Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 157: Her Best Friends

Chapter 157: Her Best Friends

Evaline:

Everything was a blur from the moment Mallory’s words cut through the night like a blade.

Oscar Thorne and Jasmine Bills are getting engaged.

I didn’t remember how long I stood frozen by the door after that. Minutes. Maybe an hour. My body moved without command, sliding down against the wooden frame and curling up at the base. This was becoming my new favorite place to fall apart.

I didn’t remember if I cried again or just sat there, feeling empty. Broken.

The next thing I was truly aware of was Rowan.

His scent reached me before his voice did, that warm forest-and-mint blend that always made me feel like I was somewhere safe - even when nothing else in my world was. He didn’t say anything at first. Just walked over and crouched beside me. No questions. No judgments.

And then he touched me.

Gentle hands around my shoulders, strong arms easing me up like I weighed nothing at all, like I wasn’t dragging the weight of my entire world with me.

He helped me to bed and held me in his arms like I was a child. I probably looked like one too, curled up against him, trembling but no longer crying, because I didn’t think there were any tears left in me. I was dry, like a well that had been bled hollow by grief.

"I have got you," he whispered.

He always did.

I didn’t speak, not once. And neither did he, after that. He just let me be, let me exist in silence while he kept me grounded like one steady heartbeat against my back. I lay there like that, staring at the moonless sky through the balcony glass, watching the clouds crawl across a black sky that looked like it had swallowed the stars.

There was no light up there.

None in here, either.

At some point, probably near dawn, I drifted off - not into peace, not into comfort, but into the quiet numbness of sleep.

I barely stirred when I felt movement beside me. My lashes fluttered as consciousness tried to reach me, but before I could open my eyes fully, Rowan whispered softly, "Sleep, sunshine," his voice was barely more than a breath as it brushed my skin like a lullaby.

And I obeyed. Not because I was comforted, but because I had nothing else left to give.

---

The second time I woke, the room was still filled with darkness.

No sunlight was filtering through the balcony. Someone, undoubtedly Rowan, had drawn the thick blackout curtains and turned off every light. The room was cloaked in shadows, and the silence was as deep as the emptiness inside me.

I blinked at the darkness, too exhausted to do anything else, and before I could even think of lifting my head, sleep stole me again.

---

I didn’t know what time it was when I woke next, but the moment I opened my eyes, I felt something different - a sense of urgency.

My body was aching from lying still for so long, but I forced myself upright, blinking at the pitch-black room until I reached for my phone on the bedside table. The second I saw the screen, my heart leapt with panic.

12:41 PM

I sat up straight - too fast.

"Ah-!" I gasped as pain shot up my back and into my ribs. My body screamed in protest from the sudden movement, and I clenched the blanket against my chest, steadying my breath. But the panic was already there, clawing at me.

I missed classes. I missed the whole morning.

My chest tightened until I saw the message notifications.

Rowan: I told the Academy you weren’t feeling well and got a leave approved for you. No stress. Get some rest, okay?

Kyros:Don’t push yourself today. Sleep. Heal.

Mallory (10 minutes ago):Hey sleepyhead! Don’t you dare come to the dining hall. We are bringing your lunch! Be ready!

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

Warmth trickled into my chest at the words. At the concern. At the effort. These people... they didn’t owe me anything, and yet, here they were, wrapping me in their quiet love without needing a single explanation. I was grateful. So damn grateful.

But still...

I opened the notifications tab again, scanning through all my missed calls and unread messages, hoping - stupidly, desperately - that maybe, just maybe...

But there was none. Nothing.

No messages from Oscar or Draven. No missed calls either. No attempts to check in. Not even a sign that they still cared.

My vision blurred.

Just when I thought I was done cryinb... just when I thought I couldn’t possibly have more pain left to feel.

A tear slid down my cheek, hot and bitter.

How could it still hurt this much?

How could I still hope?

I swiped the tear away fiercely and exhaled through clenched teeth. "Get up, Eva," I whispered to myself. "Stop acting like your world ended. It didn’t. You are still here. You are still breathing. So get up."

I didn’t feel strong. But I pushed the blanket off anyway, pulled my legs out of bed, and grabbed a change of clothes from the closet.

---

The girls’ showers were quiet at this hour. Most classes were still running and only a few students skipped lessons, so the bathroom was practically empty when I stepped in. The moment the warm water hit my skin, I felt a knot loosen in my chest, just a little.

I closed my eyes and let the water wash over me, sliding down my back and soaking through my hair like a gentle apology. Like maybe the universe was trying to say - You are still here. You are still alive. Let me clean some of this pain away.

But water couldn’t fix everything.

It couldn’t scrub away the memory of the way Oscar had looked at me in that cottage, with his eyes full of silence and doubt.

It couldn’t erase the image of Draven walking out the door, leaving me behind.

And it certainly couldn’t take away the ache that lived in the space where my hope used to be.

Still, I cleaned myself. Dressed slowly. Braided my hair like my mother used to when I was little. I needed that comfort today, even if only in a small, symbolic way.

By the time I got back to my room, the pain hadn’t left, but I was able to breathe through it again.

---

I returned to the dorm and settled down in the common room. It was already lunch time and all I needed to do was to wait for my friends to grab the meals from the dining hall and turn up here.

It was actually against the Academy rules to eat outside dining hall, but since Mallory sounded so confident despite knowing this rule well enough, I knew they had planned something or at least asked for permission.

Ten minutes later, I heard movement outside the door before someone entered the code and opened the door.

Next moment, the entire group entered much to my surprise - Mallory, Kyros, Rowan, Selene, Ria, and Noah. They all were carrying trays full of food, napkins, and juice boxes.

Mallory’s eyes immediately softened when she saw me. "Hey, sleeping beauty. You are looking better."

"I showered," I offered softly, managing a faint smile.

"And you are awake, which is an improvement," Noah added as he lifted a covered dish into the air. "We brought mushroom soup, garlic bread, and fruit salad."

My stomach let out a growl I wasn’t expecting.

Ria chuckled. "Guess that means you approve."

They stepped in and set everything up on the small coffee table, making it look overcrowded. I sat cross-legged on the couch and watched them bustle around me like it was normal, like nothing had broken inside me last night... or two nights ago. And I let them. I let them pretend.

Because sometimes, pretending was the only way to keep breathing.

Mallory plopped beside me and handed me a spoon. "Eat first. Exist later."

I smiled. For real this time.

It still hurt.

But for the first time in three days... I felt a little less alone.

I dipped the spoon into the mushroom soup, letting the warm steam wrap around my face like a hug I didn’t know I needed. The first sip was slow, hesitant, but as the taste settled on my tongue, I found myself reaching for another, and another.

The warmth of the soup was like a gentle balm sliding down my throat, untying knots of grief that had been sitting heavy in my chest.

"You need to eat like this every day," Selene scolded lightly, watching me with a raised eyebrow. "You are way too thin."

I gave her a small shrug. "Food’s hard when everything inside feels like a mess."

"Still, you have got people around you now," Rowan chimed in gently from where he was standing with arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "People who’ll help you eat, even if they have to spoon-feed you."

That made me smile, faint but real. Kyros let out a chuckle as he added, "And we would do it too. Especially Mallory. She’s not above wrestling you to the ground for your own good."

"Damn right," Mallory said proudly, popping a piece of garlic bread into her mouth.

Looking around at this group of people, I almost felt like crying... but from happiness this time.