Evaline:
The air in his room was heavy. Dim evening light was streaming in from the tall glass window, bathing the space in streaks of pale gold.
River stood there, broad-shouldered and still as stone, gazing out at the horizon. His head turned sharply at the sound of the door, and in one swift movent he hid one of his hands behind his back. But he wasn’t fast enough for .
My eyes caught it. The red. The faint sar of blood across his knuckles.
And then, just to the left of him... was the wall where I noticed the dark splatters of red marring the pale surface. The tallic scent slamd into full force, no longer faint but vivid and unmistakable.
My heart plumted.
"River..." The na tore from my throat before I could stop it. In the next heartbeat I was in front of him, closing the distance as panic surged up my spine. "You are injured!"
I reached for his hidden hand instinctively, but he shifted, angling his body to keep it from . "It’s nothing," he said quickly, his voice low but tense. "You don’t need to worry, Evaline."
How could I not worry?
My breath caught as my eyes darted between his guarded expression and the blood-streaked wall. His scent was laced with tension, and the bond between us pulsed with a storm of emotion. "River," I whispered, softer now but more insistent. I stared straight into his deep green eyes, silently pleading with him to let see.
He shook his head, looking away. "I didn’t an to make you worry. It’s just a scratch. It will heal within minutes."
I gave him the look, the one I reserved only for monts like these. The one filled with quiet, unwavering determination, with worry that would not be dismissed. My voice ca out steadier this ti. "River."
He froze. Our eyes t again, and sothing shifted in his expression. I could see the defeat creeping in, see the way his shoulders sagged slightly, as though the fight to keep his walls up was draining out of him.
With a sigh that sounded like surrender, he slowly drew his hand from behind his back and offered it to .
I took it gently, my fingers trembling as they cupped his larger palm. The sight of his scraped, bloody knuckles made gasp out loud. The skin was torn and raw, small but angry-looking wounds across every ridge. My thumb hovered just above the injuries, careful not to touch.
"Oh, River..." My voice cracked, a mixture of relief and sorrow.
"I’m sorry," he said imdiately, his tone heavy with guilt. "I didn’t want you to see. I didn’t want to make you worry."
I looked up at him sharply, my eyes searching his. "Why would you hurt yourself like this?"
He looked away again, his jaw tightening. "It’s just... work," he muttered, but even as he said it, the words rang hollow. "I got worked up about a matter at the council. Nothing serious."
But I knew him too well.
The Rogue Alpha River Thorne didn’t lose control. He didn’t break things or throw punches at walls. He was always the steady one, the one who anchored everyone else when storms raged. For him to be standing here, knuckles bloody, eyes shadowed with sothing dark...
No, this wasn’t nothing.
I swallowed hard, my gaze dropping back to his wounded hand. My fingers tightened around his palm, careful, cradling it as if it were fragile. "You don’t do this," I whispered, mostly to myself. "Sothing must have been big enough to-"
"I’m sorry," he interrupted again, his voice low and earnest. "I never ant to drag you into this. You don’t need to-"
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
Sothing deep inside stirred.
It was a familiar sensation, like a thread of warmth uncoiling from the center of my chest. I hadn’t felt it in months, not since that night when my power had surfaced by chance, flowing out of in a rush of panic to heal Rowan’s injuries. Since then, it had been quiet, as if sleeping.
I closed my eyes briefly, trying to summon it. Maybe it had only been a one-ti thing. Maybe I was reaching for nothing.
And then, like sunlight breaking through clouds, I felt it.
A soft, golden warmth filled from the inside, curling up my arms, flowing down toward my hands. It spread until my palms tingled, and then it slipped into River’s hand like water pouring into cupped fingers.
He went still.
His breath caught as his gaze snapped to mine. The heat pulsed between us, his injuries glowing faintly beneath my touch. Together we watched as that soft golden light wrapped around his knuckles, seeping into the torn skin. Slowly, the blood vanished and the scrapes knit themselves closed. The angry red faded into smooth, unblemished skin as though nothing had ever happened.
He stared, completely silent. His eyes were wide, and his lips parted slightly.
For a few precious monts, the storm in the bond quieted. All that existed was the warmth passing between us, the light glowing softly between our hands, and the quiet awe on his face.
I felt it too - the way the power humd, pure and steady, filling with a sense of peace even as it healed him. It was like touching sothing sacred, sothing that existed far beyond either of us.
And then, as quickly as it had co, the glow faded. The warmth slipped away, sinking back into whatever hidden depth it slept in inside . My palms felt empty, my body drained but lighter sohow.
River flexed his now-healed hand slowly, staring at it like it was a miracle. "I..." He cleared his throat, still clearly stunned. "I have heard about this from my brothers, but seeing it..." His voice trailed off.
I looked up at him, still holding his hand lightly. "You have never seen it yourself."
He nodded his head once, eyes still on his knuckles. "It feels... pure." His voice was low, almost reverent. "Warm. Like sunlight."
For a heartbeat, we both forgot about the blood on the wall, about the fury and pain that had driven him here. It was just us, standing in the fading glow of my power, his hand in mine.
But as the warmth left entirely, my focus sharpened again. My gaze snapped back to his face. The anger that had been replaced by awe flickered back to life, but now it was my anger... not at him, but for him.
"How dare you," I said softly, my voice trembling with restrained emotion.
He blinked at , startled. "What?"
I tightened my hold on his healed hand, careful but firm. "How dare you hurt yourself," I demanded. "How dare you think this is okay, River Thorne?" My chest ached, my voice breaking as the words poured out. "You don’t get to break yourself like this and then tell not to worry. Not you. Not ever."
He opened his mouth, but I silenced him with one of my hands.
"If you ever dared to do sothing this stupid, then..." I trailed off when his startled and guilty expression shifted into that of curiosity and challenge. He was clearly daring to finish my sentence, but that look on his face hit with the sudden realization that the man in front of was not just my mate, but the Rogue Alpha King himself.
What was I even thinking?
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