Evaline:
My eyes flew open, meeting the darkness that was surrounding the small servant quarters.
I was still able to feel the remnants of the dream clinging to my skin like a fever. My breath was coming in shallow pants, and my pulse felt unsteady.
It felt too real.
Too vivid.
I was still able to feel the ghost of his touch, the weight of his body pressing me into the sheets, and the heat of his breath against my neck.
Ethan...
But was it truly him that night?
I had believed it then. But now as time had passed and my memories kept replaying that moment over and over, doubt had started creeping in like a poison.
The man from my the night of my eighteenth birthday... he did feel different.
He was stronger. More... possessive. And the way he touched me, the way my body reacted to him... It had felt like fate itself had bound us together.
I pressed a trembling hand against my stomach, swallowing down the unease.
I couldn’t afford to think about it now, not when my reality was already a living nightmare.
A loud knock at the door startled me, followed by a sharp voice.
"Get up, Eva! You have work to do!"
It was Sera.
I took a shaky breath, and forced the dream into the farthest corners of my mind before dragging myself out of bed. My body was aching from all the work I had done the previous day.
But there was nothing I could do about. I was hungry, and to get the food, I needed to work.
---
The library was the last place I wanted to be, but I had no choice.
After scrubbing the floors of the eastern halls, one of the senior maids had shoved a pile of books into my arms, ordering me to return them.
I kept my head down as I entered the large space, inhaling the scent of aged parchment and ink that soothed me a little.
The walls were lined with towering bookshelves. Dozens of potted plants were sitting around, and the heavy velvet curtains were drawn halfway over the tall windows to let in slivers of the late afternoon light.
The library should have been empty.
It was always empty.
Which was why the sounds that met my ears froze me in place.
At first, there was a hushed moan. Then a breathy gasp.
And then... a deep, unmistakable growl of pleasure.
My entire body locked up as I turned my head toward the source of the sound.
Near one of the bookshelves, partially hidden in the shadows, was standing a man. And he wasn’t alone.
His back was against the shelves, and his large frame was barely visible. But the woman in his arms was all too clear. She was pressed against him, her fingers buried in his dark hair as her lips traced a path down his jaw.
I took a step back, but it was too late.
His gaze snapped to mine, and time seemed to stop.
I knew who he was instantly, even though I had never met him before. There was no mistaking it.
Draven - the last of the four Rogue Alpha Kings.
And he looked exactly as terrifying as the others.
His dark hair was almost as black as midnight, but they had a blue hue to them. His eyes were a shade of hazel, unlike the emerald ones of his brothers. His features were sharp, as if carved from stone.
I noticed how his jaw clenched as he held the woman against him. And for a moment, I swore I saw something flicker in his gaze. It felt like something other than fury, something sharp, calculating.
But it was gone just as quickly as it had come, replaced by pure, unrestrained anger.
"What," he bit out in a lethal voice, "are you doing here?"
My mouth instantly went dry. The books in my arms felt heavier, but I couldn’t move.
I had walked in at the worst possible moment.
Again.
First Oscar, and now Draven.
If River’s hatred hadn’t already sealed my fate, this certainly had.
"I-I was just-"
The woman in his arms turned to look at me then. Her lips were swollen, and her gaze was filled with clear annoyance.
"Who is she?" she asked, not bothering to hide her irritation.
"A maid," Draven growled in response while his gaze never left mine.
I swallowed hard.
"Then why is she staring?" the woman scoffed, brushing her fingers over his chest as if reminding him where his attention should be.
Draven didn’t answer. He just kept staring at me as if he was trying to see through me. Like he was trying to understand why I was here.
I lowered my gaze, and bowed my head. "I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just returning these books."
I was rewarded with silence. And it was a thick, suffocating one that stretched on far too long.
Then, after what felt like an enternity, I finally heard Draven letting out a slow, sharp exhale.
"Get out."
I didn’t wait for him to say it twice. Clutching the books to my chest, I turned on my heel and hurried toward the exit.
My heart hammering in my chest and I had barely made it into the hallway when I felt it... a presence.
Not just anyone’s... but his.
Draven.
He had stepped out of the library, and his gaze was burning into my back. But I didn’t dare look.
I just kept walking. Faster. As fast as my trembling legs allowed me to.