Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers

Evaline:

No matter how hard I tried to keep a straight face, I was failing. Miserably.

I stood by one of the large windows in the main hall with a flute of untouched sparkling cider in my hand, while my eyes supposedly scanned the elegant crowd gathering for the Alpha Selection Ceremony.

But I wasn't paying attention to the glittering dresses, the too-loud laughter, or the whispers of alliances forming in real time.

I was searching.

Not for someone I wanted to find, but for someone I desperately wanted to avoid.

Ethan.

Every few minutes, my eyes flicked to the crowd, sweeping over the tall men in dark suits, hoping I wouldn't see his face again. But the damage was already done. He was here. Alive. Walking and breathing and behaving as if nothing had happened... as if he wasn't the man who had shattered me into pieces.

I pressed my free hand to my abdomen for a second before lowering it.

The biggest reason behind my fear of meeting Ethan wasn't just our past... but my child.

And he was the father.

He didn't know. And I prayed for it to stay that way.

Because if Ethan ever found out I was carrying his child…

My stomach twisted violently.

What if he decided he wanted the baby... not me... but my child? What if he tried to take it away, to twist the situation into something I couldn't control? Or worse - what if he didn't want the child and saw it as a threat? What if he-

No. I couldn't even let myself think it. The horror of that possibility was enough to make my heart stutter.

I couldn't let him find out. I couldn't let him know I was still alive.

I glanced to my side, half-expecting River to be standing nearby, as he usually was. He had been staying within reach ever since what happened earlier.

But now… he was gone.

I blinked, turning slowly on the spot.

Gone.

That had never happened before. Not once.

I hadn't even noticed him leave.

The anxiety already clawing at my chest spiked. I searched the crowd again, more frantically this time. No sign of River. No sign of Jasper either. However, Emma was still across the hall, speaking to a Luna I didn't recognize.

I needed to move. Standing here was doing nothing but fraying my nerves further.

I slipped out of the hall and into one of the quieter corridors. The silence hit me like a balm, but it didn't ease the worry churning in my gut.

I wasn't just running from Ethan anymore.

I was searching for River.

And I hated how much I needed to find him.

I moved quickly through the corridors, climbing the elegant staircase to the upper level. The map of Nightshade Pack House was etched into my mind from weeks of preparation. I knew which halls led to which wings, which rooms were locked and which were private... but what I didn't know was where River might have disappeared to.

Still… something told me he wouldn't be in the middle of the chaos. Not when he had a plan brewing for tonight's ceremony. Knowing him, he would tuck himself away in a quieter corner, somewhere hidden, somewhere secret.

And he wouldn't be alone.

I walked faster, following the upper-level corridor that led toward the administrative wing. Most of these rooms would be locked or empty, but as I passed a set of double doors with ornate handles, I heard something.

Voices.

Muffled, but distinct.

I paused, my heart thumping.

One of the doors was slightly ajar, the light inside dim and warm. I moved silently, keeping to the wall as I inched closer.

River's voice reached me first.

"…how the hell did you miss something this significant?"

He didn't sound angry, not exactly. But there was heat beneath his words. Frustration, maybe even disbelief.

Jasper's voice came next. "I didn't miss anything. All the information we gathered about her came directly from Shadowfang and Bloodmoon pack members. And most of it lined up. You know how many stories there are about her - it wasn't easy to filter what was real."

"I don't need stories," River snapped. "I need the truth. She saw him and froze. That wasn't grief. That was terror. You think that reaction comes from reuniting with a friend?"

Jasper hesitated. "No. But-"

"Then go deeper," River ordered. "You said Shadowfang Pack members gave you intel. Fine. But if the report was incomplete, we need answers from another source."

There was a brief pause.

And while I struggled to make sense how could there be any Shadowfang Pack members left, I heard Jasper speak again.

"Do you want me to contact her family?"

My heart stopped.

Family?

What family?

My knees nearly buckled.

They were dead. All of them. Every last one of them. My father, my step-mother, and her children - they were all gone. Killed and then burned in that fire. The fire that destroyed every last trace of Shadowfang.

Or so I had been believing in for nearly half a year... and now... Jasper was talking about them like they were reachable. Like they were alive.

River's response came next.

"Do it," he said. Cold. Commanding. "By tomorrow evening. I want to know exactly what happened between her and Ethan. I don't care what it takes - get me the truth."

The world spun.

I stepped forward before I could stop myself.

The door creaked open under my touch and the warm light of the room spilled onto my face.

Both men turned toward me.

River's expression didn't change much, but Jasper looked like he had seen a ghost.

Maybe he had.

Because I wasn't sure I was standing on solid ground anymore.

"What… what family are you talking about?" I managed to whisper. My voice trembled despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "The Greystones are dead. All of them."

Neither of them answered right away.

My entire body was shaking now. The world tilted beneath my feet.

River stepped toward me, slowly, his brows drawing together. "Eva-"

"What family, River?" I said louder, my voice rising in panic. "Who are you contacting? Who are you talking about?"

Jasper shifted uncomfortably, avoiding my gaze.

But River's eyes never left mine. They were unflinching. Unreadable.

"Evaline," he said again, gentler this time. "There's something you should know-"

"No." I took a step back, arms wrapping protectively around my middle. "Don't. Don't say it unless you are sure. Because if you are wrong, if this is some twisted way to get information from me-"

"I'm not wrong."

His voice was final. Solid. And it broke something in me.

My breath caught.

The silence pressed down like a weight.

And for the first time since the night of annihilation, since Shadowfang fell, since I left my past behind...

A thought crept into my mind that shattered every belief I had clung to these past couple of months.

What if they were not dead?