My Alphas' Dark Desires
Chapter 184: Set-Up

Chapter 184: Set-Up

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

Chapter 184

~Xade’s POV~

As soon as we arrived home, I took a bath and changed into some fresh clothes. Once done, I took a moment to style and set my hair, applied my cleanser and cream, sprayed my antiperspirant deodorant, and applied a few perfumes to freshen my scent.

The second the sun began to dip low, painting the sky in streaks of molten orange and crimson, I pulled out my phone and stared at her name.

Valerie.

I stared a beat longer before hitting the call button.

I knew it was a gamble. She’d probably ignore me. She had every right to.

But she didn’t. Thankfully, Valerie picked up on the third ring.

"Xade?" Her voice was cautious, not annoyed or warm, just neutral.

That was better than I expected.

I leaned against the back patio rail of the Alpha Heirs’ House and smirked. "Hey, little Nightshade."

A pause. "Xade."

"What? Ain’t you happy to hear from me? Well, at least you picked. I was beginning to wonder if you had actually blocked or ignored me."

"What do you want, Xade? We both know you didn’t call just for this."

Straight to the point. I liked that about her. Even when she was mad at the world, she didn’t play dumb.

"I need a favour," I said, keeping my tone as light as possible, even if what I wanted wasn’t.

"I thought you were calling to check in. Is that the favour?"

"Kind of and yes," I admitted. "But not entirely, really." Another pause. I let the silence sit just long enough before adding, "Truthfully, I was worried about you, but I heard your knights came to the rescue."

"Don’t be a douche, Xade."

I chuckled lightly. "Forgive me, but I need you to come over to the Alpha House."

"No," Valerie voiced instantly.

"Val... There’s something I want to show you."

That got her attention briefly.

Her voice turned wary. "This better not be one of your jokes, Xade."

"No jokes. No traps." I softened my tone. "Just something I want you to see. It won’t take long. You have my word. I’ll even bribe you with juice and chocolates and... you know the good kind."

"What am I? Twelve or a baby, Xade?"

"My baby, little wolf."

There was a heartbeat of silence as I waited for her reply. Then Valerie muttered, "If this turns out to be stupid, I’m going to make you wear diapers."

I barked a laugh. Gods, I missed her mouth when she was angry with all four of us.

"Deal."

She hung up without saying goodbye—typical Valerie.

I stood there for a moment longer, pocketed my phone, and then turned toward the house. Axel would owe me for this.

But I wasn’t doing it for him.

I was doing it for her.

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

~Valerie’s POV~

The moment I stepped into the Alpha Heir House, I regretted it.

Not because anything was wrong—yet—but because the place felt... charged. And familiar. Too familiar. The scent of them, their energy lingering in the air like tension waiting to snap.

And Astra was immediately purring in satisfaction just from inhaling their scents.

Xade met me at the door, that trademark silver hair tousled and wild. "You made it."

"You sound surprised," I said, folding my arms.

"Just impressed." He grinned. "Come on. Let’s get you something to drink."

I followed him in, keeping my guard up as I took in the sleek, modern interior of the house. It was cleaner than my last visit and warmer, too.

He handed me a cold glass of honey-berry tea. One of my favourites. How did he know?

"You okay?" he asked, finally settling across from me in the living room.

"I’ve had worse days," I replied.

"I’m sorry about earlier," he said suddenly. "With Kieran. I should’ve been there sooner."

I shrugged. "You were there when it mattered with Axel. You pulled me out."

"But thai time..."

"This time, another mate did it. "

"Yeah, still doesn’t make it okay.

"You all cannot always be present around me, so I understand and I am grateful for that."

Xade’s gaze lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary before he set his glass down.

"For you, always."

I smiled back at him.

"Well, now that we’ve got drinks and awkward apologies out of the way," I said, placing my cup on the table, "what did you want to show me?"

He stood.

I frowned instantly. "What’s going on?"

"Don’t kill me," Xade muttered, raising both hands in mock surrender. "Just... hear me out."

I stood too, but before I could say another word, a soft footstep echoed from the hallway behind him.

And then, Axel walked in.

He stepped into view from behind one of the doors. His red hair was messy, his jaw clenched, and his hazel green eyes locked on me with a somewhat sad or guilty expression, whcihever one it was.

My heart stilled.

I turned sharply to Xade. "You set me up."

His grin faltered, but only a little. "Yeah... But for a good cause."

"I swear—"

"Valerie." Xade raised his voice gently. "Please. Not for him. For me. Just listen. Just... let him talk."

I bit my lip, jaw tense. Everything in me wanted to walk out. But the ache behind Axel’s eyes... the regret painted so vividly across his face...

And then memories of that day came rolling back at once. I had caused him great pain that day, but still... I had sighed. "Fine. Five minutes."

Axel took a slow step forward. "Can we talk in my room?"

"I’m staying here."

"Please, little wolf,’ Xade pleaded for him, even though I wanted to knock some sense into both of them.

"Fine, lead the way."

"Okay." Axel smiled a little, and we left Xade behind.

We moved—awkwardly—toward the upstairs landing. I stopped at the open balcony, looking out at the descending sun, the school grounds beyond the trees.

"This is far enough," I said softly.

His lips pressed into a line. He hesitated, then nodded, then leaned against the railing beside me.

The silence between us stretched long and tense.

Finally, Axel broke it.

"I messed up."