Chapter 373

Evaline: ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ.net
The sound that came out of me when Rowan asked about my plan wasn’t even human… it was something between a groan, a growl, and a whimper.
I buried my face into the mountain of pillows on my bed, muffling the sound until my lungs burned for air. If that didn’t tell him enough, nothing would.
“I’ll take that as a bad sign,” Rowan’s amused voice drifted from the other end of the phone.
I dragged my face out of the pillow and stared at the ceiling. My hair was a mess, my cheeks probably red from suffocating myself in the feathers, and my pride? Absolutely in shambles. “Not only did it not work,” I admitted, “I managed to get into a full-blown argument with Kieran.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. ’Ouch’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” I sat up cross-legged, the phone warm against my ear. “It ended with me warning him… like actually warning him… that he could either help me get into the old headquarters, or I would go on my own.”
There was silence for two heartbeats. Then Rowan actually choked. “You said that? To Professor Kieran?”
“I did.” I rubbed my forehead, wincing at myself. “And the moment it left my mouth, I wanted to bang my head into the wall. I mean – how? How am I supposed to waltz into that building on my own?”
I closed my eyes, sighed, then opened them again to stare at the mess of books and blankets around me. My voice softened with self-loathing. “It would have been better if I had gone to River with this plan instead of Kieran.”
That made Rowan pause. “Wait-what? You think River would have agreed? Because I don’t.” His tone was skeptical, dripping with disbelief.
I let out another sigh, this one deeper, heavier. “No, not agree. River wouldn’t agree either. But at least I know how to fight with him. I have had practice. I can push his buttons, yell back, stomp my foot and he’ll still sit there with that cold face, pretending he isn’t dying to lecture me. With Kieran I trailed off, pressing my lips together. “With Kieran, it’s different. He doesn’t even raise his voice. He just looks at me like he’s already decided my answer doesn’t matter.”
There was a quiet beat, then Rowan chuckled.
I narrowed my eyes at the ceiling. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Not at you. Just His chuckle turned into a short laugh. “You sound like someone who just picked the wrong boss to file a complaint with.”
“Rowan,” I warned.
“Alright, alright. I surrender,” he said quickly, though I could still hear the grin in his voice. The smile faded, though, when he added, “So what now? Do you want me to… I don’t know, find a way to break into the old building myself? You know I can manage if I really put my mind to it.”
My stomach dropped. “Absolutely not,” I snapped before he could get any ideas. “Rowan, no. The last thing I want is you ending up on the Council’s bad side. They would tear you apart.”
There was a long exhale on his end, then a reluctant hum. “Then what’s the plan?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “The plan is… to try again. To make Kieran see reason. If he still doesn’t, then we’ll think of something else. But you? Stay out of trouble. Please.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, his tone softened in that quiet way he had, when words felt less like sound and more like comfort. “Alright. I’ll trust you. Just… don’t push so hard, Eva. Make sure this doesn’t affect your relationship with your mates.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I pressed my lips together, swallowing the knot in my throat. “I know. We’ll figure this out.”
We talked a little longer – about nothing important, nothing heavy. Just the kind of normal chatter that reminded me Rowan was one of the only people I could still breathe freely around. When we hung up, I stared at my phone for a long moment, then set it aside on the nightstand.
I pushed off the bed, smoothing down my dress, and headed for the nursery. I wanted to see Lioren, to lose myself in his soft breathing, the tiny fists that curled around my finger, the comfort of his innocent world.
But the moment I opened my bedroom door, I froze.
A maid stood there, her hand raised mid-air, as if she had been about to knock. We both startled, her eyes widening before she quickly composed herself and dipped into a bow.
“My Lady,” she said politely, “Alpha River has summoned you. He’s waiting in the study.”
The words were a bucket of cold water over my head.
I forced a smile, polite and practiced, even as my insides twisted. “Thank you. I’ll go at once.”
She nodded, bowed again, and walked away.
The instant her back was turned, my smile shattered. My lips pressed into a thin, grim line.
River.
Of all the people to summon me, it had to be him. My chest tightened with unease, the kind that whispered warnings into my ear. I could already tell that Kieran had informed River about our talk earlier in the evening.
I leaned back against the doorframe for a moment, and closed my eyes. For one wild second, I dared to hope he was calling me because, unlike Kieran, he was actually ready to listen to me, because he was going to hand me the records without the fight I jad been bracing myself for.
But River wasn’t the miracle-giving type. He was the cold, calculating type. The one who always weighed what was safest, what was most strategic.
I pushed off the doorframe, straightened my shoulders, and walked toward the stairs. Each step felt like walking deeper into the unknown, and the closer I got, the more I could already feel it – whatever River was about to say, I wasn’t going to like it.
Not at all.