As soon as Luna Evelyn asked to speak with in private, the whole atmosphere changed. I wasn’t the only one who felt it.
Lucas stepped forward first, his face tense. “Why does it need to be private?”
Liam jumped in too. “Yeah. If this is about Hazel, then we should be part of the conversation.”
But Luna Evelyn gave them a look that made it clear she wasn’t going to back down. It was the sa look she used when ordering people around like chess pieces.
“This is between Hazel and ,” she said, her voice steady but sharp.
Levi narrowed his eyes at her. “Why now? What’s so urgent?”
“I have my reasons,” she replied, her tone smooth but cold. “You’ve all had your say. Now I want to hear from her.”
The tension was so thick, I could practically feel it pressing down on .
I reached for Levi’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. “It’s okay. I can handle this.”
He looked at for a mont, clearly not loving the idea, but in the end, he gave a short nod.
“We’ll be close,” Lucas said quietly.
Liam muttered sothing under his breath that sounded a lot like, “I don’t like this.”
Honestly... neither did I.
I followed her anyway, even though my stomach was twisting with every step I took.
She led around the side of the packhouse, straight toward the back garden. I hadn’t been here in a while. It was quiet, no music and few pack mbers. We then stopped.
She stood in front of , arms crossed like she was getting ready to scold . Her face looked even sharper than ever.
“I assu my sons have already told you what they know,” she said. Her voice was clipped.
“About my parents?” I asked. “Yeah. They did.”
She gave a little nod but didn’t say anything else. I didn’t wait.
“Why did you keep ?” I asked before she could change the subject. “Alpha Henry didn’t want . That much was obvious.”
“He didn’t,” she said. “But I did.”
Okay. So she admitted it.
“But why?” I asked again, louder this ti. “Why go out of your way to keep around just to treat like trash every single day? What was the point of all that?”
She didn’t answer right away. Just stared off at the garden like she was thinking about sothing far away.
“You let grow up thinking I was nothing,” I said, voice shaking. “You knew more than you ever let on. And you still chose to treat like garbage.”
Evelyn’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t deny it. She just stood there, arms folded, chin raised like I was the one being dramatic.
“You lived under my roof,” she said coldly. “You were fed. Clothed. Protected. You should be grateful. You could’ve ended up on the streets.”
“I am grateful,” I snapped. “Grateful I didn’t starve. But don’t pretend that what you gave was love. You kept close just to remind how unwanted I was. I don’t understand why you even bothered.”
Her eyes flashed. “Because I owed it to your father. And I thought you could grow into sothing better than the woman who gave birth to you.”
Ouch.
“But that’s not raising soone,” I shot back. “You didn’t treat like a child. You treated like your personal maid. You mocked , picked at , and made sure I knew I didn’t belong. That’s control.”
For a split second, her mask cracked.
“You ungrateful little girl,” she hissed, stepping closer. “You’re just like her. Just like Angeline.”
I froze. “What?”
She didn’t hold back now. “Your mother was reckless. Manipulative. And your father? He was a fool. He should’ve rejected her the second he t her.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re saying he should’ve rejected his mate?”
“Yes!” she snapped. “He should’ve! Then maybe he’d still be alive, and you wouldn’t be standing here, acting like I owe you sothing.”
Each word felt like a blade. But then... she said sothing else.
“I warned him,” she muttered, almost to herself. “Told him to stay away from those people. But no. He and Angeline—always chasing danger. Running with the wrong crowd... hanging around that awful place... I don’t even know what’s the appeal of The Dark Hour—”
She blinked like she hadn’t ant to say it. But it was too late.
I blinked. “What did you say?”
Evelyn stilled. She realized too late that she’d said more than she ant to.
I took a step forward. “What’s The Dark Hour?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said quickly, her tone stiff. “It’s nothing but a dead end now.”
“No, it’s not.” My voice sharpened. “You brought it up. You said my parents were around dangerous people. They went there often. What is it? A club? A business? A pack?”
“I said too much,” Evelyn muttered.
“You think?” I snapped. I was shaking.
“That’s enough.”
I turned around.
Lucas was walking toward us, calm and steady. He stepped right in between and Evelyn, standing tall.
“Mother,” he said, nodding slightly. There was steel in his voice. “This conversation is over.”
“Lucas,” Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, “You’re taking her side now?”
Lucas didn’t even blink. “Hazel is my mate. This isn’t about sides. But I’m not going to stand here while you talk to her like that.”
She looked like she was ready to argue again, but sothing in his tone must’ve stopped her. Her mouth shut, her face tightened, and she turned on her heel without another word. Just like that, she was gone.
The second she walked away, I could actually breathe again. But the ache in my chest? That stayed.
Lucas turned to . “You okay?”
I nodded. Then shook my head. “Yeah... no. Not really.”
He looked around, and I followed his gaze. I hadn’t even noticed the stares until now. Pack mbers were pretending to be busy, but their eyes kept flicking over to us like they couldn’t look away.
Lucas leaned in close. “Co with .”
I didn’t ask where. I didn’t need to. My feet were already moving before I could think about it.
He led through the hall, then up the stairs, down a quieter wing of the house. The crowd and noise faded behind us with each step.
We stopped in front of his room. Lucas opened the door and looked back at . “Co in.”
And I did. His room was warm and quiet, and it slled just like him.
I stood near the door, still trying to catch up with everything that just happened. My mind was spinning, but Lucas looked so calm like he already knew I needed a second to breathe.
I turned to him, confused. “Why’d you bring here?”
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a quiet sigh. “People were watching. I figured maybe you would like a mont sowhere private.”
And just like that, the tight feeling in my chest eased a little.
He wasn’t doing this for himself. He wasn’t trying to corner or distract . He was just trying to give space. To protect , without making a big deal out of it. That hit harder than anything Evelyn had said.
He always knew exactly what I needed, even when I didn’t.
I stared at him for a second, feeling my heart thump louder and louder.
I didn’t even think. I just walked over to him and kissed him.
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