I WON'T BE YOURS, ALPHAS

Four

Eva

“For the third time, Eva, you wouldn't see them again. It was a foolproof plan. You do not need to worry so much, Sweetheart.” Daddy reassured me for the umpteenth time as my corset was tied, but I couldn't stop the nervousness that refused to go and the knot in my stomach that impeded itself and refused to unravel since I laid eyes on the cross brothers again.

Tonight, in a few minutes, my life was going to change for the better. It was the mate ball, and Josh and I were finally going to accept each other and complete the mate bond. I couldn't risk anything destroying my night or our lives, ever.

I must never see them again.

“I took care of them, Eva. You would never see them again.”

My heart thundered against my chest. Something about the way Dad set the tone of his words sent a terror down my spine.

“Dad… are you going to… I mean, you aren't going to kill the, right?”

I hated the Cross brothers, but killing them would not make us any better than them. Killing them…

Would I ever get over the guilt?

Dad went silent for a second too long, my grip on the phone I was holding turned white as I stared at myself through my vanity mirror. “No, sweetheart,” he broke the silence with a chuckle. “They are just kids themselves. No, I would just make sure they continue their education far from here in a facility meant for troubled kids like them. You are safe, Evangeline.”

I let out a sigh I didn't know I held. I had no idea why I cared; I hated these monsters that terrorized me for the longest time, but I didn't want them dead. I just wanted them out of my life.

“You worry too much, just like your mother.” He added softly, and my heart warmed up.

“Enjoy your day, sweetheart. You are safe. You would never see them again.”

Relief filled me as I dropped the phone and smiled at my reflection.

I was safe. Time to enjoy the rest of my life with Josh. Tonight was the start of something new.

After tonight, it would be like the Cross brothers never existed in my life.

“I'm ready for my dress!”I called out to the maids, and they walked in with my dress and tools for my makeover. The masked ball was a masquerade ball, a smart idea on my part.

There was something about that that screamed fate. Masks were meant to hide, to confuse, but under the right light, the true moon that reveals mates once a year, true souls always found each other. That was the beauty of it, the irony. You could hide your face but not your essence, not the pull of a mate bond.

And as the queen of the school, I was going to be dressed as the moon goddess. Beautiful silver dress, sleeves like curtains, back exposed, and stops at my waist, which was cinched tightly as the dress flowed all around me.

My long blonde hair was n waves down my back, and my silver mask was jeweled with precious stones, only from the best designer in the land.

Lila walked in a beautiful blue dress, her mask in hand as she smiled at me, “You look so beautiful, Eva. Josh would faint when he sees you,” she cooed as she walked straight into my arms. I gave her a tight hug.

“And your mate would do even worse when he sees you.” I deepened the hug. “You look even more beautiful, just like our first ever ball together.”

She sighed, pulling away softly, her eyes filling with doubt. “I am nervous, Eva, what if he rejects me?”

“Don’t think like that, Lila. Whoever he is, he is so lucky to have you. It's going to be perfect. Just like what Josh and I have.”

She gave me a soft smile, “Yo, guys are perfect. I know you are going to be mates. But what if you aren't?”

Her question sent a pang of fear through me, but I brushed it off before it could grow into doubt.

“That’s okay. He would reject his mate for me. He promised.”

Lila’s gaze lingered, and I saw the doubt in her gaze, but it was gone as soon as it came.

“Of course he would. He loves you. I hope mine loves me as much as Josh loves you. And goddess, I hope he’s handsome.”

I nodded, the smile on my face feeling fake as the words churned in my head. I mean, he promised. Josh was meant for me. After risking his life to save mine tw years ago after the accident, I knew he was never going to leave me.

There was no need for doubt. Josh loves me.

I checked the clock and smiled, holding out my hand. “Let’s go and find out.”

By the time we arrived, the ballroom glowed like a scene out of a heavenly dream. Excitement instantly rushed through my veins as I took it all in. The chandeliers cast golden light upon everyone, and everyone looked beautiful and expensive in their masks.

Here, who you are doesn't matter; is your soul that matters, and I loved it.

“I’m going to go make sure Josh gives his start speech early, so it doesn’t clash with your end of ball speech. Is that okay?” Lola asked, and I nodded with a smile.

She disappeared into the crowd, and I straightened as in the next minutes, Josh appeared on the stage, looking as handsome as ever.

His blonde hair was swept back in a nineties fashion, and his grey suit clung to him like a second skin, the theme being a …

He was so handsome despite the split lip those rotten alphas gave him.

“Hello, Burwood.” His crisp voice echoed through the hall, awaking the butterflies within me as everyone cheered around me.

He waited for the cheers, especially from the females, to die down before continuing. “As we know it, tonight is the only Annual mate ball,” his warm voice echoed through the hall. “For some of you, it’s just a night to dress up, dance, and drink way too much aged wine. But for the rest of us… tonight changes everything.”

A sea of laughter and murmur echoed through the hall, and Josh’s eyes met mine through the sea of the crowd.

The corners of his lips tugged into that crooked grin that always made me feel like I was sixteen again, sitting beside him in chemistry class, pretending not to stare at his perfect face.

“Now, I know we’re all eager to see what the moon goddess has in store for us,” he said, his tone turning soft, intimate, as if he was speaking only to me, “but personally… I already know what my future looks like.”

The entire crowd cooed and cheered as his gaze didn’t waver from mine, his blue eyes filled with adoration.

“It’s blonde. It’s beautiful. It’s wearing a silver mask and making me fall for her all over again.”

Heat bloomed in my chest as I blushed, my cheeks warming under the mask, shielding my eyes from seeing how red I was. He knew how to say the right things, how to make me feel like I was the center of the universe. The queen. His queen.

I smiled up at him, mouthing, I love you, but just as my lips moved, I felt it.

A chill brushed down my spine.

“So romantic, aren't you both?”

I stiffened as those words echoed in my ear, causing me to turn so fast I almost had a whiplash, but there was no one there.

What? But how?

Not paying attention to the rest of Josh’s speech, I tried to look for anyone who may have said that, but no one was behind me at the corner reserved for Josh and me, just me.

But had I imagined it? The voice felt so real, so familiar. Sounded just ike…

No, that wasn't possible. They were miles away from here. It was the nerves, definitely the nerves.

I took in a deep breath and pulled my attention back to the stage, but Josh’s voice faded into the final line of his speech, and I realized I heard none of it.

He gave a slight bow and handed the mic to the student emcee, and the crowd started to chant, their voices loud and excited:

“Ten… nine… eight…!”

The countdown.

The moon was rising.

Right on cue, the ballroom’s arched glass ceiling openedd to reveal the full moon peeking from behind the clouds. A beam of light started to shine down, like a spotlight for souls to match.

“Seven… six… five…!”

Josh was moving off the stage, down the steps, eyes locked on me.

The tension in my chest loosened as I stared at my future, and a smile widened on my lips as I raised to meet him halfway.

He walked toward me with that same warmth, that same devotion in his expression, like nothing else mattered, and maybe, just maybe, the voice in my ear had only been in my head.

Maybe the shadows weren’t hunting me.

“Three… two… One!”

Gasps echoed in the hall around me as everyone started to find their mates. Laughter, cries, and squeals of disbelief as everyone started to find their second half.

Josh was halfway to me, smile still on his face, reaching out like every dream was seconds from coming true.

I only had eyes for him.

But fate had other plans.

Because his gaze caught something behind me, and shattered everything I hoped for.