My Alphas' Dark Desires
Chapter 178: Vulnerable and Loved

Chapter 178: Vulnerable and Loved

NB: Song: Running Out Of Roses by Alan Walker & Jamie Miller

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Chapter 178

~Valerie’s POV~

He looked away for a heartbeat, then back at me with a storm behind his eyes.

"But when I saw him... Kieran... try to force himself on you—try to kiss you like he had any right to—you don’t understand what that did to me."

His jaw clenched, voice tightening.

"I’m usually the calm one. The one who thinks before he strikes. But that moment? I lost it. All I could think about was what if I hadn’t gotten there in time. What if he had touched you inappropriately?"

He stepped back toward me, closing the distance again.

"I can’t handle that, Valerie. I know I messed up. I know I’ve been distant. But that’s not because I don’t care—it’s because I care too much. I can’t control this. I’m trying, but it’s driving me crazy."

His voice broke slightly. "The thought of someone else touching you—"

I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could spiral further.

A small smile curved my lips. "But that’s inevitable, isn’t it? I will be touched by others... whether you like it or not."

He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "I know. I know, Vi. You have other mates. I’ll have to share. And that terrifies me more than anything."

When he looked back at me, his vulnerability was so bare it cut deeper than his anger ever could. "But the Moon Goddess... she has her reasons, right? Even if I don’t agree with her damn methods."

My smile grew softly, not to mock or tease him but jist because he looked cute.

Tender.

"I believe that too," I whispered.

Dristan stared at me, like he couldn’t believe I was still here, like he half-expected me to walk away again. And when I didn’t, he let his breath out slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I still hate the idea of you kissing someone else."

I tilted my head. "So don’t watch."

He huffed a laugh at that. A real one. And just like that, the storm broke a little inside him.

"I can’t be selfish," he said quietly. "Because if I let this take over me, I’ll turn into someone else. Someone worse."

I furrowed my brows. "You’re scared of the others?"

"No," he said instantly, shaking his head. "The real danger isn’t Kai, or Xade, or even the lycan twins. It’s me."

That made me pause. My brows pulled together tighter. "Why would you say that?"

But instead of answering with words, Dristan stepped in closer.

His hand reached up to cradle my cheek gently—gods, so gently—and then he leaned forward.

A kiss but not on the lips. Instead, he kissed my forehead.

Then slowly, my right eye, then moved to my left, down to the bridge of my nose before kissing both cheeks.

The edge of my jaw.

Every touch was deliberate, reverent, as if he were memorising me—not just the outside, but everything I carried inside.

And then he paused just before my lips, waiting, asking without asking.

I didn’t stop him. I couldn’t.

He took that as his cue and closed the final space between us.

This kiss was deeper. Hungrier. His tongue slipped between my lips, tasting me like he’d starved for this, and I opened to him, letting him in, welcoming him fully.

My hands gripped the front of his shirt, holding on like he was the only thing keeping me grounded in this world.

The moment expanded between us.

And I knew that even if I wasn’t ready to choose—if I couldn’t promise him forever alone just yet—this moment was real.

When we finally broke apart again, I could barely breathe. And neither could he.

But we smiled.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps broke us from our little romance. I turned just in time to see her run in, panting.

"Oh my... Valerie, I have been looking for..." Solstice paused, blinking when she saw Dristan and me together. "...you."

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~Kieran’s POV~

"Fuck..." I muttered, spitting blood into the small silver basin beside me.

The taste of iron lingered on my tongue. My nose was still crooked—despite the nurse’s attempts to set it straight—and one of my molars felt loose.

I could barely breathe through my left nostril, and the swelling around my eye was spreading like a damn storm cloud.

The fluorescent lights above buzzed softly, almost mocking in their stillness. I grunted again, leaning closer to the mirror above the sink.

What stared back at me wasn’t the polished, cocky heir everyone fawned over.

It was a wreck.

Blood crusted along the corner of my mouth. My bottom lip was split. Bruises were already forming on my cheekbones and jaw. The worst part wasn’t the damage—it was the look in my own eyes.

Unfiltered, unforgivable fury.

The nurse had left a moment ago to get a healing serum from the restricted wing. Not that it would fix what had really been broken today.

My pride.

"Fucking Alucard," I growled under my breath.

He was fast. Too fast. That bastard didn’t even give me a second to react before driving his fist through my face.

And Dristan?

That overpowered Alpha heir had cracked something deeper than bone in one of my ribs when he smashed my face and body to the ground.

They both had.

Because it wasn’t just about the bruises or the blood or even Valerie’s knee to my groin. It was the way she looked at me afterwards.

Like I was beneath her. Like I was filth and that stung more than anything else.

I slammed a fist into the sink edge, pain shooting through my knuckles, but I didn’t care.

All I cared about was my plan for the future. The look in Riven and Dristan’s eyes was something I’d remember.

For now, I’d let them think they’d won. Allow Dristan to hold her wrist and walk away like some knight. Let Riven pretend he was her dark, twisted protector.

"You’ll see, Nightshade," I murmured, jaw tightening. "Since this is how you repay my kindness with Titania, you’ll all see."

Then I straightened, wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand, and smirked at my reflection—distorted, broken, but still me, dangerous.

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