged edges brushing against my neck. “Tell the palace… tell everyone… that I’m traveling to another pack for special training. That will buy us time.”

Ally’s mouth opened, then closed. “Special training? Buy us time for what princess? But… what about the King’s council? The guards? They’ll notice Master Rafe…”

I pressed my palms to my temples, shutting out the world for a second. “We’ll handle that. They’ll hear what they’re supposed to hear. They’ll believe it. And they’ll wait for the heir to return. But when the heir comes back… it won’t be him. It will be me.”

Her breath caught. “Princess… you’re talking about disguising yourself as… as Master Rafe?”

I nodded once, sharply. “Yes. I have to. I have no choice. Malric has eyes everywhere. He’s already shown how far he’ll go to take what isn’t his. And if the kingdom sees me as Rafe… I have a chance. A chance to graduate from the academy, to earn what he stole, and to strip the throne from his greedy feet.”

Ally hesitated, then took a deep breath. “Do you… are you sure? You’ll be pretending to be a male… among the strongest Alphas in the land… it’s… dangerous.”

I met her eyes, the fire within mine reflected back in hers. “I know it’s dangerous. I know it will test every ounce of who I am. But I can’t do anything else. Rafe… trusted me with this, even in death. If I fail him… if I let Malric win… then everything we’ve ever known is lost. Everything. And I won’t allow that.”

She nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “Then… I’ll help you, Princess. I’ll tell the servants, I’ll handle the rumors. No one will question that you’ve left for training.”

I stepped closer to her, lowering my voice so that only she could hear. “I want you to be careful, Ally. If anyone asks… act like I’ve left. Don’t let anyone know the truth. Not even the guards. Not yet. It has to be perfect. Everything has to look normal, routine. Only then can I go after what’s mine and Rafe’s.”

Ally’s eyes shone, brimming with tears, but there was a resolve there too. “I understand. I won’t fail you, Princess. I swear it.”

“Good.” I let out a breath, running a hand over my newly cropped hair again. It felt alien against my scalp, but it was necessary. It was part of the disguise, part of becoming what I needed to be. What Rafe needed me to be. “Now… we need to prepare. I can’t leave any trace behind that would link me to this room. Nothing that Malric could use to expose me.”

Ally nodded, pulling a small satchel from behind her and starting to organize papers, letters, and personal effects that could tie me to the palace. “I’ll handle this. You… focus on… preparing yourself for tomorrow.”

I gave her a brief nod, my jaw tight. “Yes. I’ll be Rafe by dawn. I’ll be everything they expect him to be… and more. And when I return, it won’t be just as the heir. It’ll be as the sovereign he should have been.”

She hesitated, then asked softly, almost in a whisper, “Princess… what will you do when they realize it’s you? When your hair, your voice… all of it… doesn’t match?”

I felt a cold, precise determination settle over me. “Then I will have graduated. I will have proven myself. And by then, the throne will belong to me. To me and Rafe’s memory. Malric won’t have a chance to deny it. And no one… no one… will stand in my way.”

"What about your scent?" Ally said and I froze, I hadn't even thought about that. She was right, the female wolves had a different scent from the male ones, especially since I was a royal, my scent would be particularly strong.

I bit my lower lip and stared at Ally who stared at me with worried eyes. I didn't want her to get worried about me, I didn't want her to talk me out of it. I forced a fake smile and grabbed her shoulder.

"It's fine ally, you don't have to worry, i will think of something" I assured her but she shook her head.

"Please hold on princess" she said and immediately rushed out of my room before I could utter another word. I stood there wondering what she was up to but it wasn't for long as I soon sighted her. She walked into my room gently, and shut the door with a blue pouch in her hand.

"What's that Ally?" I asked her.

"A scent masking powder" she said and I was stunned. "This powder will mask your scent as long you as apply it frequently before it washes off, at least once in a week. With this, your disguise surely wouldn't be blown" Ally explained and I nodded, feeling impressed.

But where did she get that? Now of all times that we needed it.

"I know you're probably wondering why a lowly maid like me had this with me" She said like she was reading my mind. "My mother is a renounced herbalist in the village. She had a garden with rare and special herbs and she made this for me to mask my scent so I wouldn't be attacked by males in heat" She explained and I nodded mutely.

"Thank you Ally" I thanked her, happy I had someone so smart and capable by my side.

She swallowed, nodding. “We have to apply it on you before you leave… let’s begin.” She said and I nodded with a smile.

The night passed in a blur of preparation. I donned my brother’s robes first, the heavy fabric slipping over my shoulders, the insignia of the heir embroidered across the chest. The armor came next, polished and intimidating, fitting around me awkwardly at first, but with practice I adjusted, walking and moving as he would have. Every step, every gesture had to be Rafe. Every stance had to exude the confidence and dominance he carried naturally. I studied myself in the mirror again, catching the angle of my jaw, the set of my shoulders, the tilt of my head. I had to be him. Not me. Not Valery. Rafe’s presence had to overshadow mine completely. And as I adjusted my posture, I felt the anger within me harden into a sharpened weapon. Malric had taken Rafe from me. Poisoned him in secret while wearing the mask of unclely affection. That would not stand.

Ally peeked into the room once more, satchel in hand. “Everything is set, Princess. No one will notice a thing.”

I nodded, the corners of my mouth tightening. “Good. Then when I leave… you keep the story alive. Announce that I have traveled to another pack. Make it believable. Make it convincing. And Ally… do not falter. Not even once. My life—and the throne—depends on it.”

She met my gaze steadily. “I won’t fail you, Princess. You have my word.”

I took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill my lungs. I tightened my grip on the hem of my brother’s robe, adjusting the armor straps one last time. “Tomorrow, at first light, I will leave as Rafe, I will go to the academy… and I will return as the one who will claim what is rightfully ours. I swear it.”

The next morning, before the sun could rise, I packed all of the things I needed, stopped by to drop a flower at my brother's fresh grave and rode out of the castle.