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Chapter 128
~Valerie’s POV~
Later That Night – Somewhere Beyond the Border
I was still trying to calm my heart by the time we hit the border road. The kiss lingered on my lips. And right now, I want more.
And Dristan... he didn’t say a word after it. He just opened the passenger door for me like he hadn’t just wrecked my brain. Like he hadn’t turned my bones to silk with one move.
Now, we were driving. Fast.
The wind whipped past the half-cracked windows. Trees blurred under the rising moonlight. Every few seconds, I found myself glancing at him from the corner of my eye.
One hand on the wheel, the other on the armrest, Dristan was calm. Too calm.
But I could feel it—just beneath the surface.
His wolf was purring.
Finally, he spoke. "You’re awfully quiet."
I exhaled, turning my head to the window. "You’re the one who kidnapped me, remember?"
He chuckled. "You came willingly."
"That’s not the point."
He said nothing, but I could see the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth again.
We pulled into a long, tree-lined driveway. No guards. No gates. Just wilderness... and moonlight.
At the end of the road sat a small wooden lodge with glass walls that caught the stars and made them part of the building itself.
Lanterns glowed warmly along the path, and soft string lights flickered beneath the overhang.
I blinked.
"Where is this?"
"Private property," he said, cutting the engine. "I come here when I need to think."
He came around and opened my door.
I stepped out cautiously. The air was cooler and crisper here. The scent of pine, cedar, and something faintly floral lingered in the breeze.
Dristan led me inside. The interior was rustic, yet elegant—a fireplace crackled at the far end.
Floor cushions and fur throws were strewn across the low lounge. A single table was set for two near the tall window that looked out over a dark lake.
He gestured for me to sit after pulling oyt a chair for me and I did.
Immedidtaely I sat, Dristan took his seat too.
"I didn’t plan a five-star meal," he said as he poured two glasses of wine from a bottle already breathing on the table, "but I figured we could do without an audience."
I took the glass silently.
Dristan sat across from me, legs slightly spread, arms resting on the table. His posture was open, but his eyes were searching mine deeply.
"You’re still guarded," he said after a sip.
I raised a brow. "You dragged me out here and kissed me like you were starving. Of course, I’m guarded."
"I kissed you," he said smoothly, "because I’ve been holding back since the first day you and I kissed. And furthermore when I saw Axel kissed you. I’d always wanted to kiss you again and wash the taste of their lips from yours, leaving only mine in your memory."
I blinked, caught off-guard with how things went. "That was not exactly romantic. If you’re expecting me to say otherwise, I won’t."
Dristan’s smile eased onto his features. "I don’t need to. "It was powerful. And that stuck."
I looked away, trying to bury the warmth creeping into my cheeks.
He leaned forward just slightly, the candlelight throwing golden shadows over his face.
"What are you afraid of?"
I stared at him but my mind was focused more on the question that left those succulent lips of his.
The question hung in the air like smoke. Unspoken things curled around it—things I couldn’t name.
Was it my mother’s death? My parents were killed like worthless animals, the raid, the smell of
Finally, I shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe I’m not afraid. Maybe I just don’t trust you."
That didn’t rattle him. Not even a little.
Dristan reached for his glass again, swirling the liquid slowly. "I get it," he said. "You probably do not trust the most dangerous mate, or you simply don’t trust easily. You push back. You test. That’s fine. I just want you to know I’m not here to pass a test."
"What are you here for, then?" I asked, voice low.
He set the glass down and held my gaze.
"You."
My breath caught.
"The real you. Not the girl the instructors praise. Not the mate the bond demands. Not the warrior, the ranked, the untouchable."
"Just... Valerie."
I didn’t move. I didn’t blink.
The silence between us thickened, but this time it wasn’t awkward—it was electric.
Still, I didn’t speak. My fingers tightened slightly around the stem of the glass. I could feel Astra humming beneath my skin, restless. She wanted to trust him.
But I... couldn’t. Not yet.
He saw it.
I knew he did, not like I was hiding that fact from him or anything. And still, he didn’t push.
Dristan stood slowly, walking to the window.
His voice came quieter this time. "You don’t have to give me answers tonight. Or even tomorrow. Just... let me earn the right to ask them."
I turned my face away, my eyes burning. Not from sadness or fear but from how damn gentle he was.
Gentleness was always the most dangerous thing because it makes you want to open your door.
And that’s how things get stolen.
He turned back around and offered his hand.
"Come on. I want to show you the lake before the fog rolls in."
I hesitated briefly and then I took it.
His fingers were warm and strong as they curled around mine. It was familiar but still unknown.
And as he led me outside, hand in mine, I realised one terrifying, thrilling thing—I wanted to know him, Dristan Alexander, more too.
—
Lakeside – Private Retreat Grounds
The night air wrapped around us like a second skin—cool, still, and alive with the whisper of leaves and distant water ripples. Dristan’s hand was still in mine, warm as he led me down a small slope toward the lakeshore.
The stars above split across the sky in thousands, more than I ever saw from the school’s campus grounds.
The moon sat high, silver and solemn, casting light that danced across the lake’s surface like liquid glass.
He didn’t say anything at first. And I didn’t rush to fill the silence.
It was... nice. Peaceful in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. No duty. No bond pressure. No rivalry.
Just him.
Just us.
"It’s beautiful," I complimented, hoping to break the awkward tension, but Dristan’s reply made it even more so.
"Just like you."