Chapter 106

Evaline:
After Kieran dropped me off at the Academy gates, I thought I was finally going to have a moment of quiet.
It was Saturday night, and most students were off-campus or downtown, soaking in their few hours of weekend freedom. The dorms were nearly empty. My friends were out too as usual.
My head was throbbing from too much thinking. My heart was aching from too many conversations I didn’t want to have. And the weight in my chest… well, that was nothing new. Ever since I stepped into the Rogue Alpha’s world, it had become a constant companion.
I immediately headed for the showers. The hot water helped a little as it washed away some of the tension from my shoulders and cleared the fog in my head.
For a while, I just stood there with my forehead pressed against the tile, letting the water cascade down my back like it could wash away everything else too – River’s hatred, Kieran’s conflicted kindness, the tangled bonds with Oscar and Draven, and the ache of trying to be strong when I was so very tired.
But as always, peace didn’t last long in my world.
I barely stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped tightly around me, when I felt it.
The shift in the air. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on.net
The quiet that wasn’t just empty… it was intentional.
I reached for my clothes on the bench, but the sound of footsteps stopped me. Loud. Confident. Cruel. And then I saw her.
Celeste.
She was standing with a towel draped carelessly over her shoulders, makeup perfectly intact even at this hour, and her glossy hair was twisted into a sleek bun. She was looking like she just stepped off a runway, not walked into the dorm showers.
Behind her were three more girls – two of them I recognized, the third I didn’t. They were all dressed, clearly not here to shower.
They were here for me.
“Well, look at that,” Celeste drawled as her eyes swept over me like I was something she had scraped off her boot. “The Academy’s favorite stray. How cozy.”
I straightened on reflex. “I don’t want trouble. I’m just heading back to my room.”
“Oh, but see Her sharp and fake smile widened. “We want trouble.”
My fingers tightened around the fabric of my towel. But I didn’t respond.
“You have been busy today,” Mira added with a smug expression. “First Alpha River picks you up in the morning. And then Professor Kieran drops you off tonight. Huh. Must be nice to get so much attention from the Rogue Alphas.”
“I didn’t ask for-”
“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t,” Celeste interrupted, her voice syrupy sweet. “Just like you didn’t ask to be born packless, as a rogue. Or to worm your way into the Academy by pure luck.”
“I didn’t worm my way into anything,” I said coldly. “I earned my place here.”
Celeste’s smile dropped. “You think you belong here?” She stepped closer. “You think you belong next to them? Just because they were stupid enough to throw you a few crumbs?”
“She’s nothing, Cel,” the third girl scoffed. “She’s just a mark for them to pity. A project. Someone to save so they can feel good about themselves.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” Celeste said mockingly. “You’ll hurt her feelings.”
I had enough.
I was tired. I was done. First River, and now these girls – everyone seemed to think I was clawing my way to the top through the brothers, when the truth was…
“I don’t want to be near them,” I snapped. “You think I want their pity? Their protection? I never asked for any of it! I just want to live my life without being dragged through the mud every time they decide to show up!”
The silence that followed was thick.
For a moment, I thought maybe, just maybe, they would back off. But then Celeste’s expression darkened. “You really don’t know your place, do you?”
She flicked her wrist. And then they surrounded me.
There were four9 of them. I wasn’t afraid, not exactly, but I knew I couldn’t fight them, not like this. I didn’t have a wolf. I didn’t have strength. And right now, I didn’t even have clothes on.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned while stepping back. My heart was pounding in my chest as anxiety started clawing its way up.
“Oh, we are not going to hurt you,” Mira said with mock sweetness. “Not really. But you need a lesson.”
Celeste was the first to move. She snatched my towel’s edge and tugged hard.
I held it tighter. “Don’t-!”
But before anything more could happen…
“Enough!”
The word sliced through the air like a whip, making all of us froze.
And then, like a shadow peeling away from the dark corner of the hallway, Draven stepped forward.
He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to.
His presence was enough to make the blood drain from the girls’ faces. Tall, broad-shouldered, and deadly calm, he had that kind of reputation – the kind that walked ahead of him like a warning.
Even though he was a student, he’s still one of the Rogue Alphas. And most importantly, he didn’t bind himself with the same rules as his brothers.
“Back off,” he said in a calm yet deadly voice. “Now.”
Celeste was the first to recover. She lifted her chin, trying to muster confidence. “We weren’t doing anything-”
“Do you want me to repeat myself?”
She hesitated. Then, with a scoff, she stepped back. “This isn’t over,” she hissed at me.
Draven took another step forward which made her and her group turn on their heels.
Within seconds, the hallway was empty again. There were just me… shaking… and Draven left.
I clutched the towel closer to me, trying to get a grip on myself.
Draven looked at me for a long moment before finally asking, “You okay?”
There was no mocking, no condescension. Just a question.
“I… I’m fine.”
But he didn’t look convinced. “Go get dressed,” he said. “You are not walking back alone.”
I nodded.
My legs moved on their own, still trembling slightly. It wasn’t the first time I had been cornered. And it probably wouldn’t be the last.
But something about tonight had rattled me deeper. Maybe because I wasn’t alone anymore. Maybe because now, I wasn’t just responsible for myself.
I was responsible for the life growing quietly inside me.
And I wasn’t going to let anyone touch a hair on my baby’s head.
Not River.
Not Celeste.
Not anyone.
As I dressed and stepped out of the showers again, Draven was still there, leaning against the wall like a silent sentry.
Without a word, he fell into step beside me, walking me back through the dim hallways of the dormitories.
No words were exchanged. But somehow, that silence said more than anything ever could.
And for the first time that day… I didn’t feel alone.