My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 60: She’s Gone

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Chapter 60

~Valerie’s POV~

Xander stood in front of me, tall, looking calm as his hair billowed from the force of his arrival. His sword smoked where it had deflected the shot.

"Your simulation’s corrupted," Xander said, his voice cutting through the haze like a blade. He stood in front of me like a wall, unmoving, focused, eyes scanning the clearing with an intensity that made my stomach twist. "Get behind me. Now."

My pulse was loud in my ears, pounding like drums against my skull, but even then I hesitated for a heartbeat. "You—how did you findf me and know—"

"I said move." Xander’s voice dropped lower this time, sharper and heavier with urgency.

And this time, I obeyed.

I barely managed some steps when something shifted beneath my foot—a soft click I hadn’t heard before, quiet but deadly.

My breath caught.

The ground beneath us pulsed, and suddenly a red glow lit up the forest floor in a perfect circle. Right where I stood. A rune—one I hadn’t seen.

Crimson light flared from its center, and the trees around us began to twist unnaturally, their trunks warping, creaking as if bending toward the rune like puppets being reeled in by invisible strings.

"Valerie, MOVE!" Xander’s voice roared with something between command and desperation, but he was already reaching for me, already moving as he stretched his hand towards me just as the explosion triggered.

But this blast... this one wasn’t like what I had encountered

This wasn’t a burst of fire or a jolt of raw energy—it was a pull, not a push, a force that seemed to suck the air right out of my lungs and rip the forest apart from the inside.

It was darker, deeper—an energy that didn’t just want to break things; it wanted to erase them.

The trees screamed. The sky itself trembled.

Magic howled all around me, screaming in every direction as the rune unleashed its full force.

I saw Xander’s hand—reaching through the storm, fingers outstretched toward me—but before I could grab it, everything splintered.

Light. Noise. Power.

And then...

Nothing. All I could feel was a grip on my wrist before it went dak briefly.

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~Xade’s POV~

Al hell broke lose when the simulation went out of control for the professor and immediately, Xander disappeared.

Everyone watched in the simulation how he came to her aid but just before Valerie could move away... the situation changed and a huge explosion happened all around her.

And in that instant... she vanished.

Gone.

Not thrown. Not hidden.

Just erased.

Alarms screeched outside the dome. The simulation flickered erratically as the containment grid tried to reboot. Cadets screamed. Instructors shouted for an immediate lockdown.

I dashed in immediately, calling her name. My—our mate wa sno where to be found. "Valerie!"

No answer.

I touched the dirt where she’d stood itwas still warm but there was no blood, scent or aura.

My heart thundered in my ears.

Behind me, Isla broke through the simulation line, followed by Astraea and Emerald. Their eyes scanned frantically—hope crashing against disbelief.

"She’s not here," I murmured.

"She’s not anywhere," Astraea whispered, her magic flickering weakly at her fingertips as she opened her eyes. "Valerie is gone."

Silence swallowed the dome whole.

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~Dristan’s POV~

I was in the middle of reviewing the regional patrol assignments in my private room when my comm device vibrated.

I didn’t check who it was. I didn’t need to. I answered.

The voice on the other end was cold. "She’s gone."

I didn’t move nor did I speak yet. I waited a bit before replying. "Xade?"

"She’s gone. Disappeared without a trace." He sounded out of breathe and I knew he was getting worried. Xade was always cunning but now... "Dristan, Valerie..." freēnovelkiss.com

I drowned out his words then slowly—so slowly I almost didn’t realize it—I smiled.

But there was no warmth in it.

"She better not be dead," I murmured.

"Dristan?"

Because if she was, I would burn them all.

Without waiting for another response from him, I ended the call and threw my phone against the wall of my room.

My mind replayed all of my dad’s words the other day. He had agreed to leave Valerie alone. Why then had she disappeared?

I could still hear the echo of Xade’s voice in my ear even after the call ended.

"She’s gone." The words repeated like a curse, like a hammer slamming against my skull.

The girl who pushed my control to the edge. The girl I didn’t want to want... but did anyway. The mate I wasn’t supposed to have, but fate had graciously given her to me only to cruelly take her away anyway.

Now, she was gone?

No.

My wolf, Soren, snarled in my head, pacing like a beast trapped in a cage.

"Seek her out! Go now!"

"I can’t," I snapped aloud, storming across the marble floor of my chambers. My fists clenched at my sides. "You think I don’t want to? For all we know, Dad’s behind this. If I make a move—any move—he’ll know she means something."

Soren’s growl deepened. "You’re a coward if you wait. She could be in danger now. Or worse—"

"She’s alive!" I roared suddenly, cutting off the voice in my head.

The windows in my room rattled.

I could feel it—something faint, but still there. A soft pull deep in my chest. A thread that hadn’t snapped yet.

No matter how faint, it was enough.

She was alive.

I turned sharply and stalked out of my room but I barely noticed. I was already moving fast—too fast.

The moment I stepped out into the courtyard, the full force of my anger finally erupted.

I threw my head back and growled, my voice thundering like the very storm that lived in me.

Lightning sparked at my fingertips, veins of blue fire lacing up my arms. My wolf, Soren, howled through me, and in the next second...

BOOM.

A crack of thunder exploded from above, a streak of lightning descending and slamming into the center of the courtyard, splitting the stone tiles.

Guards rushed to the scene, but halted at the edge of the impact. No one dared come closer.

I stood in the middle of it, my chest heaving, lightning still buzzing under my skin.

"She’s alive," I said again—this time to myself, calmer, but no less furious. "And I will find her."