Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers

Evaline:

He... what?

I wasn't expecting a confession from him.

In fact, it might have been the last thing I could have ever imagined hearing from the River Thorne. And yet… here we were.

For a heartbeat, I just stared at him. The silence in the room suddenly started feeling too loud, while my own heartbeat was drumming against my ribs. My lips parted but no words came out.

Once the initial shock loosened enough for me to breathe, I shook my head in small, sharp movements, as if the physical act could somehow erase what he had just said. The look I gave him must have made my feelings plain - I didn't trust him. Not with this. Not with me.

But before I could speak, his voice cut in again.

"When I first saw you," he began, his tone low and steady, "I hated you."

The bluntness of the words made my chest tighten.

"You're not wrong when you accused me of hating you just because you carried your father's blood," he went on, his eyes locked on mine without a shred of hesitation. "For some reason, I thought you would be no different from your garbage father… or from your equally garbage step family. I didn't want to know you. I didn't even want to give you the chance to prove me wrong."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.

"But then…" His gaze softened, though his voice still carried weight. "I started to see the real you. The one who kept fighting for herself despite everything going wrong in her life. The one who didn't crumble, even when the world seemed determined to break her... when I seemed determined to break you. And I realized-" He let out a slow breath, almost like the words cost him something. "-I was wrong."

My nails bit into my palms as he continued.

"At first, I just started to admire you. To respect you. But then… it changed. I can't tell you the exact moment I fell for you, Evaline Greystone. But I know I did. And I have known for a while now."

The sincerity in his tone wasn't something I had ever heard from him before. This wasn't a game or a ploy. It was… raw. Honest.

It wasn't just a confession - it was the kind of deep, deliberate truth that made me wonder if anyone could even make up something like this.

Then he added, almost casually but with a dangerous edge, "And if you want someone gone, anyone out there… I can take care of it."

The way he said it… he wasn't bluffing. Every word carried the weight of a promise I knew he could keep.

And just like that, Damian and Ethan faded from my thoughts. The anger I had been holding, the accusations I had been throwing... none of it mattered in that moment.

All I could think about was River. And his confession.

I started stepping back, fumbling for words, because this - whatever this was - was too much, too sudden... and most importantly, wrong. I had my mates... and he was their brother. I couldn't even began to ponder how twisted all this was.

"Alpha… I-this is impossible. We can't-"

I didn't get to finish.

Before I could take more than a single step, he closed the space between us in one swift movement, his hand curling around my arm once again. The next thing I knew, I was colliding with him. His chest was solid against mine, his arms anchoring me like he wasn't about to let go.

And then it happened.

The air between us seemed to shatter, replaced by something… electric. Something ancient. Something I had felt before... three times, and each time with a different person.

It slammed into me - into us - like a tidal wave. My breath caught as warmth and light rushed through my veins, curling deep into my chest, my soul. My heart gave a wild, unsteady lurch, and in the depths of my mind, an undeniable truth pulsed into existence.

Mate.

The bond didn't just hum... it roared, wrapping around us both like a magnetic pull that was impossible to fight. My pulse matched his, the beat syncing until I could barely tell which one was mine.

River froze and his eyes widened, the same shock I felt mirrored in his expression.

We stood there, locked together, both too stunned to speak - two people who had been enemies, who had doubted each other, now bound by the most unbreakable connection in our world.

And neither of us had seen it coming.

And even though we both were shocked, there was still miles of difference between our reaction.

His shock came from disbelief, the good kind. His shock was one of happiness and I saw it right through his eyes that started gleaming once the initial shock of the bond started dissipating.

But me, I could hardly make myself believe what just happened. Not only I just found another mate, but it was none other than River. What were the odds?

If having both Oscar and Draven as my fated mates wasn't confusing and shocking enough, then feeling the mate bond with River just made everything even more surreal and impossible.

It's not a everyday story of someone finding more than just one fated mate. Though such things had been mentioned in myths, I had never known anyone my entire life who had more than one mate.

So exactly what was going on with me? And what was I supposed to do now?

I watched as River's lips moved, as if he's about to say something. But I was quicker this time.

With one strong pull, I stepped away from him. Though his features twisted with a confused frown, I kept my expression cold. "Nothing happened."

His frown deepened, and I continued.

"Like I said, it's impossible between us. So let's not talk about this ever again. As for the... bond... I can release you from it."