*****************
CHAPTER 256
~Valerie's POV~
A knock echoed through our suite door. I wasn't expecting anyone, and neither were the others. I stood still, the towel snugly wrapped around me, hair damp, cheeks flushed from the heat of the shower.
Then came the voice. Low. Deep. Familiar.
"Valerie?"
I froze as soon as my ear and wolf recognised that voice.
Dristan.
I spun toward the door like I'd just been caught naked by fate herself—technically, I was still mostly naked.
I hesitated a second, then cautiously walked over to the suite door to open it just a crack.
The second I peeked out, I regretted it.
The second I saw him, I regretted every life decision that led to this exact moment.
Dristan stood in the hallway, one hand shoved into his pocket, the other hanging casually at his side, his golden-blond hair tousled by the breeze that snuck in from the hallway's open window.
But his expression? Anything but casual.