Chapter 5
EVAN
The next morning, I head down to the kitchen early in the hopes I’ll have some peace and quiet, but as soon as I walk through the door, I’m met with Lucy, Jaxon’s sister, and her baby, Albie.
“Morning, Evan,” she says with a smile.
“Morning.”
I take uneven steps to the fridge as her eyes follow me.
“Why are you hobbling?”
“Dead leg,” I lie.
Before I realise what’s happening, she walks towards me, reaches for my hoodie, and pulls it up. She hisses at the sight as she peers around me. “Holy shit.”
I knew it wouldn’t be pretty; I didn’t bother cleaning it up yesterday.
“You need to get this looked at.”
“No,” I exhale. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“What happened?”
“I–” I pause for a moment. “I went for a run and fell over. It’s fine.”
Lucy flashes me a look of frustration. “If you say ‘it’s fine’ one more time.”
She drags me down to the infirmity where the pack doctors check me over. I’m told to take off my clothes, but I keep the material firmly over my forearms.
“This looks painful, Evan,” Lucy grimaces. “I wish I could heal you.”
Me, too. I think to myself.
Lucy is a natural healer and can heal almost every wolf, apart from me.
When the doctor cleans my wound with antiseptic wipes and places a dressing over the larger parts of my graze, I try not to wince at the pain. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much as it did, but the memory of Caleb lingers.
“Come on.” Lucy beckons with her head when I’m patched up. “Let’s get breakfast. I know you didn’t eat much yesterday.”
The second we step into Jaxon’s private kitchen, I wish I turned around instead. Almost everyone is here, sitting having breakfast together—babies and all.
I perch at the counter as a few conversations buzz around the kitchen, but the one I cling to is Phia and Grace. They’re close to Lucy and Ava, but they are total gossips. Right now is a prime example.
“Oh, Goddess.” Phia slams her hand down on the counter. “Have you fucking seen him?”
My eyes float to Grace, who is right beside her. Her eyes almost bulge out of her head as she nods aggressively. “That man could ruin my life any day.”
My wolf howls at the disrespect, but I couldn’t care less. They can have him.
Phia sighs. “Shame about his father. I wonder if the apple falls far from the tree. But still…I wouldn’t mind one night with him.”
My brows pinch together as I listen silently.
“His father?” Grace pitches in.
“Yeah…don’t you know who he is?”
Grace shakes her head.
“Ryker Vella. He’s notoriously known for being deadly and completely unforgiving. You don’t want to mess with that man. Apparently, he has superpowers. Not that I’ve seen them, but I’ve heard about them. I wonder if Caleb is the same.”
“Will you two stop gossiping for five minutes?” Lucy rolls her eyes.
Phia chuckles. “What? It’s something new to talk about, and it’s exciting. I feel like we found out nothing at the meeting. Why is he taking over Cole’s pack? It’s not adding up.”
Lucy purses her lips and glances over her shoulder as Jaxon occupies himself with Aurora. “I mean, the details aren’t meant to be shared,” she says as she turns back around to face the two girls. “But everyone is going to find out sooner or later.”
“Spill it,” Grace says, biting her lip.
“It seems Cole owed Ryker a favour. A big favour at that, and in exchange for whatever Ryker did—or even threatened to do—Caleb is now their Alpha.”
Phia shakes her head. “But what about his old pack?”
“Caleb and his pack are going to integrate into Cole’s pack, but I suppose it’s about power and territory.” Lucy shrugs. “I don’t really know. It seems complicated and a little unnecessary, but it’s done now.”
I almost snort to myself. So he’s a daddy’s boy. Figures.
“Jaxon said you knew him when you were kids?” Phia states.
Lucy nods. “Yeah, when we lived in the North. I remember seeing him around, as all the kids in the district practically went to the same school. But we weren’t close or anything; no one wanted to be friends with him because of his father’s reputation.
Our parents told us to stay away, but Jaxon, being Jaxon, didn’t like being told what to do. ”
“Is he as dangerous as his father?” Grace asks curiously.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think I’d wanna mess with him. We haven’t seen him in years, and I’ve never really known his true intentions. Jaxon’s keeping him close because he’s better to have as an ally, right?”
“But can Jaxon trust him?”
Lucy shrugs again. “I pray he knows what he’s doing.”
I switch off when they change the conversation.
“Hey, Evan.” Ava pops up beside me. “You know how you said you wanted to be more involved with the pack?”
“Uh, yeah.”
She flashes me a bright grin. “Well, Jax has a great proposition for you and some of the others.”
I blink. “What’s that?”
“He’s determined to bring the district closer together, protect ourselves and our land. And since you helped out Cole and Penelope when they joined the district, Jax is asking if we can do the same with Caleb.”
My mouth falls open. “Wha–” I cut myself off. “Why?”
“Because it shows we’re willing to help and do everything we can to support each other. It’s really important to stay connected, you know? And Jax is working hard to hold the respect of the district.”
“What does he want me to do?”
My heart pounds abnormally loud in my ears because I don’t want to spend more time around Caleb if I don’t have to.
“Show a friendly face, I guess,” Ava says with a shrug. “He’s going to need all the trust he can get. And because some of the old pack know you well, it’ll be good to see you helping out so they can settle quicker.”
My face twists at her words. “For how long?”
“Mm.” She presses her lips together. “Not long. Just enough for them to ease into life with their new Alpha. We appreciate it’s probably distressing for them to have such a big change, but we want them to know there’s nothing to be afraid of and we will be there to help.
It’ll create a bond, and we really need that between our packs. ”
“I know I said I’d help out,” I laugh nervously. “But it seems like a lot.”
“We know you can do it, Evan, and it’ll definitely help bring you out of your shell. Nina and Leon are going to do it with you, and I know you’ve grown closer to them since training privately with Kayden.”
My lungs seem not to work anymore because I cannot do this for my own sanity. Ava takes my hand, as if sensing my sudden distress, but not for the reasons she probably thinks.
“And not that you have anything to prove. But it’ll look good to Jax, and he’ll appreciate it massively.”
I resist the urge to close my eyes in defeat. I can’t say no; it’ll look suspicious.
“Okay,” I rasp.
“Amazing.” Ava beams. “Jax will run the brief by you. It’s gonna be fun and good for you, Evan. I promise.”
After dinner, I head up to bed, feeling the weight of today drowning me. I lock my door and race to my bedside table. I reach for my metal case and empty the grains of rice onto the wooden floors.
I kneel on them, my eyes watering at the piercing of my skin. I clamp them shut and push further down onto my knees, entwining my hands together in front of me.
“Goddess, I am sorry for everything I’ve done. I pray for your guidance on how to be better in this world. Give me a chance to prove myself. I’ll do anything.”
Caleb has to be some sort of punishment.
A ruthless Alpha mated to me to put me through hell—not a cute local guy who spends his weekends with his grandparents. He’s a man who looks like he wants to murder me.
And I believe it because I’ve done terrible things.
The Moon Goddess might never forgive me, but she doesn’t know I regret what happened every single day of my life, and if this is the way I’ve got to go, then I’ll accept it.
She knows my fate better than anyone.