Chasing After Ashes

Chapter 6: Dark Promise

“So, what do you think of this?” Elizabeth asked, raising a dark lemon pantsuit and a matching blazer with a black fitting blouse. It was an odd match of colors which would have looked weird on anyone else, but the colors suited her chocolate skin perfectly. We were in her and Hans’ bedroom, looking over various pieces of clothing for a party she had been talking about for the past week.

I didn’t know what the party was about nor did I particularly care, but she had been dragging me around the pack house since the Reons had left a week ago. Tate hadn’t been around as well because of some pack business he said he had to take care of before he left, something which I was infinitesimally happy about. He could take as long as he wanted, in fact, it would have been fine if he wouldn’t come back. Something Elizabeth would have reprimanded me about if she had heard me.

Good thing she can’t, I thought, a small smile lifting the corners of my lips as I nodded my head at her. “Yes, that looks perfect. You will certainly be the belle of the ball.”

“Belle of the ball?” Elizabeth asked, putting the clothes down neatly on the bed before sitting in front of the chair opposite mine. “Evangeline, where do you think I’m going?”

I raised my eyebrows at her, wondering why she was even asking. She had told me about this a couple of times already, so I knew it was the only thing on her calendar this week; which was why I was sure she wouldn’t have made a mistake of confusing it with another event she had to go to. “To the Ashburn High Society Ball?”

It was a party for the people who made up the Ashburn high society, including everyone who ran the top businesses in their respective fields and the most famous in revered in show business. Every year she attended it with Hans and her son, until Tate refused to go a few years ago.

Elizabeth shook her head at me, clucking her tongue in disappointment. “No, no. I told you that ball was this Friday, but I wouldn’t have gone, not with how Hans is still not back. Although with how things are currently, I think I wouldn’t have gone either way.”

My mouth shaped into a circle in understanding that she didn’t want to go. Before, I would have immediately assumed it was because of her prejudice and hatred for humans, but I knew her better now. And it definitely wasn’t because of that.

Nobody went anywhere alone these days, as I had been told repeatedly by Elizabeth, Lilian, and Tate when he was following me around like a puppy. It was because everyone was taking precautions since we all knew that not all of my family and their associates had been caught. It was the smart thing to do. Yet I couldn’t keep the twinge of pain I felt at knowing this was all my pack’s fault. How could they have been so mind-numbingly selfish as to do this kind of thing in the first place?

Elizabeth picked the pile of clothese she had lain on her bed to choose from and carefully placed them back in her closet. As I watched her walk back to the matching outfit she had chosen, I noticed a tightening around her eyes that were not there before. Her posture seemed straighter as she grabbed the outfit and stiffly walked into her bathroom to wear the clothes.

She really misses him. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible with how bad Hans’ attitude was and how idiotic he was most of the time. It just seemed improbable to think anyone could bear to be with someone as deluded and misinformed like he was. But I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end. Because that was the thing about loving someone—you love them despite their flaws.

Still all within reason. Otherwise it wouldn’t really be love, only madness if you were blindly supporting the other person despite how bad they really were.

However, going by this reasoning, then it only meant there was something more to Hans than the fool I think he was. If Elizabeth who grew to be more thoughtful and considerate of people these past few months still love him, then he might be a good person. Deep down.

Speaking of Hans, he had been gone ever since the Reons pack had left last week, taking care of the business he had grown in the past few decades. The Evans Holdings Inc. was a major construction company in its own field before it branched out into e-commerce, restaurants, and hotels.

Frankly, I never would have thought Hans would have a sharp sense for business if I had not lived with them for years. With how idiotic he was in making decisions about his wolves and his loathing for humans ingrained in his bones, it didn’t seem likely that he would have had a good sense for business. Somehow he did, defying all laws of logic and reason.

Although it seemed like he was taking longer this time away from the pack. He was usually gone for a few days as he had three employees who helped him with his work.

My train of thought was cut as Elizabeth opened the door to the bathroom and stepped back into the room. The yellow lemon pantsuit, matching blazer, and black blouse poured onto her body like the clothes and the colors were made for her and only her. “Still good?”

I nodded my head as I stood from the chair by her vanity mirror. “I’ll leave you alone.”

“See you later,” she said as she went to her vanity, sat down, and started fixing her make up. She was going to be busy for a while so I headed to the lounge on the first floor.

There was a cushy brown couch that seemed to stretch on forever in front of a wide TV screen. A few chairs littered by the couch, facing the screen and the mini cabinet below it that contained the gaming systems and box of games. The glass coffee table had a span of magazines on it and a small telephone nobody used much. Two tall windows with mini couches on its ends decorated the far wall, letting the rays of the sun freely light the room.

Tate’s friends, Lowell, Quentin, and Mark usually occupied this room, along with Trisha and her friends if they weren’t somewhere else that day. The lounge was a cacophony of chatter, games, and joviality that built up into a comfortable harmony you wouldn’t be able to find easily anywhere else. Oddly, today the lounge’s resident was only Trisha with not a hint of her usual flock around her.

She had changed her hair color back to its chocolatey brown, curling softly around her face as she sat on the couch window and looked out the tall trees outside. She had her legs up on the couch and her arms were crossed in front of her. Despite her white jeans and her bright yellow tank top, she seemed much somber than her usually vibrant—and annoying—self.

As I walked to the other couch window to look out the trees, she visibly stiffened. Her head snapped to me, her eyes wide with surprise that she immediately covered with a raised brow. Instead of her snarky comments I was used to, she simply stood and left the room without a word.

Ignoring her odd behavior, I sat down on the couch, settling comfortably along its small fluffy pillows as I took in the lush forest outside. There weren’t much to do these days around the pack because it was summer and most of the pack had gone off on vacations because the heat was unbearable. So not a lot of people came by the house, making the house that never seemed to have a piece of quiet, seemed oddly at peace.

As the silence wrapped itself around me, the thoughts I had been pushing back at the back of my mind broke free in a flurry that would consume me whole once more if I didn’t get a grip of myself. I breathed in deeply, closing my eyes as I tried focusing on things that were not related to the whole debacle of a nightmare I had been under these past few months.

The chitter-chatter of the squirrels and birds who lived in the trees right outside my cottage home; the warmth of the sun on my skin as I watched them play, making me think of Tate’s warm hands as he held mine a few days ago. I shook my head and thought of Lilian’s smile as she took care of me; the way she would get angry when the trio’s antics went over the line, and the playful banter and sense of home I found in them.

I miss them. With all that was said and done, my heart howled for the family I had found in their pack. Yet I knew it wasn’t reciprocated.

My eyes opened as the thoughts confusing mess of thoughts I had, slowed down in the sadness I had plunged myself in because I thought of them. The Reons pack. Nicole’s silence towards the whole ordeal, the times she and Justin refused to even look at me as we passed each other around the house.

I would have thought of all people, Train would have yelled and kicked the hell out of me the moment he knew. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had, in fact, I wouldn’t have even fought back because he was in the right. Yet he didn’t. He ignored me like I was nothing but a speck of dust in the air, something which I appreciated more than anything else. The chilly way he ignored me hadn’t changed at all, meaning I was still a bit okay with him.

I was thankful for that small bit of reassurance that there was a chance in the future that everything would be okay. However, the pain Rastor’s words and actions had sliced, stabbed, and bled me, hadn’t completely healed.

Earlier, I said I wouldn’t care. And I didn’t. Not when I was in front of them and Rastor and the others showed how much they didn’t want me in their lives anymore. Yet here, in this room of solitude with only the soft hum of the wind against the window to accompany me, I could uncover the strength I wrapped and solidified around me.

And feel.

A loud ringing broke the silence. I didn’t know how long had passed as I stared outside, standing on the edge of emotions where you felt at the same time you didn’t, in the thin line of tranquility it bordered on. It was as if I was caught in a dream, my body moving slowly as I got off the couch and went to the phone.

I grunted into the phone because I was sure words wouldn’t have come to me just then. The person who spoke on the phone was someone whose voice I hadn’t heard for a long time.

“Evans. Evangeline is still being called to face the Council. Illia can’t hold them off any longer so either tell her soon or I will.” Then Caden ended the call.

My brows scrunched together in confusion at the abruptness of his call and the oddity of what he said. What council was he talking about? I hadn’t been called to face any Council at all. Nobody said anything of the sort to me as well, so how was…I stopped as understanding dawned on me.

Evans. It was Tate, I was sure of it because it could only be him to have held this information from me. Hans would have told me immediately if he could have because the Werwulf Council—made of all the alphas that ruled their packs—was no joke. Even in his idiocy, he knew when the Council called, you had to answer.

I didn’t know what Tate had done, but I knew it was him who had stopped his father and consequently his mother from informing me about it. In fact, since no one from Alcatrozz told me about it, it made sense that he had stopped the entire pack from sharing this bit of information from me.

What was he thinking? I thought, slamming the phone down in annoyance. Even with how unfamiliar I was with the intricacies of the stupid rules, I knew I couldn’t take the Council calling for me lightly. From past readings of history I had done before, they only called for someone if the person had been causing harm to the werewolf community. Something I hadn’t done, but I was sure they weren’t going to view my actions in the same way.

I stomped off back to the window, vowing to yell at Tate as soon as he got home on why he had the audacity to hold this information from me. This concerned me and only me. He had no right. At all.

Suddenly, a door slammed shut so loud that I felt the floor quake from the force that was used. Not a second later, I heard familiar voices yelling at each other, getting closer the more seconds passed. Curious at what was happening, I stepped out of the lounge and saw Tate and Hans facing each other off in the hallway.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Tate’s voice was dark, deep, and quavering with the well of anger he was feeling.

“I did. And so? Nothing happened, didn’t it?” Hans calmly stood in front of his son like he couldn’t sense the situation. Tate’s hands were reddening as he tightened them into fists, his body shaking in anger as he visibly held himself back.

“That’s why you urged me to go, didn’t you? It wasn’t because something suddenly came up because I checked with your assistants and they said this meeting had been set for weeks. You forced me to endanger her when you knew I had been keeping her away from anything that could have harmed her.” By this time, Tate’s voice was feral, the edge of a growl in his words as he bellowed.

The air vibrated with energy—a mix of anger and wildness as Tate bordered the edge of shifting into his other form. A sense of urgency made me rush toward him, knowing I couldn’t let him attack his father just because of an argument they were having.

“Look at how you’re acting right now, son. Controlled by your emotions. Manipulated by that witch,” Hans nodded to me as I got to Tate’s side. “Stop acting like an i***t over a woman. She is nothing.”

I glared at him as I touched Tate’s arms to hold him back in case he suddenly moved and attacked his father. However, no matter how it would have been fun to sic his son to him, I knew Tate would have regretted it in the end because he worshipped his undeserving father.

Tate’s skin felt blisteringly hot, almost as if he could have been scorched by its high temperature. He was so close to shifting, so close to losing himself and attacking his father. I could have let him, but not only would Tate have regretted it afterwards, I knew how important family was. Despite the arguments and the differences, they would still be your family in the end. It was enough I felt this way about my family, but I wouldn’t, couldn’t let others ruin the relationship they had with theirs.

Soothingly, I rubbed Tate’s arms and thought of the chitter chatter of animals mixed with the sounds of the forest that calmed me down earlier, hoping Tate felt it as well. A few long seconds passed as I thought calm thoughts at Tate until his skin felt cooler than before.

His voice as he spoke the following second was calmer, yet had the roiling edge of anger he still felt. “Thank you for manipulating me, Dad. It just shows how much you care for your well-being more than ours.”

Hans eyebrows rose in question as Tate continued. “You knew Wendell was sent to take a look at Eve if she really was a danger to the rest of the alphas and packs. So, since you couldn’t have let him meet Evangeline without a lot of people disagreeing and not allowing you to, you decided I would be your best bet. You knew I was going to take her with me once I learned that the meeting coincided with the day the Reons were going to be leaving so that she wouldn’t know about it.”

At the far end of the hallway I saw Elizabeth rushing toward us, her brows scrunched together in worry. She stood to the side, almost touching Hans but seeming to think better of it as Hans snorted a laugh. “Why would you care so much? You don’t have to keep on lying that she’s your mate, son. I already let her stay even if I should have thrown her off the first chance I got. She has only brought bad luck to us and she will continue to do so because she can’t help it. You already know what kind of people she has as a family, so why do you keep protecting her like an i***t?” He grinned as he shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the way his son was acting.

I gripped Tate’s arms tight at what Hans said, holding myself back from screaming at him and showing him exactly who I was again for the first time in many months. He might have forgotten who he was dealing with because of how I had been acting like, but it didn’t mean I was going to let him treat me like this. But not today, not in this moment.

Tate rose his brows in disbelief before he shook his head said, “You are a horrible alpha, Dad, and I won’t let you be one anymore.”

“Is that a threat?”

“What do you think? I had been holding back from taking what’s rightfully mine out of respect for you but I cannot let this pass. Not when you would keep doing this to my mate. If I have to take over the position as the alpha, then I would, just to protect her from you.”

“Ha!” Hans snorted before continuing, “You’re going to take over my pack for all the wrong reasons? Let’s see how you’re going to do it then and how badly you’ll fail.”

“I won’t fail.” Chills rose on my skin at the dark promise in Tate’s voice as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him as he walked away.

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To reiterate (for people who might not know):

Alpha, Do I Know You? - Book 1 of the Rosewood Trilogy (https://www.dreame.com/novel/1964802.html)

Chasing After Ashes - Book 2 of the Rosewood Trilogy

Have a nice day everyone! See you tomorrow for the next chapter.