My Alphas' Dark Desires-Chapter 368: You’re a Suspect

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Chapter 368

~Dristan’s POV~

I met her eyes. "Then I’ll find the person who did this. Even if I have to drag them out myself."

Whitmore leaned forward slightly, her gaze unflinching. "Be careful what you promise. The moment you step out of this office, the next move you make will determine whether you’re guilty—or just another pawn in someone else’s spell."

The silence that followed was heavy enough to feel in my lungs. Only the sound of the ticking clock filled the silence while I thought about my next words.

I was about to speak again when Whitmore’s head tilted slightly, her expression changing.

Her fingers stopped tapping the desk. "We seem to have company," she said calmly, eyes darting toward the door.

I frowned. I hadn’t heard footsteps, but then again, she was an older werewolf and had better experience—her senses worked differently. I inhaled slowly through my nose, and that was when the faint scent hit me. Valerie.

Soren stirred in delight, his voice humming inside my mind. "She’s here."

I clenched my jaw, trying to silence him, but my pulse had already quickened. Whitmore noticed the shift in my expression and smiled faintly. "Visitors for you, I presume."

Before I could respond, a soft knock came from the door.

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~Valerie’s POV~

We reached the Principal’s office together—Ash, Ace, Xander, Axel, Kai, Xade, and me. The hallway outside was unusually quiet, the air heavy with the tension none of us dared voice.

Inside, Ms. Heart looked up from her paperwork. "Oh, hello. Can I help you all?"

Kai gave a polite nod. "We’d like to see Principal Whitmore, please."

Ms. Heart smiled, but it was brief. "I’m afraid she already has a visitor at the moment. Perhaps you can wait a bit or come back later..."

Before she could finish, Principal Whitmore’s clear voice drifted from inside the office. "Let them in."

Ms. Heart blinked in surprise, then gestured toward the door. "You may go in."

As we entered, my heart gave a small, uneven skip. The moment my eyes adjusted to the soft lighting of the office, I saw him seated there. Dristan.

He sat across from the Principal, back straight, hands clasped. His gaze lifted briefly to meet mine before flicking toward Xade and away again. That tiny shift, that one-second glance, was enough to stir something tight in my chest.

I remembered how angry he was when he left the house in anger.

I managed a faint smile, though I doubted he saw it. The Principal’s sharp gaze, however, caught everything.

"Now," Whitmore began, folding her hands on the table. "What brings all of you here?"

I exchanged glances with Xander, but it was Kai who stepped forward, clearing his throat. His tone was calm, but the tension beneath it was unmistakable.

"It’s concerning Marianne’s case," he said. "The supposed culprit, Dristan, the impersonator, and the real one behind all of this."

The air in the room shifted instantly.

Dristan turned sharply toward us, eyes narrowing. "Impersonator and real culprit?"

His voice was low, edged with disbelief andf then he looked at me again.

"At least there’s someone who believes in my innocence and doesn’t just outrightly accuse me."

I knew those words were directed at me and deep down guilt chewed at my heart but I said nothing.

Kai must have noticed and immediately spoke up for me. "It asn’t an accusation, Dristan. And you didn’t give us a chance to help. Thankfully all of these would be cleared today."

Dristan didn’t bother speaking again and turned to face Principal Whitmore.

She urged him. "Let’s hear what this is about."

Xander exhaled slowly, stepped forward, and straightened his jacket as though bracing for impact. "It was me," he said.

Principal Whitmore and Dristan turned toward him.

Dristan’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just say?"

"I impersonated you," Xander admitted, voice steady but low. "Those nights with Brielle, Titania, Erik and well it was me. Except for Marianne of course."

For a moment, no one breathed. Then Dristan shot to his feet, his chair scraping sharply against the tiled floor. The sound made me flinch. His fists tightened at his sides, veins bulging as the muscles in his jaw flexed.

"You what?" His voice thundered through the office.

Before anyone could stop him, Dristan crossed the distance in a blink and punched Xander straight in the face.

The impact echoed off the walls. Xander stumbled backward, clutching his jaw, but didn’t fight back.

"Dristan, stop!" I shouted, but he wasn’t listening. His wolf was close to the surface, I could feel it.

Before he could swing again, Axel and Kai rushed forward, grabbing him by the arms and dragging him back with effort. His chest heaved with rage, eyes burning red for a flicker before they dulled again.

"How could you?" Dristan’s voice cracked slightly—half fury, half betrayal. "Do you even realize what you’ve done?"

"Calm down, Dristan," Principal Whitmore ordered, her tone cutting through the tension like a blade. "You’ll stand down and listen before you make things worse."

Dristan jerked his arms free but didn’t move closer. His glare could’ve burned through stone.

Whitmore turned her focus on Xander. "Explain. Now."

Xander wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, and when he spoke, his voice was calm. "I only wanted to help... to teach a lesson to those who hurt Valerie. I thought if I use the face of someone they feared, they’d back down and leave her be."

Principal Whitmore’s face darkened. The pen she held snapped cleanly between her fingers. She stood so abruptly her chair rolled back.

"Discipline?" Her voice was a low growl now, filled with restrained fury. "You call that discipline?"

Xander looked down but didn’t speak.

Whitmore’s palm slammed against the desk, the sharp crack echoing through the room. "How dare you take it upon yourself to punish another student—to that extreme! Who gave you such authority in my school, in a werewolf region?"

No one dared breathe. Even the faint hum of the ceiling light felt loud.

"Answer me, Xander!" she demanded.

And for the first time since we entered, I saw genuine fear flicker across Xander’s face.

"No one but..." he cast a side glance at me as though he wanted to say something but kicked agaonst it.

"What’s your reason?"

Xander lowered his head. "I apologose, Principal."

"Get the heck out of my office, right this moment!"

"Understood ma’am."

Xander gave me an aologetic look as he turned, ready to leave.

Something struck in my heart. Here were two guys who went at lent to do things to protect me ignoring the punishment and consequences it would bring.

Before Xander could reach the door, I spoke, stepping forward before my brain could catch up.

"Wait."

"Valerie," Xade called out softly. "What are you doing?"

For a moment I was speechless as my eyes went from Xade to Xander and then to Dristan.

The look of disappointment on his face was something else.

I knew what he was thinking.

"Of course everyone knows. You failed to defend him but youa re rready to defend another man," Astra stated in my mid.

I ignored her, inhaled, and then nodded.

"Forgive me, Principal Whitmore. I know you are angry and you have every right to be. But please, this is more than just Xander."

She gave me the cold eye that screamed this was because of you but did not say anything out.

"I know you feel I am always the cenre of attention for problem, but I promise you, this is more. Xander says he never hurt Marianne."

"Then I am just supposed to believe the words of someone who could hurt another student cruelly? I should have him expelled for this and demand that the Dragon king stand trial for this."

"Stand trial?" I asked.

"Yes."

"There’s no need to go that far because of this. I believe Xander did not hurt Marianne."

Dristan scoffed at my words and honestly, this time it hit differently.

"Got a problem?"

"No. I just wonder what value your words word has anymore." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Dristan I..."

"Enough of your personal squabbles. You want me to give Mr. Draco a chance to prove himself?" I nodded, looking hopeful that she decides to.

"Yes, please. Because if he can prove he wasn’t the one, then that means we have a shapeshifter who has infiltrated the school. And who knows what other crimes he or she may have committed?"

Principal Whitmore seemed to give my words a serious thought before she addressed us again.

"You are right, valerie Nightshade."

"Great. Now even you is giving him a chance."

Principal Whitmore shot Dristan a glare.

"Consideribng your face was the one the two White Witches saw, I suggest you conside ryour words, Mr. Dristan. Youa re still very much in trouble just like Mr. Xander here. No one is allowed to toy with students like you two have done. And until we catch the real culprit, you are not off suspicions."

Dristan mummbled something inaudible and finally gave it a rest.

Kai chuckled softly before stepping forward. "Then I suggest you start with everyone’s whereabout on the said day and their alibi."

Principal Whitmore heaved a deep sigh and facepalmed herself. "This is going to be a long day."

"Then I suggest starting with us seven here but I am pretty sur, Dristan, Xander and any other heir did not hurt Marianne."

"Good, but what about you? You are a culprit too."

"What?"

"I heard she snatched a necklace from her. From what I see, you too are a suspect."