Fated and Claimed by Four Alphas
Chapter 51: You’re Not Losing Me

Chapter 51: You’re Not Losing Me

****************

Chapter 51

~Spring’s POV~

Storm didn’t seem fazed at all by Eryx’s presence. In fact, if anything, he looked... amused.

His hand, still on my waist, didn’t budge. His gaze flicked between Eryx and me, then he turned fully toward my brother.

"You’re glaring," Storm said with a slight tilt of his head. "That supposed to scare me?"

Eryx didn’t answer. He took another step forward, fists clenched, like he might lunge—not that he would. I think. Maybe.

"Back away," Eryx warned, his voice lined in steel.

Storm’s lips twitched upward. "Why? Afraid I’ll kiss her again?"

"I’ll break your face."

"No," Storm said smoothly, "you’ll try. There’s a difference."

I didn’t know whether to groan or bury my face in the nearest rack of dresses. But neither seemed like a mature option.

"Enough," I muttered, stepping a little between them.

But Storm—of course—wasn’t done.

He glanced down at me, his smirk softening only slightly. Then, without giving Eryx a second thought, he leaned down and brushed a soft, warm kiss to my forehead as if claiming me.

The mate bond pulsed like wildfire in my chest.

"See you soon, Spring," he murmured against my skin, and then turned, hands in his pockets, as if he hadn’t just declared emotional war in a luxury boutique.

I stood frozen, brain struggling to reboot.

And then—predictably—Eryx exploded.

He grabbed my hand sharply, not hard, but with enough force to yank me toward him. "We’re leaving."

"What?" I blinked. "But—what about shopping?"

"We’ll come back another day," he snapped. "Not when every guy here is staring at you like you’re some goddess on display."

"That’s not my fault."

"No," he said, leading me swiftly through the store, "it’s his."

My feet stumbled a little to keep up. "Eryx, you’re being dramatic."

"Am I?" he asked, opening the car door and gesturing for me to get in. "You didn’t see how they were all looking at you. Him included."

"He’s my..." I paused before the words left my lips.

"Your what? Boyfriend?"

I shook my head, but that was all the answer I gave. "You’re overthinking it."

"That’s the problem," he muttered.

I slid into the passenger seat, arms folded as he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

The second he started the car, I turned to him. "You don’t get to act like this."

"I don’t?" he asked, voice clipped.

"You’re not my father, Eryx."

He didn’t answer right away. He just tightened his grip on the steering wheel as we pulled out of the lot.

A few seconds passed, then he said, softly but firmly, "No. I’m not. But I am your brother. And that means when I see some overconfident bastard trying to kiss you in public like you’re already his... I react."

I blinked, caught off guard by the rawness in his voice. It wasn’t angry—not entirely. Just... rough. Like he was trying to sand down the edges of something sharp inside him.

"I raised you," he continued, eyes still locked on the road ahead. "I was there when you were this tiny, wild thing who used to sneak into my bed because you were scared of the thunder and cling to me when you had nightmares, and now... now you’re in some fancy boutique while guys line up to touch what I swore to protect."

My throat tightened, the weight of his words pressing against my chest.

I didn’t know what to say.

So I didn’t say anything.

He glanced at me briefly, his jaw clenched. "I’m not stupid, Spring. I know you’re growing up. I know I can’t keep you tucked under my wing forever. But damn it, it’s hard."

I let out a slow breath, resting my head against the cool windowpane, watching the city blur past. "You’re not losing me, Eryx."

"It feels like I am," he muttered. "Because I only started realizing how I wasted time, and I don’t want you gone."

His knuckles whitened around the steering wheel, and for a heartbeat, I could see the storm brewing behind his calm. Not rage. Fear.

I turned to face him, my voice gentler this time. "You’re not. I’m still me. I just... I need space to figure out the lady I want to become."

He didn’t respond at first, but I could see him forcing himself to breathe slower.

"You don’t have to hold my hand through everything," I added. "Sometimes you just have to trust that I won’t fall."

"Fine," he said eventually, exhaling as if the word pained him. "But if that guy ever hurts you, Spring..."

"I know," I murmured, cutting him off with a tired smile. "You’ll make him disappear."

He glanced at me then; his expression was void, but anger filled his eyes. "No," he said flatly. "I’ll make him suffer first. Then disappear."

That did it. I couldn’t help it—I laughed hard.

The tension didn’t exactly vanish, but something eased just enough to let a sliver of warmth back in.

Eryx smiled too, the corners of his mouth twitching upward despite himself.

Eryx took me back home that evening, only stopping to get me an ice cream before we continued driving.

"Oh, I’d love to learn how to drive this...."

"I’ll get you your car," Eryx stated sharply. "Then, I’ll teach you how to drive."

"Stop spoiling me."

"And let a strange guy do it?" I wanted to retort, but he won that round. "Good. I thought so too."

By the time we got home, he tucked me in after shoving me into the bathroom for another bath. Once I was done, I saw my pajamas already laid on the bed waiting, and Erxy sat on my reading chair working through my laptop.

"Eryx?"

"You can go ahead and dress up. I won’t peek," he said, all the while his eyes were stuck on my laptop screen while his fingers flew about my keyboard.

I did not say anything and went ahead to change.

Once done, I walked back to where he sat. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing your old laptop, the one Rhys gave you, it’s been hacked."

My eyes widened at the information. "But no worries, I’ve gotten it fixed up and..." he drawled as he typed some more and then hit the enter button. "Fixed. All done. I have installed some software to help you. Now, the hacker would have virus all over their own system," Eryx said, finally looking up at me and smiling.