Chapter 188: Plagiarism

“Talking smack about people behind their backs isn’t exactly a good habit.”

It was Henry. He had snuck up behind us, deliberately trying to scare us. I didn’t even blink. As a beta, his reflexes were nowhere near as sharp as mine. Before he lunged, I’d already sensed he meant no harm.

Trista, however, wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about being caught. She shot back, “I didn’t say anything wrong. You’ve been goofing off every day with no ambition, and now you suddenly claim you will make it into the top five in the class? If that’s not crazy, what is?”

Henry ignored her.

But Trista wasn’t done. “There’s no way you’re cracking the top five. Impossible.”

Henry’s face was a mask of indifference as he stared at her. “Trista, don’t think you can make it in Hollywood just because you have a pretty face. That’s the last thing they’re short on over there.”

He continued, ruthless as ever. “Your face is totally unremarkable. Even if you manage to squeeze in, the best you’ll do is play extras.” Trista’s expression soured instantly.

“Henry, shut your mouth! I’ll make it to the top, and you’ll have to eat your words!” she snapped.

Henry, unfazed, turned and walked away. Trista, fuming, stomped her feet in frustration.

I quickly tried to console her. “Alright, calm down. Don’t stoop to his level.”

“I believe in you—you’ll absolutely make it.”

It took a while, but Trista’s anger finally started to subside. She turned to me, her voice firm. “Hayley, mark my words. I’ll make it in Hollywood, win an Oscar, and become a star.”

I gave her a thumbs-up. “Future superstar, no need to stay mad.”

As she cooled down, something suddenly crossed her mind. She grabbed my arm, wide-eyed. “Oh, Hayley, I almost forgot! I have some juicy gossip for you!”

“Christopher got himself into trouble.”

The moment she said that, my heart skipped a beat. I quickly asked, “What happened to him?”

Trista wasted no time spilling everything she knew. “I heard there’s a problem with his new song. He’s super popular in the industry, and his new release got rave reviews. It even shot up to number one on the trending charts.”

“Next thing you know, Harmony’s fans are accusing him of plagiarism. It’s blown up like crazy, and Christopher’s agency hasn’t said anything. Meanwhile, the hashtag #ChristopherOutOfTheIndustry has already passed 300 million views on Twitter.”

Hearing this, I fell silent, my thoughts spiraling. Trista kept talking, but her words barely registered.

Christopher’s POV

I’ve been in a terrible mood since my new song was accused of plagiarism. I was even tempted to let my wolf take over and just sprint through the forest to blow off steam.

My manager, Caesar, paced back and forth, clearly agitated. “Christopher, what’s going on with this new song?”

I stayed quiet. The original draft for this song was something I’d found under my desk computer. When I first saw it, I was shocked. I composed the first half, but the second half was heavily reworked. To my surprise, the changes significantly elevated the song’s quality.

After showing it to professional songwriters, they unanimously agreed the piece was top-tier. That’s when I decided to release it. I never expected it would lead to accusations of plagiarism.

“Caesar, I didn’t write the full song,” I confessed.

Caesar swore under his breath. “Christopher, why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

I was equally frustrated and explained, “I found the song under my desk. The first half is mine.”

Caesar slapped his forehead. “This is a setup—an outright setup. Someone’s trying to drag you into this mess. Whoever it is, they’re downright malicious.”

I pursed my lips. I’d never made enemies in the industry. As a member of the Southwells, the ruling pack of the Midnight Pack, nobody would dare target me lightly. So, who could have done this?

“Check the security footage outside my office. I want to see who planted it there,” I instructed immediately.

Caesar stopped me. “Christopher, now’s not the time to investigate. What matters is giving the public a response. I’ll contact crisis management immediately and ensure we minimize the damage.”

With that, he grabbed his phone and started making calls. My heart sank. Whoever set this up, I’ll find them. And if necessary, I’ll…

Just then, the office door suddenly swung open. Siete walked in.

“That song isn’t plagiarized,” he said straight away.

Both Caesar and I turned to him, confused. “Siete, what are you talking about?”

What he said next left us stunned. “That song was written by Harmony.”