Kieran:
"I don’t need you to take back," Evaline said for what must have been the fifth ti.
Her arms were crossed, her jaw set, and her eyes were locked stubbornly on the windshield of my car, where the streetlights passed by in gold-tinted streaks. She hadn’t looked at once since we left the park.
"I’m not leaving you here alone," I replied as I returned my attention to the road ahead.
"It’s not like I can’t take care of myself."
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. "I know that. But it’s getting dark. I’m not comfortable letting you wander around alone at a place you have known for barely few weeks. This isn’t up for debate."
She didn’t respond, just clenched her fists tighter in her lap and exhaled sharply through her nose.
She was trying so hard to push away. Drawing lines. Paying back debts I never even considered as debts. Putting distance between us like it was the only way to breathe. And the worst part?
A part of was letting her.
Because I could see how tired she was. How brittle she had beco beneath her hard exterior.
Still, I didn’t trust the idea of her being alone tonight, and nothing she could say was going to convince otherwise. The silence stretched between us like a wire strung too tight, and I focused on the winding road back to the Academy, pretending it didn’t sting to feel her withdrawal.
When we reached the gates, she murmured, "Thanks," and slipped out before I could even park properly. She didn’t wait for a reply. Didn’t look back.
She didn’t need to.
I sat in the car for a few extra minutes, letting the silence wrap around like a second skin. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. With her. With River. With myself.
Eventually, I drove back to the mansion.
The estate was quiet as always, but I was able to feel the tension humming beneath the surface. Like sothing was constantly pressing against the walls, waiting to break free.
I stepped into the hallway and started toward my room, only to co face to face with River.
He was standing at the other end of the corridor, walking toward his own chambers. He slowed when he saw . But I didn’t.
I didn’t stop. Didn’t speak. Didn’t even glance his way as I passed by.
I felt his eyes burning into my back. There was a flicker of guilt and hesitation in the bond we shared.
But I still didn’t turn around.
This had beco routine lately. Cold shoulders. Muted footsteps. Conversations were replaced by silence. Ever since the Alpha Gathering incident, I had been giving River the distance he had never asked for, but perhaps deserved.
Because I didn’t recognize the brother standing in front of anymore. Not when he looked at Evaline like she was the worst person alive. Like she was nothing but her father’s legacy.
And just when I considered, briefly considered, breaking the ice, reminding him that I was still his brother no matter what, I received the news.
Evaline... leaving the headquarters... while crying.
I didn’t know what exactly had happened, but I didn’t need to know that River was behind it.
Because who else had the power to hurt her like that?
I walked into my room and slamd the door behind harder than necessary. My wolf stirred, pacing just beneath my skin, restless and uneasy.
"What is wrong with him?" I muttered as I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed it aside.
He had every opportunity to see who Evaline really was. To understand that she wasn’t her father. That she wasn’t a threat. That she was... kind. And hardworking. And brave in ways I couldn’t explain.
But no.
River had made it his mission to break her. To push her until she finally shattered.
I rubbed a hand over my face. I didn’t want to take sides. I didn’t want to be that brother who turned away. But as days were passing and River continued this path, he was making it impossible not to.
At first, I had believed, hoped, that the internship might help River see the truth. That Evaline could stand on her own. That she didn’t deserve punishnt for a cri she didn’t commit.
But that belief... it was turning out to be my foolish optimism, a hollow fantasy.
And then there was Evaline herself.
My mind kept drifting back to her. The way her voice trembled when she handed that envelope. The tight way she clutched her bag to her chest like it was the only thing anchoring her. The way she looked at ... as if any more kindness from would only make her break.
And damn , I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
At first, I told myself it was pity. That’s all it had ever been. A girl with too much on her shoulders, a girl trying to survive in a world that wasn’t made for her. So I helped her.
But sowhere along the way...
Sothing had shifted.
My wolf had started asking the questions I didn’t want to answer.
Why is she the one you are watching in a crowded room?
Why does it bother you when she smiles at soone else?
Why does her pain feel like your own?
I didn’t want to face the answers. Not when I already had a bigger problem. One that had haunted for months.
My mate.
I had found her. Or I thought I had.
It was a fleeting encounter, one that happened out of nowhere and left shattered. Worse part? I had no idea who she was. I didn’t know her na, her whereabouts, or even how she looked.
All I knew was that she’s mine.
And then she was gone.
There had been no trace. No na. No clue to her pack. It was like she had vanished into thin air. I had been searching ever since, tirelessly, but each lead ended in disappointnt.
It was driving mad. My wolf was fraying at the edges, restless and snarling. Mates weren’t supposed to just disappear.
And in the midst of that chaos... there was Evaline.
Always Evaline.
In my thoughts. In my every waking hour. I kept catching myself looking for her, wondering what she was doing, how her day had been, if she was okay.
I didn’t even an to. It just kept happening.
And now... she wanted to sever that connection. To clear the debt. To draw lines between us and pretend it had all ant nothing.
But the ache in my chest said otherwise.
She had asked to assign her the task. She wanted to fulfill her side of the deal. But I couldn’t do it.
Because I knew the kind of mission I had originally planned for her. And I knew her. I could no longer make myself put her in danger.
She wanted to stand on her own. And I admired that. But stars, a part of hated how it felt to be left behind.
Where had things gone wrong? When did the lines between obligation and emotion start to blur? When did I go from being her benefactor to soone who couldn’t stop wondering if she smiled after I left?
I dragged my hands through my hair and settled down on the edge of my bed, with my elbows on my knees and eyes fixed on the floor.
My life was spiraling.
My brother was slipping from .
My mate was lost.
And Evaline... Evaline was trying to disappear from my orbit just as I was beginning to feel things I shouldn’t be for a student, for soone who wasn’t my mate.
I didn’t know what to do.
But one thing was clear - sothing had to change.
Soon.
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