Chapter 120
Evelyn’s POV
After my unexpected call with Kane, I timidly returned to the living room. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to say. Considering everyone had spent the last hour sharing their colorful opinions on Kane, I could only imagine how they were going to perceive the news of me cutting my visit short.
As soon as I entered the room, the air shifted. My stomach sank as all the other conversations momentarily stopped.
Cheryl was first to speak out. “Evelyn, what is it?”
“No bad news, we hope,” Rachel added.
I took in a wavering breath. “That was Kane. He, uh…He’s coming to take me home tonight.”
The group broke out into a series of gasps and muffled comments.
“But why?” Brooke asked.
“Based on what he’s told me, there’s another active rogue attack going on. Apparently, this group is moving fast, and they could be headed toward this location,” I told them.
It wasn’t my intention to alarm anyone. Knowing that Cheryl’s estate was well guarded and possessed its own tall barrier, I was fairly confident that we would be safe from any possible attack.
Yet, many of the other guests were rightfully concerned, nonetheless.
“But surely, he knows that you’re safe here,” Angie remarked.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I think it’s because of what happened during the Midsummer Festival,” I suggested. “After that explosion, Kane’s been diligent with ensuring my safety.”
Some of the women appeared to soften with my explanation. Cheryl, Brooke, and Angie, on the other hand, seemed contemplative.
“I’m sorry to have to change plans like this,” I said. “I really was looking forward to this weekend.”
Cheryl refilled her wine glass and offered a small smile. “Well, no matter. If Alpha Kane insists on making an appearance, then by all means, let him.”
“No worries, dear,” Brooke acknowledged. “There will be other times that we can all come together and catch up.”
As reassuring as that was to hear, it wasn’t enough to cap off the guilt that I felt. I’d been looking forward to this trip for a while, only to have it cut short,
All things considered, I found it touching that Kane had expressed such concern for my well-being in the midst of the chaos. It caused my heart to gently flutter.
“Actually, since we were previously on the topic of my mother,” I started. “There was something that I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?” Angie prompted.
“The last time I’d spoken to my father, he’d let the notion slip about my mother having left a hidden will. Do any of you know if that’s true?”
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I glanced around the group, seeing if anyone had any vague idea what I was talking about.
The tension had suddenly lessened when Cheryl gave both Brooke and Angie a knowing smile. She quietly got up from her seat and gestured for me to follow her. I eagerly did so.
“I was sort of hoping that you would bring up a similar question like that, one day,” she hummed. “I remember your mother talking about wanting to set up a new will a few years before she passed. I think, deep down, she knew she couldn’t trust your father to do the right thing when it came to the house and the pack.”
Cheryl led us up to the second floor and down the long hallway. We reached the fourth door on the left, which contained a beautifully decorated bedroom.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar photograph that rested on the vanity across the room. It was a picture of my mother when she was my age.
“This was your mother’s room when she would stay here,” Cheryl said softly.
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. I missed her terribly.
“There’s only one place I can think of that your mother would have used to hide away such an important document,” she said. I watched Cheryl walk over to the far wall where a large painting was hanging.
She carefully took it down to reveal a safe that was embedded in the wall. She quickly typed in the code and opened the metal door. I watched her take out a box that she proceeded to hand me
“Now, I’m not sure about the will itself, but there might be something in here that could help you track it down. Nevertheless, I think it’s important that you have these things that once belonged to your mother.”
Hidden will or not, I graciously took the box from her hands and held it close to my chest. I was open to accepting anything that was my mother’s since I had so little to begin with.
“Thank you,” I said weakly.
“If you like, I’ll have Marshall place that box with your bags?” she offered.
I nodded in agreement. The two of us headed back down the stairs to rejoin the group.
At least, this evening wasn’t a total loss, I thought,
Kane made it back to the estate within the next hour. This time, he came to the front door and properly greeted Cheryl and a few others.
The man looked a little worse for wear. Both his hair and his clothes were nearly soaked through. I hadn’t realized how poorly the weather had become since I first arrived.
From what I could tell behind the small cluster that crowded around him, Kane looked very uneasy. His eyes were practically searching through the group until they landed on me.
I watched his shoulders slightly relax. “I apologize for cutting Evelyn’s time short with all of you,” he said.
“We understand,” Angie stated.
“It is unfortunate that the rogue situation has persistently grown worse in these last months,” Cheryl noted off- handedly.
My stomach clenched. She hadn’t plainly insinuated the growing rogue problem was Kane’s fault. However, there was no mistaking the personal dig she was trying to make.
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Kane kept his expression schooled and his tone even. “Quite so.”
“But given how poor the weather has become and how late it is, I’m going to have to insist that the two of you spend the night here,” Cheryl said.
I could instantly tell that such an arrangement wasn’t what Kane had in mind.
“I appreciate the invitation to stay,” he said. “However, I don’t think we-
“I insisted, Alpha Kane. Given the current state outside, it would be rather remiss of me to allow my late friend’s daughter and her spouse to travel in such awful conditions.”
A long moment of tense silence went by before Kane ultimately caved into Cheryl’s demand.
“Alright,” he agreed.
“Good. In that case, Marshall will show you where you will be staying for the night.”
“Won’t Kane just be staying with me?” I asked.
“Oh, certainly not,” Cheryl noted swiftly.
Both Kane and I wore looks of baffled disbelief.
“You can’t be serious,” Kane said.
“I don’t allow any sort of cohabitation under my roof,” she announced sternly.
There was no mistaking the coldness in her voice. I guess Kane’s concern for my safety wasn’t enough to soften her opinion of him. In fact, most of the women around us hardly masked their skeptical looks when it came to Kane standing there in the first place.
I had to break up the awkward tension. “Alright,” I agreed, impulsively. “We’ll sleep in two separate rooms.
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