Chapter 202: Chapter 202

~ NYSSA

The new recruits sat in a circle in behind the pack house, sipping on bottles of beer and chattering loudly. They were still reeling off the excitement of finally becoming soldiers.

Jeremiah walked ahead of us, clearing his throat as soon as he was within earshot. They fell silent instantly, their spines straightening as they sat up in their chairs, watching him warily.

They clearly respected him, which was why Rowan had asked that he go with us for this.

“Where’s Evelyn?” he asked.

There was silence for a long minute. They glanced between themselves sporting identical looks of worry and curiosity.

“We don’t know,” one of them said finally. “She refused our offer to join and we haven’t seen her since.”

“Maybe she stayed back,” another one offered. “She barely leaves her room unless she needs to. I can call her—”

“No,” Jeremiah cut her off. “I will find her. As you were.” Jeremiah made his way back over to us. “She might be at the soldier’s quarters. If you would like me to go with you—”

Rowan shook his head. “We can handle it from here. Thank you, Jeremiah.”

He bowed curtly. “Do I want to know why you are looking for her? Is she in trouble?”

Rowan hesitated for a moment, his lips pursed as he debated his response. “I hope not.”

While a few of the soldiers lived in the palace or the pack house, I learned that they had an entire fucking square dedicated to just them.

It had rows upon rows of beautiful grey houses for the sentinels and older guards who could afford to own places of their own as well as some who had families. The newer recruits and the younger soldiers lived in blocks of apartments given to them.

Jeremiah had already given us the details of Evelyn’s room. Conveniently enough, it was located on the top floor. Her room was at the end of the hall, far away from the rest of her teammates.

I knocked once and heard shuffling inside followed by a loud voice. “I’m coming!”

The sound of a deadbolt unlocking and a few chains dropping filled the air. “I already told you guys that I don’t want to go drinking before— oh! Your Majesty.”

“Can we come in?” I asked, offering her a small smile.

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Of course. I apologize for the mess. I’ve just gotten back from the hospital and I’m trying to fix things up.”

When she said mess, I was not expecting to see clothes strewn across the room and papers scattered everywhere. It looked like a fucking hurricane had gone through the entire room. When I noted the box open in a corner—I knew.

“Please, sit,” she gestured to the couch. “Would you like something to drink? I don’t have much here, maybe just water and orange juice. I should have gone to the supermarket, but again, I haven’t been back for long so—”

“Actually, you were released yesterday,” I said softly. “The doctors told Jeremiah. You’ve been here since yesterday afternoon and according to your teammates, you haven’t left your room since then. Why would you when you’re planning to leave?”

She went still, her spine going straight and her breath catching in her throat as she turned to me. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it promptly, a bashful expression growing on her face.

“Leave?” she asked incredulously. “Why would I leave? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I must have lost track of time or something. I guess because I’ve been in here for a long—”

“If you take one more step towards the kitchen, this will not end well,” Rowan drawled coldly. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be. Sit the fuck down.”

I hadn’t even realized that she was moving as she was speaking. She was only a few feet away from the kitchen door and I saw her glance at her exit then back at us, clearly trying to decide if it was worth it.

After what felt like hours, she sighed and lowered herself into the couch, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

“It is not a crime to want to leave,” she said softly. “A lot of people have decided to be rogues for different reasons.”

“True,” Rowan shrugged. “However, lying on your intake form is a crime. You said here that you were a lycan but we both know that isn’t true.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t—”

“Don’t lie,” he snarled. “You are not in trouble, not yet. I want to know what the fuck a vampire is doing in my pack. If your answer is worthwhile, maybe I won’t kill you where you sit.”

She stared at my mate for a long minute, her eyes expressionless and her face blank. “I am a lycan, or at least, my mother was. That’s what I was told. I never got to meet her. They say she killed herself giving birth to me and the nurse who birthed me didn’t want to hand me over to my father so she lied that I died as well. I have lived here all my life, I have been a model citizen, I have never once put the pack in danger. I didn’t even know what I was until I was eighteen.”

“How did you find out?” I asked, taking a step towards her only to be stopped by Rowan.

“I went hunting with some friends. I caught an animal. I wasn’t supposed to kill it but I bit down too hard. After that I started to have cravings. The nurse… she raised me, so she knew what was happening. She told me the truth. I’m not a monster, and I want nothing to do with that part of me. if I could destroy it, I would.”

“Where is this nurse?” I asked.

For the first time since we started speaking, her shoulders squared defensively, her hands crossing over her chest. “Don’t hurt her. She is innocent.”

“Where is she?” Rowan repeated, voice cold. “You can either tell me or I will find her myself, and trust me, you do not want me to find her on my own.”

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