EVELYNI remained quiet, guilt filling my entire body with every passing second. I hadn’t meant to blurt everything out, hadn’t meant to speak to him so harshly on the day of our reunion. I didn’t mean to hurt my father’s feelings, but his stubbornness and unwillingness to even try to make our situation better made me release all the grievances I’d held in for years.Mother brought Emma close to her and stepped away from us. My little sister seemed confused about what was happening, not that I could blame her. This sort of moment should have been saved for a more private time, but it was too late now. I had laid down all of my problems and complaints.It was up to him to navigate the situation.“You’re right, Evelyn,” he admitted with a sigh, running a hand through his gray-streaked hair. “You’re right about everything. I made a mistake and it’s my fault that our family is in this situation. It’s all my fault.”He wiped his face and closed his eyes, and I felt a pang of sadness in my
EVELYN“What deal?” I asked, my brows furrowing as I stared at my father in surprise. I wasn’t certain what he meant but the mere notion that he’d struck a deal with Jack Elrod was concerning to say the least, especially given this new revelation about Cole’s mother and her identity as a human wizard. .What had been arranged? Father hesitated for a moment and glanced away, breaking our eye contact. He ran his hand through his silvering hair and then released a heavy sigh, his eyes weary as they met mine again.“Jack wanted House Caddel to show our absolute loyalty to him,” he explained, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.I blinked in response, trying to understand what such a thing could mean.“Absolutely loyalty,” I repeat back to him. “What does that mean, Father?”Father gazed out past the terrace, his eyes absently searching for anything, likely some sort of point to focus on rather than me.“The closeness between you and Cole was a threat to him,” he continued a
EVELYNFather looked at me with a look of resignation and sighed. He ran his hand through his hair and his mouth tensed as he studied me.“I know you’re unstoppable,” he began reluctantly, his tone gentle in the way that only a parent’s could be toward their child. “But I want you to be extra careful, Eva. Jack Elrod is a dangerous person.”“I’m not afraid of him,” I assured him, only a half-truth given Jack’s capabilities. If he was able to suspend Cole in some sort of sleep, enchant people into doing his bidding without so much as uttering a word and turning ordinary people into killing machines… there was no telling what else he could do. Father was right to warn me to be careful, but I knew that when it came to Cole and his safety, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.“I know, Eva,” Father sighed. “I know you’re not. You’re every inch your brother’s sister. More strong than I ever could have imagined you’d be.”He took a step closer, his expression softening as he placed his hand on m
EVELYNI jumped, startled, and closed the book at once. I was immediately glad that I had locked the door and stashed the book under my pillow before crossing the room.“Who is it?” I asked, trying to hide any alarm in my voice.“It’s Crystal, my Lady. May I enter?”A small sense of relief ran through me, thrilled that it wasn’t Jack.“Enter,” I said once I unlocked the door and stepped away.The door opened and to my surprise, she wasn’t alone. The red-haired girl was followed by a few men who carried two large wooden chests.“Place them on the floor,” Crystal ordered firmly but not impolitely.The men did as instructed and then retreated.“What are these?” I asked as my eyes trailed over the chests.“They’re presents from the Master,” she answered. As she opened them, I saw loads of dresses and fancy jewelry. I studied them closely and found some were very familiar.I frowned as I realized that they were replicas of some of my old dresses which were either confiscated or burnt after
JASMINE“What are you thinking, Jasmine?” Addison demanded, her temper flaring as she burst into my room. Her gray eyes flashed and I nearly winced as she approached. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t you know how dangerous this is going to be?”I took a small, centering breath and stepped aside from my half-packed bag, eyes fixing on my twin. It had been a long time since I’d seen Addison so angry like this. “I know you’re mad, Addison, but this is the best solution,” I replied evenly, subduing my worry in favor of assuring her. “We needed to craft a plan and this was the only way it was going to work-”“This isn’t the best solution,” my sister fired back, shaking her head. “The best we thing can do is wait to get a clear understanding of the situation. House Madden should be the one to rush to the front. It would do our family no good.”“What do you mean?” I asked as my brows furrowed.“I don’t know how much clearer I can be,” Addison replied sharply, her arms crossing against her c
JASMINEI half-expected Addison to snarl at him given her mood and our conversation, but instead, she just glared at Flynn before pushing past him, leaving us alone in awkward silence. Eventually, Flynn cleared his throat and walked in.“Are you alright?” the Beta asked, his voice calm but containing just a bit of reluctance and worry.“I’m fine,” I assured him, brushing my hair out of my face. “It was nothing, just… an argument between twins. The worst kind. I’m sorry for the way she pushed past you like that.”I forced a smile even though I was a little mortified. I didn’t know how long Flynn had been outside the door but I hoped that he hadn’t heard our conversation. Miscommunication happened often between my sister and me but it was embarrassing to think that he heard us arguing.Not to mention what Addison said about my feelings toward him. If the Beta had overheard her words… our friendship would surely be over.And that was the worst thought of all.“Um, was there something yo
EVELYNI was a little taken aback, not expecting the question at all, especially not from Aiden. Regardless of how everything had happened between Cole and I, my friend was still the King’s Guard, his sworn hand. Talking to him about such intimate matters, especially considering that not long ago, he’d offered to help me escape the palace… it felt strange and heavy.Still, I couldn’t keep him waiting.Right?I wondered if perhaps this wasn’t a real question but when I looked back at Aiden, I found that his face was surprisingly serious. His expression was solemn, his dark blue eyes searching for an answer.My cheeks suddenly grew hot as I wrestled with my thoughts, unsure of how to answer my friend when things were still so chaotic and strange between the King and me.“I… I suppose so,” I replied finally, knowing that there was no use in denying it. “I know it’s stupid, but I do love him, Aiden.”“There’s nothing stupid about that,” Aiden said, shaking his head. “That being said… peop
EVELYNThe next morning, I woke up early and immediately decided that I needed to talk with the scarred man.I’d had a bad dream about Aiden, and while I couldn’t remember all of the details when I awoke, I had a terrible feeling in my belly, one that told me I needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with my friend. Something was amiss and I couldn’t let it continue without question. I wanted to figure out what he had talked about with Aiden the day before and why Aiden suddenly healed so fast.Physically, something was amiss. Even Cole, easily the strongest wolf in the kingdom, couldn’t have recovered from such intense injuries that quickly. He healed at a more rapid pace due to his power, but he couldn’t have done so as fast as Aiden had.What had happened to him?And was he okay?That was the thing that mattered the most to me. I needed to know that my friend was okay in a place full of such terrible, wicked people. The thought of losing him somehow to the scarred man or J