Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 79: His Little Trouble

Chapter 79: His Little Trouble

Evaline:

The second Jasper gripped Mallory’s wrist and tugged her forward, I blinked.

I was startled, unsure if I had just imagined the tension crackling in the air or if the earth had truly tilted on its axis. But when I saw the dazed expression on my best friend’s face - wide-eyed, stunned, completely mesmerized - I knew something very real had just happened.

"Wait, Mallory-!" I took a step forward as panic rose in my chest.

I barely managed two steps before a firm hand landed on my shoulder, halting me mid-stride.

"She’s fine," Professor Kieran said calmly, gently but with enough force to root me in place. "Let them be, Evaline."

I turned to him with a frown decorating my face. "What do you mean let them - what just happened? What did he do to her?"

He wasn’t looking concerned at all. If anything, his eyes were gleaming with quiet understanding.

"They are fated mates," he said simply.

But I went completely still.

Fated... mates?

I looked back toward the hallway they just disappeared into as my heart thudded in my chest. Mallory found her mate? Right here? Today?

I had an inkling - that sudden shift in the air, the way her gaze locked on Jasper like he was gravity and she was just helplessly falling into orbit. But hearing the words out loud solidified it.

Fated. Mate.

"She found her mate," I whispered as the realization sank in like a stone in a still lake. "I just brought her along with me. I didn’t think..."

"That she would stumble into destiny?" Kieran said with a hint of a smile. "Fate has a habit of striking when you least expect it."

I crossed my arms tightly, still stunned. "I mean... what are the chances?"

"Apparently, one in one."

He was far too amused for my liking.

Still, I couldn’t deny it. The pull had been unmistakable. The silence between them, the intensity... it had been more than a simple moment. That was the moment.

"She’s in safe hands," he said in a soft voice. "Jasper’s rough around the edges, but he’s one of the best wolves I have known. He wouldn’t harm her. He’s probably just... overwhelmed."

I sighed. "So I should just let her be?"

"For now," he said. "They need to talk. Or bond. Or argue. Or whatever it is newly mated wolves do when the world flips upside down."

I huffed, but nodded. "Fine."

"This way. Let’s get your reports."

I followed him through the grand halls of the mansion, down to his study. It was a well organized space with tall windows and rows of books. The scent of aged paper and warm cedar was filling the air. He handed me a sleek folder of reports, and I checked them quickly, skimming through the details I would need later.

But Mallory still hadn’t returned.

So I waited.

Pacing by the tall windows, I kept glancing at the door, debating whether to text her or not. But I didn’t want to intrude. If what Kieran said was true, my dear friend was in the middle of the most important moment of her life.

And I was... stuck in a giant mansion with too many enemies and not enough exits.

"You are free to look around if you like. I’m heading upstairs for a shower." Professor Kieran notified me as he rose from his seat.

I gave him a tight smile. "Thanks."

He left, and I let out a long sigh. I just needed to walk. To clear my head and maybe find a way to pass time until Mallory reappeared. I started down the master floor. My quiet steps echoed through the corridor lined with paintings and antique furniture.

And then I froze.

My breath caught as I spotted someone coming up the stairs.

River.

My stomach dropped.

Out of all the people in this cursed mansion, he was the one I least wanted to deal with. Not today. Not after how weird he acted last Sunday. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around that.

He was dressed in all black, and looking at the intensity in his eyes, it was clear that he wasn’t in good mood.

Nope.

I was not emotionally prepared for this.

Panic surged through me as I looked around. There was nowhere to run. No staircase. No hallway. Just a single door to my right.

With no better plan, I grabbed the knob and twisted.

Locked.

Damn it.

I was about to turn and sprint down the hall when the door suddenly opened... from the inside.

A hand reached out and grabbed me, pulling me into the room so fast my breath whooshed out.

The door slammed shut behind me, barely making a sound.

And I was suddenly pressed against it.

My palms landed flat on the wood as a warm body hovered inches from mine. I blinked up.

"Oscar?"

He leaned one hand beside my head while the other was casually resting in his pocket. His expression was unreadable, but his presence... goddess, I was too aware of it.

His eyes roamed my face like he hadn’t seen me in years.

"Well, well," he drawled as a smirk tugged at his lips. "Trying to sneak around the house, sweetheart?"

"I... I wasn’t-"

"You were running, or at least trying to," he said, clearly amused. "And from the looks of it... not from me." His gaze sharpened. "Was it River?"

I swallowed, still processing the fact that I was currently trapped between a locked door and a man who had once pretended I didn’t exist - only to kiss me like I was oxygen on the full moon night.

"I didn’t want to deal with him. Not today."

His smirk widened slightly. "Lucky me, then."

I blinked, thrown off. He wasn’t cold. He wasn’t distant. He wasn’t pretending he didn’t remember the way our lips had touched, or how the bond had flared between us.

He looked... comfortable.

Sure.

"Why are you acting like... we aren’t just a mistake?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

His expression softened. "Because we aren’t a mistake. I just pretended we were."

I stared at him. "So what, now you have suddenly decided you care?"

He tilted his head, leaning closer. "I never stopped caring, little trouble."

My breath hitched at the nickname. While his eyes sparkled at the reaction.

"I just thought I could keep pretending. Thought I could shut you out. Ignore the bond. Stay sane." He paused. "But I lost that power that night."

I felt his body inch closer, and the door at my back felt too small, too confining.

"I can’t push you away anymore," he murmured. "Even if I wanted to... which I don’t."

I stared into his dark, hooded eyes, my heart thumping wildly. "What changed?"

"You," he said simply. "You were always there. But that night, you were... mine. And it felt like my soul finally caught up."

I wasn’t ready for this. Not this version of him. The one who flirted with ease, stood close with intention, and said things that melted through the barriers I had built.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and lifted a brow. "Give me yours."

I blinked. "What?"

"Your phone. I need to add my number before you run away again."

I hesitated, then reluctantly handed it over.

He typed quickly, then smirked, hitting the call button.

His phone rang in his pocket. Then he looked at my screen and grinned.

"What did you save yourself as?" I asked, nervous.

He turned the screen toward me.

"Mine"

I almost groaned. "Seriously?"

"You’ll thank me later."

"You are insufferable."

"And you are blushing."

I tried to push him away, but he caught my wrist and held it gently.

"Evaline," he said, his voice dipping low. "I can’t go back to ignoring this. And I know I have been a coward, a douchebag. But not anymore."

He let go, and for a moment, I missed the warmth of his hand.

"I won’t pressure you," he continued. "But I want you to know I’m done pretending."

Silence hung between us, thick and fragile. I didn’t know what to say. And I wasn’t sure if I believed him yet.

But for the first time, I wanted to.

He stepped back just a little, giving me space to breathe, but not enough to escape. His presence was still wrapping around me like a warm cage.

I crossed my arms, needing some kind of shield. "You are saying all the right things, Oscar. But what if it’s just the bond talking?"

He tilted his head, studying me like I was the only thing worth seeing in the room. "Maybe it started with the bond," he said honestly. "But it’s more than that now. I have tried to forget you. It didn’t work. You are in my head, Evaline. Every damn day."

My heart twisted. I wasn’t ready to fall into this, not when I had spent so long guarding myself from people. But the sincerity in his voice... it shook something loose in me.

"I don’t know what to do," I whispered honestly.

He leaned in, close enough for our breath to mingle. "Then let me show you what I want. And maybe... you’ll want it too."

I swallowed hard, feeling my pulse racing. His eyes dropped to my lips for the briefest second.

But before either of us could move, or say more, a knock echoed from the hallway.