Evaline:
I wasn’t sure what to say after that.
His quiet confession sat between us like something sacred, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to touch, let alone return. And yet... I felt it. That unmistakable tug between us. It was gentle but persistent.
He saw the hesitation in my silence but didn’t push. Instead, he let the moment breathe.
"I meant what I said, Eva," he murmured while looking directly at me. "I’m ready to accept the bond. All of it. You, us, the future that comes with it. As well as the trouble that will come with it."
I stopped breathing for a second as I took in his confession.
He leaned forward slightly. "But I’m also not stupid. I know you are not ready yet. And that’s okay. I’m not here to pressure you. I’m here to court you. Properly. Like you deserve."
My heart stuttered.
Court me?
That wasn’t the kind of thing I was expecting him to say. It wasn’t the kind of thing I was expecting him to do.
"You don’t have to-"
"I want to," he interrupted softly. "This isn’t about obligation. It’s about choice."
Choice.
That word struck something deep in me.
For so long, everything in my life had felt like it was spiraling out of my control. My past, my wolf, my position in the Academy, my tangled, impossible bond with Draven... and Oscar. The idea that I got to choose - even if I wasn’t ready to choose yet - was both terrifying and... freeing.
And speaking of Draven...
I opened my mouth, ready to confess about my bond with Draven, but the words refused to come.
Not because I wanted to lie to him, but because this wasn’t the moment. Not yet. This dinner, this strange, sweet quiet between us... it wasn’t the time to shatter it with something I hadn’t even begun to unravel myself.
Soon. I promised myself. I’ll talk to both of them. But not tonight.
"Okay," I said finally in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "But you will need to be patient with me."
He smiled, slow and breathtaking. "That’s the plan."
Dinner became lighter after that.
He poured me a drink, some herbal mix he claimed helped with stress, and coaxed me into eating more than I intended. Every time I reached for something, he would beat me to it.
"You are not like I thought you would be," I admitted, licking a bit of sauce off my finger before I caught the way his eyes followed the movement.
It was a mistake. Immediate mistake.
"And what exactly did you think I would be like?" he asked, clearly amused.
"Cockier," I stated honestly. "More... infuriating."
He chuckled. It was a low sound that did things to my spine. "Oh, I can be all of that. You just bring out my gentler side."
"I don’t believe you have a gentle side."
He leaned in then, resting his forearms on the table. His voice dropped to something dangerously smooth. "That’s because you have only ever seen me holding back."
I absolutely loved the dessert. It was a warm chocolate tart, a really delicious one.
It was ten minutes later, when my phone started to buzz with a flurry of messages, msking me realize just how long it had been since we left the Academy.
Mallory: Where are you?? We are heading to dinner!
Kyros: Eva, are you still in the library? Want us to wait?
"Friends checking in?"
"Yeah," I said, typing quickly. Something came up. Skipping dinner tonight. Will see you guys in the dorm later.
Putting the phone aside, I returned my attention to the desert and the man sitting opposite me.
When it was finally time to leave, we didn’t take the main path.
"Come on," he said while reaching for my hand but stopping just before his fingers could brush mine. "There’s another way. No one will see us."
He led me down a barely-visible trail behind the cabin. A few minutes later, we came to a small arch of ivy-covered stones that looked like nothing more than decoration... until he pressed his palm to the center, and the ground beneath us shifted.
There was asecret door.
"What the-?"
"The Academy has numerous secret rooms, hallways, tunnels, and passages... and I know almost all of them." He sounded really proud as he spoke.
"Of course you do."
We walked down a narrow stone corridor that was dimly lit by old lanterns hanging from the walls. It was quiet, cool, and surreal.
When we reached the other side, a concealed passage just outside the dormitory building, he stopped and turned to face me.
"This is the part where I say goodnight."
My heart skipped immediately.
It shouldn’t have felt like a goodbye. But it did.
"Thank you," I said softly. "For everything."
He stepped closer in a slow and measured move. "You don’t have to thank me."
I thought he might hug me.
Instead, he leaned down. He was so close that I was able to feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. And he was waiting.
It was a question.
One I answered by lifting my chin and closing the small distance between us.
As our lips met, everything else disappeared.
His mouth moved over mine with a kind of fierce tenderness that left my knees weak. He kissed like he was memorizing me. Like he had waited for this longer than he was willing to admit.
And when his hand slipped to the small of my back and pulled me closer, pressing us together, I let out a soft gasp... because it was too much. Too intense. Too perfect.
But I didn’t stop.
Not when his lips parted mine. Not when the bond between us flared like a live wire, humming under my skin. And not even when I realized I was never going to walk away from this the same.
He pulled back, just enough to look at me, resting his forehead against mine.
"Now that," he whispered, "was definitely worth waiting for."
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Because I was still gasping. Still blushing.
And still falling... hopelessly, breathlessly... into something I couldn’t control.