Chapter 4: The Price Of Silence

Everly POV

He found me anyway. 

Three nights into house arrest, Grayson broke into my room through the window. Again. 

His grip tightened on my wrist, yanking me back down to the mattress. The sheets were still warm from us. Still smelled like sweat and sex and decisions we couldn’t take back. 

“You aren’t running,” he snarled. His voice was low, dangerous. His growl made the fresh mark on my neck burn like fire. Like it was brand new. “We settle this. Right now.” 

“My dad’s been calling for hours,” I choked out. My phone had been vibrating non-stop on the nightstand. 10 calls. 12. 15. 20. “He’ll kill us, Gray. Both of us. You know he will.” 

He leaned back against the headboard and dragged me into his lap. His arms came around me like chains. Possessive. Terrified. Like if he let go I’d disappear. “No one can know. Not yet.” 

I blinked. My heart was still racing from him, from last night, from everything. “But you marked me. The bond— it’s screaming. Everyone will know. The pack will smell it on me.” 

“I marked you,” he cut me off, jaw tight. His thumb brushed over the bite on my neck, and I shivered. “I haven’t claimed you before the packs. There’s a difference, Everly. A legal difference. A political difference.” His eyes were miserable. “Luke’s in a re-election war. If this leaks, his campaign dies overnight. The Black-Tie Moon Pack falls into chaos. Rival Alphas will tear it apart. They’ll use you as the reason.” 

“So we hide?” The word tasted bitter. Like ash. Like a lie. “You want me to pretend this didn’t happen? Pretend I’m not yours?” 

His hand cupped my cheek. His eyes were silver and full of guilt. “Protection, Ev. Not hiding. From him. From the council. From every Alpha who’ll call you a target the second they know you’re mine. You’re 22. You’re his daughter. They’ll say I groomed you. They’ll say I used you.” 

I wanted to argue. To scream that I was grown. That I chose this. But the logic in his eyes broke me. Because he was right. 

“You go back to university,” he said softly. His voice cracked. “Finish the year. I stay away. Publicly. After graduation + after the election, I go to Luke myself. I take the fallout. All of it. Then I claim you publicly. In front of every pack. I put a ring on your finger and I dare anyone to say anything.” 

My chest cracked. “A secret?” 

“A promise,” he corrected. He kissed my forehead. Then my temple. Then the mark. “I’m not letting you go. Ever. I’m just asking you to trust me for 6 months. Can you do that? Can you trust me?” 

6 months. 182 days. I could survive 6 months. 

“I’ll wait,” I whispered. The lie hurt going down. I kissed him once. Deep. Desperate. Like it was the last time. Then I pulled on a high-neck shirt to hide the mark, grabbed my bag, and lied my way past my father’s guards at the gate. My voice shook the whole time. 

For 7 days I lived on texts and phone calls at 2am and the constant ache of the bond pulling me back to him. It was torture. It was worth it. I threw myself into classes. Into the library. Into anything to not think about him. Lila paced. 

I told her. 

Then Collins found me. Dad’s Beta. 2 meters tall and built like a wall. He showed up at my dorm at noon. “Your father wants you,” he said. No greeting. No smile. “Now.” 

Dad’s study felt like a tomb. Dark wood. No windows. The air smelled like whiskey and rage and old leather. He didn’t look at me when I walked in. He just slammed a tablet on the desk. The sound made me jump. 

A video played. Grainy. Night vision. But clear. Me. Grayson’s penthouse. His hands in my hair. My mouth on his. My legs wrapped around him. 

My blood went cold. My knees went weak. 

“Where did you get this?” I whispered. 

“Doesn’t matter!” The desk splintered under his fist. Wood cracked and dust flew. “You let him touch you? My best friend? My business partner? My brother?” 

Dad grabbed his phone. Dialed. Hit speaker. It rang once. 

“You son of a bitch,” Dad spat the second it connected. His voice shook with fury. With betrayal. “You touched my daughter. My little girl. We’re done, Grayson. Friends. Business. Pack alliance. All of it. Done. Don’t you ever call me again.” 

The line went dead. 

I fell to my knees. “Dad, please. I love him. I’m his mate— it’s the moon, it’s not my fault—” 

For a second his hand rose. Like he was going to hit me. It trembled in the air. Then it dropped. When he looked at me, his eyes weren’t angry anymore. They were disappointed. Worse. 

“I’m ashamed of you,” he said quietly. The words cut deeper than any slap. Deeper than any punch. 

“House arrest. Effective immediately. Collins will escort you.” 

Two guards stepped in from the corners. The room they put me in had no windows. Just a bed and a guard outside the door. 

That night, my phone was gone. My freedom was gone. All I had was the mark. And the memory of him. 

At 2am I heard it. The TV downstairs. Reporters. Screaming. 

I pressed my ear to the door. 

“...Senator Luke Carter’s daughter caught in scandal with business partner Grayson Vale. Footage allegedly leaked 1 hour ago. Campaign in crisis...”

The bond ached. It was like a rubber band pulled too tight. 

I sat on the floor with my back against the door. 

What if “6 months” was a lie? What if Grayson saw the news too? 

The last thing I heard before they cut the power was Dad’s voice from downstairs, cold as ice: 

“The engagement to Alpha Damian Black is moved up. Wedding is in 3 days. You’ll marry him, Everly. Or I’ll disown you. You won’t be a Carter anymore.” 

The door locked behind me with a final click.