Page 66 of Moon Cursed

The message they were sending was clear: This is our school. We run this place. The rest of you accept what we deign to give you.

If this bullshit was confined to the mess hall, it wouldn’t be such a problem, but their in-my-face rebellion was stinking up the classrooms too.

Since official classes were canceled while we prepared for the placement exams, teachers were holding study halls, review sessions, and Q & As to help us prep for the tests. Or I should say, they were holding them for the alphas and betas. Because said wolves were dominating every session.

They monopolized all the instructors’ time, and whenever an omega or epsilon tried to get a word in or ask a question, they shouted, sang, banged the tables, or made fools of themselves until the questioning student gave up.

The worst part was the instructors were letting it happen. Even though the alphas’ behavior were demerit offenses, the instructors were only giving them detention—which the alphas promptly turned into an after-class party, kicking back with music, beers, and a good time.

Thanks to me stupidly giving up my power over the teachers, I had to go to Ash to discipline them, and her only response was “instructors are within their rights to choose their punishment. If they’ve decided on detention, it’s not your place to question them. A punishment is a punishment.”

Except, it wasn’t a fucking punishment when everyone in the school knew they spent all of detention partying.

With Badr and Orion as their leaders, the alphas were quickly reasserting their dominance over the school... there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

“I thought Ash was here to help us,” Nia went on. “Why is she letting all of this slide?”

“Why indeed, Nia.” My gaze slid to Vice Ash. She stood in the corner of the mess hall, sweeping a stern eye over everyone—me most of all. “She’s a mystery, Nia. I don’t think anyone knows her true motives. Not even Luame.”

My phone chirped right on cue. The texts had been coming fast and furious that morning, and all of them from one person.

Sunella: Despite my assurances that the council will cover any legal damages, the clan leaders are insisting they must continue participating in Volana’s sham of a public forum. They say it’s because they’ve received overwhelming public support and approval for their willingness to “listen to their subjects.” Apparently, if they refuse to continue at this point, the backlash won’t be favorable for them or the council.

I say, the loss of the monetary compensation Volana hinted at is the true backlash they’re concerned about, but none of them will admit this, or say how much she’s paying them.

Regardless, I assume you have a plan to put a stop to these forums, and the council wants to know that plan now.

Older, wiser alphas put these laws into place centuries ago, and they did so for good reasons. Our laws will not be questioned, and will most certainly not be changed, by a bunch of arrogant pups who haven’t even gotten their back teeth.

FIX THIS!

I would’ve smiled if there was anything to smile about. I knew Ash was a council plant, and a week of reading her intercepted emails and texts only proved it. But—and it was wild to me that there was a but attached to this truth—Ash wasn’t completely on their side.

The messages that Ash received from every single member of the council when they found out she canceled classes, instituted the placement exams, kicked the alphas out of the best dorms, and instituted the honor board... Well, let’s just say, I learned a busload of new swear words.

They all came down on her for playing into the “high priestess’s misinterpreted vision,” but she came back just as hard, saying that I was Luame’s chosen representative on earth. If I was misrepresenting Luame, then Luame would tell us so in the form of me bursting into flames. Until that happened, Ash would trust my word on the vision, and carry out Luame’s wishes to the letter. She would betray her faith under no one’s command.

It was really fucking confusing.

Ash seemed to both be on my side and on their side, but of course, that was impossible!

The only thing I could think was that she respected me as high priestess, but hated me as headmistress. So, she’d sabotage everything I did as headmistress, but support my efforts as high priestess.Butsince both those efforts were linked now, she was both my ally and my enemy, and it was as weird for her as it was for me!

I texted Ava to let the text and her replies through without editing, then watched as Ash received the message and typed a reply.

Rianna: I very much disapprove of a girl who is little more than a child leading a bigger mob of children to shout at and barrage the clan leaders with uneducated nonsense. Influencing law is a serious and sacred duty. It should be done with care, education, and forethought, as such, I will do my best to curb the high priestess and make her see sense. Fortunately the projection equipment was sabotaged by person or persons unknown, so there will be no repeat of last week’s circus.

However, barely educated children though they may be, not everything they said was wrong, and it’d be foolish to dismiss their opinions as so. I, for one, never saw the sense or wisdom in a beta woman never seeing her children again because she found the courage to leave her abusive, cheating alpha spouse, and going by the trending news on Loop Garou, a great many people agree.

The alpha council may want to accept it’s not just High Priestess Daciana who wants Luame’s vision of a new, fairer society to become reality. Because every law should be subject to questioning and change, or we fall to dictatorship.

I almost whooped by the end of her text, wishing I could send Sunella a “Hey, take that, bitch!” on the heels of it. A very frustrating feeling considering I wanted to punch Ash at the start of her text.

“What’s going on?” Nia asked, watching my face.

I handed her my phone. “You want to know what to think of Ash? Read this.”

Nia read through the responses while I nodded along to every one of her expressions: rage, frustration, surprise, glee, confusion. “What the hell?” she sputtered. “Is she on our side or isn’t she?”

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