Evaline:
"No."
River’s voice was loud, sharp, and final.
The word hit the room like a slamd door.
I blinked, montarily stunned, my mouth still half-open from where I had been about to explain myself further. For a second, the only sound in the living room was the faint ticking of the clock on the wall and the hum of the staff working around the mansion.
"I’m not letting you et Marcus," River continued, his tone firm, Alpha-command layered beneath it. "Absolutely not."
I turned fully toward him, disbelief sparking in my chest.
"River-"
Before I could even finish his na, Oscar spoke up.
"I don’t think that’s a good idea."
All eyes snapped to him.
Oscar leaned back against the arm of the couch, arms crossed, his expression calm but thoughtful. "I an refusing her, not the idea."
River’s jaw tightened. "Oscar-"
"Let finish," Oscar cut in, surprisingly gentle but unyielding. "You know I’m not against protecting Eva. None of us are. But every single ti we have stopped her from getting involved in the investigation, it’s backfired."
That gave pause.
He continued, "Every ti we thought we had covered everything. Every ti we were sure there was nothing left to see. And every ti... she found sothing we didn’t."
The room fell quiet.
I swallowed, suddenly very aware of the weight of his words.
He wasn’t exaggerating. Only now did I realize how true his words were... for whatever reason.
The first real soul death victim. The black veins. Even the missing page from the old records Kieran had - things the four of them had overlooked for one reason or another... were discovered by during my investigation in the cases.
My gaze shifted between my mates. That’s when Kieran nodded slowly. "He’s right."
He pushed himself off the armrest he had been sitting on, hands sliding into his pockets. "I don’t like the idea of her being anywhere near Marcus either," he admitted. "But she has a way of... seeing people. Not just what’s on the surface and available to be seen."
With both him and Oscar speaking in my supporting, only River was left.
All three of us turned to him.
River hadn’t moved.
His gaze was fixed on the floor, his jaw clenched and shoulders rigid. The bond between us humd uneasily, a low vibration that told he was thinking hard... overthinking, really.
It had been over a week since they captured Marcus and had been constantly questioning it, but so gar he hadn’t revealed anything of importance. If we didn’t know better, we would have believed by now that he actually knew nothing... especially when even going through torture left him repeating the sa sentence he had been saying from the first day - that he knew nothing.
So, I wanted to try my luck too and see if I could get anything out of him.
I took a hesitant step closer.
"River," I said softly.
Still nothing.
I reached out and tugged gently on the sleeve of his shirt, tilting my head up to look at him, deliberately making my expression as harmless and pleading as possible. I hated doing it... but stars, it worked on my mates more often than not.
"Please?"
He closed his eyes.
A soft sigh left him, heavy with resignation and sothing else I couldn’t quite place.
"Fine," he said at last. "Tomorrow morning. I’ll take you to see Marcus before I drop you off at the Academy."
Relief flooded through so fast it almost made dizzy.
A bright smile blood on my face before I could stop it. Kieran gave a subtle nod of approval, his lips twitching, while Oscar let out a low chuckle and winked at .
But my happiness didn’t last.
When I looked back at River, my smile slowly faded.
He was staring directly at now.
Not angry.
Not amused.
Unreadable.
A strange chill crawled up my spine.
The Alpha in him felt... alert. Focused. Dangerous in that quiet way that ant I had unknowingly stepped onto thin ice.
For half a second, the thought of quietly excusing myself and retreating to the safety of my bedroom sounded like an excellent idea.
I took one step back.
But it was already too late.
"It’s ti for your punishnt," River said calmly.
I nearly choked on thin air.
"Pun-what?"
Oscar’s brows shot up. "Punishnt?" He looked between the two of us, clearly lost. "What punishnt?"
I cleared my throat far too loudly. "I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about."
River’s gaze never left mine.
Oscar opened his mouth again, clearly intending to interrogate further... but Kieran stood up from the couch before he could.
"Co on," Kieran said, grabbing Oscar by the arm and pulling him to his feet. "I’ll explain."
Oscar protested imdiately. "Explain what? Kieran, what is going on?"
"You’ll find out soon," Kieran replied calmly, shooting a knowing look that made my stomach drop. "Trust ."
"Kieran-Eva-River-" Oscar tried again.
Too late.
They were already halfway out of the living room, Kieran dragging Oscar along with far too much ease. The two of them disappeared way too quickly, leaving behind with River.
"Wait-!" I called, hurrying after them.
I barely made it two steps before River blocked my path.
He didn’t touch . Didn’t need to.
His presence alone was enough to stop cold.
"Where do you think you are going?" he asked quietly.
I forced a smile. "Anywhere that isn’t... here?"
His lips curved... not into a smile, but sothing far more dangerous.
"You are not going anywhere."
I swallowed.
"River," I tried, "I really don’t think-"
He stepped closer.
The air shifted. The bond tightened.
He leaned down until his mouth was so close to my ear that I could feel his breath against my skin, warm and deliberate.
"Have you already forgotten," he murmured, his voice low and intimate, "what you did in my office earlier today?"
My heart skipped.
Once.
Twice.
Oh.
Oh no.
I froze.
Because suddenly... I knew there was no running away from River.
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