h4Chapter 279: I Lost It/h4

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    strongChapter 279/strong

    strong~Valerie’s POV~/strong

    Both Emerald and I were staring at me as if I had a glowing curse mark on my face. I blinked slowly, confusion dancing in my gut until their gazes drifted to my neck.

    "I said something was missing," I muttered, squinting. "But I couldn’t pinpoint it until now."

    Emerald was quicker. "Your ne." Her voice was calm, but her eyes sharpened. "The one you always wear. The one that helps suppress your heat."

    My hand instinctively massaged my neck. It was just skin.

    "I... I lost it," I mumbled, avoiding their eyes.

    I wasn’t buying it. "Lost it or was it stolen?"

    I exhaled slowly, then nodded. "Stolen."

    Emerald’s jaw tensed. "How? From around your neck? I thought you never took it off."

    "Yeah, well..." I hesitated, guilt spreading through me like ice water. "I only took it off once. And that was when it disappeared. Whoever took it... they let me know. But I still don’t know who."

    The girls were quiet for a moment.

    I had tried tracking it. The signal stopped just beyond campus grounds. Someone clever had stripped the tracker. My only link to it was gone.

    I wanted to tell them that, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Then they’d ask more questions, and from there, secrets are out in the open.

    "Someone out to get you like Astraea?" Emerald asked darkly.

    "Who knows," I said with a shrug. "But we need to keep an eye out. This is serious. If someone has it... they know how much I need it."

    "Yeah, especially with your bond ring up like wildfire," I said with a grin.

    "Oh well."

    "Also..." I looked thoughtful, seriously so. Both Emerald and I exchanged worried nces.

    "What’s up?" I inquired.

    "I don’t know. I wanted to wait until I was sure there was something, but well... this is something."

    "Yes," Emerald nodded eagerly.

    "Weeks ago, during one of our trainings, I noticed a girl staring at you when you were bent down washing your face."

    "Enh."

    "Pardon?" The look in my eyes told her this was news.

    "Well, she had this intense look like she was going to murder you."

    "Important, I. You should have told me."

    I shrugged. "Forgive me, but I had no proof, and there was something about how she stared at you. Looking back now, I think she was staring at your ne. But back then, I barely thought of it. I thought it was in jealousy. You know you were hot with the alphas back then, and no one knew."

    I rolled my eyes. "So I am the cause of my problem?"

    "I’m not saying that. I’m just..."

    "You should watch out because that girl came to see Titania that day and she stood up for her so..."

    "Okay, then I will. I will. But can you identify the girl if you see her again?"

    I nodded.

    Emerald pped her hands together suddenly. "Okay, enough brooding! Let’s talk about something lighter before we all implode."

    I raised a brow. "Like?"

    "Like what you’re gonna do when you move in with all those alpha heirs," she said with a smirk.

    I groaned. "You guys are incorrigible."

    I leaned over the counter dramatically. "So are you nning on picking a favourite? Or are you going to keep rotating them like moon phases?"

    "I am not ’rotating’ anyone," I snapped,ughing despite myself.

    "Mmm-hmm," Emerald teased. "Well, Ash will definitely want the room with the darkest curtains."

    "Ace and Ash don’t leave with them."

    "Well, I bet the guys can make an exception for Lycan Royalty," I noted.

    "Maybe." I shrugged.

    "Oh well, it’s fantasising time. Axel might flirt his way into your bed just for fun. And Kai—"

    "—will re at anyone who so much as breathes your way," I added with a knowing grin.

    We giggled like kids, the tension slowly melting from our shoulders. I was grateful for them. For this.

    After eating the meal Dristan had ordered earlier, I grabbed my bag and stood.

    "Alright. I should head out now."

    I blinked. "Wait, the guys have been waiting this whole time!"

    I smiled. "I texted them to go ahead. I’ll meet them there."

    She clutched her chest in mock disbelief. "You wicked girl."

    Emerald looked at me with a grin. "And how exactly do you n on getting there?"

    "I’ll call Dristan," I said casually, reaching for my phone.

    "Okies," I said with a smirk. "Tell him we said hi."

    With hugs and yful goodbyes, I left the dorm and made my way across the courtyard.

    Only, I never had to dial him.

    Because there he was, still seated in his car, leaning back like he hadn’t moved an inch.

    My heart skipped. "Dristan?"

    His window rolled down slowly. "Hey."

    "What are you still doing here? I told you to leave with the others."

    He stepped out and came around, opening the trunk and taking my bag from me. "I didn’t."

    "Didn’t what?"

    Dristan met my eyes as he closed the trunk.

    My breath caught. "How did you know I’d being out now?"

    "I didn’t," he said simply. "But I figured you’de eventually. So, I just never left."

    The words sat heavy in my chest. Soft, sure. Gentle in a way I hadn’t expected.

    He opened the passenger door for me, and I slid in. Once he joined me behind the wheel, the car was enveloped in silence.

    Finally, I turned to him. "Aboutst night."

    He smirked. "Ah, the kiss. My favourite memory of the trip."

    I rolled my eyes. "Dristan..."

    "What? I can’t appreciate the feel of your lips on mine?" he teased. "Because trust me, I did. And I know you did too."

    "You’re impossible."

    He leaned closer, his voice dipping. "But you didn’t stop me."

    I turned away, heat rising in my cheeks. "I was caught off guard."

    "You sure about that? Because you moaned a little—"

    "Dristan!"

    Heughed. "Fine, fine. I’ll behave."

    I narrowed my eyes. "For the record, I’m off-limits during my stay-cation."

    He quirked a brow. "Says who?"

    "Me."

    He hummed, tapping the wheel as he pulled out of the lot. "Well, your lips didn’t seem to get that memo."

    I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Moon Goddess help me."

    He chuckled, ncing sideways at me, his gaze softening. "You’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out. One kiss at a time."