My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 71: Principal Whitmore Knows?

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Chapter 72

~Valerie’s POV~

The walk to Principal Whitmore’s office felt longer than usual.

My boots echoed across the silent hallway, every step tapping into the tension coiled tight in my spine. The last time I was called into this office, I’d only just arrived at PSA. Back then, I thought that was the beginning of my problems.

Now I wasn’t so sure where the beginning was... or if I’d even seen the worst of it.

I paused just outside the tall blackwood doors, hesitating. Inside, I could already feel her presence.

She wasn’t calm, even though she was trying so hard to be. I knocked once.

"Enter," she said crisply.

I pushed open the door, bracing myself.

The room hadn’t changed. Still pristine and perfect, the scent of aged parchment mixed with floral incense curled faintly in the air.

The tall windows were drawn, the room softly lit by floating glass orbs that cast quiet shadows across the stone floor.

Principal Whitmore sat behind her wide desk, her hands folded neatly on top of a slim stack of files. She looked up the moment I stepped in.

Her expression was unreadable. It always was. "Miss Nightshade," she greeted coolly. "Take a seat."

I stepped forward slowly and lowered myself into the chair across from her, keeping my back straight, my jaw set. I wasn’t here to cower. I didn’t have the energy to fake politeness either.

She didn’t speak immediately. She just... studied me.

Her eyes swept over me like a scan. Noticing the minor bruises on my knuckles and the fatigue that must’ve been plain on my face.

"You look terrible," she said finally.

"Thanks," I muttered. "It’s been a great day."

A single brow lifted, but she didn’t smile.

Instead, she reached for a file and opened it with a flick of her fingers. I couldn’t see the contents, but I didn’t need to.

"I presume you’re aware," she said, "that your disappearance triggered lockdown protocols across campus?"

"Yes."

"Three councilmembers demanded a full investigation. The simulation dome is under forensic review. And the dragon court thankfully did not yet learn of the situation lest they send scouts here to investigate."

"I didn’t plan to get kidnapped in your dome, if that’s what this is."

Her gaze sharpened. "I’m not blaming you. But someone will. You know that."

I stayed quiet. She sighed, closing the file slowly.

"Tell me exactly what happened," she said, her tone low now. "From the moment the simulation began. Every detail. Every face."

I recounted it in full. The odd pairing with Cadet Erik. The masked attackers. The abnormal rune trap. The explosion. The forest. Xander. The ambush. The mark on the mask.

Her fingers twitched ever so slightly when I mentioned the mark. But she didn’t interrupt.

"Are you saying someone within PSA—someone with access—customised the simulation to target you?" she asked when I finished.

"I’m saying that’s the only explanation that makes sense."

A long pause followed.

Then, for the first time, something flickered in Principal Whitmore’s gaze. Not fear. But something close to... caution. Like a chess player realising the opponent just made a bold move.

She stood suddenly and moved to the window, her arms folded behind her back.

"I want you to be very clear on something, Valerie," she said, her voice quieter now. "If someone inside these walls is after you, we are already at war. And this school is the battlefield."

I frowned. "So you believe me."

"Oh, I always believed you," she said, turning back to face me. "What I needed to see... was how far you’d survive. How far they’d go."

That made my blood run cold.

"You used me."

She didn’t deny it.

"I monitored your file from the day your admission was submitted," she said. "I’ve watched your records, your discipline reports, your placements. You are mated to those four alphas, am I right?"

I did not know whether or not to deny it or just... thankfully, she answered the question for me. "It doesn’t matter whether you answer me or not. I have what I want. I believe you were targeted for your link to the Alpha Princes."

My voice came out dry. "Pardon?"

Whitmore stepped forward, resting her palms against the edge of her desk, leaning in slightly.

"You shall be protected in PSA. I owe your father that much. I owe every student that."

I stared.

She continued, "Because whether you know it yet or not... you’ve just become a piece on the board that too many kingdoms will want to use either... or remove."

There it was. No lies. No illusions. Just the truth. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "So what do I do now?"

Principal Whitmore leaned back again, her expression unreadable once more. "You stay quiet. You play the part. You act like nothing happened, and you let them believe they won."

"And if they try again?"

She smiled faintly. "Then you show them who they’re dealing with."

I exhaled, rising from my seat. "I will be careful and stay alert. Thank you."

But just as I was about to step away from the chair, she called softly, "Valerie." I paused, hand on the knob.

"Just a reminder. You may want to watch your back, Miss Nightshade. Someone else already is."

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As soon as I left Principal Whitmore’s office, I headed straight for my locker to get my bag and a few books I needed.

On my way, I met Erik pacing in a corridor, leading to my locker. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Erik didn’t notice me at first.

He paced the narrow corridor like a stormcloud with legs—shoulders tense, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, mouth moving like he was arguing with a ghost.

His eyes were focused on the floor, jaw clenched in frustration, muttering words just loud enough that I caught fragments.

"Okay, just say thank you. That’s not hard. Gods, she literally dragged you out of that mess, and you couldn’t even keep your footing. Just say something that doesn’t make you sound like a total idiot. Or useless. Or both."

I blinked, more than a little surprised. I’d never heard Erik talk to himself like that. He always carried himself like he had all the answers—or at least pretended he did.

But right now, he looked... normal, not the geek he was. Just nervous, even. Like a kid about to walk into an exam he hadn’t studied for.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I leaned against the wall, watching him quietly, arms folded.

He kept going, still unaware I was standing ten feet away.

I bet if Isla saw this, she would have laughed her entire existence, but then again... he was cute. She might blush instead.

I smiled at myself. I had grown fond of Isla and was familiar with her antics. Just the thought of the last time I saw her made my heart clench.

She’d be worried.

"And then, ’I’m sorry’—no, not dramatic. Just honest. ’I should’ve had your back.’ Yeah. That’s not bad. Say it like that. Not like a desperate—"

He finally turned, probably about to pace back the other direction, and his eyes landed right on me.

He froze.