Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 48: Surprise in the Library

Chapter 48: Surprise in the Library

Evaline:

The academy’s library was quiet as dusk began to paint the sky with shades of bruised purple and weary gold.

The moment last bell of the day was heard across the academy, students rushed to take a break from another long day of classes. Since it was still the first week of the term, almost all the classes were theory based and there was a limit to how much theory shifters could take in.

Instead of following Mallory back to dorms, I excused myself and headed toward the library. Not because I wanted to spend the last bit of the day reading through books, but because I needed some alone time.

It wasn’t as if I disliked Mallory and Kyros’s company. I just still wasn’t used to having friends - real, good friends.

Besides, I loved the library for the peace it brought to my usual chaotic mind. I made my way to the back of the never-ending room, not really looking for anything and just surfing the shelves.

My fingers traced the edge of a bookshelf, and I inhaled the familiar scent of old pages and ink. The library was my favorite place at Silver Moon.

I turned down one of the far aisles, looking for a copy of Magical Herbs and potions - Professor Kieran’s subject. I was actually looking forward to his classes, a part of me knew that he was going to be one of my favorite teachers at Silver Moon, if not the favorite.

I froze as I sensed something - a shift in the air. Like breath exhaled too close. My pulse quickened as I glanced behind me.

But there was nothing.

Then suddenly, a rough grip pulled me backward between two towering rows of old encyclopedias, and before I could cry out, a hand was pressed over my mouth. My back hit the wooden wall of a shelf, causing my breath to get caught in my throat.

"Shh," a voice whispered against my ear. It was deep, controlled, and dangerous.

Panic immediately filled with blood, making me thrash against the strong hold me.

"Don’t scream," he murmured.

And that’s when I recognized that voice. Even though I had heard it only once before, barely for seconds, I somehow remember it.

He was one of the brothers - Alpha Draven.

His green eyes met mine. They were intense and unreadable, but not cold like River’s or uncertain like Oscar’s. They were burning like a green wildfire.

He slowly removed his hand from my mouth, but didn’t move away.

"What the hell-" I started.

"Keep your voice down," he cut in while his eyes flicked toward the hallway.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

He didn’t answer immediately, just stared at me like he had been waiting. Like he knew I would pass this aisle. Like he had stood there, still as stone, just for me.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked.

My brows furrowed. "This is a library. Students are allowed here."

"I didn’t mean the library," he said darkly. "I meant this school."

I stiffened. There it was... that hatred I had become too familiar with qhen it came to these Rogue Alpha brothers. There was suspicion laced in every word they all threw at me.

"You want me to leave?" I asked quietly. "Get in line."

His jaw clenched. "I don’t want you anywhere near my brothers."

"Believe me, it’s not like I’m trying."

He stepped closer, and I had to force myself not to move. He was tall, almost taller than the others, maybe... and built like he belonged on a battlefield, not in a room full of books. And yet here he was, glaring at me between the pages of dusty volumes as if I had walked into his territory.

"I don’t trust you," he said.

"That makes two of us." I wasn’t sure where all this confidence was coming from, but it felt good. Maybe it was because I knew he couldn’t hurt me, at least not directly.

He tilted his head, as if studying me. "Then why did you come here, Evaline Greystone?" He said my name like it was poison. Like it burned his tongue.

"I came to learn," I answered evenly. "To survive."

"You should have stayed away."

I didn’t respond. Because what was I supposed to say? That I didn’t have a choice? That I had been offered a spot I couldn’t refuse, and a chance I couldn’t walk away from?

And then his gaze shifted, and I realized he was looking at my hair that was still black.

"Is that all?" I asked. "Or did you drag me in here just to stare?" I pulled his attention back to my face.

He took another step closer, and I felt it hit me out of nowhere... something like static in the air. My breath got caught as his hand brushed my arm.

And then it hit us both... a pull unlike any, yet something I had experienced before... more than once.

It wasn’t violent, but quiet. A soft jolt. An invisible string that tugged at something deep, ancient, and terrifying.

He blinked while I swallowed hard.

"What-" I whispered.

"I don’t know," he said while pulling his hand away quickly. "That - wasn’t supposed to happen."

He took a step back and I was grateful as there was nowhere I could move to. The aisle was suddenly feeling too small. Too warm. Too dangerous.

"We are not. Impossible." I whispered, more to myself.

"No," he added sharply. "It’s probably nothing." But the look in his eyes betrayed him. It wasn’t nothing. And we both knew it.

"Do your brothers know you are stalking girls in libraries?" I snapped, trying to gain back some sense of control.

He gave a bitter smile. "I don’t stalk girls. Just enemies."

My spine straightened. "So I’m your enemy?"

He leaned close, just enough to make my pulse race. "You are the daughter of the man who murdered my parents."

That silenced me.

"I don’t want anything from you," I said.

"Good," he said, stepping back finally. "Stay away from my brothers. Stay away from me."

"I would have, if you hadn’t pulled me in here."

He didn’t respond, just turned and disappeared into the rows of books, his footsteps muffled by the old carpet.

I let out a long breath, steadying myself against the shelf.

This school was supposed to be hard.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

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