Chapter Sixty-Four: This Is War

EVELYN'S POV

“Leonard?” My voice cracked as I tried to speak. I needed him to tell me this wasn’t real, that what I’d just read was some twisted joke.

But his reaction said it all. He slowly put the phone down, his fists trembling at his sides. His eyes locked on mine, a storm brewing within them.

“We need to leave. Now.” His voice was steady but laced with urgency.

“Leave? What—what do you mean?” My legs felt like they might give out beneath me.

Leonard stood abruptly, pacing the room. “Whoever this is, they’ve made it personal. I don’t trust that staying here will keep you safe. And if they know where you are…” His voice trailed off, the unspoken implications clear.

“But my family—”

“They’ll be safe,” he interrupted. “I’ll make sure of it. But right now, we need to focus on you.”

I wanted to argue, to tell him I wasn’t leaving my father and everything I’d worked so hard to protect. But deep down, I knew he was right. Whoever was behind these messages wasn’t just playing games—they were escalating. And the last thing I wanted was for anyone else to get hurt because of me.

Leonard pulled out his phone again, dialing quickly. I couldn’t make out much of the conversation, but the clipped tone and the occasional nods told me he was arranging something serious.

When he hung up, he turned to me. “Pack a bag. Essentials only. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”

I stared at him, my mind reeling. “Leonard, I—”

“Please, Evelyn,” he said, his voice softening. “Trust me on this.”

The raw emotion in his eyes broke down my resistance. Nodding, I turned and hurried to my room. My hands shook as I stuffed clothes into a small bag, my mind racing with unanswered questions. Who was doing this? And what horrible discovery were they threatening me with?

A knock at my door startled me. Leonard stepped in, his expression unreadable. “We need to go. Now.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, clutching my bag tightly.

He hesitated, running a hand through his hair. “I think I know who sent those messages. And if I’m right, this isn’t just about you anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

He exhaled sharply. “This might tie back to something bigger—something I’ve been investigating for months. But I didn’t think… I didn’t think they’d come after you to get to me.”

“Leonard,” I whispered, my chest tightening. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying this is bigger than Caleb or Dana,” he replied, his voice low. “And whoever is behind this knows how to play the game better than anyone I’ve dealt with before.”

My heart sank. I thought I’d been prepared for the worst, but now I wasn’t so sure.

We left the house under the cover of darkness, Leonard guiding me to his car. He scanned the area carefully, his tension palpable.

“Where are we going?” I asked once we were on the road.

“To someone I trust,” he said cryptically. “They’ll help us figure this out.”

The rest of the drive was silent, except for the occasional hum of the engine. My mind raced with possibilities, each one worse than the last.

When we arrived at our destination—a secluded cabin deep in the woods—I hesitated. “Who lives here?”

“A friend,” Leonard said as he knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal a tall man with piercing green eyes and an air of authority. He glanced at me briefly before focusing on Leonard. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was urgent,” he said.

“Daniel, meet Evelyn,” Leonard introduced quickly. “Evelyn, this is Daniel—someone who knows how to handle situations like this.”

“Situations like what?” I asked, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

Daniel’s gaze softened slightly. “You’re in danger, Evelyn. And if we don’t act fast, the person after you might succeed in whatever they’re planning.”

I shivered, the weight of his words sinking in. “But who are they? And why me?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Daniel said firmly.

As I stepped inside the cabin, I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder. The darkness outside felt alive, as if it were watching me.

And for the first time, I realized this wasn’t just a game of cat and mouse anymore.

This was war.The scent of damp earth filled my senses as I stood there, every nerve in my body strained with the effort to collect myself together. Something about Evelyn continuously chuning in my mind, refusing to surrender. It wasn’t just her face or her voice that lingered, but something way dense, something almost feral. It was vexingly shifty, like trying to catch smoke with bare hands. I clenched my fists and greeted my teeth, frustrated. Maybe it was because she had been the last person I saw before leaving. Perhaps something more. Either way, I didn’t have the opulence of settling on it right now.

My priority at the moment was Nameless. He demanded unwavering loyalty, which I must answer to. And that meant I had to push aside my doubts and or any lingering distractions. But even as I tried, my mind betrayed me, wandering back to pieces of a past I couldn't vividly remember. A glint of Seraphina’s face came to me, her eyes wide with joy as I swung her around the room playfully, her innocent laughter ringing bells in my head. I could almost feel the weight of her little body in my arms, and hear the giggles that escaped her lips. Then, just as quickly, another voice gashed through the nostalgia—a boy’s voice, shril and firm.

"Daddy!"

The echoes did nothing but grew louder, crashing into each other until they became a clamor. My head throbbed hard, and I let out a low growl, the sound more wolf than man. The shadow wolves around me went on upper awareness. their glowing eyes fixed on me, but they didn’t interrupt. They were my constant companies, bound to me like I was bound to Nameless. They may understand my pain. But I cared less.

We moved ahead, the Pack impending forward, but the storm inside me didn’t lessen. If anything, it grew worse and more. The memories were constant, clawing their way to the surface regardless of how hard I tried to shove away. I felt like I was unveiling, piece by piece. I wouldn't allow Nameless see me like this. The last time my memories had rekindled—after the gala—I had managed to suppress them, coiling them tight like a spring. To keep them away from Nameless. But now that spring was scattering, and I wasn’t sure I could clutch it together.

By the time Nameless appeared, I was barely holding on. He materialized before. The shadow wolves were still with me. His presence was cold. His dark eyes searched through me. me, and I knew he could sense through my facade. He always could.

“Did you have her?” His voice was low, calculated, but there was a cliff to it, it barely contained patience.

“No,” I said, my voice even despite the crisis inside me. “It was just seduction, like she would always do_I tried. I stayed focused.”

Nameless sloped his head loosely, still scanning me. For a moment, I thought he might push further, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned the conversation to one I preferred even less.

“What of your memories?” he asked, his tone casual, but I could feel the burden of the question.

I falter, my heart blowing in my chest. My wolf is uneasy inside me.“Why can’t I have them?” I asked, my voice carefully stall. “Why do you keep them from me?”

“They are nothing but distractions,” Nameless said, his voice firm and serious, “Memories are cuffs, Dane. They tie you to what was, instead of what must be. If you had them, they would only be used to cajole you. The relic and the old man—those are what matters now.. Your mission requires clarity, and clarity requires sacrifice.”

His words hit me like a physical blow. Memories were cuffs? How could he say that when they were all I had left of my identity? I wanted to debate, to tell him he was wrong, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, it felt like something caught my throat l. I sat down, the weight of his gaze firing down on me. The shadow wolves circled closer, their presence a silent reminder of the reality I couldn’t escaped 

“You’re getting weak, Dane,” Nameless said, his voice filled with disapproval. “We need to prep you some more.”

My wolf howled in protest, a raw, gruff sound that echoed through my mind. I struggled to calm him, to push him back, but he was as restless as I was. My claws extended, the sharp tips catching the faint light, but I forced them to retract. Every muscle in my body shook with the effort.

Nameless wasn’t just suppressing my memories; he was trying to suppress me completely. To numb me,to , a tool for his will. I could feel it now. every word. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase the memory of Aurora Montague. She paraded in my mind like a shadow, a quiet, 

Unyielding presence. Something about her dubbed to me, felt like comfort, like a line to something real.

Nameless had called her a seductress, dangerous, but I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t. It doesn't feel right. There was a shared connection. I needed to see her again, to talk to her, to understand why she felt like this.. The thought of her was the only thing keeping me from losing myself completely.

“Seductress,” Nameless had said. “Dangerous.”

Why? What was it about her that he feared? The question burned in my mind . But I couldn’t act. Not with Nameless watching my every step And controlling my movements.

I screamed inwardly, a soundless protest against the rope he had wrapped around me. I wanted to reject, to defy him, to say I'm backing down. But I couldn’t. I was bound to him, body and soul. He was my God.

The thought sent a wave of despair crashing over me. Was this all I was?” His tool. The man I had once been—the father, the husband, the protector—felt like a primal memory, slipping further away with every passing day, just like smoke escaping a bottle.

I growled low in my throat again. It was a mix of pain and anger. I was losing myself, and I couldn't stop it.. My wolf snarled, his rage mirroring my own, but even he seemed powerless.