Chapter 378: Alpha’s Fury (I)
Evaline:
I gaped at him. "Oscar!"
He smirked. "What? You would make a very convincing seductress, sunshine."
Despite the teasing, there was a tenderness in his gaze that made it hard to stay mad. My lips twitched into a reluctant smile as I turned away, pretending to search through the nearest cabinet. The drawers were labeled by year - some dating back nearly five centuries.
We walked through the shelves for several long minutes before my gaze fell at the section marked ’Soul Death Incidents - Restricted’, and for a moment, my pulse skipped.
"This is it," I whispered, pulling the drawer open. Inside were stacks of neatly bound folders, the edges yellowed with age but still intact. Each one held a name, a date, and a brief description. Oscar stood beside me, scanning with his phone’s flashlight while I took out the first file.
"Lysandra Vale," I read aloud. "Died 376 years ago. Cause of death - soul dissipation following mate rejection."
Oscar frowned, leaning closer. "Mate rejection shouldn’t cause soul death. Pain, yes. But not this."
I flipped through the pages. "Exactly. There are dozens of cases here."
Oscar glanced around, his expression sharpening.
For the next hour, we worked in silence, photographing every page, every strange symbol, and every energy record mentioned. My phone soon filled with hundreds of images.
Occasionally, Oscar would steady a stack of papers while I adjusted the angle, his fingers brushing mine for a second too long. Each time it happened, that small spark of connection between us hummed louder through the bond.
At one point, as I bent down to grab another file from the lower shelf, his hand came to rest lightly on my back.
"Easy," he murmured. "Don’t strain yourself. You are not exactly prepared for crawling through archives."
I rolled my eyes, but the gentle care in his tone made my chest ache. "I’m fine, Oscar."
"Doesn’t mean I can’t worry," he said, his voice low and sincere.
I froze, my heart tightening. When I looked up, his gaze was already on me - soft, steady, full of tenderness and love. The silence between us deepened until I had to look away, pretending to focus on the files again.
He chuckled faintly, probably sensing my flustered energy. "You really don’t know what you do to me sometimes."
"Stop saying things like that," I whispered, my face burning.
"Why? Because it’s true?"
I shoved another folder into his hands to shut him up, earning a quiet laugh from him. Still, that warmth between us lingered all the way until we finished.
By the time we finally made it back above ground, the sun had climbed high into the afternoon sky. The clock on my phone read nearly 1:35 p.m. We hadn’t realized how long we had been down there. Oscar looked at me as we reached the car.
"You sure you want to go home right now?" he asked. "We could stop somewhere, get lunch first."
I gave a tired smile. "Tempting. But I think we should face the storm sooner rather than later."
He sighed. "Fair enough. Just... let me take the lead if things go south, alright?"
I didn’t answer. Because I already knew - no amount of preparation could soften River’s fury when he discovered what we had done.
---
The house was silent when we entered, too silent. The kind of silence that makes your stomach drop before your mind even registers why. I barely had time to take off my shoes before I saw them - River and Kieran - sitting in the living room like two dark sentinels waiting for judgment day.
The air was icy, thick with unspoken tension. River stood as soon as he saw us, his expression unreadable but his eyes - those sharp, deep green eyes - were cold enough to cut glass.
Kieran didn’t stand. He just sat there, elbows on his knees, head bowed slightly, like he was trying to keep himself from saying something he would regret. But his jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle ticking from across the room.
Oscar exhaled softly beside me, muttering, "Here we go."
"Where were you?" River’s voice came out calm, too calm - the kind of calm that was infinitely worse than shouting.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. "I went to the old headquarters."
His eyes darkened. "And did you also happen to take my brother with you?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but Oscar stepped forward, his tone firm. "It was my choice. Don’t blame her-"
River’s voice sliced through the room. "Don’t defend her, Oscar."
The air grew heavier, pressing against my lungs. I knew that tone - it was the one River used only when he was balancing between anger and restraint.
"I had to do it," I said quietly. "I couldn’t just sit around pretending nothing’s wrong. We are losing people to soul death, River. I know I can help, but none of you seem to listen-"
"Enough," he cut in sharply. "You think I don’t care? You think we haven’t been looking into it?" His voice rose, rough with frustration. "You going behind our backs doesn’t make you brave, Evaline. It makes you reckless."
Kieran finally looked up then, his eyes stormy with emotion. "We told you not to go. You promised you would stay out of this."
"I never promised that!" I snapped back. "I said I would stop if I had answers. But none of you gave me any."
The silence that followed was suffocating. River pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply as if trying to calm himself. Oscar, still beside me, shifted subtly closer as if ready to shield me if things escalated.
"Upstairs," River finally said, his tone brooking no argument. "We are going to talk about this... privately."
I didn’t move. "There’s nothing more to talk about."
His gaze sharpened, the Alpha in him flickering to the surface. "Evaline."
My heartbeat stuttered. But I stood my ground.
Because even though I knew I had crossed a line, I also knew I wasn’t wrong.