I stirred in my sleep, my body sore from the business of last night. Suddenly my eyes shot open, when I heard my bedroom door open, and in walked Quinn.
I glared at her and shut my eyes. “Sign of bad luck. I open my eyes and I see the adulterous stepmother of mine.” I groaned sarcastically.
Quinn glared at me and she opened my curtain window. “You should get up. It's time for breakfast.”
I peered at her. “You never care if I eat or not. Is this your guilty consciousness getting to you?”
Quinn studied me, and I squirmed uncomfortably under her intense gaze. “Did you have sex last night?” Quinn asked.
I shot her a surprised look.
“Hmm. Seems like you did.” Quinn said and I looked away.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Get out of my room.” I said and Quinn walked towards me.
She didn’t look convinced. “We’ll talk about this later,” she said. “For now, you have a pack function to attend, so come down for breakfast,” Quinn said and walked out of the bedroom.
I stared at my closed door and I wondered why all of a sudden, Quinn was so nice to me. I'd find out at breakfast.
I got up to shower with the events of the previous night running through my mind. Wouldn’t it be nice if that was all I had to think about?
A short while later, I went to the dining room where Kevin, my stepbrother, was seated at the tablet at Quinn’s right hand. But what caught my attention was Alex.
“What are you doing here?”I clenched my fists in rage.
“Don’t make a scene,” Quinn said. “Just sit and have breakfast quietly.”
“I refuse to share a table with this bastard,” I said. “Get him out of here. Or rather, I wouldn’t want to disturb your happy family, so I’d rather have my breakfast in my bedroom.”
Alex stood and held my hands. “Eve, let's talk in private.”
Kevin’s gaze shifted from me to Quinn, to Alex.
“What’s going on here? Is there something that I don't know about?” Kelvin asked. He and Alex had been very good buddies and that's how he and I met.
I kept my focus on Alex. “Let go of me. I have nothing to say to you.”
Alex simply stared at me.
“I asked you not to make a fuss at breakfast,” Quinn said. “Why can't you obey simple instructions, hmm?”
I stared at Quinn in disbelief. “Maybe I would have yesterday when I still respected you. But not after my discovery last night.”
Kevin straightened in his chair and addressed me, “I can take anything you do, but I won't accept you insulting my mom, Evelyn. Just sit down if you are asked to.”
I shot him a glare. “You stay out of this,” I said and looked at Quinn. “Or would you like for me to tell your son about your shameful acts?”
“Shut your trap,” Quinn said, banging her hand on the table.
I chuckled at Quinn’s discomfort. She obviously didn’t want her son knowing about her escapade. I pulled out of Alex’s grasp. “I am going to check on my father,” I announced to the room, then turned to the kitchen maid. “I'll have breakfast in my bedroom, Sophia,” I said and turned to walk upstairs.
“Prepare yourself,” Quinn called out. “Your engagement is in four days.”
I paused and looked back at her. “Excuse me?” I asked, my eyes strained and narrowed.
Quinn folded her hands. “You heard me. Prepare for your engagement ceremony in four days. Bring the omega you slept with last night.”
I gaped at her.
“What do you mean, the omega she slept with?” Kevin asked. “Her fiancée is standing right in front of her.” He shifted his gaze from his mother to me. “What is going on, Eve?”
“Alex cheated on me with your mother, and I caught them in the act, so our engagement is off.”
Kevin turned to his mom with disbelief etched into his features.
“Your mother is a despicable woman,” I added. “One who sleeps with her stepdaughter’s fiancée. That’s how dirty and disgusting she is. Now, you must understand why I refuse to cower under her authority?” I said, looking Quinn directly in the eye.
“Evelyn Carson!” Quinn yelled as she sprang from her chair. “Shut up.”
“Let's talk about this in private,” Alex implored. “It can be solved.”
I curled my lip in disgust. “Bold of you to assume I’m still interested in being your wife. You think because I have no wolf and am deemed a worthless omega that I would settle for a man who doesn’t know the line between family and sexual relationships?”
“Oh, come on now. Get rid of your pride. Nobody will want to marry someone who already slept with a man,” Alex said.
“Pfft.” I scoffed. “You're finally showing your true colors. I wish I'd never been with you. ” I turned to Quinn. “And about that engagement party. Fine. Set it up. I’ll bring him home that day. Ensure you send out invitations. I'd rather be married quickly to this stranger than marry a cheat.” I nodded toward the kitchen maid. “Sophia, breakfast to my bedroom, please,” I said, then left the room.
Kevin turned to Quinn and asked, “What was she talking about, Mom?” I heard Kelvin say.
“Shut up, and eat your breakfast,” she said.
I know she's planning to get rid of me but I would make sure she's thrown out before she can even achieve her aim.
I'll prove to her that the Alpha's blood runs in my veins.
#
Three days passed since I and Quinn had fought over the engagement ceremony. Immediately after their argument, I uploaded a profile on a dating site, expressing my need for a contract husband just for the engagement ceremony. I continuously pressed the refresh button on my computer but had no bites, and I was running out of time. The engagement ceremony was tomorrow.
While I was in the bathroom, a notification bell sounded on my computer. I rushed to it to check the message. It was from an anonymous commenter and said, “I’m free tomorrow. How much would I be paid? Hit me up.”
The next morning, Sophia knocked on my door. “Madam Evelyn. It's morning. Please wake up.” I turned in my bed, then rose and stretched with a smile. It was my engagement day and Quinn and Alex were in for a surprise. I was almost giddy with the prospect, especially since I’v done my own investigation and learned that the omega waiter who’d drugged me five nights ago had done it under the orders of one of the ‘higher ups’. It turned out that higher up had been Quinn.I smirked in bliss as my mind went back to the message I had received from the anonymous man who’d agreed to take part in my engagement today. We had agreed on his entrance to the engagement party and how much I would pay him for his appearance, while I figured out the best way to get rid of my adulterous stepmom and treacherous ex-fiancée.Sophia pulled me from my thoughts, saying, “Your breakfast is served downstairs.” I looked at her.“Why downstairs? I do not want to have breakfast while seeing their faces. I made s
The announcement of the aide takes the entire floor with ear splitting silence as nobody says anything for a while because the impact of his words was like a bomb dropping dead center in front of us but then the silence was abruptly broken by my stepmother. "I don't believe that you are indeed nothing more than a shameless whore. How could you sleep with another man and even have the audacity to bring him here as your fiancé?"Her spiteful eyes were glaring at me and she stabbed an accusing finger in my face.For a moment I was too taken away by shock to even respond to what my stepmother said. I just stared at her with bulging eyes because I was struggling to believe that of all people that could put themselves on a moral platform to judge me she thought that she was one of them especially since I had caught her entangled in bed with the same man that she was supposedly defending right now.Alex also joined in with the accusations."After everything I've done for you, this is how
Kian wrapped his hand over my shoulder, drawing me to him protectively. He glared at Alex, whose hand hung in the air until he shamefully brought it back to his side.Kian looked at me tenderly and, even though his fingers didn't move, it felt as though he were consoling me. Then he lifted his head and swept his eyes across the crowd. People stepped back under the intensity of his gaze. He cleared his throat and spoke. "As I’m sure you’ve all discerned by now, Evelyn and I have been intimate together. I believe, according to your laws, that means we must spend our lives together as well."Blood rushed to my face. It was one thing for my cruel stepmother and stupid ex to insinuate that we’d slept together. It was another for him to loudly declare it. He continued in an authoritative voice that left no doubt about his status as an alpha wolf. "I understand this may come as a surprise to those who expected her to marry someone else, and anyone who is not in support of our union is free
Realizing he tried to call me, I blinked rapidly as his broad palm brushed over my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I just got a little distracted." I swiped a glass from a passing waiter and went to gulp it down in its entirety. Before I could finish, Kian held the glass gently, then finished the second half of it himself. When he was done, he looked at me with a smile. "I hope you don't mind, but I’d actually like to get to know you when you're sober."The blood rushed back to my cheeks again, turning my face into a huge cherry. I did what I could to calm myself and downplay the effect his wickedly handsome smile had on me. "There isn't much to know about me,” I said. “At least not anything interesting." I was still struggling to get that stubborn piece of stray hair from falling in my face when he tenderly and helpfully tucked it behind my ear, creating an electrifying feeling there.All the while, he didn’t break his gaze. "Hmmm… I honestly doubt that." ###Alex POVAs the party marched on a
Evelyn's POV“Why does Alex keep showing up?” Kian asked, his muscles tightening. However, he remembered I was there and held himself back, keeping a tight smile on his face."Of everything I was expecting,” Kian said to Alex, “I didn't think you’d come to see me so soon, Brother," He turned around, blocking me from Alex’s view. He crossed his arms, but even from my vantage point, I could see a smile remained on his face even while his eyes boiled like lava.Alex returned the look with the same maliciousness, if not more. "I need to talk to Evelyn," he said sharply."You mean my fiancée?" Kian shot back with his eyebrow cocked. The outlines of Alex’s veins shone at his temples. I came out from behind Kain and stood between the two brothers, causing Alex to shift back a bit. "Alex, I have to help my fiancé settle in right now. Whatever you have to discuss with me will have to wait. If it's so important—"“Fine,” Alex said begrudgingly, looking constipated.Kian shuffled keys until he
Kian SylvesterI pressed my ear against the guestroom door. As an alpha, I had heightened hearing, even more so than other wolves. So I listened to the exchange between my brother and Evelyn, wearing a satisfied smile. I went to the bathroom and ran a cold shower. Soon the water cascaded down my frame and, as I washed, couldn't wipe the smile from my face. My plan was working perfectly.Initially, I had thought my charms would be enough to sweep Evelyn off of her feet. But I was surprised and even a little impressed to see that, while she wasn’t completely immune to my charms, she didn't immediately fall at my feet like other women so often did.However, there was still time to work on that. Soon, I would have her completely smitten, then I would move on to the next phase of my plan, a plan I’d been brewing for a long time… a really long time.It was the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the pack, which was exactly why I came, and I had been watching Evelyn for a while. Then, the ni
Evelyn POVI wore a small smile as two plates of syrupy pancakes were placed between me and Kian. Because the atmosphere felt a little awkward, I avoided his eyes while I plucked one of the blueberries off the top pancake.In the meantime, I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. Quinn, that witch! There was no doubt in my mind that she was responsible for the missing portions at breakfast. Now, I was so ashamed I couldn't meet Kian’s gaze. What if he brought me here to gently break off the engagement?"Your pancakes are going to get cold if you just keep staring at them," he said, jolting me from my thoughts."You're right," I said a little awkwardly, picking up my fork with slightly shaky hands. "Look, I'm so sorry about the hiccup in the kitchen today... I promise that—""It's not your fault. Besides, it gave us the opportunity for our first outing."I slowly took a bite, happy he was so understanding. I’d half expected him to explode at the dining table. But he had been so ca
Kian SylvesterAt one point, my grip tightened, and I reminded myself that I had already sacrificed a lot to come here. I couldn't just throw it all away. I had to keep myself in check. There was also something about this that wasn't infuriating to me; that Evelyn wanted to introduce me to her father indicated she was slowly beginning to trust me.When I saw the look of desperation in her pleading eyes, I tightened my grip on her shoulder, gave her a reassuring look, and she released him.I turned my gaze toward the door and dashed past it in the blink of an eye. Then I went down the empty hallway with haste. However, my speed slowly reduced. Not because I was tired, but because I was rationalizing the situation."Why am I in such a hurry?" A feeling of ridiculousness rushed through my body. I’d been dashing at full speed for a man I hated with every single fiber of my being; if he were to die because the doctor came just a moment too late, then it would be in my favor.I kept walking