Evaline:
The silence that stretched inside the ward felt suffocating. It wrapped around like a heavy blanket I couldn’t shake off. My pulse was thudding so loudly in my ears that I was sure Kieran could hear it, but still neither of us spoke.
Finally, River let out a small breath, the kind that sounded like he had been holding the world on his shoulders and had decided, just for a second, to set it down. He stood up, his tall fra casting a shadow across my bed.
"You two should talk and clear this," he said gently. "I’ll step out."
Panic surged through instantly. My fingers tightened around his hand as though letting go ant losing my last thread of balance. I wanted to talk to Kieran, needed to, but the fear that had been gnawing at since River first brought up the possibility clawed its way deeper into my heart.
What if this made them all uncomfortable? What if this unravelled the fragile peace I had with my mates? What if I lost their trust? What if...
Before the storm in my head could drown , River bent down and cupped my face between his palms. His touch was warm, grounding. He tilted my chin up until my eyes locked with his, refusing to let retreat into myself.
"I love you," he said, his voice steady and unshakable. "And I always will."
And then his lips pressed against mine.
It wasn’t a long kiss, nor desperate. It was short, but it carried weight... so much weight. A kiss that told everything he wanted to say but didn’t put into words. A kiss that told I wasn’t alone in this.
When he pulled back, I was already blinking back tears.
"This news is shocking," he admitted softly. "But it’s not unwelco. Not to , not to Oscar, not to Draven. For us, it’s actually good news that our pup carries our bloodline and not... that Blackwood’s."
He gave a quick peck on the lips, like sealing a promise, then straightened and gave Kieran’s shoulder a firm pat.
And then he walked out, leaving alone with the brother I had tried so hard not to think about inappropriately for months... and had failed miserably at.
Kieran lowered himself into the chair River had just emptied. He didn’t lean back, didn’t relax. He just sat there, stiff, his eyes fixed on like he was afraid I would disappear if he dared to look away.
One thing I had learned from River’s words was that he and the others already believed Kieran was my child’s real father.
That alone made my heart race. Not because I didn’t want him as my child’s father, but because this ant the past nine months of my life were built on a misunderstanding.
The room filled with silence again, and it took every bit of courage I had to look up at him. My lips parted, my voice trembling as I asked, "Where... where did you et your mate that day?"
His gaze didn’t waver as he answered, "A small town called Windre," he answered without hesitation. "It sits at the outskirts of where Shadowfang Pack used to be. I stayed that night at a place called Hollow Creek Inn."
The words slamd into like a physical blow. My breath caught in my throat, and I stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Windre. Hollow Creek Inn.
The sa town. The sa inn.
If it had just been the date, I might have forced a laugh, brushed it off as so strange coincidence. But it wasn’t just the date. It was the town. The inn. The details were too exact to be anything else.
A ray of hope, fragile and trembling, began to push through the confusion clouding my mind.
I swallowed hard and found my voice again. "You... you once told you didn’t see your mate’s face. What happened that night that even your Alpha eyesight failed you?"
His jaw clenched, and his throat worked as if the mory itself was sothing bitter. His voice was raw when he finally answered.
"I was drugged," he said quietly. "At a party I attended that afternoon, soone slipped a powerful aphrodisiac into my drink. I barely made it out before losing control. My beta, Mark, he realized what was happening and helped get to a small inn in the nearest town while he tried to reach my brothers and healers. He left in a room, but..."
His fists curled on his knees. "The drug was too strong. The room was pitch dark. I couldn’t see her face. Or if I did, I can’t recall it. No matter how hard I have tried, I never could."
My chest tightened.
Before I could form a response, his next words ca like a strike straight to my heart.
"Evaline," he said, his voice deep and steady, "are you sure it was Ethan you slept with that night?"
The air froze around . My lips parted to say yes, to confirm the truth I had believed for months, but the word caught in my throat.
Images flooded back to . The dark room. The overwhelming pull of the bond. The way everything felt both wrong and right at once.
And then Ethan’s smug face next evening, his confidence, his certainty.
But had I actually seen him that night in that room?
With a tremor in my voice, I confessed, "Since it was dark, I never really saw his face. I just believed it was Ethan because... I felt the mate bond with him. And Ethan had been telling for months, ever since he turned eighteen, that he felt the bond with . So when I felt it too, I thought it could... only be him."
I lowered my gaze, sha and confusion burning in equal asure. My voice dropped to a whisper.
"Even when I found him different that night."
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