Chapter 0031

An hour ticks by before I hear the distinct knock at the front door. Alpha Alistair. My father shoots me a knowing glance before wheeling the grill outside to get it started. With an exaggerated eye roll, I head to greet our guest.

"Evening, Alistair. How's your day been?"

"Good evening, Evelyn. Can't complain. And you?"

"All good, thanks. Come on in. Dad's already out back firing up the grill."

He hands me two items—a decadent chocolate cheesecake that makes my mouth water instantly, and a six-pack of beer. He pops two bottles open before heading straight to join my father.

After confirming it's indeed cheesecake (because one can never be too sure), I stash it in the fridge. Dad's handling the baked potatoes on the grill, leaving me with just the veggies. I went with a broccoli and cheese casserole—simple, but it pairs well with everything.

When Alistair walks back inside, his gaze lands on the gift basket sitting conspicuously on the kitchen island.

"What's this?" He picks up the card, glancing at me. "Let me guess—courtesy of your secret admirer?"

"Yep."

He raises an eyebrow. "Mind if I take a look?"

Part of me wants to say no, but he's my Alpha. Plus, if he understands how serious this admirer is, it might help when I explain the near-disaster between Adrian and Sebastian earlier.

He reads the card and lets out a low whistle—just like Dad did. "This guy isn't playing around. Any leads yet?"

Dad stays silent, letting me handle this. "A few possibilities, but nothing concrete."

"Who’s on your list?"

I run through the names, deliberately leaving out Nathaniel and Sebastian but keeping Adrian in the mix—just like Dad and I discussed earlier.

"You're sharp, Evelyn. You'll figure it out soon enough."

Then I drop the bomb. "Speaking of which... did you hear about what happened today? Maybe Alpha Adrian mentioned something?"

Alistair frowns. "No. I’ve been dealing with rogue attacks near Nightshade territory all day." His eyes dart between Dad and me, sharpening with suspicion. "What did I miss?"

I give him the condensed version. His expression darkens when I mention Adrian had to be dragged away and I had to calm Sebastian down.

"Adrian challenged Sebastian. Over you." It’s not a question.

The weight behind his words is clear: My son almost started a war because of you.

I swallow hard, guilt twisting in my gut even though none of this was my fault. "Technically, it was Theron who challenged Dorian. But... yeah."

"Anything else I should know?"

I glance at Dad, who hasn’t taken his eyes off Alistair. "Well... I kind of invited Sebastian to train with us tomorrow. To keep him from retaliating."

I brace myself for his reaction.

Alistair slowly turns to Dad. "So you’ll train another pack’s Alpha, but you won’t help me with our own warriors?"

Dad just shrugs, completely unfazed by the Alpha aura rolling off Alistair in waves.

"My daughter just stopped a battle—possibly a war—that your son started, intentionally or not. I’d think you’d be grateful that all it cost you was one training session."

Another silent conversation passes between them. The air crackles with tension.