Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Evelyn returned to the Valemont estate with the irritation from earlier still sitting heavily in her chest.

The moment she stepped through the doors, she shrugged off her cloak and handed it to Clara without a word.

She had thought the day would be simple.

Meet Adrian, discuss the Alpha Summit, and return home.

Instead, she had somehow ended up with four Alphas, each with their own expectations of her, as though her presence alone had become an invitation for everyone to demand something.

How infuriating.

She paused in her steps, turning to look at Tristan, who was right behind her. "Tristan," she called.

"Yes, my Lady."

"Send a message to Alpha Adrian. Apologize for the disruption at the tavern and set up another meeting, preferably in Valemont this time."

Tristan’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t totally clear about the said Alpha, but he also knew there wasn’t anything he could say. After all, a deal was a deal.

He nodded instead. "I’ll have the message sent immediately."

He turned to leave, his gaze catching Celine, who had been standing nearby, arms crossed over her chest. He gave a curt nod before leaving.

"Where’s Varek?" Evelyn asked.

"Out. Alpha duties," Celine replied, watching Evelyn as she sat down.

"I take it the meeting didn’t go as expected, if you’re sending messages to the Alpha for a second meeting." She said, taking a seat opposite Evelyn.

Evelyn immediately began to talk about all that happened at the tavern, unable to hold back any of it. It had been a while since she and Celine had sat down and just discussed.

"Can you imagine that?" She asked, finally done narrating.

Celine cleared her throat. "I have to say though, Evelyn. What are you going to do now?"

Evelyn’s brows furrowed. "How do you mean?"

"I mean, provoking the Supreme Alpha the way you did tonight?"

Evelyn’s brows drew together slowly. "Provoking him?"

"I only mean—" Celine set the needlework aside. "He’s the most powerful man in the realm, and you’ve humiliated him twice now, in front of witnesses both times. Haven’t you pushed him far enough already?"

"Far enough." Evelyn repeated the words like they tasted strange in her mouth. "Tell me, Celine. Is everyone in this realm allowed to walk over me—Kael, Lucien, every man who’s ever decided my worth without asking me—but the moment I set a boundary of my own, I’ve somehow pushed too far?"

Celine’s mouth opened, then closed. "That isn’t what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I only meant—" Celine faltered, color rising in her face. "I’m only saying that—"

Before she could finish her words, the door groaned open as Clara stepped in. Her eyes flickered between Evelyn and Celine as though she could sense the tension.

"Forgive me for interrupting, my Lady, but you have visitors."

Evelyn straightened. "Who?"

"An older woman, my Lady. She’s come with another." Clara hesitated. "They didn’t give their names, but the older one carries herself like nobility. I wasn’t certain whether to turn them away this late."

Evelyn exchanged a glance with Tristan, both of them clearly running through the list of people who might show up unannounced at this hour—and coming up short.

"Show them in."

A moment later, the doors opened again, and Evelyn rose from her chair almost on instinct.

Her gaze immediately fell on the two women entering the room.

The first was an older woman, perhaps in her late fifties, though there was something about the way she carried herself that made her difficult to place by age alone. She was dressed elegantly, but without the unnecessary display Evelyn had come to expect from women who belonged to the upper ranks of the realm.

Behind her walked another woman, and Evelyn recognized her immediately.

General Ashira.

Her expression tightened slightly. Of all the people who could have accompanied this mysterious woman to Valemont, Ashira had certainly not been on her list.

The General stopped a few steps behind the older woman, her posture formal.

The older woman’s gaze was stuck on Evelyn, as though she couldn’t believe her eyes. "It’s you."

Only then did Evelyn look at her, taken aback by the woman’s words. She stepped forward.

"How may I help you, Ma’am?" she asked.

"It’s you from the tavern. You healed me." The woman said, voice filled with shock. Only then did Evelyn look at the woman properly and recognize her.

Back at the tavern, the woman had been dressed in such simple clothes she could have been mistaken for an old merchant’s mother, but now, standing before Evelyn was an elegant and sophisticated woman who looked accustomed to power.

"Don’t tell me you are—"

"Evelyn Valemont. This is the Evelyn Valemont, Luna," General Ashira said from where she stood.

Evelyn went very still. Luna. Her gaze moved from the elegant woman before her to Ashira, then back again, the pieces finally settling into place, making her chest tighten.

"Luna Veronica," she said slowly.

The older woman’s face broke into a wide, delighted smile, as though the coincidence pleased her rather than complicated anything at all.

"Ah, I see my name has traveled far, and you know who I am." She stepped closer, taking Evelyn’s hands in both of hers before Evelyn could think to offer or withhold them. "And here I thought I’d stumbled upon nothing more than a kind stranger this afternoon. Imagine my surprise, not knowing I would meet the same kind stranger again, under different circumstances although."

Behind Evelyn, she heard Celine’s sharp intake of breath.

Evelyn smiled tightly. She’d heard of Luna Veronica. She was Lucien’s mother and the First Lady of the realm. While she never really showed her face in public, she led alongside her husband before his death.

"I had no idea who you were, my Lady," Evelyn replied calmly, her gaze flickering toward Ashira. "I hope whatever you heard of me didn’t paint too unflattering a picture."

Veronica laughed warmly. It was nothing like the careful formality Evelyn had come to expect from anyone connected to Lucien’s court.

"Unflattering?" She released Evelyn’s hands, though her eyes stayed fixed on her. "On the contrary, I find myself rather more impressed than offended. A woman who has managed to throw the realm into disarray. A woman who brought the entire First Houses to its knees in under two weeks." She tilted her head. "An Evelyn Valemont I haven’t heard of until now. I was curious enough to see who dared to disrupt the calm of the realm."

"I must say, I’m quite pleased it’s a woman, and that too, a kind one."

Evelyn blinked, caught off guard by the warmth in it. "I’m not certain whether I should take that as a compliment or a warning."

Veronica laughed. "A compliment, definitely."

"Please." Evelyn gestured toward the sitting room. "Won’t you both sit? I’ll have Clara bring tea."

Veronica took one, and Ashira moved to stand behind her, still maintaining the formal posture of a General in the presence of her former Luna.

"I imagine," Veronica said once Clara had poured the tea and retreated, "that you’re wondering why I’ve come."

"The thought had occurred to me," Evelyn replied.

Veronica hummed. "I returned home to find the pack in disarray. And the Supreme Alpha barking orders at Marcus over matters he usually handles without so much as raising his voice." She sipped her tea, unhurried. "When I finally asked what precisely had reduced the Supreme Alpha to this state, I was told, at great and reluctant length, about a woman named Evelyn Valemont."

"I take it," Evelyn said, "the account wasn’t flattering to me."

"It wasn’t, but I have come to hear from you. Marcus, bless the child, could not give a full account without pandering to his Alpha, and the General, no matter how much she tried, holds a bias I can see. Until I hear from you, I can’t make headway."

Evelyn stared at her and smiled. Something about the woman was inviting, calming—and to think she birthed Lucien.

Evelyn took a deep breath and let it all out. Starting from Kael’s war with Alpha Damon’s pack, to him bringing back Sophia as her co-Luna, to her finding out about her child, up until Lucien backing Kael.

Once she was done, Veronica’s brows were drawn in a frown.

"I’m sorry, Luna Veronica, but I have only done whatever I can to survive. Your son ordered that I return to a man who had my child buried without my knowledge, to a man who deceived me and made me raise another child as mine. All I did was refuse, and he laid a ban on Valemont, banning all merchants from doing business with me. I have only given him the taste of his own medicine."

Veronica had no words. Before she was a mother, she was a woman, and she greatly understood Evelyn’s plight.

She nodded. "Fair enough. You do what you can to survive." Veronica placed her teacup down carefully.

Evelyn’s shoulders loosened slightly. She had expected a lecture. Perhaps even an attempt to defend Lucien.

Instead, Veronica sat before her with the understanding of a woman who had lived long enough to know that every story had more than one side.

"I cannot tell you that I agree with everything you’ve done," Veronica continued. "But I would be lying if I said I couldn’t understand why you did it."

"My son," she continued, "has always mistaken pride for strength. It’s a mistake his father made before him, though I’d hoped Lucien might have learned better, watching where it led—but clearly he didn’t." She sighed, shaking her head.

"I must ask you this though, Evelyn. In all that you do, in your quest for revenge, don’t forget the realm doesn’t have just Lucien in it. Thousands of merchants are losing their livelihood. Packs, Alphas—they’re all on the receiving end. Please end it as quickly as you can."

Evelyn nodded. That she understood. After all, Kael, her, and Lucien weren’t the only people in the realm. This fight was affecting more people than she wanted, but it would all stop if Lucien could just—

The door opened again, this time Clara came running in.

"My Lady, my Lady."

Evelyn sprang to her feet, eyes wide with panic. "What has happened?"

"The Supreme Alpha has arrived. He’s requesting an audience, my Lady."