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CHAPTER 12
~Dristan's POV~
All three of us snapped toward him at once while Xade leaned against the doorframe, watching us with clear amusement.
"Oh, yeah," he said lazily. "I was following her. And she's not just curious." His eyes darkened. "She's hunting something."
My gaze turned cold.
Kai cursed under his breath. Axel ran a hand through his hair.
This girl. This infuriating girl.
Not only had she thrown all of us into this mess, but now she was diving headfirst into danger.
I clenched my jaw.
The game had changed.
And whether Valerie liked it or not, we were about to step in. "Let's go."
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~Valerie's POV~
Several Minutes Earlier
I barely registered my surroundings as I rushed into my dorm after leaving Axel.
Isla and the girls were lounging in the common area, but I didn't stop to greet them. I muttered something half-heartedly and went straight into my room, slamming the door shut.
I needed out.
Detention had already stolen too much of my time. If that bastard had moved locations again, I was going to lose my only lead.
Thankfully, he didn't. Whatever he had going on there must have been important and connected to my necklace.
I yanked open my closet, throwing on a fitted black long-sleeve top, dark jeans, and combat boots. My fingers worked swiftly, securing two hidden knives in my boots and another tucked against my waist.
They were against school rules, but right now, I couldn't be bothered.
I grabbed the scrap of paper where I had written down the coordinates and address.
This was my last chance. The only thing that would lead me back to my necklace. And I needed that damn thing now.
Because something was wrong with me. Something worse than I anticipated. I hadn't noticed it at first. Not when I first sat down in the classroom, annoyed, ignoring Axel completely. Not even when he kept nudging me, fidgeting in his seat.
But then, I caught it.
His scent.
I had smelt it before—a mix of spice, cedarwood, and something uniquely him—but today, it was stronger and sharper than the last time.
And it hit me fast. My pulse had kicked up, and my skin felt too warm, and Astra was reacting.
"Mate. He smells good. Let him touch us."
"No."
I had bolted before Axel could even notice the shift in my scent. My body was betraying me. The signs were clear. My heat was already starting way too soon.
I did not know whether their status as Alpha Kings' heirs triggered my heat this way, but one thing was certain: I needed my necklace, and I needed it now.
I stuffed the paper into my jacket pocket and stepped out of my room.
Isla's sharp gaze flicked up from where she was sitting. She arched a brow.
"Where are you running off to this time?"
"Nowhere important," I muttered.
Isla smirked. "You say that, but you're dressed for a fight."
"This is my common look," I briefly explained. She said something else, but I ignored her, pushing past the common area and heading straight for the door.
My heartbeat picked up as I exited the dorm and strode across campus.
The moment I reached the academy's back gate, I didn't hesitate. With swift, practised movements, I scaled the low stone wall and dropped onto the other side.
I saw that loophole in the fence on the night of my first shift earlier. Since then, I knew where my next escape spot would be.
There were no alarms. No security wolves are patrolling yet.
Good.
I darted into the streets, pulling up the address again on my watch.
Even though I hadn't been there, I knew what that place entailed. The Graveyard Black Market. This place wasn't just a black market. It was a graveyard for the reckless, just as its name implied.
And I was heading straight into it. A cab pulled up beside me, and I yanked open the door, sliding in quickly.
"Where to?" the driver asked, his voice gruff.
I gave him the name of a street near my target. As for my actual destination, I thought I'd walk the rest of the way.
As the car pulled off, I exhaled, trying to calm the storm inside me.
I was close.
So damn close.
And nothing—not the Alpha Princes, not my heat, not the danger ahead—was going to stop me.
"I am going to retrieve what's mine."
~The Graveyard Black Market~
The driver did not take too long to pull up at my destination. I paid him and alighted.
When the cab pulled away, I stepped out into the darkened streets, my senses sharpening. The sky was already dark when I checked the time—7:40 p.m.
The Graveyard Black Market lived up to its name. It had narrow alleys, flickering streetlights, and shadows slinking between buildings like ghosts. The scent of sweat, blood, and desperation filled the air, mixing with the stench of burning trash and something more sinister.
I pulled up the tracker on my watch, scanning the map.
The signal was still active. Good.
I navigated through the maze of backstreets, following the pulsing dot. My heart pounded as the anticipation of finally getting my necklace back pushed me forward.
But then the tracker stopped moving.
I froze, eyes narrowing at the screen. No way. He had been on the move for hours, and now suddenly, he was standing still again.
That wasn't good.
I clenched my jaw, retracing my steps, following the last location before the signal cut. The deeper I went, the fewer people I saw, until the street narrowed into a dead-end alley.
Shit.
My pulse spiked as I scanned my surroundings, senses on high alert. The silence felt wrong. There was no distant chatter, no footsteps, just the dim light of a cracked streetlamp flickering above.
My brows creased, my senses on high alert as I tried searching for any trace of my necklace. And then a slow, mocking clap echoed from the shadows. 'There, there, little doggie."
I turned sharply to see a man step forward, and my eyes locked onto him when he threw his hoodie off his head.
The thief.
The very same bastard who had poisoned me. My gaze flickered to his hand, and I noticed something small and metallic, flickering with a blue light.
"My tracker," I muttered, but as soon as I gave a flinch of reaction, he rolled it in his fingers and squashed it before opening his hand for what remained—the shattered remains of my tracker.
"Looking for this, small girl?" His voice was laced with amusement, but his dark eyes burned with something far more dangerous.
I barely had time to respond before he smirked and dropped the tracker, crushing what was left beneath his boot.
Rage flooded through me. "Where... is... my... necklace?"
The man scoffed, tilting his head. "I was right... That necklace is worth a lot if you came all the way here for it." He stepped closer, eyes gleaming. "You didn't give a damn about your bag. Your money or clothes... just this little thing. So tell me, how much is it worth? Because you and your useless tracker sure as hell ain't worth shit—except putting me in trouble with my buyer."
I didn't move. I didn't blink. But I noticed something. The faint bruising along his jaw. Someone had hit him. And they had done it hard.
His fingers grazed the injury absently before he scowled, muttering, "Damn bastards do pack a punch.
My brows furrowed. Bastards? Who else had been after him?
His glare snapped back to me, full of irritation. "But since you're the reason for all this, I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson myself." His smirk widened. "And make you pay for my trouble."
My lip curled. "You read my mind, douchebag," I said smoothly before I moved and struck first.