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Chapter 227
~Valerie’s POV~
My breath caught, confused when a hand grabbed mine and yanked me backwards.
"She’s with me," came a sweet, cold, and sharp voice, laced with frost and violets.
I knew that voice.
Isla.
Only she could weaponize calm like that.
The next thing I knew, I was being dragged through a side corridor I didn’t even know existed, my feet stumbling to keep up, the fabric of the hoodie muffling my panicked breaths.
When she finally stopped, we were in an empty, narrow alcove between the dining hall and the older classrooms—barely wide enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Isla yanked the hoodie down.
"What the hell were you doing?" she demanded, crossing her arms, blonde hair glittering under the window light.
I blinked, still catching my breath. "I—I wasn’t doing anything."
"You were about to crumble," she snapped. "Right there. In front of him. Again."
"I wasn’t," I lied. My voice cracked, so that was cute.
Isla narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Valerie, I’ve seen you face down an assassin, but you flinch at your mate like he’s made of poison."
My jaw clenched. "He is, Isla. He hurt me every time I let him in. And now..."
I trailed off, swallowing thickly.
"Now what? I’ve noticed how you’ve been avoiding all of them. One mistake, Valerie, one that Dristan made, was all it took for you to give the others a blanket punishment. They are paying for it. Why?"
My shoulders sagged. "That’s not the case."
Isla narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "You know, when I left, I hoped you would take the alone time to think, to sort things out with them like a grown-up and not hide from them, but it seemed things only turned worse."
I wasn’t sure whether to share it with her. "It’s... that’s not it. Now I can’t look at any of them without... feeling this... urgh... not just butterflies or whatever. It’s physical, it’s ache and heat. Like I’ll explode if they touch me, and if they don’t..." My shoulders slumped as I tightened my hold on my bag strap. "...like I’d collapse."
Isla sighed. "The bond’s settling. You were mated to six alphas in less than half a year. You think there’s not going to be a reaction?"
I turned my head. "I’m not ready."
"And yet," Isla said gently now, "you still dream about him."
My cheeks flared with heat. I didn’t have to ask how she knew. She just did, and the look she gave me told her all she needed to know.
Honestly, I missed her and felt stupid that I let my anger push her away.
"I dreamt of Dristan," I confessed softly. "And it was... vivid. It felt so real, Isla. He—he kissed me."
She had that bored expression on her face that said, ’Is that all?’
"Didn’t you guys do more than that in Kieran’s house the other day?"
"Ye... no. It was more than that. And you’d know if you did not cut me short."
"Fine, carry on."
"No. Gone as in stolen. I found a note."
But deep in my chest, a sense of unease stirred because someone wasn’t just after the necklace; they were after me.
And I doubt, or perhaps it was true, that the necklace thief was the same person who wrote the anonymous note.
"Valerie?" Isla tapped my arm.
"Huh?"
"How are you, though? You know, Silver and..."
I gave a weak smile. "I am fine and sorry for how I lashed out at you the other day. I just..."
"I understand that it is hard to trust anyone currently, but I just want you to know I am here for you. Also, even if you wish to stay mad at your mates or avoid them, you can’t do that forever, girl. First of all, how do you plan on avoiding Dristan when the drills for the Alpha Forge are going to get harder right after the field trip?"
I blinked. I had completely forgotten all about our curriculum. For the final-year students, we were going to have a three- to four-day field trip starting tomorrow.
And then the following week, it was rigorous training.
The problem now was how to do all of these and keep my head low, keep my mind focused, and find the culprit who had stolen from me?
While I was still wrapped in thoughts, with Isla giving more of her advice, my ears caught something from afar, and I snapped my head in that direction.
"That’s true, she’s been expelled, evicted... she’s long gone. I mean, who fakes IDs and other documents to enter PSA?"
"How dumb could she be?"
"I’ll bother right now with her wannabe sidekick, Valerie. At least she still remained. How are we not sure she also faked her entry?"
Several gasps followed before the final idiot spoke, "Ohh, juicy. If she did, then I bet the Alpha Kings’ Heirs would go ballistic."
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