CHAPTER 484: ALPHAS BEING TERRITORIAL

Evaline:

I didn’t think a simple article could make me clap like an excited seal, but apparently, that’s who I was now.

I hit the space bar again, scrolling down the biography page on my laptop, and grinned.

Now I finally remembered where I had heard the name before - Elion Grey. As I finished reading the article, the puzzle pieces finally clicked in my head.

Elion Grey.

The prodigy.

The boy-wonder Alpha.

He was actually one of the last two remaining wolves of the Silver Wolf lineage.

Just thinking that made something deep in my chest stir... an odd mix of wonder, curiosity, and something unfamiliar I couldn’t quite name. I wasn’t excited for him. I was excited because of...

Silver hair.

Just like mine.

And my mother’s.

I finally knew someone who shared the same wolf lineage as my me and my mother.

I leaned closer to my laptop screen, scrolling through the article.

Elion Grey was the current Alpha of Lunaris Pack. But he had always been in the spotlight.

Top of his class every year.

Graduated Silver Moon Academy as the highest-ranking student two years ago.

And now he’s the youngest Alpha in modern pack history at the age of 22 - a record previously held by River until Elion took it six months ago.

My eyes softened as I read about his father.

Alpha Aiden Grey was killed during a Rogue Siege six months ago, and that’s when I first heard about Elion as he took over the position of the new alpha of the second most powerful pack in existence.

That’s why the name felt so familiar earlier.

That... and the hair.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even realize I was being watched.

... not until I finally sensed the presence behind me - dark, intense, and radiating territorial heat.

Then a hand - cool, long-fingered, and familiar - closed around mine just as I tried to shut the laptop.

My heart almost leapt out of my chest.

River.

Of course it had to be River.

He didn’t yank or squeeze. He just held my wrist, his thumb brushing my skin with a deceptively calm gentleness. But his voice... oh, his voice...

"Close the laptop," he murmured, "and you’ll be earning yourself an extra hour of training for next one month."

That warning was enough for my very soul to freeze.

"I-I wasn’t hiding anything!" I blurted.

Why was I trying to defend myself?

Why did I try lowering the laptop in the first place?

Why was River looking at me like he had caught me red-handed cheating on him?

It was like my brain abandoned me the very moment I needed it to play smart.

Before I could try another useless explanation, two more people appeared behind my couch like giant, nosy guardian wolves.

Wonderful.

I snapped the laptop shut anyway because apparently I did want to land myself in further mess than I was already in.

River didn’t let go of my hand.

Kieran’s voice was immediate and sharp.

"What were you reading?"

Oh no.

He was standing right behind me - tall, warm, leather-clad, and radiating jealousy so thick it practically cast a shadow over my entire being.

Oscar leaned over from the other side, his brows raised.

"What’s making River’s eyes do that weird twitch thing?" he asked casually... but even he looked concerned.

I swallowed.

Hard.

Because none of them were smiling.

None of them even blinked.

And all of them were staring down at the laptop like it was a live bomb.

"I..."

Deep breath.

This wasn’t helping.

"I was reading an article."

River hummed like a predator who already knew the answer but wanted to hear me say it.

Kieran crossed his arms, and despite my situation... I was unable to keep my eyes from following the movement of his biceps under that dark blue shirt.

Oscar just squinted at me, as if saying - you better not lie.

I closed my eyes.

"About Elion Grey."

Silence.

Deep, prolonged, heavy silence.

Then-

"Who?" Oscar blinked.

But River didn’t blink.

He didn’t breathe.

He didn’t even move.

He just said, his voice dangerously soft, "The Alpha who flirted with you."

My face flamed.

"He didn’t flirt with me!"

"He asked if you had a boyfriend," River snapped. "On your first meeting."

"That’s not flirting-!"

"And then told you he wouldn’t mind coming to HQ because you were there."

"That could mean anything!"

"It meant exactly what it sounded like," Kieran muttered.

Oh! This was going all wrong.

Oscar scratched his cheek. "Wait, wait... is this the same silver-haired guy you bumped into earlier today at the headquarters? The one who winked? The one River almost murdered with his eyes?"

"Yes!" I said, then turned to look at him with questioning eyes and asked, "Where did you learn about that?"

Not much to my surprise, he signaled toward his eldest brother.

River sat on the armrest beside me, still holding my wrist, while Oscar moved around to sit on the other couch.

But Kieran...

Kieran came around to stand directly in front of me.

He crouched and leveled his golden-green eyes with mine.

And he placed both hands on either side of my knees on the couch, caging me in.

Not touching.

Just leaning.

Towering.

Powerful.

Jealous.

Oh no.

"K-Kieran..." I whispered.

His voice was a low growl.

"You came home and then looked up a total stranger on internet. Why?"

"B-because he’s a stranger!"

"You were looking him up all this time," he repeated, "instead of spending your precious time with us."

"It’s because I was curious about his hair!"

He blinked, momentarily thrown.

I exhaled.

Then, quietly, I explained.

"He’s the third silver-haired person I have ever met. He’s from the same lineage as my mother... the lineage I was supposed to be born into but wasn’t. That’s all."

Kieran’s shoulders loosened... slightly.

But not enough.

River didn’t loosen at all.

Oscar just looked thoughtful.

But then, Kieran leaned closer... too close.. his breath brushing my lips.

"You are ours," he whispered. "Not some random Alpha’s. Not anyone else’s."

My pulse stuttered.

His fingers brushed a strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear - slowly, deliberately.

"And you don’t need to read about other men. Ever."

My mouth fell open.

"That’s not fair-"

"I don’t care about fair," he murmured.

Oscar scoffed softly. "She’s not a possession."

"Never said she was," Kieran countered, and then his gaze flicked back to me. "But she is my mate."

I swallowed.

"Ours," River corrected.

"Fine," Kieran snapped, "ours. Which makes it worse that another Alpha had the audacity to-"

His jaw clenched.

"-to look at you like that."

I didn’t know what "that" meant.

But River did.

Oscar did.

Kieran did.

Even I did, a second later.

Because Elion didn’t look at me like a council intern.

Or like a stranger.

He looked at me like we shared something rare... something only two members of the same dying lineage could ever understand.

And that was enough to send my mates into a tailspin.

River stood up abruptly.

"Give me the laptop."

"No."

"Evaline."

"River."

We stared each other down until Oscar clicked his tongue. "Just show him the article," he told me.

River shot him a glare. "I don’t need her to show me anything. I already know he’s interested."

"He’s not interested!" I protested.

"He asked if you had a boyfriend."

"WHAT IF HE WAS JUST MAKING SMALL TALK?!"

"The only time an Alpha asks that," Kieran spoke, "is when he wants the answer to be no."

My breath caught.

He wasn’t wrong.

But I also wasn’t wrong - Elion didn’t feel predatory or intrusive. He felt... curious? Maybe even confused by seeing someone with the same rare trait.

Then River leaned forward... lowered his mouth to my ear... and whispered in a voice made of honey and fire.

"If he ever does that again... I’ll remind him very clearly who you belong to."

My entire face went nuclear red.

Oscar whistled, but River completely ignored him, and so did Kieran. For once, the latter two were on the same page. Honestly, these two ended up teaming together more often when it came to me.

River tugged the laptop from my lap and placed it aside.

Then he cupped my jaw... gently, but firmly... and tilted my face up.

"Next time someone with silver, blue, or pink hair approaches you," he murmured, "I want you to think of me first."

I whispered, "Why?"

And he whispered back, "Because the only man I ever want to see reflecting in your eyes... is me. Of course, my brothers being the only exception."

My breath caught.

Then, unexpectedly, Oscar flopped onto the couch beside me, slinging an arm around my shoulders.

"Well," he said brightly, "looks like our Eva’s got a fanclub outside the house too."

River shot him a glare.

Kieran growled.

I buried my face in my hands.

I was never... ever... going to hear the end of this.