My Alphas' Dark Desires
Chapter 209: Distressed Thoughts

Chapter 209: Distressed Thoughts

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Chapter 209

~Valerie’s POV~

"Damn it!"

The door slammed shut behind me as I stormed into my dorm room. My chest heaved with restrained rage and my pulse was a furious rhythm in my ears.

I didn’t even bother to switch the light on. The soft glow from the bedside lamp was enough.

My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms as my chest rose and fell with every deep breaths filling my thoughts.

In anger my fingers reached up to my necklace, I yanked it off and threw it... letting it land somewhere in my room.

Right after I marched over to my table and in one swing a full crash followed.

I shoved my books off the table. They scattered across the floor in a chaotic mess. My pens clattered, one hitting the wall with a sharp tap.

My bedside drawer flew open as I yanked it too hard, a few hairpins and my journal tumbling out.

And then, I screamed.

A raw, frustrated sound that tore from deep within me.

The sound echoed in the silence, bouncing off the walls like the fury in my chest refused to settle. My throat burned from the scream, my shoulders tight with the weight of everything.

Finally, I collapsed into my reading chair, slumped sideways, one leg dangling off the armrest as I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

Solstice.

Her face came to mind—so serene, so unreadable, so filled with secrets even I didn’t know. And then the last words she said before they took her away.

"FUCK YOU, DRISTAN!"

My head throbbed, my vision stung with unshed tears.

"I know you’re hurting, Valerie," Astra’s voice whispered gently in my head. "But please... calm down."

I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to. But she pressed on.

"Dristan—"

"Don’t you dare take his side," I snapped, the words low and laced with venom. "He betrayed me."

Astra paused, followed by silence in my mind.

"He didn’t even ask. He didn’t even give me or her the chance to explain. He acted like I didn’t exist in the decision. If he had just asked, Astra... if he had come to me as someone who supposedly cares, I would have told him the truth."

"Would you though?"

"Yes. We told Storm didn’t we?"

"Storm’s different. He is not family he is an outsider, your mate."

Some mate he is. Instead he snuffed her out like she was evil. Up till now he had not found the people who tried to kill my at teh simulation but eh thinks playing war hero on her was the best show of love? Fuck him."

Astra was quiet for a moment. Then, "I’m not supporting what he did. I’m just saying—don’t let this derail you."

I shook my head and laughed bitterly. "He was the one I thought I could confide in. I thought maybe... maybe, he could be different. And now I know I was stupid."

The chair creaked beneath me as I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"How do I know he won’t rat me out?" I muttered. "How do I know if i told him, he wouldn’t march to them and tell the Council everything? If they find out I’m alive... if the Kingdom knows—so many things could go wrong and..."

I trailed off, unable to finish the thought. My stomach twisted.

I stood up suddenly and paced the room.

Too many secrets. Too many questions.

My eyes drifted toward the window. Outside, the moon was just rising, throwing pale light across the treetops.

The sight dragged a memory from the weeks ago—the scandal and the whispers. The lie that painted me as someone I wasn’t. The moment that started it all and how someone had been tailing me.

My jaw clenched.

"That’s another thing I have to figure out," I murmured to myself. "Who was behind that? Who started the fire and painted me as the villain? While Nightshade still feels... incomplete. Like we’ve only scratched the surface... this can maybe offer me some focus."

I stood up from the chair... pacing.

I wanted to call Gamma Ryan, or Storm or even my Uncle but I wasn’t sure where to begin with.

I paced again until, I spun on my heel and walked to the window, the wind carrying a faint chill through the gap.

As the thoughts whirled in my mind, Astra’s voice broke through again.

"Valerie... go to Solstice’s room."

I blinked. "What?"

"You need to get rid of anything that might link the two of you together. If the school starts packing her things to send home, they’ll go through everything. You can’t afford that risk."

She was right.

I grabbed the spare key I’d held on to, slid on a hoodie, and slipped out the door after changing my heels to my flats.

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~Solstice’s Room~

The moment I entered, the silence hit me.

It was heavy and stale like the room knew its occupant was gone.

I didn’t waste time. I closed the door behind me and flicked the switch on. The light illuminated everything—her books, her perfume bottles, the photo frames on her nightstand.

Everything looked too untouched.

I walked toward her desk first and opened the drawers. A few sketchbooks, a broken watch, her favourite pen. I checked her nightstand next. Nothing suspicious.

My heart beat louder in my ears as I moved to the little bookshelf she made, scanning the titles. I pulled some out, opened random pages. Nothing.

I turned, intending to sit in her desk chair for a second to gather my thoughts. But as I moved, my elbow knocked into the edge of the desk.

Thud.

Two books tumbled off the surface, landing with a soft flop on the rug close to her bed.

One of them was a thin journal, the other a thicker book with a black spine.

I bent to pick them up—but paused.

From between the pages of the thin journal, a folded sheet of paper slipped out and landed on the floor.

Right beside it—a small silver key.

Frowning, I picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it.

The handwriting was clearly Solstice’s. And then I read the words.

"I do not trust her... sis. Watch out for Astraea."