My Alphas' Dark Desires
Chapter 171: Less Worried

Chapter 171: Less Worried

**************

Chapter 171

~Valerie’s POV~

"She’s not a prize, Kai. Let Valerie breathe, please. Just be there."

I clenched my fists, fingers curling tighter than I meant to. Kaiser was right, but how was I to hold on... How was I to pretend like my heart, body and soul did not want her so much right now?

The ground beneath my boots felt less steady with each passing second.

"I’ll text her later," I muttered.

"Better to say it in person."

"I don’t know if she wants that."

"She does."

"I hurt her too, remember?"

"You didn’t mean to."

Neither did Axel.

That thought came out of nowhere and just like that, he appeared.

The footsteps behind me, the soft crunch of gravel, followed by a hand resting on my shoulder.

"Easy," Axel said.

I didn’t turn or flinch. We stood there in silence for a full minute, both of us staring at the scene below like it was a battlefield we’d already lost.

"I didn’t mean to do it," Axel said quietly.

"Still, you did," I replied. "It doesn’t matter now, does it?"

"I know."

I finally turned to him. There was something brittle behind his usual smooth expression. Like a layer had been stripped back, and what remained was still bleeding.

He made to walk past me.

But I stopped him.

"You messed up, Axe," I said, voice low. "I don’t think she meant anything bad."

He stilled for a second, then turned, just slightly, enough for me to see the bitter curve of his smile.

"I know I was an ass."

"Good. Then make it up to her."

He didn’t answer at first, but slowly, Axel nodded. "Yeah. I will."

Axel walked off into the night, hands shoved deep in his pockets, like one having the weight of too many memories trailing behind him.

As for me, I stayed rooted there, watching Valerie finally pull back from Xade, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket. She said something—soft, impossible to hear—and Xade just nodded.

He looked much calmer now but deep down, I wasn’t.

I wanted this time with her too... but even I knew better. My past wasn’t something so light... and just like Axel and Xade, I too had burned.

***************

~Valerie’s POV~

By the time Xade escorted me back to my dorm, the air had cooled enough to raise goosebumps on my arms. I said nothing for most of the walk. Neither did he.

Maybe we both needed the silence.

When we reached my door, he stopped beside me, one hand still tucked in his jacket pocket, the other grazing the back of his neck.

"You sure you’re good?" he asked, his voice softer now, almost shy beneath the usual layers of charm and trouble.

"I will be," I replied, turning the key in the door.

He gave a small nod but didn’t move. His gaze lingered on my face longer than it needed to, like he was trying to memorise my expression before letting me go.

"Thank you, Xade," I added quietly, glancing back at him.

The corner of his lips lifted. "Don’t thank me yet. You owe me a favour."

"I don’t recall signing a deal."

He grinned, backing away. "Then call it a pending contract. One I’ll collect when you least expect."

I rolled my eyes. "You’re incorrigible."

He winked. "And you like it. Goodnight, little wolf."

"Nighty night, Silver King."

Xade winked, then he turned and walked off, hands in his pockets, the swagger back in his steps. However, I noticed that his shoulders were slightly more relaxed than they had been at the beginning of the night.

I stepped inside my room and shut the door behind me, letting the quiet settle around me like dust. Only then did I let out the breath I’d been holding.

The moment I dropped my bag on the floor, my phone buzzed against the desk.

I glanced at it to see that it was a message from Storm. That was sensitive enough and screamed important.

So no matter how tired I was, I reached for my phone and unlocked it.

Storm:We both know Solstice. She wouldn’t pull a move like this without you knowing. What she did... You know, right? So tell me, where is she? Why did she run to?

I had stared at the text far longer than I should have, fingers hovering over the screen like I owed him an answer. Maybe I did.

But Solstice trusted me. And trust was something I didn’t gamble with.

He was right. Usually, she didn’t do anything without dragging me into it—or at the very least, giving me a heads-up. But this time?

She vanished.

No warning. No clever hint in the form of a charm note or a snide voice memo. Just... gone. I should’ve reported it.

I knew the rules. But between my loyalty to her and that of my uncle, as well as the chaos my life had become, I chose silence and protected her.

I inhaled and typed back.

Me: You’re free to come down to school and find out yourself, Big Cousin.

His reply had come fast.

Storm:I’ll definitely be there tomorrow or the day after.

Of course, he would. Storm wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines. And when it came to Solstice, he was more protective than even Uncle Zade. She was his kid sister after all.

I hadn’t replied after that. I had tossed the phone onto my bed and stripped out of my uniform, more agitated than relieved. The pressure was mounting—rumours, secrets, boys, and now family.

I didn’t need this kind of spiral. Not again, but I wasn’t stupid either.

Something about tonight still sat wrong with me. It wasn’t just the breakdowns or the pain I’d seen in Axel or Xade.

Just as I was about to take my bra off and reach for my towel, my hands stopped halfway.

When the scandal video resurfaced in my thoughts, I found myself standing half-naked, staring at the open window as if it had personally betrayed me.

Immediately, my mind started working out all the angles from which that video could be recorded—the lighting, the timing.

And then it hit me.

The footage had come from outside. Not a corner, not a reflection. Outside. A straight view in.

My heart skipped.

I hadn’t noticed it before—the subtle angle, the distance that suggested a mini cam, likely rigged across the building at just the right height. Somewhere discreet but direct.