My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 121: Getting Scolded

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Chapter 121

~Dristan’s POV~

The hallway was too quiet.

Kai had gone to check with one of Valerie’s team members again, leaving me alone in the corridor outside Isla’s wing.

I sat on the stone bench by the window, elbows on my knees, the silence around me only amplifying the war in my chest.

Was I a terrible mate?

The thought had been gnawing at me since Valerie walked away without a word. And no matter how many times I replayed it—her silence, her glare, the way she didn’t even hesitate—it all came back to that one painful conclusion.

"You’re not going to say it out loud?" Soren’s voice rang through my mind, low and sharp like flint striking steel. "Because I will."

"Don’t start," I muttered mentally, running a hand down my face.

"You’re acting like a lovesick fool who just got rejected. You’re more than that. We’re more than that."

"She’s ignoring me. Blocking me out like I never mattered."

"Do you?"

I glared at him internally.

"Because you let her feel like she didn’t." His voice turned into a growl. "You made your claim. You said the words. But what have you done to prove it?"

"I—" I hesitated.

Exactly.

I hadn’t touched her since the bond flared. Hadn’t marked her. Hadn’t even chased after her properly.

While Ash had moved fast, clear, decisive—I’d held back, too proud, too careful.

"You waited. You watched. You assumed she’d come to you."

"Because I thought we had time!" I snapped. "I thought the bond—"

"The bond doesn’t guarantee anything." Soren’s voice was ice now. "Do you think she’ll wait while the others fight for her? While the Lycans burn for her?"

I closed my eyes.

He wasn’t wrong.

"You said you didn’t want to rely on others to protect her," Soren continued, more calmly now. "Then don’t. You want her to feel safe? Claim her. You want her to trust you? Show her she’s worth breaking the rules for. Not just the ones your fathers made. Yours, too."

I felt my jaw tighten. My hands clenched on my knees.

Soren didn’t stop.

"She’s not just a prize to win. She’s not a trophy. She’s the Alpha Queen of us all—even if she doesn’t know it yet and especially when you can win her heart. So act like it. Or lose her to someone who will."

My heart pounded harder.

"I’ll mark her," I whispered aloud, voice low and firm. "Before the others do."

"Good." Soren’s tone flicked into a calm satisfaction. "Because I won’t let you lose our mate to hesitation."

Kai returned just then, spotting the look on my face.

Without speaking much, we moved till we got to the training area and I leaned against the marble pillar just outside the training block, arms crossed, eyes fixed on nothing.

Kai paced beside me, checking his phone every few seconds like the screen would magically spit out Valerie’s number.

I was still trying to make peace with the fact that we—her mates—were the only ones in her circle without access to her. How did we mess up this badly?

The vibration in my pocket startled me.

I pulled out my phone to see an unknown number.

My brows furrowed. "Strange number."

Kai stopped pacing and glanced over my shoulder. "Could be Valerie."

Without hesitation, I accepted the call and brought the phone to my ear.

But it wasn’t her.

"You want her number?" the deep voice rumbled, smoothly. "Meet me at the last block of the school building. All of you."

Click.

The call ended before I could respond. I stared at the screen, still processing the weight behind those words.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Why aren’t you moving?"

I blinked. "I’m trying to place the voice."

"Does it matter?" he said, already turning toward the path. "Let’s go. We need to make it up to Valerie."

"Dum-dum," I muttered, falling into step beside him, "he said all of us. That means whoever it is knows she’s our mate."

"Someone close, then," Kai reasoned. "What if it’s Ash?"

I scowled. "Then I’d personally punch him."

Kai groaned. "Didn’t we just talk about not bullying the Lycan prince?"

"Well... that depends on his face and what mood I’m in."

Right then, Axel and Xade appeared from the opposite end of the hallway, moving toward us with that careless stride they always wore like armor.

I didn’t say a word. I turned, already walking toward the meeting spot.

"What’s happening?" Axel asked Kai, glancing between us.

"Someone wants to see us," Kai said. "They claim to have Valerie’s number."

Xade halted, his boots echoing sharply. He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, exuding that typical smirking arrogance that made me want to slam him into a wall.

"Just like that?" he asked. "And we’re all just going to obey?"

I didn’t turn, but my steps slowed as he kept talking.

Xade slid his hands into his trousers, slow and smug. "Since when did the mighty Dristan heed a man’s whistle and go running like a dog?"

My entire body froze.

In the blink of an eye, I was right in front of him. My aura flared without warning—blue flames licking the edges of my vision as raw Alpha energy poured off me like a tidal wave.

Xade didn’t flinch.

He looked down for a moment, a shadow of amusement crossing his face. Then he raised his head, and I saw it—the shift.

His eyes glowed blue. His own power answered mine, meeting it with equal force.

The air crackled, growing impossibly tense.

For a moment, the hallway warped with the weight of our clashing presence. Dust stirred from the corners. The wall lights flickered. Even the building seemed to groan beneath the pull of two Alpha kings’ heirs testing the limits of the other.

"Watch it, Xade," I said through clenched teeth. "You may not understand it, but Valerie comes before your ego. I don’t expect you to get it."

Xade’s voice lowered, his smile now razor-sharp. "Don’t lecture me about mates, Dristan. You think power alone earns you her trust?"

"She doesn’t need trust from power," I said, stepping closer. "She needs loyalty. Something you treat like a joke."

"Oh, and you think standing here like a growling mutt proves you’re different?"

"ENOUGH!"

Kai’s voice boomed between us.

He shoved himself between us, his own aura flaring hot and thick, flames of crimson flickering around him. "Both of you—stop. We don’t have time for this cockfight. Whoever called us is either a friend or a threat. Save the pissing contest for later."

Axel joined, his hand gripping Xade’s arm. "Seriously. This isn’t about pride. It’s about Valerie. Focus."

Xade exhaled and rolled his neck, the blue fading from his gaze. "Fine."

I stepped back, aura reining itself in slowly like a beast on a leash.

My heartbeat didn’t slow, but I nodded once.

We walked in silence after that. No more taunts. No more pride shows.

The last block of the school building was quiet, shadows stretching long under the evening sun. The place was mostly abandoned, used for storage and extra practice rooms. I narrowed my eyes, scanning the empty halls as we arrived.

"No one," Axel muttered. "Figures. Waste of—"

Then we felt it.

A pull—a presence that prickled over skin and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Power. But not like ours. Not Lycan, not pure Alpha either.

It was something... colder. Older. Commanding.

And then we saw him.

He stepped through the far doors like he owned the entire building. Silver hair shimmered under the corridor light, the ends tipped with streaks of violet. His walk was unhurried, but there was nothing casual about him.

He carried authority like a second skin.

Xander.

He stopped a few feet away, the edges of his smile biting.

"Well, well," he drawled. "Alpha Kings’ Heirs... or should I say—" his gaze swept across us, slow and cutting—"Terrible mates."