CHAPTER 427: TWO STORMS COLLIDING

Evaline:

As usual, the air in the underground passage was cool and smelled faintly of damp stone. My boots echoed softly against the steps as I descended, one hand skimming the wall to steady myself. I barely reached the last step when a sudden force pulled me sideways... too fast for me to react.

Before I could gasp, my back hit the cold wall, the shock of it knocking the air out of my lungs. And then came... his mouth.

Draven.

His lips crashed against mine with a hunger so fierce it stole the rest of my breath. The kiss wasn’t gentle, wasn’t careful - it was pure possession. My fingers instinctively gripped his shoulders, trembling under the intensity of him. I didn’t push him away, but my mind spun wildly, trying to catch up.

What is he doing? Why-

He growled softly, low in his chest, the sound vibrating through my bones. It wasn’t anger. It was something darker. Wilder. And it was aimed entirely at me.

When he finally pulled back, I gasped for air, my eyes wide and dazed... only to freeze completely when I saw who else stood in the tunnel.

Oscar.

And Kieran.

Both of them were a few feet away, half cloaked by the shadows, watching.

My heart thudded wildly. "Draven-" I started, but before the rest of my words could escape, his hand wrapped around the back of my neck, pulling me into another searing kiss.

This one was rougher... more desperate... and I barely kept myself upright. My knees went weak, my body reacting to his touch in ways I just couldn’t get used to no matter how much time had passed. When he finally tore his lips away, his mark throbbed against my skin, heated, alive.

And then it got worse.

I felt movement beside us and Oscar’s presence slid closer.

I turned my head slightly, meaning to say something - anything - but the words died the moment his lips brushed against my neck... right where Draven’s mark glowed faintly beneath my skin.

The moment Oscar’s mouth touched it, my mind went blank.

It was like fire and electricity all at once, the connection thrumming through my veins. My breath hitched as an involuntary sound left my throat, half gasp, half plea. The bond reacted instantly, sparks of energy spreading through me like wildfire.

Draven didn’t stop him. Instead, he watched.

His eyes darkened with a feral kind of satisfaction as he let Oscar’s lips linger on that mark... his mark.

My hands fisted in Draven’s shirt, my entire body trembling from the overload of sensations. It was maddening, too much. The heat coiled in my stomach, my pulse racing faster than it ever had.

"O-Oscar," I managed in a trembling voice. "Stop-"

He only chuckled against my skin, his breath fanning over the spot, making me shiver violently.

"Can’t," he murmured. "You smell too good when you are like this."

I wanted to protest, to push them away... but the bond twisted everything. Pleasure and frustration tangled so tightly inside me, I couldn’t tell one from the other. My thoughts scattered like dust in the wind.

I turned my head toward the only one who hadn’t joined in - Kieran. He was standing several feet away, with his arms folded and his expression unreadable.

Our eyes met.

He didn’t move. Didn’t say a word.

"Kieran," I whispered, silently pleading for him to stop his brothers, to help me. But he stayed as he was, his gaze calm, almost indifferent.

Draven’s smirk widened, and he caught my chin, forcing my dazed eyes to meet his. "You shouldn’t look at him like that, sweetheart," he said, his voice low, roughened by jealousy. "He might think you are asking for him next."

Before I could respond, he kissed me again.

And I was lost all over again.

Draven’s kiss deepened until my entire body was pressed flush against his. Every inch of me buzzed, alive with the shared pulse of our bond. His hands roamed, firm and possessive, while Oscar’s lips kept tracing lazy, heated paths along the side of my throat.

They were overwhelming - two storms colliding into me.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.

And yet, even through the haze, I could feel something else beneath their passion - something raw and wild. Not anger. Not cruelty. But jealousy. Claiming. A primal reminder of what I was to them.

When they finally pulled away, I sagged against the wall, my chest heaving, my legs barely supporting me. The air felt heavy, filled with our mingled scents and unspoken emotions.

"What... what are you doing?" I finally managed to whisper, my voice shaking more than I wanted it to.

Draven tilted his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes as he smirked. "You mean you don’t know?"

He pulled me against him, his one hand lifting to brush my jaw. I inhaled deeply at the contact, but he didn’t stop.

"Have you already forgotten the little show at dinner?" he asked softly.

The senior.

The memory flashed in my mind of the senior who had walked up to me in the dining hall about an hour ago, asking for my number in front of everyone.

Oh no.

"Don’t tell me this is about that?" I asked, disbelief lacing my voice.

Draven’s smirk only grew.

Oscar leaned against the wall beside me, his arms crossed, while his grin wicked and unrepentant. "Of course it is," he said casually. "You should have seen your face when that guy tried to flirt with you. Adorable, really."

I blinked at them, speechless. "So you are saying - what? You are punishing me for something I didn’t even do?"

Draven’s chuckle was deep and low. "Punishment?" He leaned in again, lips grazing the corner of my mouth. "No, sweetheart. This wasn’t punishment."

He kissed the edge of my jaw, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We were just reminding ourselves..."

His lips brushed the shell of my ear, the words curling hotly against my skin.

"...that you are ours."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "You are ridiculous."

He only smirked. "Maybe. But you love us anyway."

Before I could argue, his mouth was on mine again - slow this time, deliberate, but no less consuming. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs, and I knew resisting him was useless. He kissed me until my mind blurred again, until all I could feel was him - his taste, his warmth, his bond wrapping around mine like fire.

By the time he pulled away, my legs were trembling.

That was when Kieran finally moved.

The moment his brothers stepped back, the strength in my knees gave out completely. But before I could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught me - steady, solid, familiar.

Kieran.

He lifted me effortlessly, his expression still unreadable. He didn’t say a word as he cradled me against his chest, and for some reason, the silence was louder than anything else.

My head fell against him, my body too drained to resist. His scent wrapped around me, grounding me.

Behind us, Draven and Oscar followed silently, their playful energy now simmering into something gentler, almost remorseful.

None of them spoke as Kieran carried me through the tunnel, his steps slow and sure.

I should have been angry. I should have scolded them, yelled, something.

But as the night air touched my skin and the familiar hum of the bond pulsed softly between us, all I could do was sigh.

Because no matter how much they drove me insane...

They were mine.

And I was theirs.

Always.