Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Alpha Adrian arrived just before noon.

Evelyn had barely finished reviewing a stack of documents when Clara appeared at the doorway.

"Luna, Alpha Adrian is here."

Evelyn looked up. For a brief second, she had completely forgotten about the summit.

Five days. That was all the time left before the Alpha Summit, and somehow, between Lucien, Kael, the trade routes, the healing house, and everything else that had happened, she and Adrian had barely discussed the arrangements.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He’s waiting in the east sitting room," Clara replied.

Evelyn rose immediately. "Tell him I’ll be there."

She found Adrian standing near one of the tall windows when she entered. He turned at the sound of her footsteps and smiled.

"I owe you an apology," she said, before he could even say a word. "The tavern was meant to be a simple discussion. Instead, it turned into a circus show. My apologies."

Adrian shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "You have nothing to apologize for. You were ambushed, in my opinion, and you did what was right for you. You left. I see no cause for apology."

Evelyn nodded. "Please sit, Alpha Adrian." She gestured for him to sit down. "I’m told the summit is five days away," she said, steering them back toward the matter at hand. "We haven’t discussed a single detail."

"Then let’s remedy that." Adrian took the seat Evelyn had indicated, crossing one leg over the other.

Evelyn settled opposite him. In her peripheral vision, she saw Tristan stopping some feet away—he was always around like a shadow. "What exactly are we expected to do at the summit?" she asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. The Alpha Summit is always the same. Too many Alphas in one place, too many egos, too much wine, and enough political maneuvering to make a person regret attending."

"That sounds reassuring." She mused, but he snickered, shaking his head.

"I assure you, it isn’t meant to be."

Evelyn shook her head, though the corner of her mouth lifted as Adrian leaned forward.

"The official reason for the summit is to discuss trade, territorial agreements, security, and alliances. And then the most important thing of the night—donations. Alphas will make donations before the night even begins, and at the peak of the night, each donation will be announced. Now, the unofficial reason is for everyone to find out what everyone else is doing."

Evelyn arched a brow. "You make it sound like a battlefield disguised as a banquet."

"Because it is one." Adrian’s smile turned wry. "The wine simply makes the wounds less obvious until morning."

Evelyn’s brows raised. "And what exactly is expected of me? As your date, I mean. Business or otherwise."

"Very little, honestly. You’ll stand beside me during the formal introductions. You’ll be seated near me during dinner. If anyone asks—and someone always asks—you’ll let them assume whatever they like about why a woman of your reputation is attending on my arm." He shrugged easily. "My father’s condition was simple companionship, nothing more. I have no intention of making this more complicated than it needs to be."

"A woman of my reputation." She smirked, her fingers intertwining. "Let me make something clear, Alpha Adrian. I’m going with you as a deal with your father. I won’t be treated as some conquest or one of your women. You will correct misconceptions that could be made, and you will act accordingly. A woman of my reputation is not an easy feat. I don’t intend to have a man ruin my reputation."

Adrian’s smile faded, something more serious settling into his expression. "That wasn’t my intention, Lady Evelyn. Forgive the phrasing—and I understood, fully." He inclined his head, something genuinely sobered in the gesture. "Companionship. Nothing assumed, nothing implied beyond what actually happens in that room. You have my word."

Evelyn nodded. "Good. Then we understand each other."

"We do." He studied her a moment longer, something more careful in his expression now than before. "I’ll send a carriage for you the morning of, if that suits. Simpler that way—no risk of you arriving separately and half the room speculating regardless."

"No." Evelyn didn’t hesitate. "I’ll make my own way there."

His brow lifted. "That will draw its own speculation."

"Speculation I control is preferable to an arrangement I don’t." She held his gaze. "If I arrive in your carriage, it becomes a statement before either of us has said a word. I’d rather choose my own entrance."

Adrian stared at her for some seconds. He was intrigued—he couldn’t lie. When his father had informed him of what he’d done, setting up this deal with a woman he’d never as much as heard of, he’d been prepared for the worst. And yet, the moment he met her, he knew he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Evelyn was different—so different from what he was used to—and that made him curious. Intrigued, one might say.

He nodded. "As you wish, Lady Evelyn." He paused, unable to stop the smile on his face. "I must say, this is the first time a date has declined me coming to pick them up."

Evelyn hummed. "Good thing this date is more or less a business date. The usual rules don’t apply here."

Adrian let out a short laugh, opening his mouth to respond when Clara appeared in the doorway again.

"My Lady. Alpha Soren has arrived."

Evelyn’s brows lifted. "Soren?"

She hadn’t seen Soren in weeks. The last she’d heard, he had left the realm to handle some business and had been away ever since.

Adrian, on the other hand, stood up to leave, Evelyn next to him. "Well, that concludes my visit here. I’ll take my leave now, Lady Evelyn."

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but Soren walked in through the door. In his hand was a large portrait covered with a shawl.

His gaze landed on Adrian, and his steps slowed before shifting back to Evelyn.

"Alpha Soren." Adrian’s greeting came sharp—the warmth that had been there was totally gone now, replaced by an eerie tension Evelyn couldn’t quite place. She looked between both Alphas, who stared at each other.

"Alpha Adrian." Soren’s tone matched the stiffness exactly.

Tristan, who had drifted closer the moment the air in the room changed, glanced between the two men with open curiosity, saying nothing at all.

"As I said," Adrian continued, turning back to Evelyn as though the exchange hadn’t happened, "I’ll take my leave." He inclined his head once, offered Soren a final, measured nod, and let himself out.

The moment the door shut, Soren’s easy demeanor didn’t fully return.

"How do you know him?" Evelyn asked, studying him carefully.

"We’ve crossed paths." Soren’s jaw tightened briefly before he waved the question away, setting the covered portrait down against a nearby chair instead. "It doesn’t matter."

He smiled instead, but it wasn’t like the one she’d known. He gestured toward the portrait. "I brought you something from my travels. I thought of you the moment I saw it."

There was something unexpectedly sincere about the answer.

Evelyn smiled. "Thank you." She turned toward Tristan and held it out. "Keep this somewhere safe for me."

Tristan took the portrait from her carefully. Soren watched him for a moment before looking back at Evelyn.

"I’m back for the Alpha Summit." He started, but Evelyn had guessed as much—after all, all Alphas would be attending the summit.

"I assumed as much," she replied.

"I came to ask if you’ll be attending." He asked, but his eyes told a different thing.

"I will."

Soren nodded, then hesitated. "And if you’d be kind enough to grace me with your company as my date."

Evelyn blinked. She hadn’t expected that. "Your date?"

"Yes." He replied, although his expression remained calm, there was something different about him today. Something Evelyn couldn’t quite place.

"I’m afraid I already have plans for the summit."

Something flickered across his face—disappointment, quickly folded away. "Of course. I should have expected as much." He inclined his head. "Another time, then."

He was quick to leave just as he came. The moment the door shut behind him, Tristan turned to her, brow furrowed.

"Was it just me," he said, "or was that entire visit strange?"

"Which part?" Evelyn asked.

"All of it," Tristan replied, and Evelyn hummed.

"It was more than strange," Evelyn admitted, already moving toward the hall, her mind already turning over the odd tension between the two men rather than dwelling on it. "But it isn’t my concern."

They began walking toward the living room so she could settle and take a look at what Soren had gotten her, but her footsteps slowed hearing the voices of Celine and Varek yelling at each other.

"Do it now, Varek! No more excuses. I’m done."

That was the last bit Evelyn heard before stepping into the living room, both Celine and Varek staring at each other with anger.

Evelyn’s gaze flickered between them. "Are you—is everything okay?" she asked, and for a second, neither of them replied. Then Celine stormed out of the room.

Varek stared at her retreating figure for a second longer, then cleared his throat, dragging a hand through his hair. "All is well."

Nothing in his expression suggested that it was.