SERAPHINA
Expelled.
The word rang through my skull like a death knell.
My body remained coiled, fists still slick with blood, chest heaving as though I’d just sprinted through fire. But the true fire burned in Alpha Gideon’s eyes—not fury, not even outrage—judgment. Final. Irrevocable.
“I refuse,” I said between ragged breaths.
“What?” Alpha Gideon’s face contorted with rage. He was a man accustomed to silence after he spoke, a man who had never tolerated disobedience.
“I refuse to accept your decision, Alpha Gideon,” I rasped, stepping forward. I didn’t care how Ronan looked or what he might be thinking. My focus was on the Alpha who had just condemned me without trial. “There was no hearing. No testimony. Nothing. You’ve expelled me from the Academy without a single word in my def
