Chapter 57: Conflict Between Brothers

Words : 1032 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 57: Conflict Between BrothersEvaline: Sleep refused to greet me even as midnight passed. I kept tossing and turning under the blanket. My body was exhausted but my mind refused to rest. Thoughts of Draven - the feel of his lips, the intensity in his eyes, the way my whole body betrayed me - kept spiraling like a storm I couldn’t outrun. I must have finally drifted off at some point because the next thing I knew, I wasn’t in my room anymore. I was in a forest. It was bathed in silver moonlight. The trees were glowing like ancient guardians. Mist was swirling around my ankles, cool but comforting. The leaves rustled with a sound like whispers, and there was a pull inside my chest. Gentle...coaxing... like something was calling me. Or someone. I turned slowly and the fabric of a white dress I didn’t remember wearing brushed against my legs. My bare feet made no sound against the mossy ground, and though I was alone, I didn’t feel afraid. "Eva," a voice called out. It was deep, smooth, and hauntingly familiar. My heart skipped a beat. I quickly turned again and found him. Oscar. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, dressed in black. Shadows were clinging to him like a second skin, but his eyes - Goddess, those eyes were glowing with a golden touch to original emerald. They locked onto mine, and I felt it again. The pull. The ache. The impossible bond neither of us wanted but couldn’t deny. He didn’t speak, but I heard him. Come to me. I wanted to fight it. I wanted to run. But my body betrayed me once more. I took a step toward him. Then another. And another. "Oscar," I whispered. "Why are you here?" He didn’t answer with words. Instead, he held out his hand, and the moment I touched it, I felt warmth flooding my chest. The next moment, the trees blurred and the moonlight dimmed. And then we were suddenly somewhere else entirely. A bedroom - not mine. Neither his. It was... just a space. Oscar sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me gently into his lap like I belonged there, like I had always belonged there. One of his hand came to rest on my hip while the other moved to cradle the back of my head. "You are mine," he whispered against my ear in a rough, desperate voice. "Even if you fight it. Even if you hate me. I’ll never stop feeling this." I shivered. Because I felt it too. The bond. The heat. The terrifying intimacy of someone knowing you before you even understand yourself. "I don’t want this," I said as tears prickled behind my eyes. "I don’t want to feel this for you. Or for Draven. Or for anyone." Oscar pulled back just enough to look into my face. His looked confused, almost cold and angry. And then he asked, "Draven?" The dream shifted, and suddenly, another figure appeared in the room. Draven. His presence was like heat after a frost. His gaze fell on me instantly while I was still sitting on Oscar’s lap in a daze. It was full of something dark and dangerous and... hurt. "You let him in," he said softly, as if betrayed. I shook my head. "I didn’t mean to." His eyes turned on Oscar. "Leave." "No," Oscar growled and tightened his hold on me, refusing to let me go as I tried to climb down from his lap. "You don’t control this." "She’s mine," Draven snapped at his brother. "I felt the bond first," Oscar returned. "She came to me first." "I kissed her." "You did what?" Oscar was angry, really angry. "Stop it!" I shouted as I finally got myself free from his hold and climbed down. My heart was thundering. "You are not - this isn’t -" But the room was no longer still. It cracked open beneath my feet, and in a terrifying surge, darkness swallowed the space and both men. All of a sudden, pain flared across my chest. It was the bond. It was pulling me in two directions - Oscar and Draven. I screamed as the pressure built, as their voices turned into echoes, shouting my name over and over - "Eva." "Eva." "Eva - " "Eva!" I jolted awake with a strangled gasp. My hands were clutching the sheets and my skin was slick with cold sweat. The room was dark, but not silent. Rowan was sitting up on his bed, wide awake, and his face looked pale in the moonlight. "Hey, hey - breathe," he said quickly while swinging his legs over the bed and coming to kneel beside me. "You are okay. You are safe. It was just a dream." I couldn’t speak. My chest was rising and falling in rapid pants, like I had been running for miles. He reached for the water on my nightstand and handed it to me. "Here. Small sips." I took it with shaking hands and obeyed, forcing the cool liquid down my dry throat. He settled down on the bed next to me, not crowding me, but close enough that his presence was grounding. "I heard you thrashing and calling out," he said after a moment. "You were... scared. Like terrified." I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and closed my eyes before speaking in a barely audible voice. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you." "Don’t apologize." His tone was firm but gentle. "Are you okay now?" I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if it was true. I hated how badly I was shaking. I hated how vulnerable I felt. He waited patiently. He didn’t ask what the dream was about, neither pushed for answers. And for that, I was grateful. "I-" I started as I needed to let it out, at least a little bit. "I saw... someone. And I felt the bond. It felt like it was trying to tear me apart." His brows furrowed in confusion. "Bond?" I paused. "It’s complicated," I added a moment later. "And I’m not ready to talk about it."

Chapter 57: Conflict Between Brothers

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