Fated and Claimed by Four Alphas
Chapter 69: The Outcome...

Chapter 69: The Outcome...

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Chapter 69

~Spring’s POV~

I cracked my knuckles once beneath the table.

Across from me, Lilith didn’t blink. Her lips were curled just barely upward, and her eyes were fixed on the board with predator-like stillness.

Jace stepped forward. "Begin."

The cards spread out automatically into a 6-by-5 grid, floating just above the table surface. Their glowing backs pulsed like heartbeats.

I moved first.

Round One.

I tapped two cards.

First: a glowing silver triangle rune.

Second: a jagged gold bolt rune.

No match.

"One strike," Raphael announced, his voice flat from the upper box.

I exhaled slowly.

Lilith moved after me.

She tapped two cards: first, a fire rune and then, another fire rune.

"Match: Lilith—one," Raphael intoned.

A low hum of reaction swept through the audience. Lilith looked at me once, eyes sharp.

Round Two.

I kept my focus tight, ignoring the adrenaline that threatened to disrupt my recall.

I tapped one rune—circle with a flame centre, and the second card was a match.

"Spring—one."

The crowd murmured. Lilith’s smirk twitched.

She moved again. Her fingers brushed over the cards like she already knew.

She tapped one card. A claw-mark rune. The second was wrong. A water sigil.

"One strike." Raphael’s voice echoed again.

Lilith didn’t flinch, but her jaw clenched briefly.

Then the entire board shimmered—and every rune vanished into a swirl of symbols before rearranging into a new spread.

"Board reshuffle," Tyrion called calmly.

A collective groan rippled through the crowd.

Round Three.

I hesitated just half a second longer than I should’ve. My instincts wavered.

First card—sky rune.

Second—wrong. Lightning bolt.

"Two strikes." Raphael didn’t even blink.

My pulse pounded in my ears.

Lilith didn’t gloat. She moved quickly this time.

First—winged rune. Second match.

"Lilith—two."

She was winning. One match away.

I flexed my fingers once beneath the table. One more miss, and I was out. But I’d been here before—cornered, bruised, counted out. And I didn’t fold then. I wouldn’t now.

I whispered to Jade in my mind, "One chance. Where are they?"

She didn’t answer. But my hand drifted... and landed on the far-left card.

Flame rune. I remembered it. Barely.

Second card—flame rune.

"Spring—two."

The room exhaled.

Lilith’s hand hesitated as she moved. Her fingers paused over a pair near the center.

First card—a mirrored rune.

Second—moon rune.

"Two strikes, Lilith." Raphael said, voice like stone.

One more miss, and she was out too.

The board shimmered again. Another reshuffle.

Last round.

One point each to win. One mistake each to lose.

We stared at each other over the hovering runes. My fingers twitched once, but she didn’t move.

Then—I did. I picked a card from the top right corner—rune of binding and then another lower left—rune of chains.

Not a match.

I shut my eyes, waiting for Raphael’s call.

But it didn’t come.

"Strike denied," Kael said suddenly from the Council box. "You hesitated—pulled back in time and you picked two cards. That move doesn’t count."

I opened my eyes to see I had tipped another card by mistake which ended up being wat I wanted but it was already cancelled out.

Lilith’s nostrils flared. Taking matters hold of my miss, she lunged for her cards—too fast.

First rune: broken crescent. And the second rune...

Mirrored light.

"No match."

Lilith stiffened.

"Three strikes." Raphael’s voice echoed through the chamber. "Lilith is out. Spring Kaine wins."

I blinked. What were the odds... I stared at the cards, still thinking I was probably dreaming or something.

The moment Raphael declared the final words—"Spring Kaine wins"—the amphitheatre cracked open with sound. Cheers rose from every corner, feet stomping, claps thunderous, voices chanting in waves I never thought I’d hear.

The cards vanished midair, fading into gold light. Lilith’s chair cracked beneath her clenched hands, but she didn’t say a word.

My legs wanted to collapse beneath me, not from weakness but from the weight of everything behind me. Three games turned four. Four near defeats. Three moments of choice. And I’d made it out.

I stood, still breathing hard, and turned to the Council table where Storm was already rising.

"Four games," he said. "Three victories."

He looked directly at Lilith.

"You lost."

Lilith said nothing, but her face was tight and unreadable. I saw it in her shoulders, in the slight shake of her fingers.

It was over.

And I’d won. Fair and square.

Just as the adrenaline faded, the student council began descending from the upper stands. One by one, Storm led them down, their uniform fluttering like the wind itself was bending to their authority.

The moment they reached the floor, everything went still.

Storm stepped forward—every movement heavy with finality. His expression was cold, but his presence was like lightning before it struck.

The noise died instantly. He didn’t raise his voice.

"Let the outcome be known," Storm said calmly, "before it gets lost in celebration."

Silence fell harder than thunder.

He turned toward the crowd first, eyes sweeping across the stands. "This was not a game for applause," he said. "It was a challenge made in front of the Council. And every challenge carries a stake."

He shifted his gaze to Lilith, who stood a few paces away, shoulders stiff, jaw locked.

"The terms were clear. If Spring Kaine won," he continued, "you would forfeit your position as Vice President. Immediately. And without resistance."

Lilith’s lips parted like she might argue.

But she didn’t.

Storm’s voice lowered—not cruel, but final. "Remove your crest."

Everyone watched silently, so that even if a pin dropped, the sound would echo.

One of her minions hurried over with her uniform neatly folded. She handed them to Lilith.

Lilith reached up with one trembling hand and unpinned the badge from her tailored breast pocket. Then the second one from her collar. The metal clicked softly as it dropped into Raphael’s outstretched hand.

The Council’s enforcer didn’t say a word.

"Step down," Storm said simply.

Lilith gave me one look. One final burning glare—the most she could afford. She was no longer superior; she was just scorched by pride and a loss she would never forget.

She turned and walked away, her minion handing her a black cloak, which she wore, dragging it behind her as if it weighed a hundred pounds.

Mira stepped forward, holding a thin crystal tablet.

"This is the new crest of authority," her voice light, but formal. "By the judgment of the Council and by the rules of Noxshade Academy, Spring Kaine..." she raised the shimmering crest toward me, "you are hereby appointed the new Vice President of the Student Council."

I didn’t move at first.

Then Jace nudged my shoulder gently from behind me.

I stepped forward, breath caught somewhere between my ribs and my heart, and Mira affixed the small silver pin to my uniform collar, which Eva had already brought forward and placed over my shoulders.

The crowd exploded again.

Students shouted my name. Nari was screaming like she’d just watched me slay a dragon. Chloe hugged Eva so tightly when she moved back that she nearly lifted her off the floor.

But I didn’t look at them.

Because Storm was walking toward me now.

Not with that cold, distant aura he wore like armour. This was something else.

His eyes found mine as he stopped directly in front of me. The noise faded again, or maybe it was just me forgetting how to hear.

Storm reached out and cupped my face between his hands.

His palms were warm. "Congratulations, Vice President," he addressed me low enough that only I could hear.

Then, his gaze darkened just slightly, something sharper threading through his words.

"Now," he said, brushing his thumb along my jaw, "you don’t get to run anymore."

My breath caught.

"You’re mine," Storm whispered, "you’re ours—whether you admit it or not. And after today... I won’t hold back anymore."

Before I could reply, before I could even think, Storm leaned down and kissed me.

Right there. In front of the entire Council. The students. The sky itself might as well have been watching.

His lips were warm, not forceful. It was a claim in a way that made everything else fall silent inside me.

Just the way his hand slid gently to the side of my face. The way our foreheads touched briefly before his mouth found mine again. The way he kissed me like he’d waited, truly waited, for me to be ready.

And I was because in that moment, with all eyes on us and the wind curling around our clothes, I didn’t care about anything. All I felt was him and me, and I took my well-deserved kiss.

My fingers curled in his shirt, like I didn’t know how to let go, and neither did Storm.