Defy The Alpha(s)-Chapter 800: Hunting Expedition

"Hello, Your Majesty," Micah said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Micah."

Elijah’s voice on the other end was oddly calm, but there was a sharp edge beneath it. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I hear something interesting is happening at the academy. Care to brief me on it?"

Micah’s eyes shifted to Adele. She was practically holding her breath, her expression tight with anxiety.

He turned slightly away and answered.

"There was a small mishap with the ward," Micah said evenly. "But the witch is already working on restoring it. It should only take some time. Everything is under control."

A brief silence followed.

"Is that all?" Elijah asked.

There was expectation in his voice.

Micah paused.

He knew his uncle well enough to recognize when he was being tested.

Finally, he replied, "That is all you need to know for now."

Another pause.

Then Elijah chuckled in a way that sat uncomfortable with Micah .

"Alright then." Amusement lingered in his voice. "I trust you’ll take good care of my young wolves. I’ll be in Aster City soon. Until then, nephew."

The line went dead.

Micah remained standing there, ramrod straight. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly, but relief never came.

"Elijah knows something."

Adele’s head snapped up.

"He knows you’re keeping the witch from him," she said immediately.

Then her brows furrowed as another realization struck.

"But if that’s the case, that means he knows you know Angus is alive."

Micah’s lips twisted into a wry smile.

"I haven’t opened my mouth, have I?"

"Oh shit."

Adele’s eyes widened as another thought hit her.

"He knows you’re the Oracle too."

Micah shrugged lightly.

"Well, that’s hardly a secret around here anymore, is it?"

He ran a hand through his hair before continuing.

"Why do you think he offered me Lunaris Academy to run in the first place? He wants me to see it as my little playground. That way he keeps me contained here, replaces Jameson with a wolf in charge, and strengthens pack influence inside the academy."

His tone turned more cynical.

"In case you haven’t noticed, Elijah—just like Angus—believes in wolf supremacy. The only difference is that he isn’t running some supernatural baby-farming program."

The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.

Adele muttered quietly, as if committing the thought to memory. "So as long as you keep his secret and act like his loyal soldier, he’ll leave you alone."

"Pretty much," Micah admitted with a small shrug. "Although I doubt we’ll see eye to eye on the witch situation this time."

He hesitated before adding more gently, his gaze tender.

"So please... consider moving to hell if push comes to shove."

Adele swallowed.

She didn’t want to believe Elijah would go that far. That he would actually try to harm her just to force Micah into obedience.

But then again...

What kind of family had the Moon Goddess mated her into?

Her mate’s sister wanted to kill her.

Her mate’s uncle probably intended to harm her.

Her mate’s demon brother—sort of—had tried to forcibly marry her off before.

And his demon father wanted to steal her child.

Adele shuddered.

Yep.

Her life was fantastic.

Just absolutely fantastic.

She glanced up at Micah again, suddenly wondering if the Moon Goddess had a strange sense of humor when it came to matchmaking.

Adele was quiet for a long moment. Micah didn’t rush her. He had already asked more of her than he liked. Sending her back to hell was the last thing he wanted to do. But if Elijah and his devious sister Ziva decided to push things further, he needed a way to keep her safe.

Finally, Adele sighed.

"I’ll consider it."

It wasn’t a yes but it was something. And right now, that was enough.

Micah’s shoulders relaxed slightly. A small breath left him, relief softening the tension in his face. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Thank you."

Before Adele could respond, his phone rang.

Micah pulled it from his pocket and answered.

"Hello."

He listened to the voice on the other end, his expression shifting from alert to thoughtful, and then he nodded once.

"Okay."

The call ended.

Adele watched him closely. "Who was it?"

"Witches," Micah said. "The ones Samantha requested to help rebuild the ward. They’ve arrived."

He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"I have to go."

Then he looked at her again, his gaze searching her face.

"Do you still need to rest?" he asked. "I can ask one of the teachers to stay with you."

Adele shook her head.

"No. I’m fine."

She slid off the bed with ease, showing she was strong enough.

"I need to go back to the students," she said. "Midnight is a long time away, Micah. And I don’t like the idea of what could happen before then."

She stepped closer and leaned in, pressing a brief kiss against his lips.

"Be careful out there," she murmured. "I’m not ready to be mate-less."

Micah smiled.

"And you won’t be."

He kissed her once more before turning toward the door.

Moments later, Micah arrived back at the school gate.

Three unfamiliar figures stood near the entrance. The newly arrived witches. Two blondes and a brunette.

Samantha was already speaking with them when Micah approached and extended his hand politely.

"Hello. I’m Micah."

But none of them moved to shake it.

Instead, the witches stared at his outstretched hand as if it were something dangerous.

One of the blonde witches spoke first.

"We know what you are, Son of Angus."

"Oh." Micah blinked in surprise. He guessed no shaking then.

The witch continued coldly, "We’ll do our work at midnight. After that, this alliance is over."

Micah pursed his lips. "If you say so." He dusted his hand lightly and slipped it back into the pocket of his jeans.

Whatever hostility they had shown him seemed to vanish once they turned their attention back to Samantha. The four witches moved aside together, immediately discussing the ward in hushed, focused voices.

Micah watched them for a moment. It wasn’t just him they were avoiding. The witches kept their distance from the wolves entirely.

Across the courtyard, some of the wolves leaned against the walls with crossed arms watching the newcomers cautiously.

The tension between the two groups was obvious. Wolves and witches had never shared a friendly history. And tonight unfortunately, they had to work together.

Fate does have a way of bringing enemies together.

Ignoring the witches, Micah moved through the courtyard, stopping beside each cluster of wolves checking and testing their weapons.

"Careful with that," Micah said, reaching out to correct the grip of one of the younger wolves holding a crossbolt. "Your finger stays off the trigger unless you’re ready to fire. The last thing we need tonight is one of you idiots shooting your own packmate in the face."

A few of the wolves snorted.

Micah grabbed one of the crossbolts from the table and held it up again.

"This latch right here controls the tension. Pull it back until you hear the click. If it jams, don’t force it or the bolt will misfire."

Before he could continue, Jeremiah, Asher’s beta, said with a smirk.

"You really don’t need to fuss over us, Micah."

Micah glanced at him.

Jeremiah folded his arms confidently. "I don’t know about the other packs, but wolves of the West Pack have been trained with weapons since the day we could walk."

The words barely left his mouth before Oscar, Griffin’s beta, laughed loudly.

"Oh really?" Oscar said sarcastically. "The day you could walk?"

He leaned back against the table, grinning.

"That’s pretty late, isn’t it? In our pack we’re taught how to fight while we’re still babes in our mother’s arms."

A chorus of wolf whistles and cheers erupted from pack members.

Jeremiah’s face darkened immediately.

Abel, Roman’s beta, stood nearby with his arms crossed, watching the exchange like a spectator at a boxing match. He didn’t bother intervening. Let the two idiots go at it.

Jeremiah stepped forward, glaring at Oscar.

"Oh yeah?" he snapped. "Then why don’t we test that out right now?"

Oscar pushed himself off the table.

"Gladly."

Before either of them could move, Commander Malakai stepped between them like a wall.

"No one is testing anything." His voice cut through the courtyard instantly. "You can rest assured that if it weren’t for this situation, none of you would have a weapon in your hand until you graduated from this academy."

He pointed a stern finger at both of them.

"And for very good reasons."

Micah rubbed his temples.

Teenagers.

Give them one opportunity and suddenly they were ready to tear each other apart.

He stepped forward, his voice dropping into a command.

"Listen carefully. Tonight you follow instructions. If even one of you steps out of line—" His gaze swept across the wolves. "—I don’t care if we’re being overrun by a thousand zombies. You’re stepping back immediately."

Silence followed.

"Am I clear?"

The response came in a collection of reluctant grumbles and nods.

Micah knew they understood.

Abel broke the quiet.

"So," he said casually, spinning a knife between his fingers, "when exactly are the zombies coming out so we can have some fun?"

Ajax, one of the wolves who had taken over the position of Finn, Alaric’s beta, turned toward him with a look of disbelief.

"Do you guys do anything in your house besides sleep, party, and screw?" He asked. "Haven’t you studied that zombies move more efficiently at night."

Abel shrugged.

"Not in the movies I’ve watched."

A few of the wolves laughed.

Micah ignored their bickering and moved toward the edge of the courtyard to rest. He needed his strength.

Minutes felt like hours as the wolves waited in tense anticipation. And then, night finally fell.