Chapter 29

[Evelyn’s POV]

For a brief moment, I seriously thought I may have been hallucinating...Or, at least, I was hoping I was.

Alexander had power—that much was obvious. But, unfortunately, that power did not extend past the royal family. This was after all a Luna gathering that was being held by the princess herself. It generally meant that all families were allowed and accepted to attend, regardless of any misdemeanors they may have acquired prior to.

Isabella and Samantha were present merely by luck. If anyone else had been hosting the event, they would have had a less easy time being able to attend. This alone made my stomach churn. No doubt they were going to take every opportunity to make my time here a living hell.

From where I was standing, I had a clear view of Samantha and Isabella, who both gaped at me with equal looks of astonishment and pure shock. Was it my own presence at the event? Or was it due to the dress I was currently wearing?

As much as the very idea made my insides coil and twist in displeasure, I knew I needed to approach them—if not to say hello then to simply ask them why they were there.

I kindly excused myself from the small crowd of women that surrounded me, wishing to know more about my dress and calmly made my way over to my Stepmother and Stepsister.

Wendy’s words of encouragement echoed through my head on replay. “Don’t worry. Remember to just relax.”

If anyone should be worried or concerned about the current situation, it should have been them. By, truly, by the pale looks on their faces, I knew I was right.

Isabella, always one to save face, forced a tight smile and gave me a curt nod of acknowledgment. My eyes easily drifted to the slight bump of her stomach, reminding me of the ‘new heir’ she and my father were planning to raise in place of my brother.

I pushed down the bitter anger that coursed through my blood and cracked a smile in return.

Isabella’s tone was condescending and on the line of venomous. “My, my...I must say, Evelyn, we’re surprised to see you in such a pretty dress. We all know you’re not a fan of these types of gatherings,” she remarked.

I fought the urge to narrow my eyes at her as my gaze proceeded to flicker between her and Samantha.

“The credit goes solely to my stylist,” I said coolly. “I suppose it’s nice to see you here, considering the circumstances from when we last saw each other.”

Again, I watched Samantha and her mother go stiff. The two shifted back almost a foot as though I had threatened to throw my drink at them. Something shimmery caught my attention and my eyes dropped toward Samantha’s hand.

A ring...More specifically, a wedding ring.

So, she and Liam had actually tied the knot.

Nothing about this realization should have bothered me. However, it did bring on a series of questions. When the hell had the ceremony taken place? Where had it taken place? Why weren’t Alexander and I informed?

I’ll admit that Samantha and I never had a close relationship as Stepsisters. But surely, she would have thought to invite at least me...Well, maybe not.

I was, after all, married to the man who basically placed them under house arrest. My mind proceeded to shift to Liam. How was he handling all this?

He must have come to the startling realization that Samantha was not Luna material, especially when it came to being hands-on and working with his pack. My stomach churned at the thought of all the work I had done with him to get his pack on the right track. All that work was going to end up falling to nothing sooner or later unless Samantha was willing to step up.

Unfortunately, I can’t see something like that happening.

Based on the sour look on Samantha’s face, it was no mystery that she wasn’t in the best of spirits when it came to her own marriage.

It was a rather bold assumption for me to make; however, if I was wrong, she wouldn’t have wasted any time showing off her ring or gloating about her new marriage to Liam. Instead, my rowdy and obnoxious Stepsister was choosing to be, intentionally, quiet.

As easy as it would have been for me to question her about the matter, I chose to stay quiet as well.

Isabella’s icy expression swiftly changed to that of eager amusement as she glanced behind me to wave someone down.

“Caroline!” she called out.

My brows lifted in surprise. Caroline? As in Alexander’s Stepmother Caroline?

Turning my head, I watched the older woman leisurely make her way over. She possessed the same kind of confidence that many other women who came from a similar background had. Although, something about her made me feel on edge.

Given on our last encounter when I first met Wendy, the woman wasn’t exactly welcoming or warm toward me in any way. In fact, she was cold, judgmental, and highly assuming of intellect when it came to systems and medical care.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Mrs. Kingston,” Isabella marveled.

“Mrs. Silverwood,” Caroline noted. “It’s nice to see you and your daughter, as well.”

That was it.

The woman hadn’t even turned to spare me a glance, nor acknowledge my presence in any way. She merely brought her own glass of tea up to her lips and remained silent.

Seriously? As her literal daughter-in-law, she isn’t going to say hello to me or even ask about her son?

I chose to be the bigger person in the situation and forced my most convincing smile.

“Hello, Caroline. It’s nice to see you again.”

Again, nothing.

The woman blatantly went out of her way to ignore me and treat me as though I wasn’t there. I noticed a mere ghost of a smirk brush over her mouth in amusement. This caused my anger to blend with my anxiety.

“If you plan on ignoring me, the least you can do is tell me why,” I stated.

Caroline rolled her eyes as if my words were an actual bother for her to listen to. “If you must know, although we are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, you know that I’m not Alexander’s biological mother, so there really isn’t any need for us to pretend to be familiar.”

Oh, if that were truly the case.

Nothing would have made me happier, than knowing that I didn’t have to go out of my way to try and build a relationship with someone who wanted zero part of me.

“In any case, can’t we at least try to pretend to be somewhat acquaintances in the public eye, at the very least?” I suggested.

She let out a harsh breath and twisted her mouth into a tight sneer. “Perhaps, you ought to understand something. If it weren’t for Alexander being the way he is now, you would have never been able to marry into our pack as its Luna,” she hissed. “Do not floor yourself into thinking that you’ll ever become the true Luna of the pack.”

“Well, according to Grandma Wendy as well as your son, I am the true Luna of the pack,” I said firmly.

Caroline gave out a humorless cackle. “Oh, please. You’re merely a stand-in. Once Wendy hands over the authority over household affairs to me could we possibly ever get along with each other.”

I was starting to understand Caroline’s position within the family. She didn’t really care about her son but more so the power he had. She truly believed that Wendy was going to pass on the authority to her. Little did she know that Wendy was never going to because of her own harsh opinions toward Caroline.

“If that is truly how you feel, then perhaps you ought to start playing nice with me if you ever want to have a hand in the household authorities in the future,” I informed her.

Caroline’s eyes widened and her painted lips parted in shock.