Chapter 33: Unexpected Countermove [III]

The last of Starlight’s composure shattered. She broke down completely, covering her face as violent sobs shook her shoulders. The tears she’d been trying and failing to hold back throughout the recording finally burst free completely, pouring down her cheeks unchecked. All her desperate attempts to keep herself together crumbled at once, and for several seconds, she couldn’t get a single coherent word out through her sobs.

Immediately, Elle shifted closer and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "It’s okay," she whispered frantically, rubbing circles against her back. "It’s okay, Starlight. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry."

Ariel was on her feet a second later. Forgetting entirely that the camera was still recording, she hurried into view and crouched beside Starlight, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder while trying to calm her down. "Hey, breathe. Just breathe, okay?" she said softly. "You’re going to be okay. Don’t listen to those people. Don’t let them get to you, okay? Just calm down and take a deep breath. That’s it. You’re okay."

Across the room, Chloe sat frozen on the upper bunk, staring at the scene with her mouth slightly open. She honestly didn’t know what to make of any of it. She knew Starlight was manipulating the entire situation. Yes, she was telling the truth, but she was also carefully twisting it in a way that would pull at people’s emotions and make them sympathize with her. Chloe didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified. She had completely underestimated Starlight Dawson. And now she didn’t know whether she should climb down and join the display after the way she had spoken to Starlight earlier. Would the girl even accept her comfort? But if she didn’t join in, it might look to the viewers as though she was taking the academy’s side against her own roommate.

After a moment of hesitation, Chloe swallowed her pride and slowly climbed down from the bunk and walked over. She awkwardly stepped into view of the camera as well before stopping beside the others and lightly squeezing Starlight’s other shoulder, entirely unsure of what to say. Gradually, Starlight’s sobs began to subside, her ragged breathing slowly evening out. Elle gave her one final squeeze before letting her go, while Chloe quickly moved away for a moment and returned with a packet of wipes. She awkwardly held them out. Starlight accepted them with a small nod, sniffling softly as she wiped her face clean and dabbed at her swollen eyes. After several moments, she finally composed herself enough to look directly into the camera again with a raw, solemn gaze.

"If I had known this was how terribly I would be treated here, I never would have entered the Lunar Lottery in the first place," she said softly, her voice heavy with sorrow. "I regret it. I truly do. If only there were a way to turn back time, I would undo it all in a heartbeat so I wouldn’t have put myself through this level of injustice, and I certainly wouldn’t have dragged my roommates into such a difficult situation."

She glanced briefly toward the girls beside her.

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry," she muttered. The three girls could only nod awkwardly, unsure of what to say as the camera continued recording.

Folding her hands together tightly, Starlight lowered her head for a moment before looking back up. "I want to sincerely apologize to anyone I may have offended with my actions. I am ready to accept whatever punishment the academy or the student council decides to hand down to me. But I am begging you, please, leave my roommates out of this. They had nothing to do with what happened. They didn’t encourage me in any way. They’re good people who simply happened to share a room with me and welcomed me with kindness from the very beginning. They don’t deserve to be targeted because of my mistakes."

She wiped her cheeks again, letting out a final shaky exhale. "That is all I have to say. I am sorry once again, Alpha Mikhail, for my behavior. I shouldn’t have talked back to you after everything you and Alpha Nikolai did for me. I don’t even know why you singled me out and asked people to vote for me in the Apex Rankings. I never deserved such kindness or support, but you two still went out of your way to help a human nobody like me when you didn’t have to." She shook her head and clasped her hands together once more. "So thank you. Thank you very much." With one last tear escaping her eye, Starlight reached forward with trembling fingers and ended the recording.

"Unbelievable," Ezabel breathed from behind Mikhail, cold sweat breaking out across her skin. She had come over to watch the moment the video started playing, and she had never seen anything like it before. "She’s weaponizing public sympathy," she said in disbelief. "Every single word was carefully calculated. She completely rewrote the narrative and weaponized her weakness."

Mikhail lowered the phone and suddenly broke into loud, uninhibited laughter. The sound echoed through the empty classroom.

"Unbelievable indeed." He laughed harder, leaning back against the desk. "It seems we have our work cut out for us." His shoulders shook with pure amusement. "It’s been a long time since something this entertaining happened at Asterion," he said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye as his chuckles gradually subsided.

Mikhail had truly underestimated Starlight Dawson. Truly, deeply underestimated her. With a single recording like this, every human in the academy was going to rally behind her, completely upending the status quo.

The thought only made him laugh harder, genuine amusement lighting up his features.

"Have you finally lost your mind?" Ezabel asked, raising a skeptical brow as she stared at Mikhail as though he had completely lost touch with reality.

Mikhail gradually calmed himself, a residual chuckle escaping his lips. "Lost my mind? No, Ezabel. I am simply admiring a masterclass in public manipulation."

Nikolai glanced over at his twin, his expression dark as he asked, "What are we going to do now? It seems like she’s decided to fight back."

"Well, she apologized to us so sweetly," Mikhail replied, a wicked smile spreading across his face. "What else are we supposed to do but accept it?" If Mikhail had been intrigued by her before, he was thoroughly obsessed now. He would do whatever it took to break down her defenses and claim Starlight as their mate.

A girl who could think this quickly under pressure deserved his respect, and more importantly, his undivided attention. He handed the phone back to Nikolai, who took it with a tense expression.

"Tell Eden to draft a post of his own," Mikhail instructed coolly. "He should wait until everyone has had time to digest her video, then repost it directly to his feed. We will both repost it as well. And Ezabel, I would appreciate it if you did the same. You are, after all, her academy mother."

Ezabel stared at him, her eyes wide.

"Do you have any idea what you’re asking? Do you realize that video could spark an outright war between the werewolves and the humans?"

"Come on, Ez," Mikhail said, his eyes gleaming with dark excitement. "When was the last time you saw a scandal this delicious at Asterion?"

His smile widened. "I say we let it burn."

"You’re completely insane," Ezabel muttered, shaking her head in utter disbelief.