My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 141: Nightmare From the Past

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Chapter 141

~Valerie’s POV~

Classes had been painfully long today.

My brain had absorbed just enough information to pass a test but not enough to quiet the whirlwind spinning in my chest.

There were too many pieces. Too many threads to pull. And none of them were leading me to what I truly needed—answers.

So I did what I always did when my mind refused to shut up.

I walked.

There was no plan, no path—just my boots against the cracked tiles and gravel of PSA’s winding paths.

My hands tucked into the pockets of my hoodie, head slightly lowered, I moved past the training domes and out toward the East Courtyard.

The air was calm and quiet out here. Not many students ventured this far, especially not during hours after lectures, which made it the perfect place to think.

I was already planning tonight’s escape. Another night out. Another whispered name in the underworld where secrets traded hands faster than currency.

Someone had to know about Nightshade Thorn. Someone had to remember that name.

I would visit that club, talk to the bartender, and hopefully get a good clue before I leave. I must report something to Uncle Zade before he starts questioning my time here.

Solstice was right, no matter how much I hated admitting it.

But then... I stopped.

Something shimmered in the corner of my eye—chrome, gleaming under the weak sunlight.

A car and not just any car, but a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Parked with quiet arrogance at the side of the courtyard, like it owned the space it sat on. Matte black. Tinted windows. And just ahead of it, two figures stood talking, backs turned chiefly to me.

My steps slowed, and of course, at once, my curiosity piqued.

Who the hell had permission to bring that kind of car onto school grounds?

I took a small step forward, intending to circle closer along the courtyard wall. Just to get a better look.

That’s when I felt it, the first presence.

It was heavy. Dominating and commanding in the way only an Alpha could be. It slithered into my senses before I even laid full eyes on the man. My jaw tightened as my heartbeat kicked up violently.

Then the second presence hit me, and my knees almost buckled.

Familiar, old—too old and deep. And worse, too deadly.

My breath caught.

No...

Nd before I knew what was happening, I was no longer in PSA’s East Courtyard. My brain, my mind was transported back into the past, to a place I ran from for ten years.

The place that gave me chills and nightmares and fuelled my vengeance.

I was ten years old again.

Standing in a pitch-black tunnel behind my home. My lungs filled with smoke and my heart beat like a war drum. I could still feel the stone of the passage walls, rough under my small fingers.

The place my maid had shoved me inside. She hadn’t followed. I’d waited. I’d begged her under my breath to come with me.

But she never came and told me she was meant to do this.

Like hell that mattered when killers were ravaging our home, and I could not do anything about it.

Like hell I cared about them when they had taken the two most essential parts of me from this world.

Her screams pierced through my eardrums as I shut my eyes, crying through it all while closing my lips.

And later, when I thought it was safe to come out, the house caught fire instead. They were burning the estate. Burning the Zephyr bloodline like we were nothing but rot.

I had crept out slowly, carefully. My hair was sticky with soot, and my dress was torn. My lungs still burned, but I had to see. I had to know if it had ended and find my parents.

That’s when I heard the voices.

Three men. Speaking in low, deep tones in the clearing beyond the back garden.

But it wasn’t their words that haunted me.

It was him—the man who turned.

His presence alone made my bones freeze like my soul had been dragged too close to the edge of something ancient and evil.

I’d hidden behind the trees. Just barely.

But I saw his eyes, unholy red eyes. Like no wolf—or anything of this realm-I had ever known.

And somehow, he sensed me because in that moment, he whipped his head slightly in my direction. Slowly.

That cold chill, that overwhelming dread—it settled in me then. And never left.

I hid for a breath and then I ran, ran as fast as my feet could take me.

I didn’t look back, but I never forgot how I ran until my legs gave out and I collapsed.

And now... Here. Now, that same pressure and aura washed over me again.

It was no longer in memory but present, real and breathing. I blinked hard, snapping back into reality just in time to feel eyes on me.

I looked up to see Dristan staring intently at me with those cold eyes.

’What was he doing here?’ I wondered. He wasn’t the one with that presence, but how did he know him?

Dristan had turned toward me, eyes sharp, face unreadable. Like he hadn’t just spent days warming into my world with stolen kisses and soft apologies.

My heart thudded hard against my ribs. He saw me.

I lifted my hand to wave. I tried to smile, do something, and not stand awkwardly after last night’s sweet kisses.

But then, just as I was about to wave and smile like a complete idiot, he turned away.

Just like that. Dristan Alexander dismissed me as if I didn’t exist.

There was no warmth, no flicker of recognition, or anything from last night and the two nights before.

Where was my jealous Dristan? Where was the man, the alph,a who had made my heart flutter like a mesmerised fool?

Nothing.

Just... blank.

He returned to the man he was speaking to.

The source of the presence.

As if that was not enough, his shadow stood there, regal and tall, only partially visible, but every part of me screamed in warning.

That was him. The man from the woods, from my nightmare.

From my past.

Still cloaked in silence. Still drowning in power.

And then, another surge of aura slammed into me. I could barely breathe.

My instincts took over. I spun on my heel and ran just like I had done ten years ago and that unfortunate, cursed night.

The world blurred as I ran. Trees. Benches. The curve of the building. I didn’t stop until I reached the west wing’s garden wall and collapsed behind it, chest heaving.

My knees buckled as I leaned back against the stone.

My vision shook. My throat burned. That was him. That was the man from ten years ago.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to still my heartbeat. I had learned to live with the nightmares, the fear. But facing him again?

And Dristan?

Why was Dristan with him?

Why... did he look at me like that?

I pressed the heel of my palm into my eyes. Everything was starting to spiral again.

And this time, I didn’t know if I could outrun the fire.

Had they found me?