A Queen's Rise From The Flames

Episode 2

You're In Trouble, Little Mouse

Darbie POV

"I told you she was clumsy," Tiffany hissed, her voice shaking as she tried to spin the terror into a joke, but nobody was looking at her.

The entire courtyard was dead silent. Usually, a joke at my expense would have had her sycophants giggling instantly, but right now, everyone was frozen in place. Dozens of students stood like statues, their eyes darting between me and the cage where the feral rogue was still whimpering in the dark.

I could practically hear their brains short-circuiting as they tried to rationalize what they had just seen. Why would a bloodthirsty beast submit to a useless, unranked maid? It didn't make any sense.

I quickly pulled my shoulders in, dropping my gaze back to the floor and slipping into my usual submissive posture. I needed them to think it was a fluke. A freak accident. Maybe the grid had shocked the wolf right as it lunged. Anything was better than the truth.

The silence was shattered by the thud of combat boots descending the stairs. The crowd instantly parted into two. Nobody needed to be told to move as the shift in the whole atmosphere was almost impossible to miss.

Gideon. King of campus. He moved with an effortless grace that made my skin prickle with static electricity. He was cold, calculating, and unreadable, carrying an Alpha aura that commanded obedience without him ever needing to raise his voice or bared his teeth.

He didn't look at Tiffany, who was still scrambling up from the ground, trying to dust off her skirt. His dark, piercing eyes were locked on me.

My inner wolf paced anxiously, letting out a low, defensive growl that only I could hear.

Easy, I warned her internally. Keep it down.

Gideon stopped just a foot away from me, stepping into my personal space, and the heat radiating off him was overwhelming. He didn't interrogate me.

He didn't cause a scene or demand answers in front of the huge crowd which, honestly, I was real thankful for. Instead, he just stood there, his intense gaze boring into mine, looking for the slightest c***k in my armor.

Deep within him, I could feel his own Alpha wolf stirring with deep suspicion. It recognized something. It had felt that very tiny fracture of power I had let out, and it was hunting for the source.

I kept my breathing shallow, forcing my eyes to look just past his shoulder, acting as terrified as an unawakened omega should be.

Gideon slowly leaned down, his eyes never leaving my face, and picked up a battered notebook that had fallen out of my bag during the chaos. He held it out to me. As I reached out to take it, his cool fingers brushed against mine. An electric spark shot up my arm, making my heart violently thud against my ribs.

"Be more careful next time, Darbie," he said simply. Her name sounded rolling off his tongue.

To everyone else standing in the courtyard, he was just warning a clumsy, pathetic pack maid about the dangers of hanging around wild creatures. But to me? The hidden threat was loud and clear: I know you're lying, and I'm going to find out why.

"I will, Alpha. Thank you," I mumbled, grabbing the notebook and hastily turning on my heel.

I immediately sprinted away from the courtyard, the intense tension suffocating me with every step I took. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely keep my grip on my straps.

I was on the radar now. And not just anyone's radar—I was being watched by the academy’s deadliest, most calculating predator. If Gideon decided to dig into my life, my survival mechanism was as good as dead.

I didn't come this far to get chewed on by a bunch of elites. Oh, Darbie. What did you do?

★

By the time evening rolled around, the paranoia had settled deep into my bones. All I wanted was to crawl into my bed and disappear.

Because I was an unranked pack servant, I didn't get to live in the lavish pack houses with the other students. Instead, I had been assigned a tiny, isolated dorm room at the very edge of the campus, far away from anyone who mattered. Usually, I hated the isolation, but tonight, it felt like more like some sanctuary.

Or at least, it was supposed to be…

As I reached my door and reached into my pocket for my key, I froze. The door was already ajar, a sliver of warm light spilling out into the dark hallway.

Who could…?

My muscles locked up instantly as I knew for a fact I had locked it this morning.

I pushed the door open slowly, the hinges letting out a faint, agonizing creak. My heart dropped right into my stomach.

Sitting casually at my small wooden desk, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, was Jax. The devil of campus.

He was the charismatic, chaotic second Alpha of the academy's apex trio, a guy who thrived on provoking people just to see them break down.

He wasn't like Gideon; Gideon wanted order, but Jax just wanted to watch the world burn for his own amusement. He was wearing his black academy jacket, his messy dark hair falling over his forehead, and he was comfortably invading my space like he owned it.

He tilted his head as I stepped into the room, flashing a lazy smile that showed off a hint of his sharp canines.

"You're late, little mouse," Jax murmured, his voice smooth and laced with a terrifying playfulness.

"Alpha Jax," I said, gripping the edge of the doorframe to keep my balance. I forced my voice to stay level, though my throat felt like sandpaper. "You shouldn't be in here. This is a private room.”

"Private?" He let out a low, amused chuckle, leaning back in my squeaky desk chair. "Nothing on this campus is private from me, Darbie. Especially not when a little nobody performs a literal miracle in the middle of the afternoon."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, stepping further into the room and shutting the door behind me. I needed to keep him away from the hallway. "The rogue was startled. I just happened to be standing there."

"Oh, really?" Jax raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes sparkling with malice. He reached into his jacket pocket and slowly pulled his hand out, placing an object gently onto the center of my desk.

My breath hitched.

It was a small, shattered piece of the cage's lock, covered in a faint, unmistakable residue of pure energy.

My energy.

When I had released that little burst of my aura, it hadn't just terrified the wolf—it had briefly short-circuited the grid itself, leaving behind a trace of power that an ordinary wolf would miss, but an apex Alpha would find instantly.

Jax leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his dangerous smile widening as he watched the color drain from my face.

"The wolves in the courtyard might be stupid enough to buy your clumsy maid act, Darbie," he whispered, his aura suddenly flaring up, pressing against my chest like a physical weight. "But I smelled what you did. You didn't just scare that rogue. You commanded it. Now, are you going to tell me what you really are, or do I have to have some fun breaking you until the truth comes out?”