My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 81: Royal Summon

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Chapter 81

~Valerie’s POV~

My fists curled, nails digging so hard into my palms they broke skin. Blood welled, warm and angry.

I shook with the weight of it all.

Their pain still rang in my ear, and heaven knew how long it took for the nightmares to reduce drastically.

The world wanted me to forget. To move on. To let time heal me like some kind of salve. But time didn’t heal a goddamned thing. It just gave the pain new places to hide.

Astra would never know because I did my best putting up all those walls to block anyone out.

Not even the witches Uncle Zade brought. Not even the Lycan Priestess—Lady Siona who had saved my mother in the past.

No one. I lived with the trauma, letting it fuel my vengeance and my revenge.

My breathing turned sharp—fast, my chest rising and falling with each successful deep breath I took while my mind replayed those gruesome scenes too bad for a kid.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip the walls apart with my claws and let Astra out, let her destroy everything until the world bled like I had. Like Maiaa had. Like Mother.

But I didn’t.

Because I couldn’t afford to break.

Not now. Not ever.

And no one would ever understand what it cost to stay sane.

They didn’t see the trembling hands at night. The way I flinched at gunshots in the training fields. The way I couldn’t sleep in silence because silence meant remembering.

They saw defiance. I saw survival.

I pressed my back against the cool stone wall behind me, dragging in air like it could drown out the memories. I dragged my hand over my face, wiping the sweat from my brow with a ragged breath. My nails were still bloody. My knuckles scraped raw.

But the ghosts were everywhere. In the shadows. In my skin and mind.

The vengeance I carried wasn’t some noble torch. It was a noose. A weapon. A shield. It was the only thing that kept me upright when the weight of what I’d lost tried to drag me down.

"Valerie Voilet Sapphire Snow," I whispered to myself, my voice shaking like the rest of me. "You’ve been distracted too much from your goal."

I let the silence stretch, waiting for my body to stop trembling.

"I need to find the Nightshade Emblem," I said more firmly this time, clenching my bloodied fist. "Fast—before I’m exposed."

Because the closer I got to them—the Alphas, this academy, the mess of emotions tangled up in the mate bond—the more dangerous it became. Not just for me but for everyone.

Let this be a race against time.

Because if I didn’t uncover the truth before my secrets were ripped from me... maybe the whole kingdom would burn.

And maybe I would, too.

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~Ash’s POV~

The notification came at dawn.

I was halfway through lacing my boots when the knock hit the door—two short raps, then a pause.

Royal cadence.

Ace groaned from his bed, pulling the covers over his face like he could sleep through a summon from the Lycan Court.

I already knew what it meant. I’d felt it in the pit of my stomach the moment I woke. A shift. A summons. A disruption I didn’t want but couldn’t ignore.

Sliding the door open, I came face-to-face with Scorpion. He held himself like every breath he took was laced with purpose.

"Prince Ash Kaid," he said with a bow. "Her Majesty requests your presence. Both of you."

I didn’t need to ask why. I already knew.

Still, I asked. "Where?"

"The Southern Region. Alpha Storm Zephyr is receiving Her Majesty today. You will accompany her."

Behind me, Ace grumbled, sitting up with hair like a bird’s nest. "Seriously? We had a simulation scheduled."

I looked at him. "You think the Queen gives a damn about our school calendar?"

He shot me a look, but didn’t argue. "She’s our mother. Of course she should give a damn," Ace muttered some seconds later.

I turned back to Scorprion. "Tell her we’ll be ready in twenty minutes."

The door shut, and silence settled between us.

Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "I was actually looking forward to kicking someone’s ass in that simulation."

I didn’t answer. My thoughts were already drifting elsewhere.

Valerie.

I hadn’t seen her properly since the day she tried to break the bond. Since she shoved us away with that look in her eyes, like we were enemies. Like the bond that linked us meant nothing.

And maybe it didn’t.

Maybe to her, we were just one more chain trying to wrap around her throat.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Something beyond the mate bond. Something deeper. Like she was fighting a war none of us could see.

"I wanted to see her today," I murmured.

Ace glanced at me, brow raised. "Val?"

I nodded.

Ace exhaled, grabbing a shirt and tugging it over his head. "Yeah. Me too."

"But we can’t. Mum wants to see us; we have to leave," I reminded my brother.

"Yeah. Do not worry; when we return, we can steal some time with our mate. Oh, and tell Mum too. Perhaps she will have an answer to how to get Valerie for ourselves."

I wanted to laugh and call him out for his wishful thinking, but I didn’t. Why? Perhaps I was too hopeful. "Sure. Now, let’s go."

***********

The journey south was quiet.

We sat in the back of the armoured car, watching the world blur by. Mountains melted into valleys. Trees thickened. The air grew colder, thinner, as if it had remembered blood.

It had been ten years since we’d last visited the Southern Region.

Ten years since the massacre.

Ten years since the kingdom labelled it as irredeemable.

We arrived just as the sun crested the hills, casting golden light over the broken lands. The estate stood defiant, now repaired and painted since the massacre, it still stood proudly.

And on the front steps, dressed in deep emerald robes and flanked by guards, stood the Lycan Queen.

Our mother.

She didn’t smile. She never did when she was here. The South meant too much to her, and too much had been lost.

Her gaze met mine, and I felt it again—that weight in my chest I could never quite name when I looked at her, especially when she was this sad.

I felt guilty, I couldn’t do anything to take her pain away.

"Come."