<h4>Chapter 343: The Castle Built On a Lie</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    I stared at River, my pulse hammering so violently I could feel it in my throat. Fear wasn’t just creeping in, it was crashing over me in waves, each one heavier than thest.


    What was he going to say about my child?


    Had he noticed it too?


    The eyes.


    Those impossibly familiar eyes that had turned my joy into confusion... and fear.


    My breath grew shallow, and before I could gather myself, River was suddenly there - no distance left between us. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me firmly against his chest. His warmth, his scent, his steady heartbeat... it all rushed into me through the bond, soothing my fraying edges.


    "Don’t panic, Little Star," he whispered, his voice a low, grounding rumble. "Trust me."


    His words weren’t just words, but they carried weight through the bond. Love. Care. Trust. He poured it all into me without hesitation, weaving a cocoon around my storm. My racing heartbeat slowed a little, enough for me to breathe again. And the nickname felt like a balm.


    He tilted my chin up, cupping my face in hisrge, steady hands. His deep green eyes locked onto mine, serious but so full of tenderness I felt myself shatter. "Are you okay?" he asked.


    My throat felt too tight to speak, so I only nodded, letting him see the truth in my eyes.


    He pressed a kiss against my forehead, lingering there for a heartbeat before pulling back. Returning to his seat at my bedside, he didn’t let go of my hand. His fingers wereced through mine, strong and unyielding, as if grounding us both.


    "Trust me with one thing," he said softly. His voice was calm, but beneath it I felt the weight of something much deeper. "No matter what we are about to talk about... no matter what the oue is... my love, my trust, my care for you, and for our pup, will not change. Not even a little."


    The promise hummed through our bond, steady and resolute.


    And I couldn’t doubt him. Not for a second.


    He never spoke empty words. Every vow he had ever made, he had carried to the end of the world if he had to. He was many things - fierce, terrifying to his enemies, unwavering as steel - but to me, he was all of that and more.


    I drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly, and nodded. "Okay."


    <fn0ec0> Readplete version only at find·novel</fn0ec0>


    Even if every part of me wanted to run from this conversation, I knew I couldn’t. The questions already wed inside me, demanding answers. Pretending ignorance would only dy the inevitable.


    We sat in silence for a long moment. The quiet wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t light either. It was filled with things unsaid, waiting to spill.


    Then he finally spoke.


    "Little Star," he murmured, his thumb brushing across the back of my hand. "Did you notice the pup’s eye color?"


    My stomach dropped.


    The moment those words left his lips, I felt my heart lurch painfully.


    So he <i>had</i> noticed.


    Of course he had. If anyone else could see the strangeness in those eyes, it was River.


    Because he was the only one, aside from me, who had ever met Ethan. He knew what color Ethan’s eyes were. And he knew what mine were. Which meant, like me, he could see what others couldn’t - that our child’s eyes matched neither mine nor Ethan’s.


    The truth I had been desperately trying to push down roared back with sharp rity.


    And worse... those golden-green eyes weren’t just unusual. They were familiar.


    Too familiar.


    I knew only one person with eyes like that. One person whose gaze carried that same mixture of green depth and golden fire.


    And that identity was thest thing I had ever expected to be tied to my child.


    Nothing was making sense anymore.


    My whole world tilted sideways, my thoughts scattering like broken ss.


    When I finally managed to find my voice, it was rough and trembling. "River... that’s... that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. His eyes."


    I swallowed hard, struggling to form the words that could hold everything I was feeling - my confusion, my fear, my disbelief.


    <i>Had hee here seeking an exnation? Was he waiting for me to confess something I didn’t even understand myself?</i>


    <i>How could I exin something that defied logic?</i>


    For months, I had let everyone believe Ethan was my child’s father. I had believed it too. There hadn’t been a single reason to question it... until now. Until those golden-flecked eyes looked back at me, and suddenly, nothing made sense anymore.


    But before I could stumble further into the chaos of my own words, he spoke again.


    And what he said turned my world upside down.


    "Kieran," he said quietly, his gaze steady on me. "He felt it the moment he held the pup. A bond."


    I froze. My mind went nk.


    "A... bond?" I echoed faintly.


    He nodded once. "It’s a rare bond that only exists for extremely powerful Alphas. It’s a bond between such Alphas and their true-born children. There’s a thread - something deep, instinctual, and undeniably... magical. Stronger than instinct, more undeniable than scent. A father always knows his own blood when that bond awakens."


    His words mmed into me, each one heavier than thest.


    Kieran.


    Kieran had felt a bond.


    With <i>my</i> child.


    My lips parted, but no sound came out. I just stared at River, my heart thundering so loudly I could barely hear anything else.


    If what he said was true... then everything I thought I knew was a lie.


    My child... wasn’t Ethan’s?


    My gaze flickered helplessly to the door, where Oscar and the nurse had carried my baby only moments ago. My chest squeezed painfully.


    Golden-green eyes.


    The same as Kieran’s.


    And now this bond.


    It couldn’t be... could it?


    The dread twisting inside me wasn’t just fear anymore, it was almost like a nightmare. Because if it’s true... then everything I had believed in for past nine months, and everything I built on that belief... was nothing but an illusion, a misunderstanding, a lie.