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Chapter 359
~Valerie’s POV~
"Valerie, you in there? You need to see this ASAP."
"Ash, I’ll speak to you later. I’ve got to go."
"Wait, Valerie..."
I ended the call before he could finish and rushed to the door, yanking it open. Solstice stood there, looking worried, her hands wringing together nervously.
"Valerie, it’s... It’s Dristan. He’s been called to the Principal’s office first thing this morning."
"Why?" My heart hamred against my ribs.
Before Solstice could answer, my mind was already racing. Had Principal Whitmore discovered his mind control powers? His hypnosis abilities? Was this it... the mont everything ca crashing down?
I didn’t wait for Solstice to speak. I grabbed my bag and phone from my desk and pushed past her, ignoring her startled call of my na as I rushed down the hallway.
My fingers fumbled with my phone as I dialled Xade’s number. It rang once. Twice. Three tis. No answer.
"Co on, co on," I muttered under my breath, dialing again.
This ti, he picked up on the second ring.
"Valerie, what is going on?" The concern in his voice was imdiate.
"It’s Dristan. Principal Whitmore summoned him to her office."
There was a pause, then a sharp intake of breath. "Do you think she knows?"
"I don’t know, you tell ." My voice cracked with frustration and fear. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him."
"Where are you now?" he asked, his tone shifting to sothing more controlled. "I’m currently at the house."
"I’m coming over."
I hung up and broke into a run.
—
Within a few minutes, I arrived at the alphas’ apartnt, my chest heaving from the sprint across campus. I didn’t bother knocking; I just pushed through the door.
Xade was already in the living room, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"What do you think happened?" I asked breathlessly, closing the door behind .
"I don’t know." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I’ve been watching him, Valerie. He hasn’t done anything suspicious. He’s just been himself, nothing more, nothing less."
"But if the Principal called him in..." I trailed off, the implications hanging heavy between us.
"Then she probably heard the rumours and thinks he put Marianne in a coma," Xade finished grimly. "But how true are the rumours?"
"What if it was him?" I whispered, voicing the fear that had been gnawing at since yesterday. "What if he actually did sothing to Marianne?"
Xade stopped pacing and looked at , his expression torn. "I don’t want to believe it. But if he did... Valerie, his excuse would be that he was protecting you. And if that’s true..."
"Then everyone will think mating with is a curse," I said bitterly. "His family, the other heirs... they’ll all see as the problem."
"We don’t know anything for certain yet," Xade said, though his voice lacked conviction. "Let’s not jump to conclusions."
"How can I not?" My voice rose, panic threading through it. "F only you had kept a closer watch on him, Xade."
"I have been!" he shot back, his own frustration boiling over. "But I can’t follow him every second of every day. And he’s been..."
"Do you both really think it was ?"
We froze.
The cold voice ca from behind us, and I could hear the hurt in them.
I whirled around to find Dristan standing in the doorway to the hall, his arms crossed over his chest. His face was carefully blank, but his eyes... his eyes betrayed the pain we’d just inflicted.
"Dristan," I breathed, my stomach dropping. "I didn’t..."
"How long have you known?" His voice was eerily calm, but I could hear the storm brewing beneath it.
Xade and I exchanged a glance, neither of us wanting to answer.
"How. Long?" Dristan repeated, his tone hardening.
"For a while now," I admitted quietly, feeling the guilt twisting in my chest. "Kieran told XADE then, with proof."
Dristan’s jaw clenched, and he looked away, his hands curling into fists. "Kieran. Of course." He let out a humourless laugh. "And none of you... Not a single one of you thought to co to ? To confront about it? To ask if it was true?"
"Dristan, we..."
"Instead, you what?" His voice rose now, anger bleeding through. "You kept it to yourselves? You watched like I was so kind of criminal? What were you planning to do, Valerie? Xade? Rat out?"
"If we wanted to rat you out, we would have done it a long ti ago," Xade interjected firmly. "But instead, I struck a deal with Kieran to keep him shut. To give you the benefit of the doubt."
"How generous of you," Dristan spat, his eyes flashing. "You know what? I’ve only done it twice. Twice. And I never... ever, let it get to the point of soone being comatose. Just a slight nudge, that’s it. A whisper to the mind, that’s all. And this girl... I do not know her personally. Nor have I set eyes on her recently."
"Dristan..." I stepped forward, reaching out to him.
"Save it." He held up a hand, stopping in my tracks. His expression was a mix of betrayal and resignation. "I thought we were supposed to be a team. I thought you trusted ."
He turned on his heel and walked toward the door.
"Dristan, wait!" I called desperately after him.
He paused, his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at us over his shoulder.
"If you didn’t trust enough to ask the truth," he said quietly, sounding disappointed, "then maybe you never really knew at all."
"We can still..."
"What’s there to fix when even the Principal believes?"
The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed was deafening.
I stood there, frozen, my heart sinking like a stone.
Xade cursed under his breath and punched the wall, the sound echoing through the room.
Astra surged within , whimpering.
"You hurt him. You hurt Soren, Valerie. You should never have distrusted him like that."
I hated that my wolf had picked a side easily, thinking I ant harm. "Astra, not now."
I turned towards Xade. He had the sa hurt in his eyes.
"We ssed up," I whispered.
"Yeah," Xade said grimly. "We really did."
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