CHAPTER 274: NIGHTMARE

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Chapter 274

~Author’s POV~

Titania’s mind plummeted into a different reality, crafted by Dristan’s abilities—an illusion so deeply rooted in fear, it felt realer than truth.

Titania stood in the middle of the PSA school courtyard, but it was empty. Deserted. Her name echoed, but not with reverence or awe.

Instead, all she heard was mocking laughter.

"You’re pathetic."

"Useless fae brat."

"Did you really think you were special?"

She spun around, looking for anyone she could cling to, any face she knew—but they all turned away.

Avery walked by, smirking cruelly before whispering to another student, "She begged me to be her friend."

Even her professors ignored her. Some sneered. She tried to run to the heir’s house, but the doors slammed in her face. She was locked out.

"Dristan?" she cried. "Please... don’t do this."

He appeared in her nightmare with a blank expression on her face. "I don’t know you."

"No... no, please!"

She dropped to her knees, sobbing as students gathered around her, pointing, laughing.

A crown of vines—once a symbol of her fae royalty—was tossed at her feet, trampled by boots. "You’ve been stripped of your title," a voice sneered. "You’re nothing now."

Even her parents appeared, their forms flickering. "We regret having you."

"No!" she screamed. "Please don’t leave me!"

And yet, they turned. They all turned.

She was alone. Utterly, completely alone. Her sobs echoed into the dark, her hands clawing the dirt as if it could bring back the love she had lost. The respect. The illusion of belonging.

Back in reality, Titania collapsed to her knees, her shoulders trembling as silent tears streamed down her face. Dristan released her throat, expression unreadable.

"I let you live your lie," he said coldly. "But you tried to turn the school against her. You tried to break her. So I gave you a taste of what that feels like."

He turned to Brielle and Avery, who shrank back. Dristan’s eyes narrowed on Avery.

Her breath hitched.

"You thought you’d get away with it?" he asked quietly, his voice calm in a way that made her blood run cold. "Thought you’d get away with helping frame my mate. With laughing when she was shamed? You thought there wouldn’t be consequences?"

Avery took a shaky step back. "Dristan... I-I didn’t mean it..."

But it was too late.

Dristan’s hand raised, two fingers lifted lazily as if dismissing a child’s excuse—and the moment his eyes shimmered silver-blue again, Avery gasped.

Then everything shattered.

**Nightmare**

She stood in the middle of her family home. It was dark and quiet, too quiet.

"Anyone home?" she called out, her voice echoing. No one answered.

She moved through the house, heart pounding, stepping over shattered picture frames and overturned furniture. The air felt cold, wrong, like something evil had passed through.

Her brother’s room was open as she stepped in and screamed.

His body lay crumpled on the floor, pale and unmoving, blood pooling beneath him.

"No, no, no," Avery cried, crawling to him. "Tyson, Tyson, wake up, please!"

But his eyes were glassy, dead. She turned to run—only to hear more crashes.

Her mother’s scream.

Avery sprinted down the hall. "Mom?!"

But all she found was a shattered vase and silence. Her mother was gone. Her father. Everyone. The entire house decayed before her eyes, windows cracking, walls rotting.

"Avery," a voice echoed behind her, and she turned.

It was her own reflection, staring at her from a mirror that hadn’t been there before. But the eyes were hollow, black pits.

"This is your fault," the reflection sneered. "You never deserved love. Never earned loyalty. You were always second-best. Always cruel to hide how small you felt."

"No—no, stop!"

"You tore others down to feel big," the reflection hissed. "But now there’s no one left to pretend for."

Suddenly, the mirror cracked, and dozens of hands reached out of it—grabbing her, pulling her toward it.

Avery screamed and clawed to get away, but they yanked her in, dragging her into blackness.

A never-ending dark void. Empty. Isolated.

In that void, her thoughts screamed at her. Every moment of insecurity, every ounce of guilt, was twisted and shoved in her face.

She saw Valerie’s tear-filled eyes again. She saw herself laughing, enjoying the cruelty.

And just when she thought she had gotten enough, darkness whispered, "Now you know what it’s like to be the hunted."

**Nightmare Ends**

Back in the clearing, Avery collapsed to the ground like Titania, shaking violently. She gasped for air, her eyes wide in terror as sobs wracked her body.

Brielle clutched her arms, trying to pull her back, but Dristan’s gaze didn’t waver.

"I don’t care how scared you are now," he said deeply, "Remember that fear the next time you think about humiliating someone weaker. Or targeting what’s mine."

Avery couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe.

Brielle whispered, "You... you’re a monster."

Dristan’s head tilted ever so slightly. "A monster?" His voice was deceptively soft. "No. I’m a mate."

And then his voice deepened with a snarl that made the fire itself flicker. "If either of you so much as thinks about touching my mate again," his voice dropped to a growl, "I will not be this merciful; I will show you what real monsters do."

He turned and walked away.

Not a single soul dared follow. Behind him, Titania sat broken. Avery rocked in silence. And Brielle, for once, didn’t speak.

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~Valerie’s POV~

I woke up the next morning feeling sore beyond measure. Yes, I had my wolf’s healing, but somehow I...

Achooo!!!

I sneezed and sat up on my bed as my gaze slowly took in my room.

Isla and Emerald were crunched together on the other bed, and Astraea was nowhere to be found.

Not that I expected her to be here. I was thankful her venomous self had finally been exposed.

My mind swirled. Everything that had happened the previous day remained etched deep in my memory.

Dristan’s handsome face, his lips on mine, his hard-on, everything about him and what occurred made my insides flutter.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"You need to stay focused, Val."

"Yes, focus on you."

My eyes darted straight to the sound of the voice when I saw Isla sitting up. "And why the heck is Dristan’s scent all over the room?"