My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 73: Yet Another Kiss

****************

Chapter 75

~Valerie’s POV~

The moment those words escaped Xade’s lips, my heart stopped, and for a beat too long, I said nothing.

And that silence? That was all Xade needed.

He chuckled under his breath, the sound felt like a dark promise I didn’t want unpacked. "Thought so."

I clenched my jaw, swallowing words I wasn’t ready to explain—not to him. Not to anyone.

Xade just stood there, watching me, eyes glittering with dangerous amusement.

And I hated that he was right.

"You’re imagining things."

"Am I?"

Rather than answering him, I walked past him. I had no time for this. Unfortunately, Xade had a different idea.

"Not so fast, Valerie." I halted but did not turn. "You wouldn’t be running if I were lying. Which brings me to the question, why? Was it because you loved it, irrespective of the stoic facade you have on or is it because you hate him or..."

"Speculate all you want, I..." Before I could finish the words I wanted to say, I felt a large hand wrap around my wrist and yank me back. "X-Xade."

My eyes went wide as I stared him in the eyes, my heart thudding wildly in my chest.

"Valerie," Xade drew extremely close to me, this time in a voice lower than before, but deeper and rougher.

My name didn’t sound like an accusation in his mouth anymore. It sounded like a plea and a demand.

He was close. Too close and I did nto like this proximity breach.

Xade’s grip on my wrist wasn’t harsh, but it was firm—like he’d lose his mind if I took even one more step away from him. I felt the warmth of his body pressed against the air between us.

His breath ghosted my skin. His aura, usually calm and calculated, was suddenly unsteady and unpredictable, thrumming like a storm building just beneath the surface.

"You think you can just stand there and act like none of it meant anything?" he whispered while staring intensely into my eyes like he could see my soul.

I blinked, trying to steady my breath. "What are you talking about?"

He scoffed softly, frustrated. "I saw the way you looked at him. I saw you, Valerie. I see you. Don’t act like you didn’t feel it."

I tried to pull my hand free, but he didn’t let me go. "Let me go, Xade. You’re making this into something it’s not."

"No," he growled. "That’s what you’re doing. You pretend like we’re all nothing to you. Like you’re just surviving here, walking around half-alive with your guard up all the time. But we’re not blind."

I swallowed hard. "I never asked any of you to care."

"But you want us to," he snapped. "You want me to. You want Dristan, Ace, even that damn dragon. You want us to want you, but you won’t let yourself want us back. That’s not fair."

My chest tightened. I did not want what he wanted.

But then again, I wanted it. The mate bond was literally fighting against me, enjoying this closeness between us.

But how could I, when they were six?

Xade wasn’t yelling. He wasn’t cold or condescending like usual. His words were hot, raw, and angry—but beneath all of that... I could feel it.

Jealousy. Worry. Want.

"Xade—" I tried again.

"Don’t lie to me, Valerie," he whispered. "Because I’ll know. I do know."

"Xade, you are overthinking this. I do not have feelings..." And then, before I could finish my sentence—before I could get another breath into my lungs—he kissed me hard.

Xade’s lips crashed into mine with none of the hesitation Dristan had shown. No pause. No softness.

Just pure, pent-up fury and something deeper buried underneath. Something vulnerable and wild.

My whole body froze. For a heartbeat, I didn’t know what to do. Then... I felt it.

That spark. That unmistakable pull burning beneath our skin, blooming where his mouth claimed mine.

Xade kissed like he was drowning, and I was his last breath. Desperate. Hot. His hand slid to the back of my neck, angling my face toward him as he deepened the kiss, as though he could pour all the things he’d never said into that one moment.

And it was working.

My knees almost buckled. My heart raced painfully in my chest, thudding against my ribs like it was trying to reach him through me. Every thought in my head dissolved into fire.

I gasped when he pulled back and broke the kiss, just barely, while his forehead still pressed against mine, breath coming in short bursts.

My lips tingled. My head spun. My wolf was howling inside me, breathless.

I stared up at him, wide-eyed and stunned, trying to figure out if that had really just happened or if I’d imagined it in the swirl of adrenaline and frustration.

But I hadn’t.

His eyes were still locked on mine and his chest heaved. "You’re not just his," Xade said hoarsely. "You’re ours. Don’t pretend like you don’t feel it."

My throat tightened, words tangling behind the burning in my chest.

He was serious. And it wasn’t just the matebond talking. It was him.

He cared.

And I didn’t know what scared me more—that Xade meant it... or that I felt it too.

Before I could even speak, he let go of my wrist and stepped back.

Just slightly. But enough to feel the cold where his heat used to be.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I was still reeling from the fire he left behind. In just a span of a few hours, I had been kissed twice and by two different guys, each my mate.

My world was spinning into something way different than I had imagined.

Xade’s voice came again, low, tired this time. "You don’t have to choose, Valerie. But stop pretending like your heart’s empty."

He turned and walked away without waiting for a reply.

And I was left there, still trying to catch my breath, my lips still burning, wondering how in the actual hell I was supposed to walk back into PSA... after that.

Two guys... two lips and memories.

But somewhere in my predicament, Astra was having the time of her life. "Oooh juicy."