Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 76: Alpha’s Alarming Request

Chapter 76: Alpha’s Alarming Request

Evaline:

The rest of the class passed in a blur.

Even as I returned to my seat and attempted to help Mallory and Ria with their brew, my thoughts stayed tangled in the moment before - Kieran’s voice close to my ear, the warmth in his gaze, the quiet pride. He hadn’t praised anyone else aloud. Just me.

And that should have felt good.

But I had learned long ago that attention, especially the wrong kind, always came with consequences.

When the class ended, I barely had time to gather my notes before his voice rang out again.

"Miss Evaline, stay back for a moment."

It was casual, almost offhand. But to the girls who had spent the last hour staring daggers at me, it might as well have been an invitation to war.

I heard Bianca’s sharp intake of breath. Nadine looked like she was going to bite through her lip, and Violet didn’t bother hiding her rolled eyes.

I pretended not to notice any of it.

"See you later," I whispered to my friends as they packed up.

"You want us to wait outside?" Ria asked in a low and a little too serious voice, almost causing a smile to crack on my lips.

"No. Just... go ahead. I’ll be fine."

Noah raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Text us if the Professor turns out to be a secretly love-struck vampire."

I almost laughed this time. Almost.

The greenhouse emptied quickly, and once the door shut behind the last student, Professor Kieran began organizing the bowls and vials at the front table.

His movements were calm and unhurried, unlike my racing heart.

"Thank you for assisting today," he said after a moment, glancing at me.

I nodded. "It was no trouble."

"You performed well. As expected."

Silence stretched again and I shifted awkwardly before mustering the courage to ask, "Was that all, Professor?"

"No. Actually..." He walked over to his desk and picked up a small notebook. "There’s a quiz scheduled for Monday. I want to make sure the class is properly prepared, and you are the most capable person to assist with that."

I blinked. "You want me to... help with the quiz?"

"In a way," he replied. "I have prepared supplemental reports - herb breakdowns, reaction patterns, potential pairings. With those, you could conduct two prep sessions before the quiz. But the reports are at the mansion."

My breath caught at the last sentence. "The mansion?"

"Yes. I left them in my study. I’ll be away on assignment starting tomorrow and won’t return until Sunday evening. Which is too late to assist the class."

He said all of this so professionally, so rationally, that for a second, I just stood there like an idiot, trying to piece together what felt very normal... and yet not.

"You... want me to come with you to your mansion?" I repeated slowly.

"To retrieve the reports," he clarified with a tilt of his head. "Nothing more."

I opened my mouth, closed it, then tried again. "Wouldn’t it be easier to ask one of your men to deliver them?"

He shook his head. "They are out on a separate task. And even if they could deliver them, you would receive them by tomorrow evening at the earliest."

I frowned and muttered, "That’s not terrible."

"For the average student, no. But if you want the class to benefit, and prepare in time, the best time to distribute the notes would be tomorrow morning."

I was still hesitating.

He stepped closer and folded his arms. "You have internship duties on the weekend, do you not?"

I nodded.

"Which gives you only Thursday and Friday to help your classmates. And if you receive the notes Friday evening, that leaves no time to review, organize, or hold a session."

Everything he was saying made sense. Perfect, undeniable sense. And yet...

"You are not... worried about the way it might look?" I asked carefully.

His brows lifted slightly as he asked, "How it might look?"

"You are asking me, a student, to come with you to the private mansion of the rogue Alphas. Do you know how that sounds to people already determined to hate me?"

His gaze darkened with understanding and he murmured a second later. "I see."

For a second, I thought he might say something like don’t worry about them or let them talk - things teachers often said when they didn’t truly understand the weight of being watched, whispered about, picked apart.

But he surprised me.

Instead, he walked back to his desk and picked up a folded paper from beneath a book. Then he turned to me and said,

"That’s why I’ll be announcing your new position tomorrow morning."

"My what?"

"You’ll be the class president of Year One."

It took a moment for the words to register. And when they did, I almost forgot to breathe.

"What?"

He gave me the faintest smile. "You have demonstrated academic excellence in three courses, consistent leadership in assignments, and emotional resilience in the face of more... personal challenges. It’s only natural that you step into a more visible role."

"But... I didn’t ask for this. No one even voted-"

"I’m within my rights as a professor to appoint leadership where I see potential. If anyone has questions, they can come to me."

I opened my mouth again, but he was already packing the last of the tools into a wooden box.

"After your classes end today, meet me at the Academy gates. I’ll take you to the mansion to get the reports."

"I don’t think this is a good idea," I said, almost to myself.

But he looked up and met my gaze directly.

"I do," he said quietly. "Because I trust you, Evaline. And it’s time others started doing the same."

His voice was calm. Firm. Unshakable.

And even though the knot in my stomach was twisting tighter, part of me - the part that still wanted to believe I could be more than the girl everyone whispered about - felt something stir at those words.

Hope. Or maybe just... danger in disguise.

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