Silence.
Utter, pure silence.
Damian didn’t speak. Didn’t blink.
He just sat there on the edge of the bed, his hands loosely clasped together, his gaze locked on her with an unreadable expression.
The seconds stretched. Long enough for doubt to start crawling its way back up Evelina’s throat.
But she ignored it and forced herself to go on.
"I was born... sowhere else," she said quietly. "A different realm. A different future. I was a scientist. I worked in a place where magic didn’t exist—only theories and data. I specialised in biochemistry and experintal dicine."
She let out a slow, shaky breath. "I wasn’t supposed to be here. Not in Arcadia. Not in any of this."
Her voice echoed faintly in the room, but he still didn’t move.
"I wasn’t even called Evelina back then," she continued, her throat tightening. "I was Evelyn Matthew."
She paused, just long enough to glance at him, expecting confusion. Or disbelief. Maybe even the beginnings of fury.
But he said nothing.
So she pushed through the fear.
"There was an accident," she said. "A fire in the lab. It was ant to kill , but it didn’t. The fire was set by soone I cared about, soone I trusted. He wanted to take my research for himself, and to keep quiet, he tried to burn . I don’t know how it happened, but sohow I ended up here, far away from my world."
Her fingers curled at her sides.
"I woke up in this realm. Confused. Broken. And terrified."
She took another step toward him, slowly, cautiously. "The mont I woke here was when I was about to be burned for poisoning you. And that’s when we... synced as mates."
"As of then, I had no idea what werewolves or packs or mates ant, but thanks to the real Evelina’s wolf, Aurelia, she helped ease into this world. All those tis I tried to escape or kill myself," a small smile played on her lips as she rembered those monts, but she continued.
"I was trying to get back to my world then, but I realised I couldn’t. I thought clearing Evelina’s na was a mission, and after that, I’d return, but well..."
Damian gave a brief nod to signal he was following, and so she went on.
"When I got here, I realised I had new enemies too... those who wanted out of the way for no reason. Lord Luther. I couldn’t say anything then because, well, I’m a suspect in a cri I didn’t commit, and I was trying to lay low. Plus, he was a trusted mber of the court, the kingdom and the pack."
"He was the one behind your poisoning, the outbreak from the well... he was trying to weaken the kingdom for his plans. I knew he had so hidden reason, but it wasn’t until recently that I realised that Luther, was actually Tobias."
"The sa man I cared about in my world, the sa man who tried to kill ... he was here too in the body of Luther. He saw this realm not as a miracle or second chance, but a blank canvas. A place without rules."
Her lips twisted bitterly.
"He wanted to rewrite it. Rebuild it in his own image. No laws. No oversight. No one smarter than him to tell him no."
A long breath shuddered from her lungs.
"I didn’t know at first," she repeated. "But it seems like he had found out about for a while now... probably since the ti in the makeshift lab."
Her jaw clenched. "He knew I would soon find out about him, sooner or later. That’s why he tried to erase ."
"The accusations," Damian murmured in a rough voice. "The subtle emphasis on you being dangerous and on executing ."
She nodded. "It was also when I ca to this world that I had the ability to see glimpses of visions from items I touched. I couldn’t tell you all these because it sounds crazy, and if I did, everyone might call crazy or even worse, a witch."
She looked up at him, her eyes burning. "So I did the only thing I could do. I beca Evelina Drewstone. I buried Evelyn Matthews because no one here would’ve believed her."
Still, Damian didn’t speak.
Not right away.
He was no longer silent in a cold way; there was a weight to his quietness that suggested deep thought. His stormy eyes seed to shimr with movent, like the ocean retreating from a powerful tide.
"You’re not saying anything," Evelina whispered.
He leaned forward slowly, elbows resting on his knees.
"I’m not saying anything," he said carefully, "because I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it."
She winced, but he raised a hand to stop her.
"You’re telling you’re not even from this world," he continued. "That you’re from so other realm, a future with machines and... advanced dicines. That the man we know as Luther—Tobias—isn’t just Arcadian but sothing else entirely. And I’m just... supposed to accept that?"
"I’m not asking you to," she said. "Not now. I just—"
He shook his head gently. "No. I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m saying... I’m still catching up."
A long breath left her lungs, and her legs nearly gave out beneath her. She reached for the wall for balance.
"I should’ve told you sooner," she said softly. "But I was scared, Damian. Of losing everything. Of losing you, because trust , I tried not to fall for all this mate stuff. I barely understood it. But the more ti I spent with you, the more I realised I can’t do without you."
Damian stood slowly. He didn’t look angry. Just... grounded.
He stepped toward her again, the sa way he always had—steadily, like gravity itself knew where he belonged.
And this ti, when he reached out, he cupped her cheek not to question her—but to ground her.
His touch was warm, soft and anchoring.
"I don’t care what your na was," he said. "Or what world you ca from. I care that you stood by . That you fought for this kingdom even when it wasn’t yours. That you chose us—again and again."
Tears blurred her vision. But she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall just yet.
"You’ve had every chance to run," he whispered. "And instead, you ca back. You brought truth, even when you could’ve lied."
His forehead touched hers, and she took in a deep breath.
"I love you," he murmured. "Whether you’re Evelina, or Evelyn, or anything in between."
Evelina swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don’t deserve you," she whispered.
Damian pulled back slightly, his brow furrowing. "Don’t say that."
"It’s true."
"No," he said firmly. "You don’t get to decide that. I do. And I say you’re mine. Not because you’re perfect, or predictable, but because you’re real. Honest. Strong. Beautiful. Intelligent. Sexy."
She let out a laugh—a trembling, broken thing.
"Relia?" she murmured ntally.
"Sheesh," Relia whispered. "Where’s the fan when I need it? Because this? This is so god-tier romance level confession right here."
Evelina nearly choked on a laugh again.
"I don’t know what cos next," she said aloud. "I don’t know what Tobias is planning—only that it’s sothing catastrophic. And now, there’s Draven. He’s... sothing else entirely."
Damian leaned back, his brow furrowing. "Draven?"
Evelina nodded. "Rember the dragon pearl Zade gave that ti during dinner? The one Lily helped us to get from Selene’s chambers?"
"Yes?"
"It turns out the dragons were not actually myths or legends. They are actually real and on the verge of extinction. This pearl is supposed to be their last resort. I don’t know how Zade was even able to get it in the first place."
"How long did you know of this?"
"Just recently. When I went to the tunnels."
"He’s the one Selene’s spies saw you with?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "He’s a dragon prince from beneath the Scorched Vale. He claims the pearl I carry—Zade’s gift—is sacred. That it anchors his people’s dying magic. And... he’s right. I saw it."
"Another vision?"
"A mory," she corrected. "His. Or maybe the pearl’s. I don’t know anymore. But their world is burning. Because that pearl was taken, and now it’s in my hands."
Damian didn’t ask how. Didn’t ask why.
He just looked at her. At all of her. The shadows beneath her eyes. The fatigue on her shoulders. The fire that still hadn’t dimd in her spirit.
"You’re carrying too much alone," he said softly.
She didn’t deny it.
"Then let carry so of it too," he said. "We fight together, rember?"
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly, pressing her face against his chest as the weight of everything—everything—threatened to crush her finally.
But Damian didn’t let it.
He just held her.
Like the world wasn’t ending.
Like the storm outside was nothing compared to the one they’d already weathered together.
And in his arms, Evelina—Evelyn—felt light, for the first ti in a long while, like maybe... just maybe... she wasn’t alone anymore.
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