NB: Song: Running Out Of Roses by Alan Walker & Jamie Miller
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Chapter 178
~Valerie’s POV~
He looked away for a heartbeat, then back at me with a storm behind his eyes.
"But when I saw him... Kieran... try to force himself on you—try to kiss you like he had any right to—you don’t understand what that did to me."
His jaw clenched, voice tightening.
"I’m usually the calm one. The one who thinks before he strikes. But that moment? I lost it. All I could think about was what if I hadn’t gotten there in time. What if he had touched you inappropriately?"
He stepped back toward me, closing the distance again.
"I can’t handle that, Valerie. I know I messed up. I know I’ve been distant. But that’s not because I don’t care—it’s because I care too much. I can’t control this. I’m trying, but it’s driving me crazy."
His voice broke slightly. "The thought of someone else touching you—"
I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could spiral further.
A small smile curved my lips. "But that’s inevitable, isn’t it? I will be touched by others... whether you like it or not."
He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "I know. I know, Vi. You have other mates. I’ll have to share. And that terrifies me more than anything."
When he looked back at me, his vulnerability was so bare it cut deeper than his anger ever could. "But the Moon Goddess... she has her reasons, right? Even if I don’t agree with her damn methods."
My smile grew softly, not to mock or tease him but jist because he looked cute.
Tender.
"I believe that too," I whispered.
Dristan stared at me, like he couldn’t believe I was still here, like he half-expected me to walk away again. And when I didn’t, he let his breath out slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I still hate the idea of you kissing someone else."
I tilted my head. "So don’t watch."
He huffed a laugh at that. A real one. And just like that, the storm broke a little inside him.
"I can’t be selfish," he said quietly. "Because if I let this take over me, I’ll turn into someone else. Someone worse."
I furrowed my brows. "You’re scared of the others?"
"No," he said instantly, shaking his head. "The real danger isn’t Kai, or Xade, or even the lycan twins. It’s me."
That made me pause. My brows pulled together tighter. "Why would you say that?"
But instead of answering with words, Dristan stepped in closer.
His hand reached up to cradle my cheek gently—gods, so gently—and then he leaned forward.
A kiss but not on the lips. Instead, he kissed my forehead.
Then slowly, my right eye, then moved to my left, down to the bridge of my nose before kissing both cheeks.
The edge of my jaw.
Every touch was deliberate, reverent, as if he were memorising me—not just the outside, but everything I carried inside.
And then he paused just before my lips, waiting, asking without asking.
I didn’t stop him. I couldn’t.
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~Kieran’s POV~
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