Chapter 56
"Alpha Damon, what a coincidence to find you here of all places at this exact time."
Damon slowly lowered his glass, and his eyes met Tristan’s. For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Damon leaned back in his chair, completely unbothered. "Is it?"
Tristan folded his arms across his chest. "Yes."
Damon glanced around the tavern. "I come here often."
Tristan resisted the urge to scoff. Evelyn was at the tavern, and somehow, it happened to be Damon’s frequently visited tavern. How coincidental.
Damon raised an eyebrow. "What is?"
Tristan cleared his throat. He had not realized he had said the last part out loud. "You’ve never mentioned it," he said instead.
Damon quirked a brow. "Must I inform you every time I visit a tavern, Tristan?" He asked. Tristan rolled his eyes this time before turning his attention toward Evelyn.
Damon followed his gaze. She was still talking to the strange man and still smiling.
Damon’s jaw tightened slightly at the sight, and Tristan noticed. Of course he did.
"I must say, Alpha Damon. You seem rather interested in their conversation."
Without looking away, Damon replied, "I happen to be facing that direction."
"You could turn around if you wanted," Tristan pushed more.
Damon looked at him. "I don’t want to look away. Tell me, Tristan. Do you make it a habit to interrogate people?"
"I only interrogate people I find suspicious."
Damon let out a quiet laugh. "I assure you, Beta Tristan, I have no intention of causing trouble."
Before Tristan could reply, Evelyn’s laughter drifted across the terrace, and both men looked toward her.
Adrian had apparently said something amusing because Evelyn was shaking her head while trying to suppress another laugh.
Damon stared. There was something strange about seeing her like this. For some reason, that sight affected him more than it should have.
Tristan cleared his throat and walked back to his seat. Now he had to keep an eye on not just Adrian but also Damon.
---
"I must say, when I heard of your healing house, I’ve been excited. It’s not very common to know a fellow medicine person."
Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh at his words. "I’m a healer, Alpha Adrian—"
"Adrian. Please call me Adrian." He interjected quickly, his eyes soft and warm still.
Evelyn nodded. "I’m a healer, Adrian. I don’t know if I can consider myself a person who studies medicine."
Adrian waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense! I saw what you did with that old woman. I’d argue you’re the true medicine."
Evelyn laughed at this. She couldn’t remember when last she’d just sat like this and talked—something that didn’t involve the Supreme Alpha or the economy or trade routes.
It had been four months since her divorce from Kael, and ever since then, it had been one thing or the other. But for now, for a few minutes, Evelyn allowed herself to forget everything waiting for her outside those tavern walls.
Then the tavern door opened. The sound wasn’t particularly loud, but something about the sudden silence that followed made Evelyn glance toward it.
A familiar figure stepped inside, and Evelyn’s smile dropped.
What is this? She thought. An ambush? Even for Lucien, this was a new low.
Lucien stood near the entrance for a moment. He wasn’t one to be out in places such as this, hence the silence the moment he stepped inside.
His eyes scanned the tavern and paused on some familiar ones. Their gazes locked, and his jaw hardened.
Lucien crossed the tavern floor without hesitation, ignoring the way conversation had died in a ripple around him, ignoring every eye that followed his progress toward the terrace table.
Evelyn watched him approach with something cold settling in her chest. She had not expected this part...
"Lady Evelyn." His voice was even. "I require a word."
"You may speak here, Alpha Lucien." Evelyn didn’t rise, didn’t so much as shift in her seat. "I’m afraid I have company."
His gaze flicked briefly to Adrian dismissively before returning to her. "This isn’t a conversation for an audience."
"Then perhaps it can wait until you’ve learned to request one properly." Her voice stayed level, though the words landed with real edge. "I don’t recall inviting you to this table, Alpha Lucien."
"Evelyn." Something almost like warning crept into his tone. "A minute. That’s all I’m asking."
From the tavern entrance, Marcus watched with his nerves on a high, knowing Lucien was going to blow it up no matter what.
"I have nothing to say to you, Supreme Alpha Lucien. I believe we have both aired out our thoughts, haven’t we."
Lucien’s jaw worked hard. "Evelyn, a minute is what I ask. Don’t be so difficult."
At this point, Tristan had gotten near to them. He knew he couldn’t raise his fist to the Supreme Alpha and go scot-free—hell, he couldn’t even match him in strength—but he also knew he would die protecting his Lady from him if need be.
"You’ve asked for minutes before and turned them into threats." She stood up, and so did Adrian. "I think you’ve had quite enough of my time without an appointment, and quite frankly, I do not appreciate you ambushing me this way. It’s not Supreme Alpha-like."
"This is important," Lucien gritted out. His pride was lost, not when his pack was bleeding.
"So was Valemont’s fifteen million silvers." She held his gaze, unflinching. "And yet here we are."
"So that’s what this is about? You—" He paused, trying to regulate his emotions. "I booked a private room. Let’s talk for a second." He stepped closer to her, but before she could answer, Adrian stepped forward.
"I’m sorry, Alpha Lucien, but I believe Lady Evelyn has already made herself clear."
Lucien’s eyes shifted to him, and for the first time since arriving, he looked genuinely irritated by Adrian’s presence.
"And you are?"
"Alpha Adrian of the Celestial Realm."
The words were enough to make Lucien pause. His expression hardened almost immediately. Of all the people he could have found Evelyn with tonight, it had to be the heir of the Celestial Realm.
That meant he was right—the Celestial Realm did this on Evelyn’s behalf. But why?
"This doesn’t concern you, Young Alpha. This is between me and my realm member. As a stranger in my realm, it’s best you stay out of this."
"Evelyn..." he began but was cut off once more.
"How many no’s will be enough, Alpha Lucien?"
Evelyn shut her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was getting out of hand. Now Damon was here too?
"The lady already said no, once. Do you intend to force yourself on her?" Damon asked, looking at Lucien in the eye.
Tristan had already taken a protective stance beside Evelyn, not saying a word but also prepared to act.
"One minute, that’s all," Evelyn said suddenly, and all of them looked at her, surprised, including Lucien himself.
Damon’s brows drew together sharply. "Evelyn—"
"One minute," she repeated, meeting Lucien’s eyes squarely, something cold and deliberate settling into her expression. "Not because you’ve earned it, Alpha Lucien. Only because I’d rather end this circus quickly than let it drag on in front of half the realm’s nobility."
Lucien’s jaw tightened, though something like relief flickered briefly beneath the tension. "Thank you."
"Don’t thank me." Her voice cut sharp. "I’m not doing this as a courtesy."
She looked at Adrian apologetically, then at Lucien, who had gestured at the tavern owner. The two of them began to walk toward the far end of the terrace.
Behind them, no one moved. Damon’s jaw was tight, his eyes fixed on the space between Evelyn and Lucien as though he could close it through sheer force of will.
It was in that exact, fragile silence that the tavern door slammed open a second time. Evelyn and Lucien turned toward the door only to pause, seeing Kael standing by the door, carrying an abnormally large bouquet of roses.
His gaze scanned the tavern until it landed on Evelyn, and his smile grew wide, only to drop slightly when he noticed Lucien standing next to her. Then his eyes moved a little more, and he saw Damon, Tristan, and the strange Alpha.
His smile dropped into a frown. What the fuck was going on? And why was the Supreme Alpha with Evelyn?
He stepped closer just as Evelyn groaned internally. Who had cursed this day for her?
"Is this some kind of gathering happening that I am not aware of?" He asked, gaze shifting to Lucien. "Supreme Alpha, why are you here with Evelyn?"
Lucien’s jaw tightened at the interruption, clearly unwilling to be questioned by Kael of all people. "That is no concern of yours, Alpha Kael."
"It’s every concern of mine." Kael’s eyes narrowed, the flowers still clutched awkwardly against his chest, wilting further with each passing second he failed to notice. "Evelyn is—" He caught himself, some flicker of old instinct warning him even now not to claim what he no longer had a right to. "I came to speak with her myself."
Evelyn stared at him, then at the roses, and scoffed. The second he stepped closer, she held her hand up.
"Don’t come closer. What—are you trying to trigger my allergies?" She snapped irritatedly.
Kael froze, dumbfounded for a second. "What? No! Do you not remember how much you love roses?" He stepped closer. "I brought these for you. I want to—"
Evelyn sneezed as he stepped closer, and before he could take another step, Tristan was blocking his view of her.
"Lady Evelyn is allergic to roses, Alpha Kael. You’d know this if you knew her. Please back away."
Kael stared at Tristan, then at the roses in his own arms, as if seeing them for the first time.
"That’s—" He shook his head, refusing the information even as it landed. "That can’t be right. Evelyn’s favorite flower has always been—"
"Peonies," Evelyn said flatly, another sneeze catching her mid-sentence. She pressed the back of her hand to her nose, glaring at him over it.
Kael’s jaw worked, humiliation creeping up his neck in blotchy color. "I—I must have forgotten—"
"I don’t care what it is you remember, Kael. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why you’re here with these when you have a Luna and a fated mate. Don’t ever ambush me with the intent to make me sick." She spat angrily, suddenly tired. All she’d wanted to do was just meet with Adrian and discuss the summit, but now...
Kael stood frozen, stripped of his flowers and his dignity in equal measure, while Damon, a short distance away, made no effort at all to hide the slow, delighted grin spreading across his face.
She turned to Lucien next, and something in her expression hardened further.
"And you." She met his eyes squarely. "You do not get to ambush me either, Alpha Lucien. If you want to speak with me, you come to Valemont, you request an audience, and you wait—the same as any other Alpha who wishes to be taken seriously. Not this."
With that, she stormed out of the tavern, Tristan hot on her heels.
Lucien watched her retreating figure. For the first time since this whole spectacle had begun, his face softened slightly.
Meanwhile, Kael glared at each man, his humiliation burned deep in him, his jaw wound tightly. "Why are you even here with him?" His eyes cut toward Lucien, then to Adrian. "And you—who exactly are you to her?"
Damon, still watching from a few steps away, finally spoke. "Perhaps you should worry less about the company Lady Evelyn keeps," he said, "and more about the slut you call a mate."