<h4>Chapter 165: Training Match</h4>


    <strong>****************</strong>


    <strong>Chapter 166</strong>


    <strong>~Valerie’s POV~</strong>


    I ignored Kieran’s words for a minute and focused on the scandal. Although I overheard that Titania did something bad, I didn’t bother about it.


    What concerned me was how he obtained information about her to expose her and take the heat off me.


    And what’s more was what his angle was. In a selfish world, people did not do things freely because they wanted to.


    My head spun. "You did that, exposed her?"


    Kieran’s smile waszy, like he hadn’t just flipped PSA’s social hierarchy on its head for fun. "She crossed you. She deserved it. You’re wee."


    I stepped back instinctively, putting just enough distance between us so I could think.


    "But... why?" I asked, this time quieter. "What’s your angle?"


    He tilted his head slightly, those cial eyes scanning my face like he was filing away every twitch, every shift in emotion.


    "I like seeing bullies fall," he said with a careless shrug. "Especially when they aim at someone interesting."


    There was something about the way he said interesting. Like it didn’t just mean unique—it meant <i>dangerous</i>, <i>unpredictable</i>, <i>alive</i>.


    Like I was a game he was still learning the rules to.


    "I didn’t ask for a knight in shining armour," I stated.


    "Good." Kieran took a step forward again, keeping his gaze steady. "Because I’m not wearing armour."


    He tapped the side of his head. "I wear strategy. And right now? Helping you helps me."


    Before I could push him for what that meant, he brushed past me. His shoulder barely grazed mine, but the static in the air between us was undeniable.


    "If you’re ever ready to return the favour," he said without looking back, "you know where to find me. And Valerie, my favours are always unique."


    I swallowed, thinking of what he meant and when I lifted my eyes to look at him and respond, Kieran was nowhere to be seen.


    He had disappeared into the hallway like a ghost of trouble.


    I exhaled slowly, my heart still galloping in my chest.


    <i>Damn him.</i>


    ***********


    The afternoon sun bled gold across the field as I stepped out of the main building, blinking against the re.


    It was already past lunch break as I stepped into the main courtyard, and the atmosphere shifted. Not in a scandalous way. In a way that suggested <i>something big ising</i>.


    Whistles rang out in the air.


    Cleats thudded, andughter rolled like waves from the ser pitch.


    I had just wanted to walk off my lunch in peace but of course, peace was no longer something the universe allowed me.


    "There you are," Solstice called, jogging over with a wild glint in her eyes. "You’rete!"


    I blinked at her. "Late for what?"


    She hooked her arm around mine and started dragging me toward the field like a possessed cheerleader on a mission. "Afternoon sports, remember? Kingdom Cup prep. The boys are doing their first inter-house trial."


    "I’m not on the boys’ team."


    "No, but <i>we</i> are next," she grinned. "The girls’ team is watching their match first. Then it’s our turn. Coach said we’re alternating rounds."


    "Wait—<i>our</i> turn?" I stopped dead in my tracks. "Solstice. What are you talking about?"


    She grinned brighter.


    Oh no.


    "You signed me up?" I asked, voice sharpening.


    "Yup. Two days ago. During your scandal meltdown. You needed something positive attached to your name. Something headline-worthy that didn’t involve lips or Lycans."


    "Are you out of your—"


    "Trust me," she said quickly. "It’s a win. PSA’s gossip page <i>lives</i> for this kind of redemption arc. You show up, you dominate, and you bury Titania’stest sabotage attempt six feet under."


    I scowled. "I didn’t agree to this."


    I was just about to walk away when Solstice’s voice called out. "What’s the matter? Scared of Titania? Or did you lose your edge?"


    That did it.


    I slowly turned to face her, smirk curling my lips as I noticed her cocked brow. "Fine. I’ll join."


    Solstice beamed like I’d just crowned her Empress of PSA. "Knew it."


    Just then, the sharp st of a whistle pierced the air, silencing the sidelines. The match had started.


    And gods help me, I almost forgot how lethal a field full of Alpha Heirs could look.


    I followed Solstice to the shaded bleachers, slipping into a seat as students swarmed around. The atmosphere buzzed with energy, especially when the lineup of both teams hit the turf.


    <strong>Team A:</strong> Dristan, Xade, and four other seniors.


    <strong>Team B:</strong> Axel, Kai, and another four from the senior years, each having a good athletic build like the heirs.


    My gaze locked on the two captains first.


    Dristan’s expression was stone—focused, sharp, and predatory.


    And Axel was more rxed, but that loose posture screamed <i>trap</i>.


    Kai rolled his shoulders like he was walking into a fight instead of a game, while Xade bounced on the balls of his feet, wolf-grinning already.


    The crowd leaned in as the referee tossed the ball into the air.


    And then everything exploded.


    Axel lunged first—faster than a blink, clearing half the field in two strides.


    Dristan intercepted with a kick so clean the ball snapped midair like a whip and flew toward Xade, who executed a perfect flip-twist pass to their left wing.


    Someone shrieked behind me. No one even cared that it was practice. It looked like war dressed in ser uniforms.


    "What the hell," I muttered, watching as Kai zipped through two defenders with a speed that was not legal in any realm.


    "Super-soldiers in cleats," Solstice murmured with awe.


    Axel caught Kai’s heel pass and dropped low, spinning under Xade’s block beforeunching the ball toward the like it owed him money.


    The goalie barely blinked before it mmed into the.


    <strong>1–0.</strong>


    Kai turned toward the stands, grinning cockily, eyes searching for something or someone in the crowd till theynded on me.


    He was searching for me.


    I smirked and folded my arms. "Show off."


    Dristan didn’t take the hit well.


    I watched his jaw clench from here. The next round started, and he <i>snapped</i> into action like a switch had been flipped.


    This time he didn’t pass.


    He didn’t hesitate.


    He <i>stormed</i> through the midfield like the ball was an extension of his soul. His aura pressed like gravity, forcing yers to scramble just to stay standing.


    The only one who could keep up?


    Axel.


    They collided mid-sprint—shoulder to shoulder, raw strength against raw instinct.


    The crowd gasped. But it was Dristan who held his ground, shoving through the block andunching the ball so hard I <i>felt</i> the rattle from the bleachers.


    <strong>1 – 1.</strong>


    Game. On.


    The next twenty minutes were chaos.


    None of the other yers could hold a candle to them. By the third rotation, the match had devolved into a four-man war.


    The rest of the teams had all but stepped back, bing unwilling spectators in their own game.


    Xade was fire andughter, darting like aet, while Kai slithered through openings that didn’t exist, his hair sticking to his face like sweat-kissed silk.


    Axel and Dristan went blow for blow—two kings in a sh of wills.


    But Dristan...


    He was ying like it mattered, like this wasn’t about sport.


    It was about proving something.


    And every time he scored, his gaze flicked—almost imperceptibly—toward me.


    Until finally, after another stunning heel pass from Xade and a lethal slide-shot across the field at thest two seconds...


    A loud whistle blew, signalling the end of the match.


    <strong>4 – 3.</strong>


    And Team A, Dristan’s team, came out victorious.


    The crowd lost it. Even the referee looked breathless.