Chapter 640
Evaline:
“ROWAN p>
His name tore out of my throat.
My chair screeched loudly against the floor as I jumped to my feet, my heart slamming violently against my ribs. My eyes were glued to him, my mind racing through a thousand possibilities all at once.
“What did you just do?!” I demanded.
Rowan looked… completely calm.
Too calm.
He swallowed once and lightly tapped his chest.
“Well,” he said casually, “it’s definitely not stuck in my throat p>
My hands trembled as I stepped closer to him.
“You idiot!” I snapped. “That was an experimental pill! I haven’t tested it yet p>
He shrugged.
“Now you have p>
“That’s not funny p>
My healing power surged forward instinctively, spilling out of me in warm golden waves as I scanned his body. My magic wrapped around him, searching for anything wrong – pill backlash, energy instability, anything.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Too normal.
Then suddenly… he swayed.
My breath hitched.
His eyes rolled back slightly. And before I could react… he collapsed.
“ROWAN p>
I lunged forward, barely catching him before he hit the floor. His weight sagged heavily against me as I lowered him down, panic exploding through my chest.
“No no no no p>
My hands moved frantically over him as I pushed more healing energy into his body. Golden light flared around us as my power searched desperately for the problem.
“Rowan, wake up!” My voice cracked. “Rowan p>
He didn’t move. His eyes stayed closed, and his body lay completely limp.
Fear gripped my throat so tightly I could barely breathe.
What if the pill had destabilized his energy?
What if it had triggered something in his wolf?
What if-
My vision blurred.
“Please wake up,” I whispered shakily.
My healing power surged harder, flooding into him as I tried to stabilize whatever might be going wrong. But my power failed to find anything wrong.
“Rowan, please p>
A tear slipped down my cheek. And then another.
“Don’t do this to me p>
He still didn’t move.
The panic inside my chest turned into something heavier. Something painful.
“I can’t lose you too,” I choked out.
Because that was the truth.
Rowan wasn’t just my friend. He was my family. Neither of us had much of one growing up, and somewhere along the way, we had become each other’s.
The kind of bond that didn’t need blood – just loyalty, trust, and years of standing by each other.
Which meant the thought of losing him-
“Eva p>
My head jerked up.
Rowan’s eyes were open, and he was staring at me. He was very much awake, and looked extremely guilty.
For a second my brain couldn’t process what I was seeing.
Then realization hit me.
“You p>
He quickly sat up.
“Okay, okay-don’t panic,” he said quickly, raising his hands.
My tears stopped instantly. “You were pretending,” I said slowly.
That made him wince. “Technically… yes p>
Something inside me snapped.
“YOU JERK p>
My fist slammed straight into his shoulder.
“Ow p>
Another hit followed immediately.
“You absolute idiot p>
Smack.
“Do you have any idea p>
Smack.
“How scared I was p>
He tried to block the next hit, laughing nervously while backing away.
“Okay! Okay! I deserved that p>
“You deserve worse p>
I swung at him again, but he caught my wrists this time.
“Eva, stop before you break my ribs p>
“You deserve broken ribs p>
He pulled me into a sudden hug before I could attack him again.
“Hey-hey-calm down,” he said gently.
But the moment he hugged me, the last of my panic came rushing back. A sob escaped my chest.
“You are such an idiot,” I cried, burying my face into his shoulder.
His arms tightened around me instantly. “I know,” he murmured softly.
My healing power was still swirling around him, scanning his body over and over again.
And this time… I noticed something.
His internal energy – it was different. Stronger. Brighter. More active than before.
He seemed to notice my power examining him because he suddenly chuckled quietly.
“You feel that too, right p>
I sniffed, pulling back slightly.
“What p>
He flexed his fingers slowly.
“There’s… something different p>
My healer instincts sharpened immediately.
“What do you mean p>
He tilted his head, concentrating on the sensation.
“It’s like he searched for the words, like someone poured fresh fuel into my system p>
My heart skipped.
“Energy p>
“Yeah,” he nodded. “A lot of it p>
Hope flickered faintly inside me – the pill… it was working.
Maybe not exactly how I predicted, but it was doing something.
“I feel stronger,” Rowan added. “Like my body is running at full capacity p>
My mind was already racing with possibilities when p>
The lab door suddenly slammed open.
Both of us turned… and found Oscar standing at the doorway.
His breathing was slightly uneven, his eyes scanning the room rapidly. And then he saw me – still teary-eyed – and his expression darkened immediately with worry.
“Eva p>
The mate bond pulsed strongly between us.
Of course.
He must have felt my panic earlier.
And the bond would have led him straight here.
He crossed the room quickly and gently pulled me away from Rowan, wrapping his arms around me.
“What happened?” he asked Rowan.
Rowan scratched the back of his neck.
“Well p>
How exactly was he supposed to explain that he had pretended to die as a joke?
Oscar frowned.
“About what p>
Rowan forced a casual shrug.
“She’s been working too hard. So she got overwhelmed p>
That wasn’t entirely a lie. Just… not the whole truth.
Oscar looked unconvinced.
Rowan quickly added, “You just need to cheer her up p>
Then he looked at me.
“I’ll wait for you back in the dorm p>
Before either of us could respond, he walked toward the door.
“Rowan-” Oscar started.
But Rowan had already slipped out.
The door closed behind him, leaving me alone with Oscar. His arms were still wrapped around me, holding me gently but firmly. And he still looked worried.
I quickly wiped the remaining tears from my face.
“I’m okay,” I said.
He studied me carefully as he spoke, “You were panicking p>
“I just got overwhelmed,” I replied quickly. “I’ve been working on potions all day p>
His eyes narrowed slightly. He clearly didn’t believe that was the whole story. But he didn’t push.
Instead, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face and sighed softly.
“You need to take better care of yourself,” he said.
Then his expression softened slightly.
“Come on,” he added quietly. “Let’s get you out of this lab for a bit p>