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Chapter 12
~Dristan's POV~
All three of us snapped toward him at once while Xade leaned against the doorfra, watching us with clear amusent.
"Oh, yeah," he said lazily. "I was following her. And she's not just curious." His eyes darkened. "She's hunting sothing."
My gaze turned cold.
Kai cursed under his breath. Axel ran a hand through his hair.
This girl. This infuriating girl.
Not only had she thrown all of us into this ss, but now she was diving headfirst into danger.
I clenched my jaw.
The ga had changed.
And whether Valerie liked it or not, we were about to step in. "Let's go."
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~Valerie's POV~
Several Minutes Earlier
I barely registered my surroundings as I rushed into my dorm after leaving Axel.
Isla and the girls were lounging in the common area, but I didn't stop to greet them. I muttered sothing half-heartedly and went straight into my room, slamming the door shut.
I needed out.
Detention had already stolen too much of my ti. If that bastard had moved locations again, I was going to lose my only lead.
Thankfully, he didn't. Whatever he had going on there must have been important and connected to my necklace.
I yanked open my closet, throwing on a fitted black long-sleeve top, dark jeans, and combat boots. My fingers worked swiftly, securing two hidden knives in my boots and another tucked against my waist.
They were against school rules, but right now, I couldn't be bothered.
I grabbed the scrap of paper where I had written down the coordinates and address.
This was my last chance. The only thing that would lead back to my necklace. And I needed that damn thing now.
Because sothing was wrong with . Sothing worse than I anticipated. I hadn't noticed it at first. Not when I first sat down in the classroom, annoyed, ignoring Axel completely. Not even when he kept nudging , fidgeting in his seat.
But then, I caught it.
His scent.
I had slt it before—a mix of spice, cedarwood, and sothing uniquely him—but today, it was stronger and sharper than the last ti.
And it hit fast. My pulse had kicked up, and my skin felt too warm, and Astra was reacting.
"Mate. He slls good. Let him touch us."
"No."
I had bolted before Axel could even notice the shift in my scent. My body was betraying . The signs were clear. My heat was already starting way too soon.
I did not know whether their status as Alpha Kings' heirs triggered my heat this way, but one thing was certain: I needed my necklace, and I needed it now.
I stuffed the paper into my jacket pocket and stepped out of my room.
Isla's sharp gaze flicked up from where she was sitting. She arched a brow.
"Where are you running off to this ti?"
"Nowhere important," I muttered.
Isla smirked. "You say that, but you're dressed for a fight."
"This is my common look," I briefly explained. She said sothing else, but I ignored her, pushing past the common area and heading straight for the door.
My heartbeat picked up as I exited the dorm and strode across campus.
The mont I reached the academy's back gate, I didn't hesitate. With swift, practised movents, I scaled the low stone wall and dropped onto the other side.
I saw that loophole in the fence on the night of my first shift earlier. Since then, I knew where my next escape spot would be.
There were no alarms. No security wolves are patrolling yet.
Good.
I darted into the streets, pulling up the address again on my watch.
Even though I hadn't been there, I knew what that place entailed. The Graveyard Black Market. This place wasn't just a black market. It was a graveyard for the reckless, just as its na implied.
And I was heading straight into it. A cab pulled up beside , and I yanked open the door, sliding in quickly.
"Where to?" the driver asked, his voice gruff.
I gave him the na of a street near my target. As for my actual destination, I thought I'd walk the rest of the way.
As the car pulled off, I exhaled, trying to calm the storm inside .
I was close.
So damn close.
And nothing—not the Alpha Princes, not my heat, not the danger ahead—was going to stop .
"I am going to retrieve what's mine."
~The Graveyard Black Market~
The driver did not take too long to pull up at my destination. I paid him and alighted.
When the cab pulled away, I stepped out into the darkened streets, my senses sharpening. The sky was already dark when I checked the ti—7:40 p.m.
The Graveyard Black Market lived up to its na. It had narrow alleys, flickering streetlights, and shadows slinking between buildings like ghosts. The scent of sweat, blood, and desperation filled the air, mixing with the stench of burning trash and sothing more sinister.
I pulled up the tracker on my watch, scanning the map.
The signal was still active. Good.
I navigated through the maze of backstreets, following the pulsing dot. My heart pounded as the anticipation of finally getting my necklace back pushed forward.
But then the tracker stopped moving.
I froze, eyes narrowing at the screen. No way. He had been on the move for hours, and now suddenly, he was standing still again.
That wasn't good.
I clenched my jaw, retracing my steps, following the last location before the signal cut. The deeper I went, the fewer people I saw, until the street narrowed into a dead-end alley.
Shit.
My pulse spiked as I scanned my surroundings, senses on high alert. The silence felt wrong. There was no distant chatter, no footsteps, just the dim light of a cracked streetlamp flickering above.
My brows creased, my senses on high alert as I tried searching for any trace of my necklace. And then a slow, mocking clap echoed from the shadows. 'There, there, little doggie."
I turned sharply to see a man step forward, and my eyes locked onto him when he threw his hoodie off his head.
The thief.
The very sa bastard who had poisoned . My gaze flickered to his hand, and I noticed sothing small and tallic, flickering with a blue light.
"My tracker," I muttered, but as soon as I gave a flinch of reaction, he rolled it in his fingers and squashed it before opening his hand for what remained—the shattered remains of my tracker.
"Looking for this, small girl?" His voice was laced with amusent, but his dark eyes burned with sothing far more dangerous.
I barely had ti to respond before he smirked and dropped the tracker, crushing what was left beneath his boot.
Rage flooded through . "Where... is... my... necklace?"
The man scoffed, tilting his head. "I was right... That necklace is worth a lot if you ca all the way here for it." He stepped closer, eyes gleaming. "You didn't give a damn about your bag. Your money or clothes... just this little thing. So tell , how much is it worth? Because you and your useless tracker sure as hell ain't worth shit—except putting in trouble with my buyer."
I didn't move. I didn't blink. But I noticed sothing. The faint bruising along his jaw. Soone had hit him. And they had done it hard.
His fingers grazed the injury absently before he scowled, muttering, "Damn bastards do pack a punch.
My brows furrowed. Bastards? Who else had been after him?
His glare snapped back to , full of irritation. "But since you're the reason for all this, I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson myself." His smirk widened. "And make you pay for my trouble."
My lip curled. "You read my mind, douchebag," I said smoothly before I moved and struck first.
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