27. A Knight

It was a silent route. Evelyn couldn't think straight until she was led to that study, twice in one day. Even then she was perplexed but Selene caught the strange and unfamiliar scent way sooner than her. It was coming from inside his study.

As Evelyn crossed the threshold, followed closely by Lucas, Jasmine and Zoey, she saw a stranger sitting calmly on the couch. Upon their arrival, the stranger quickly stood his ground and bowed before Michael before glancing back at Lucas. As his eyes took the rare features on Lucas's face, he slightly trembled from his strict balance.

The stranger's face gave away his bafflement, his eyes went round as if two giant cannonballs. He looked hilarious but something inside Evelyn choked back her laugh, probably comprehending the gravity of the situation she was in. She tried to avoid the big eyes and gaped mouth that made her mind instantly remember a joker riding on a bicycle.

She took that precious time to go over his features.

He was brawny and strong built like every other men in a pack. He wasn't much muscular like Michael but he was tall and lean, only a few inches taller than Evelyn. His brunette curls either approached the back of his neck or his temples. His eyes were a lighter shade of russet brown with thin pupils. His tan skin was veiled by a black oxford shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wasn't old but the light stubble on his sharp inclined jaw confirmed that he was as old as Michael.

"Alpha Lucas." The stranger quickly bowed his head and said no more in his amazement.

Lucas accepted his gesture and meekly smiled at the stranger. Evelyn could tell by now that she was the only one in denial of this knowledge; Lucas's rank in the pack. Michael could be the one ruling now though Lucas still radiated the same aura. Evelyn really thought it impossible that she couldn't recognize him.

The stranger's attention swiftly fell beside Lucas where Evelyn was standing, struggling with her own train of thoughts. He eyed her up front to down below before his brows scrunched up either in distaste or confusion. He eyed her suspiciously for a longer while, trying to confirm his theory.

"Evelyn Osborne, is it?" He asked, earning a little gasp from her.

In that silence Evelyn could feel Lucas instantly tense beside her after hearing her surname. She knew he'd find out sooner or later but she hadn't hoped for it to be like this, with so much uneasiness in the air.

She gulped down the knot in her throat as the men busied themselves in a mind-link. Each of them were searching for another's eyes with tens of questions breeding in their minds.

She couldn't help but scoff at that. She was still in the room and they're ignoring her and probably talking about her as if she wasn't there at all. Maybe staying back at the garden was a better choice.

"Do I know you?" Evelyn questioned, drawing back the stranger's attention from the mind-link to the real world. She was annoyed at how easily they could shun her off as if she wasn't important to the least bit.

"Donovan, Donovan Knight." He answered in a stiff tone.

"Knight as in, Alpha Asher's son?" Evelyn thought over her words as soon as they escaped pass her lips. Could it be true?

She looked over Donovan's shoulders to catch her mate's attention who was calmly sitting in his loveseat and enjoying the show.

"Yes." It was a short reply but it affected her in the most ways she couldn't think of.

Could it be true that this man was the one William chose for her? If he was alpha Asher's son then he had to be him but what if alpha Asher had another son? Was this really happening to her?

"By the look on your pretty troubled face, I assume your father had already told you about me."

'Yep he's the one.' Selene laughed out sarcastically at Evelyn. Even though he was his chosen mate, she felt nothing but disgrace and distaste towards his presence. He was in no match for her beloved Michael. But she nodded yes to his question, not feeling the need to be rude.

Donovan eyed her for another stern moment as she stiffened and relaxed under his skeptical stare. She didn't want to talk about her planned forced mating in front of her destined mate. At his thought, she wondered how Michael would to react to all of this, would he be angry?

"What brings you here Donovan?" Michael asked, cutting in between their everlasting stare.

Everyone took a seat around the couch, Lucas included. At first Evelyn hesitated but then strive against everything inside her as she stepped towards Michael and blissfully took her seat beside him. For a she-wolf it was an honour to take a seat beside her alpha and Evelyn disputed if she was worthy of that honour and most prominently, was she capable of bearing the burden came along as a bonus?

Donovan didn't react hysterically after perceiving Evelyn's actions no matter how hard he wanted to. It wasn't everyday when Michael had let a she-wolf have the honour of resting beside him with all his officials surrounding the two of them. He decided to let that slip away.

"Dad is planning to forge an alliance with the Midnight Crescent pack, one that'd last longer than my life." Donovan explained through gritted teeth.

It was hard to imagine why he would be willing to help his father's enemy's pack. Alpha Asher and alpha William were lifelong friends and carried the same long lasting hatred for the Moonstone pack. Then why was Donovan willing to help Michael? Wasn't he afraid of committing treason?

"I thought you're going to switch places after the coronation?" Michael disputed, trying to keep calm but even Evelyn could feel the awful and abrupt change in his demeanour.

"Don't doubt my loyalty Michael, I'll always stand by your side no matter what." Donovan strictly dismissed but was hesitant to keep on with his words.

"But?" Michael continued for him.

"I'm afraid if I'm right about what the two old dogs are planning, then I'd have to go against every one of my wishes whether I'm fond of the idea or not." Donovan buried his face in his palms, unable to go on with himself.

Michael let out an irritated growl, unable to catch up with Donovan's calculation. However, the realization was quietly and gradually dawning upon Evelyn as she tried to put the pieces of this puzzle together. It'd been planned from the beginning, her father had sealed her fate without her allowance or consultation. She knew William was a hypocratic old dog, struggling to become a werewolf but she never had hoped for him to stoop down this low.

How could he do this to his own blood? His own daughter? She was getting angrier by the passing second. Any hope that she might've had hold onto for him was fading quickly. He was a dog, a rather stinking one but he was a democratic minded politician as well and his actions had just proved it.

"He's a genius." Evelyn whispered in a hateful tone, drawing all the attention to herself. She wasn't impressed by him, no she felt repelled by his hypocratic ways.