Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers

Evaline:

The weekend slipped by far too quickly.

It had been warm, full of laughter and touches, stolen kisses and lingering embraces. Time spent with my mates always seemed to bend around me, disappearing before I could cling to it. And this time was no different.

By Sunday afternoon, after the promised massage therapy session that left me so relaxed I nearly fell asleep in Oscar's arms, I found myself being dropped back at the Academy gates.

Draven leaned over from the driver's seat, a teasing smile playing at his lips as his fingers brushed over mine before I climbed out.

"Don't stress yourself too much about the exams. You have got this."

His voice carried the kind of steady reassurance I had come to rely on. I smiled, nodded, and waved him goodbye before heading inside. And just like that, the real world came crashing back in.

From the moment I stepped into my dorm room, I forced myself to set aside all thoughts of Oscar, Draven… even Kieran. My textbooks sprawled open on the coffee table, notes scattered everywhere, my mind already buzzing with runes, history, potions, and formulas.

The days blurred together after that.

Morning classes bled into afternoons of project deadlines. Evenings were a haze of study groups with Mallory, Kyros, Rowan, Noah, Selene, and Ria.

I had to admit - despite the looming pressure of exams, there was something oddly comforting about our little circle. We would huddle together in the library, heads bent over notebooks and ink-stained fingers, exchanging notes and helping each other memorize complicated rune patterns or potion recipes.

Of course, between all that, my mind kept drifting.

Too often.

To them.

The Thorne brothers.

River didn't speak to me during the week. He never did. He was the one who existed on the periphery of my life, looming like a shadow I couldn't quite shake. But ever since that afternoon in his office - the way he had pressed his lips to my neck, the way his scent clung to me, the way he pulled back just when I thought I would fall - I found myself thinking of him more than I should.

His restraint unsettled me. His intensity lingered in my bones. And every time I replayed that moment, heat pooled low in my belly, shame quickly chasing it away.

Oscar and Draven, on the other hand, were too busy to keep me distracted from River's ghost.

Oscar had his duties as an instructor. I would sometimes catch a glimpse of him in the dining hall, his sharp profile tilted down at his tablet even while sipping coffee, too focused to notice me staring.

Other times, I passed him in the hallways, and our eyes would meet for a brief second - enough to make my heart stutter before we both carried on as though nothing happened.

Draven was no better. As a second-year, he was just as consumed by exam preparations. His break from library duty only meant we couldn't meet. And while we exchanged quick messages or the occasional short call, his presence felt fleeting at best. I missed his teasing smiles and warmth.

And then there was Kieran.

The man I shouldn't be thinking about.

He looked much better now, healthier, sharper, but I still found my gaze drifting to him during Herbs and Potion classes. The way his hands moved over delicate plants, the calm authority in his voice, the steadiness of his posture. He was magnetic, and every time I caught myself staring too long, I snapped my attention back to my notes, my cheeks burning.

It didn't matter that he had told me he already had a mate. That he harbored feelings for another girl. It should have been enough to stop these stray thoughts from clawing into me. But no matter how much I scolded myself, I would lose control, again and again.

Each time it happened, guilt gnawed at me.

Mallory's words haunted me.

Her crazy theory... that since I was already mated to three out of the four brothers, maybe fate intended me to be mated to the fourth as well.

I told myself she was wrong. That Kieran's confession about his mate and the girl he had feelings for should have closed that door forever.

And yet…

I hated myself for even letting the thought linger.

Another weekend rolled by.

But unlike the last, this one was empty.

Oscar and Draven were buried in preparations for the upcoming exams, and I didn't have time for romance either. River didn't show up at the HQ at all. And just like that, I was left with nothing but my books, my friends, and the gnawing ache of loneliness I couldn't admit out loud.

The week blurred, one day folding into the next. And then, almost without warning, the exams arrived.

January 25th.

The date loomed like a thundercloud, and when I woke up that morning, the first thing that hit me was the weight of it. My first exam - Runes.

I sat on the edge of my bed, rubbing my temples, inhaling deeply as I tried to steady my nerves.

Fifteen days of battle stretched ahead of me.

Fifteen days of exams that would test everything I had learned, everything I had memorized over the past couple of months.

And so it began.

My life shrank to nothing but laptop, pen, parchment, and whispered study sessions.

Days and nights spent in the company of my friends.

They kept me sane.

Together, we transformed the library into our battlefield. The long oak tables became our fortress, lined with stacks of books and ink-stained fingers. Sleep became a luxury, meals were eaten hurriedly, conversations strayed only to exam questions and whispered jokes to ease the pressure.

Every now and then, I caught myself drifting again. Thinking of the brothers. But then Rowan would ask me to check a rune sequence, or Mallory would swat my arm and tell me to focus, and I would snap back into the present.

And slowly, painfully, the days ticked by.

One exam. Then another. And another.

Each one leaving me drained, but also oddly exhilarated... because I was surviving it, or more like acing it.

And with each passing day, the finish line drew closer.