My Alphas' Dark Desires - Chapter 349
Chapter 349: Lucy’s True Hate
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CHAPTER 349
~Valerie’s POV~
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t hide my smile.
Then Ace’s gaze shifted, softening in a way that caught me off guard. His smirk faded into something almost solemn, like he’d peeled back a mask I didn’t even know he wore.
“You’re stronger than you think, Val.”
I blinked, startled by the sudden seriousness in his tone. “What?”
“I’ve seen you doubt yourself,” Ace said quietly, brushing a damp strand of hair from my cheek. His fingers lingered, gentle, almost reverent. “But when you fight… there’s fire in you. You just need to trust it.”
The words struck deeper than I expected. He was right—too right.
I had been holding back. Not just against him, but against everyone, even myself. Since that night—the accident, the men I killed—I hadn’t allowed myself to let go.
The memory clung to me like a dark shadow whispering that if I unleashed too much, I might never be able to cage it again.
My throat tightened. For a moment, all I could do was stare at him, caught between gratitude and fear. “…Thanks.”
Ace’s grin returned, playful again, though his eyes still held that flicker of sincerity I couldn’t quite ignore. “Don’t thank me yet, Princess.”
I raised a brow. “Why not?”
“Because more’s coming. After class and training every day, I’m going to train with you until the Alpha Games. Think of it as my personal little support package.”
I nodded slowly, unsure what to say.
“Oh, and I won’t go easy on you,” he added with a smirk that promised trouble. “I’ll attack like I mean it.”
No sooner had Ace said those words than my mind betrayed me. Images of that night surged forward—men with bloodlust in their eyes, fighting with the desperation of those who knew defeat meant death.
Brutal, ruthless… And I had matched them. I had killed them. My stomach twisted.
“Earth to Valerie!” Ace snapped his fingers in front of me, and I blinked back to the present, a shaky smile forming on my lips.
“Umm, sorry, where were we?”
“You spaced out?” His tone was teasing, though his gaze sharpened with concern. “Relax, it’ll be easy.”
And that was a lie.
The next hour was anything but easy. He pushed me, harder than I’d expected, forcing me to adapt, to think, to move with precision.
My muscles burned, sweat dripped down my spine, and every strike left me gasping for air. If this was how he trained his recruits, I almost pitied them.
Almost.
By the time we finished, I was sore, drenched, and exhausted. A quick shower later, we changed back into our uniforms and slipped into school just before curfew. Thank the Moon Goddess for that.
But the moment I stepped into the girls’ dormitory, I froze.
Someone was there.
A shadow shifted near the far end of the hall. My first instinct was to brush it off, but the memory of that prickling sensation—someone watching me these past days—flared in my chest. No. Not tonight. I wasn’t letting it go.
I adjusted my steps, turning casually down another corridor before looping back silently, tracking the figure’s movements. My heart thumped steadily as I cut through a side door and circled behind.
When she finally slipped into a small, forgotten room tucked beneath the stairwell, I followed.
The sight made my stomach drop.
It wasn’t just a room. It was a shrine of hate. My photos, some ripped and slashed, others defaced with angry scribbles.
Notes pinned to the walls, muttered insults scrawled in harsh ink. And at the center—a dartboard. My face taped dead in the middle, darts jutting from my eyes and chest.
And standing there, dart still in hand, was Lucy.
“Lucy,” I said flatly.
She shrieked, spinning around as though I’d risen from the grave.
Her face went pale, then flushed crimson with anger. “What—what are you doing here?!”
I stepped fully inside, my arms crossing over my chest. “Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing. Why are you stalking me?”
Her eyes darted wildly, searching for an excuse, but the silence between us stretched, suffocating. I closed the door behind me, cornering her.
Her lips trembled before twisting into a snarl. “You think you’re so perfect, don’t you? Do you even know what it’s like hearing your name over and over again? Valerie this. Valerie that. That’s all he talks about!”
I stiffened. “He?”
She scoffed bitterly. “Kieran. Who else? I’ve given him everything—my time, my loyalty, my heart—and all he ever does is whisper your name like you’re some goddess. I’m sick of it!”
Her voice cracked, but she masked it with venom, hurling the dart to the floor.
My breath caught. “He still hasn’t let it go…?”
“Of course not!” Lucy’s voice shook as tears brimmed in her eyes. She wiped them furiously, refusing to let them fall. “That’s why I wanted you gone. If you were out of the way, maybe then… maybe then he’d finally see me.”
The raw ache in her voice pulled at me despite the malice.
It was no news how Kieran treated her. I still recall that day he tried to force a kiss on me and got stopped by Riven.
A video went viral after I left and I saw how he slapped her, insulted her even when she pleaded Dristan and Riven for his life.
I took a careful step closer. “Lucy… I get it. Loving someone who doesn’t see you the way you want them to—it hurts. But letting him treat you like trash? That’s not love. That’s chains you’re binding yourself in.”
Her jaw tightened, and though she tried to glare, the tears betrayed her, spilling freely now.
“Don’t you dare pity me,” she hissed, voice trembling. “You have everything handed to you, Valerie. Everything I’ve ever wanted. You don’t get to stand there and act like you understand.”
My throat tightened, but I held her gaze firmly.
“Maybe I don’t understand all of it. But I know this—you’re worth more than being someone’s shadow. If Kieran can’t see that, then the problem isn’t you, Lucy. It’s him.”
For the first time, her anger faltered, replaced by the naked pain of a girl drowning in unrequited devotion.
“And my advice to you, take it or leave it, but for your sake I hope you do, because Kieran doesn’t deserve you and you deserve better for all the loyalty you’ve given him. Choose yourself, choose to be loved and find your happiness elsewhere.”
Her gaze lowered as she muttered, “But it’s Kieran I love.”
Something struck a chord in my heart. I bit the insides of my cheek, clenching my fist as I exhaled.
“Then make him see you. Speak up for yourself before you drown in your sorrow.”
With that, I turned and walked towards the door, stopping just a foot short and added, “I forgive you.”
I heard her snort and nutter, “I never asked for it.”
“You don’t need to before I do,” I replied, half turning to see the shock in her eyes before I walked away.
Just as I stepped back to the corridors, Astra rose in my head.
“She was shocked because you just read her mind.”
“Wait, what?”
“Your powers are growing Violet.”
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~Ace’s POV~
Getting back after the fun day I had with Valerie meant the world to me, but to see the look on Ash’s face, was something else while he paced.
Ash was the naughty one of our duo, naughty in all ways bad, and so was I but he showed his more.
He literally hardly panicked this way or paced but he was doing so now.
Tossing my keys on top of our shared living room’s table, I stood in the centre of the room with my hands tucked in my trousers pockets.
“Ash? What’s the matter?”
He did not stop and continued but this time muttering something about our dad and mum.
I had to admit, it got me a bit worried. So instead, I tried to reach him mentally through the mind link.
“Ash! What happened?”
He stopped as though he had only just heard me.
“Ace. You’re back.”
“Clearly. Now, tell me what the heck is going on.”
Still talking via our mind link, Ash replied, “It’s Dad.”
“What about him?” I asked impatiently.
“Mum told him we have found out mate.”
“With his connections, I figured he’d have known since we made the whole school find out. I mean our bodyguard isn’t there for nothing.”
“No, that’s not all. He wants to meet Valerie. And kind of psyched she has six mates.”
I glanced at my brother, not really understanding why that would make him freak out. Our mum visited and she knows we love Valerie. So?
Ash thumped his foot impatiently as though waiting for me to join in his shared panic but I didn’t which frustrated him.
“Okay, mum accepted it so I am sure he will too.”
Ash shook his head, biting his lower lip as he fiddled with his fingers.
“I think h
e wants to set us up on other dates with the Lycan High Class.”
“What? He can’t do that.”