My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 24: Nowhere to Hide

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Chapter 24

~Valerie’s POV~

The dormitory halls were dimly lit, leaving only the sound of distant conversations and muffled footsteps. I had barely turned the corner when I halted abruptly, my instincts flaring.

I hoped they weren’t waiting for me, to be honest.

The four Alpha heirs stood in the middle of the corridor, their towering forms an impenetrable wall of dominance and untamed power.

The air suddenly felt heavier, like it was charged with something dangerous I could only attribute to all four of them.

Immediately, I pivoted, hoping they hadn’t seen me, and tried to escape when Dristan’s deep voice roared out. "Stop right there, Nightshade."

My brows creased, my lips pressing into a pout as I turned around and folded my arms. My brows arched. "Yes, what are you doing here?"

Axel smirked, leaning against the wall. "You’ve been quite... fiery today."

Kai’s emerald green eyes gleamed under the dim lighting, amusement flickering in their icy depths. "First at sports. Then in history class." He tilted his head, lips curving into something dark. "You’re full of surprises, darling."

My pulse quickened, but I refused to show even a flicker of unease. Instead, I scoffed, shifting my weight onto one leg. "Is that all? You came all the way here to state the obvious?"

Xade chuckled. "No." My eyes narrowed. What did they want now?

"I do not have time for this."

"But you will. You need to be reminded of something, Valerie."

Something in his tone made the hairs on my arms rise. I squared my shoulders. "And what exactly do I need reminding of?"

Dristan stepped forward, his presence alone making the hallway feel smaller. "Your place."

A cold laugh escaped my lips. "My place?" I echoed. "And where exactly is that?"

Xade’s smirk sharpened. "With us."

I stilled, my breath hitching for a fraction of a second.

Axel leaned in slightly, watching me too closely. "As our mate."

I blinked for a moment there, and then I couldn’t hold it back and burst into laughter that bubbled from my lips—sharp, incredulous, and laced with disbelief.

"Oh, I see." I nodded, mockingly thoughtful. "So you lot are one of those men. The kind with egos so big they think females should be beneath them?"

"No one said that," Axel argued immediately.

But Dristan? He tilted his head ever so slightly and nodded. "Yes."

I sucked in a sharp breath while Astra snarled inside me, but instead of rage consuming me, something cold settled in my veins.

"Pathetic," I muttered under my breath.

Kai’s jaw ticked, his eyes darkening with every second. "What did you say?"

I took slow steps forward, challenging their stares. "Why would I ever stand beneath men who couldn’t even be bothered to protect their mate?" I scoffed. "Tell me, what kind of Alphas allow their woman to fend for herself? Huh?"

None of them answered, but their eyes were glued to me like they were seeing a strange thing.

"If it weren’t for you guys and your annoying fan club, I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place."

Still nothing.

"What? You haven’t seen a girl with balls to toss your charms in the garbage tank yet?"

Axel was quick to want to retort, but I cut him short with my laugh, shaking my head. "Maybe I should just reject you all and be done with this nonsense. At least then, I’d have sanity."

Their expressions darkened, but I didn’t stop.

"I don’t need you." I tapped my chest, where my heartbeat thundered beneath my palm. "I have all I need. My wolf."

Astra let out a pleased whine inside me, pushing her presence forward, and for the first time, the weight of my words seemed to land.

I no longer feel that imposing aura suffocating me, but this time, I burned with them.

Xade’s smirk faltered. Kai’s lips pressed into a thin line. Axel’s usual playfulness flickered into something unreadable. And Dristan moved.

One second, there was space between us. Next, he had closed it completely, caging me against the wall, his arms boxing me in on either side.

Dristan’s body was so close that warmth radiated from him, pressing against my skin like a silent, possessive claim. His cyan-blue eyes bore into mine, their color striking, almost hypnotic.

I had never noticed before, but they weren’t just blue. There were flecks of silver swirling in their depths, catching the dim hallway light like liquid metal.

I swallowed, but the sound was too loud in the sudden silence.

His lips—thin, but not too small—curved at the corners in the ghost of a smirk, and my heart stumbled. Damn him.

Damn that mouth.

Dristan tilted his head, watching me like a predator who had finally caught his prey.

"Say it." His deep voice was like a slow-burning flame. "Say you don’t need us."

A shiver ran through me, a war raging between my body’s traitorous reaction and the defiance I refused to let go of. My fingers curled into fists at my sides, digging into my palms.

He was too close.

A sharp inhale, and I was drowning in him. His scent was a perfect storm—rain-soaked earth, cold sea breeze, and something deeper, like cedarwood warmed by heat. Bleu de Chanel.

I recognized it instantly. But on him, it wasn’t just a fragrance; it was different, wilder, and more dangerous.

It had a certain dominance that sent a shiver down my spine. He smelled like power wrapped in temptation.

The air between us pressed down on my lungs, making it impossible to take a full breath.

My heart pounded.

I needed to move. I had to move. But Dristan’s gaze held me hostage, and my body refused to obey.

His smirk deepened, as if he could see my struggle, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

I hated him and yet, my heart betrayed me.

Dristan lifted a hand, dragging the back of his knuckles against my cheek slowly, making me inhale sharply, which widened his smirk.

"Your heart is racing, mate." His voice dropped lower, rougher. "Are you scared?"

I clenched my jaw, forcing my expression into a mask of indifference. "No."

"Liar."

As if on cue, his other hand brushed my waist, barely touching, but the heat seared through my clothes. Astra whined inside me, pushing closer to the mate bond, to him.

I gritted my teeth. No. I would not give in to this.

I lifted my chin defiantly. "Move."

Dristan’s eyes flashed, something dark and unreadable swirling within them. "Make me."

I could. I should, but instead, I was frozen, ensnared in the way his lips parted slightly and his breath fanned against my skin.

For a fraction of a second, the world shrank to just this—just him and me. Dristan’s gaze flickered down to my mouth, and my traitorous heart skipped. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

For a terrifying, exhilarating moment, I genuinely thought Drisan would kiss me and heaven knew I had no idea what I would have done. But at that second, his head dipped lower—too close to me and...

"Dristan," Kai’s voice cut through the moment, shattering the spell.

I sucked in a breath, barely realizing I had been holding it. Dristan lingered for a second longer, his jaw tightening before he finally stepped back.

I suddenly felt cold.

My entire body buzzed as if I had been set on fire and then abruptly doused in ice water. My lips parted, but nothing came out.

I hated that I felt at a loss. Hated that I had let him get that close, that my body had reacted to him like that.

No, no, no. I would not fall for this.

I needed to get to my room and they were blocking my path.

Gritting my teeth, I moved to shove past them, desperate to put distance between me and the intoxicating, suffocating pull of Dristan Alexander. But the second I stepped forward, Axel’s hand snatched my wrist.

Instinct took over.

In one swift, fluid motion, I twisted my body and used his own momentum against him, flipping him clean over my shoulder and slamming him onto the ground.

Axel reacted swiftly, stopping himself from the impending embarrassment by placing his palm on the ground to support his weight before standing up.

Astra howled in satisfaction.

For a moment, there was only silence, followed by a low, deep chuckle from Dristan.

When I turned, his icy expression had melted into something else entirely—something intrigued. For the first time, I had caught him off guard.

Axel groaned from the floor. "What the hell was that?!"

Before I could respond, Kai’s lethal voice washed over me. "If you want to play with Alphas, darling..." His lips curled into a smirk. "We’ll play."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Just fuck out of my way."

Xade stepped forward, his crystal blue eyes gleaming with something darker. "Just know when we come... There will be nowhere to hide, little wolf."

"Why? You all want to accept me?" They looked slightly taken aback by my question. "Thought as much."

I had nothing more to say to either of them as I walked past, brushing my shoulder with Xade’s.