Moonbound Mates

Chapter Seven

The smile never left Evelyn's face.

Neither did the silence.

For several long seconds, nobody moved.

Rowan still held Evelyn's hand.

Evelyn still held hers.

And somehow it felt less like a greeting and more like a challenge.

Not an aggressive one.

Not an obvious one.

The kind women perfected.

The kind men rarely noticed.

“Well,” Lyra said brightly.

Nobody looked away from each other.

Evelyn was still smiling.

Rowan was still trying to decide whether that smile was genuine or dangerous.

Kael looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

Anywhere else.

Lyra cleared her throat.

“This is going better than I expected.”

The silence somehow became worse.

“Lyra,” Kael said.

“What?”

“Stop talking.”

“I was helping.”

“You weren't.”

Jace pinched the bridge of his nose.

Rowan was beginning to understand their relationship.

Evelyn released her hand first.

Smoothly.

Gracefully.

As though nothing uncomfortable had happened at all.

"Welcome to Silver Moon," Evelyn said warmly.

The words were perfectly polite.

Rowan almost admired it.

Almost.

"Thank you."

"Your journey must have been exhausting."

"It wasn't terrible."

Evelyn smiled.

"I imagine having your entire life turned upside down probably helped distract from the travel."

The room fell silent again.

Subtle.

That was the thing about Evelyn.

Everything she said was subtle.

Rowan wasn't entirely sure anyone else would have heard the edge beneath the words.

But she did.

And judging by the way Lyra suddenly found the ceiling fascinating—

She wasn't the only one.

"Well," Lyra announced.

Far too loudly.

"Rowan should probably see her room."

"That's a wonderful idea," Evelyn agreed immediately.

Something in Rowan's stomach tightened.

"Oh no," Lyra muttered.

Evelyn's smile widened.

"I'd be happy to show her."

"Absolutely not," Lyra said.

Everyone looked at her.

Including Evelyn.

The smile on Evelyn's face never changed.

"Why ever not?"

"Because..." Lyra searched desperately for an excuse.

"...because I already volunteered."

"You did?"

"I did."

"When?"

"Just now."

Jace closed his eyes.

Kael looked tired.

Rowan had known these people for less than an hour and somehow already understood exactly why.

Evelyn laughed softly.

The sound was beautiful.

Genuine.

Dangerous.

"Then perhaps we can both accompany her."

Kael closed his eyes briefly.

Just once.

As though he already knew exactly how this was going to end.

Nobody else seemed to notice.

Rowan did.

Lyra looked like she'd just lost a war.

"Wonderful," she said weakly.

It was not wonderful.

Not even slightly.

"I like this girl."

Rowan blinked.

"What?"

Nyra sounded entirely too pleased with herself.

"The loud one."

A pause.

"She is funny."

Rowan stared straight ahead.

"You have terrible judgment."

"She dislikes Evelyn."

"That's not why."

"It is a little why."

Before anyone could argue further, a warrior appeared beside Kael.

"Alpha."

The single word was enough.

Kael's expression shifted immediately. Not colder. More focused.

Duty.

The warrior lowered his voice and spoke quietly.

Something about a council member.

A dispute near the western border.

The details didn't matter.

Rowan watched the change happen anyway.

The Alpha returned.

The man responsible for an entire kingdom.

Kael glanced toward Rowan.

For a brief moment, something almost apologetic flickered across his face.

"I'll find you later."

Before she could decide how to respond, Evelyn's voice cut through the corridor.

"The western training grounds."

Kael stopped.

Rowan followed Evelyn's gesture toward the large courtyard where warriors sparred beneath the afternoon sun.

A small smile touched Evelyn's lips.

"Kael broke his arm there when he was seventeen."

Rowan blinked.

"What?"

"Oh, it was entirely his fault."

"It was not."

Everyone turned.

Evelyn looked delighted.

"It absolutely was."

"It wasn't."

"You jumped off the wall."

"I had a plan."

"You missed the landing."

"I was pushed."

"You landed on Jace."

Jace sighed.

"I was standing there."

"You were in the way."

"I was not."

"You were."

For a brief moment, Rowan laughed.

A real one.

The sound seemed to surprise everyone.

Including her.

The warrior beside Kael cleared his throat.

Once.

Patiently.

Reality returned.

Kael exhaled.

Then looked toward Evelyn one final time, then Rowan.

Something softened briefly in his expression.

Gone almost immediately.

Duty won.

Again.

Without another word, he turned and followed the warrior down the corridor.

Rowan watched him go.

The laughter faded faster than she expected.

And for reasons she didn't want to examine too closely—

She found herself watching until he disappeared around the corner.

"Well," Evelyn said pleasantly.

And somehow Rowan already knew she wasn't going to like whatever came next.

───

They continued deeper into the packhouse.

Hallways branched in every direction.

Every turn seemed to reveal another wing.

Another staircase.

Another piece of Silver Moon history.

"How do people find anything in here?" Rowan muttered.

Jace immediately pointed at a nearby hallway.

"Wrong turn."

"What?" Rowan asked.

"Every time."

"I do not take a wrong turn every time." Lyra said with a huff.

"You got lost in your own bedroom wing."

"That happened once."

"It happened three times."

Jace didn't even look up.

"Four."

Lyra gasped.

"Betrayal."

Rowan fought a smile.

Beside her, Evelyn laughed softly.

"The first few weeks are confusing."

A pause.

"Eventually it starts to feel like home."

The words were gentle.

The meaning wasn't.

Rowan looked away.

───

A few minutes later they passed a brightly painted section of the packhouse.

Laughter echoed through the open doorway.

Small voices.

Tiny footsteps.

Chaos.

"The nursery," Evelyn explained.

A genuine smile softened her features.

"The younger pups spend most mornings here."

One child immediately sprinted past them.

Another chased after him.

A third appeared to be eating something that was probably not food.

Rowan blinked.

"That seems unsafe."

"It's Tuesday," Lyra said.

As though that explained everything.

Jace nodded.

Apparently it did.

Evelyn smiled.

"Kael likes stopping by before council meetings."

That surprised Rowan.

"He does?"

"Whenever he remembers."

The fondness in Evelyn's voice was impossible to miss.

"He pretends he's checking on things."

A small laugh escaped her.

"But mostly he lets them climb on him."

Rowan stared.

For some reason, the image was impossible to reconcile with the man she'd met.

Alpha King.

Feared warrior.

Human jungle gym.

The contradiction made something warm settle unexpectedly in her chest.

"They adore him," Evelyn said quietly.

The words sounded less like information.

More like memory.

───

They continued walking.

Ahead of them, Lyra and Jace had drifted several steps away.

"You absolutely walked into a tree."

"It was dark."

"It was noon."

"You're exaggerating."

"I watched it happen."

"You are an unreliable witness."

"I was standing next to you."

"You were part of the problem."

Rowan was beginning to suspect this was a permanent conversation.

And because of it—

Nobody noticed Evelyn stop.

At least not immediately.

Rowan followed her gaze.

Large double doors stood at the end of the corridor.

Beautifully carved.

Private.

Important.

Evelyn's smile softened.

For the first time all afternoon, it looked completely genuine.

"That's mine and Kael's suite."

The words landed softly.

And somehow hurt more because of it.

Evelyn's eyes drifted toward the doors.

Toward a future she'd clearly imagined a thousand times.

"The balcony overlooks the sunrise."

Her voice was quiet.

Fond.

"It's always been my favorite view."

Her smile softened.

"Kael says it makes waking up early worth it."

Silence settled between them.

Rowan looked at the doors.

At the life beyond them.

At the memories she wasn't part of.

The plans she hadn't made.

The future that had belonged to someone else long before she arrived.

Then she looked away.

"That's nice."

Evelyn's smile never wavered.

But something in her eyes sharpened.

Just slightly.

As though she had finally found a place where Rowan could bleed.

And suddenly Rowan understood something important.

Evelyn wasn't trying to be cruel.

She was trying to hold onto something she was terrified of losing.

───

A few doors later, Evelyn stopped.

"This one is yours."

Rowan stared at the door.

At the room that would be hers.

Temporary.

Permanent.

She still wasn't sure.

But for the first time since arriving at Silver Moon, she realized something uncomfortable.

This place was starting to feel real.

And that frightened her more than anything.