CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER FOURTY
Hearing about Amanda's death, Baron could not comprehend the way he felt about the news. They had long moved on but there was still a void in his heart that only her presence could fill. Even though the void was merely a pinhole compared to the colossal black hole that only Avyanna’s presence filled.
Before his parent's mysterious death, Baron was always regarded as the black sheep of the family. His father, the great Alpha Fergus was worried about his son who was his only heir because of his seemingly rebellious nature. Baron had been expelled from about five different schools during his teenage days. He wasn't the type to go looking for one's trouble but if any one disturbed his peace, he would make sure that they suffered the consequences of their actions.
The last trouble that got him expelled was when he poisoned the food of few of his colleagues who had a school competition the following day. They were found lying down in the school cafeteria and growling like Zombies. Baron had gotten the serum that made people turn to Zombies, but only for one day. The poison made their brains turn to mush. They moved like rabid dogs, with drooling mouths and rotting bodies. He rendered them immobile and unable to represent the school in the competition. After that day, the poison wore off and the people that had the serum in their system could not remember anything that happened.
When the Principal of Cornell High had found out that Baron was responsible for the food poisoning, he was interrogated and he bluntly accepted that he did that on purpose because he felt like doing it, but in reality, he did it because they humiliated and bullied one of his friends. They had taken Baron’s friend’s lunch and made him starve, so Baron thought it poetic that he would make the bullies act like mindless zombies.
Alpha Fergus was fed up with his son's behavior and he had only one option left which was to send Baron to Nord Anglia which was an exclusive, clandestine school for exceptional students that were not human: Students who found it difficult to fit in the world as others.
Nord Anglia had certain principles that restricted students from doing a lot of things. They were not allowed to communicate with their parents except on days selected for visitation, mobile gadgets were not allowed as such, a student could not communicate with anyone outside the school premises. The century old school had a very impenetrable security system so it was slightly impossible for Baron to sneak out.
Nord Anglia wasn't just a school for Lycans. Werewolves, foxes and any kind of beasts were accepted in the school, even Zombies. The students were taught on how to interact with themselves and they were trained to fit in the world as others could do.
Baron's intentions right from the first day was to run away from the school and move to somewhere else he could live life comfortably without being pressured by his father to become a better heir. He wasn't interested in taking over from his father before. All he wanted was his freedom.
After Baron was allocated a room on his first day, during the roll call at night, he snuck out through the school toilet after claiming he wanted ‘to visit the loo’. It was at night and he wasn't quite conversant with the environment because Nord Anglia was in an isolated environment from the main city in which he came from.
Despite the security system, he easily evaded it and found his way to the town where the special school was in. He walked through the city until he saw a pub then he decided to enter it and decide his next line of action.
He walked boldly to the counter where he sat, with his hoodie almost masking his face from everyone present.
“I’ll have a whiskey.” He raised a finger subtly as he spoke, bowing his head and laying low.
“You’re either running away from something or you’re someone everyone should run away from.” A soothing lady voice called out and it made Baron look up to see who spoke. That’s when he saw her, a beautiful girl with a very bright smile and heaven-sent body curves. She wasn’t grandly dressed but he loved everything on her body; the black short gown with a V-neck that showed her small oval cleavage. He was first lost in her brown eyes, then her body. He stared at her as she professionally prepared a whiskey for him.
“So, which is it?” she asked making him realize that he had been staring for too long.
He cleared his throat, returned his gaze to her eyes, and said with a smile, “A little bit of both.”
Baron had never felt that way before. At that moment, he didn't care about his plan to escape Nord Anglia anymore, all he just wanted was to sit right next to this lady just to feel her skin on his palms.
Amanda could not control herself either when she saw Baron, it was like the term 'love at first sight' was meant for the both of them. Baron waited patiently for her till she was done with her night shift before they sat together drinking and chatting with each other all night long.
Amanda gave Baron a reason to return back to Nord Anglia. He wanted to see her every day and escaping Nord Anglia could wait because of that.
They regularly met secretly in the night and Baron grew more attached with her. Amanda was also a Lycan but she claimed that she could not afford the school fees so she had to work hard enough to be able to send herself to school. After she had told Baron this story, it became a push for him to become a better person in order for him to provide for her.
Even when Baron was exhausted with school and wanted to quit, Amanda was a voice that made him focus on Nord Anglia and just get it all over with. Her words made him better at school and more invested in the learning process, even though he had little moments when his rebellious nature laid bare.
In the second year, he took Amanda out on a date to the beach at night. There, he professed his love for her on his knees. He expressed how willing he was to make their relationship a forever thing. She was extremely excited about it and so was he, so then began an unwritten commitment to a saccharine love formed in tender tough hearts.
Alpha Fergus was happy to hear the good news about his son's welfare in school. He was finally convinced that he was training the proper heir that will be in charge of the Lycan territory after him.
Baron graduated Nord Anglia and went to college, and Amanda was still by his side, until the heartbreak, and betrayal set in. One fateful day, he glanced her mobile phone while she was chatting with Baron’s uncle.
“How do you know my uncle?” Baron asked, suspicious of Amanda but ready to look away from whatever reason that made her communicate with his uncle, but then she started agitating more than she usually would.
“Nothing.” She chuckled nervously.
“Come on, let me see.”
“Trust me. It’s all good.” She persuaded. He forgot about it until he overheard her speaking to him on a phone call the next day.
After he investigated into her fishy behavior and unexplained connection to his uncle, he found out that Amanda was a spy for his uncle, and that they wanted to use her to rob Baron of every resources his father had owned.
Baron was heartbroken but the truth remained that he was still in love with her and couldn't stop loving her after they had broken up. He didn't want to appear weak, only to end up losing everything he had worked for just to please Amanda. The heartbreak made him stronger, opening his mind to all the obstacles one had to face in life. After Amanda he had sworn to wait patiently for his mate who would be by his side on the throne.
The heartbreak Amanda had caused Baron cut deep and it made him sleep with other girls just to get her out of his head. Baron wept in secret but pretended to be strong in the open.
The news of his parent’s mysterious death had caused him to man up because he had two sisters to take care of. He moved on but the space Amanda left in his heart was never filled.
Hearing the news of her death, he didn't know how to react. Yes of course they were done with each other but they had history; they shared moments and good memories that he could never forget. Amanda was the motivation he needed to be his father's son. Regardless of the fact that she was a spy, she had impacted his life. He could manage the news that she was far away, safe and sound but he couldn't take the news of her death lightly.
Baron's first love was dead. He was not able to look into Avyanna's eyes because he wouldn't know the explanation to give her.
"Avyanna please just enjoy your party." Baron walked out of the hall silently with Steve behind him, but Avyanna tagged along for a bit.
“Who is Amanda?” she asked again, the look on Baron’s face held a lot of emotions behind it but none that Avyanna was conversant with.
“I really advise you enjoy your party.” Baron’s strides fastened until Avy couldn’t match up his pace. She just gave up following him and Steve so she returned to the party, where she met up with Rania and Gina.
****
There was a yellow tape that Steve had put up, demarcating the rest of the territory from the little cubicle where the lifeless body of Amanda lay. The scene was scattered and a lot of items were displayed on the ground, it was obvious that a lethal struggle ensued before she died.
Baron observed every square inch as he approached the crime scene with Steve.
"What killed her?" Baron asked. It was the first time he spoke throughout their entire journey to the accident scene.
"I haven't done any proper findings yet. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed to inform you." Steve spoke calmly. He understood that his Alpha was hurt and he wasn't ready to do anything that will annoy him.
"Alright, bring the body to the pack house. I want to give her a proper burial." He said with a heavy heart, memories of years past flooding into his mind.
"Okay."
As Steve was about to cover Amanda's pale face, Baron's warrior instinct kicked in and he walked towards the place Amanda's body was laid. On a closer look, he saw the bleeding trilogy of claw marks on her skin. It cut deep enough to her bone where a claw was stuck on the bone. Lycans had very strong claws that were able to cut through even bones, but werewolves didn’t have such strong claws. They would either lose their claws in the process or get it stuck to the bone they struck. Baron dug his finger into the wound on her neck and removed the claw from her neck.
"These marks can only be made by a werewolf." Baron said as his eyes widened in realization.
That could only mean one thing...