Chapter 36

[Third-Person’s POV]

Where the hell was she now?

As Alexander finished up in the bathroom, he came out with the firm assumption to find Evelyn in her bed with one of her books tucked in her lap. But the woman was nowhere to be found.

The Alpha couldn’t make any sense of why Evelyn would be out, possibly wandering the halls, when he knew how much she valued her nighttime reading ritual.

Then again, he knew something had been deeply troubling her. He’d been certain that it was because of the anxiety she felt toward the Luna gathering; however, once it was all over and they had returned back to the house, she still wore that contemplative look on her face.

Something had clearly happened at the gathering and he was eager to find out what.

Alexander glanced at the clock on the nightstand and grimaced. It was late, but not late enough in which Evelyn would be asleep in some other part of the house. Which, essentially, meant that he had to put on his mask as well as take his wheelchair with him.

He recounted the conversation he had with his grandmother about telling Evelyn the truth, regarding the accident and his real injuries. And he would...When the time was right.

Until then, he was going to keep his facade firmly in place and make it his own mission to get Evelyn to explain herself.

He began making his way toward the library since that’s where she had been spending the majority of her time these past several nights. Pushing open the doors, Alexander glanced around the large library in search of his Luna but found no one.

He tried to ignore the worry that was gingerly growing.

Where the hell is she?

For the past week, Evelyn had practically made the library her second home. Apart from trying to polish up on any useful etiquette skills, which she still hadn’t told him about herself, there was a slew of other books that had caught her attention.

One thing he had learned from his secret observation of her, Evelyn enjoyed reading books about plants and their medical uses. Most women cared about fashion magazines and wanted to keep up with the latest styles from all around the world.

Not Evelyn.

It was obvious she cared little for material things. She preferred to place her focus where it held a greater impact. It was surely an admirable quality to possess. Alexander considered himself exceedingly lucky, knowing that Evelyn was nothing like some of the other Luna’s he knew who couldn’t be bothered to be involved with their pack.

As he made his way out of the library, with the intention of heading toward his grandmother’s side of the house. Maybe Evelyn was visiting Wendy and recapping the day’s events. Part of him wishes that she would speak to him about such matters...

Alexander suddenly caught sight of Nina coming out of the kitchens with a hint of concern spread across her face.

“Nina? What is it?”

“Oh, sir. It’s nothing—well, I’m sure it’s nothing,” she claimed weakly.

He was not happy with that sort of response. Not by any means. Something was going on and he was set on finding out what. When Nina realized that Alexander wasn’t going to drop the matter she caved.

“It’s Evelyn,” she confessed.

His brows drew together as he tried to keep the panic out of his voice. “What about her?”

“I don’t think she’s in a good state of mind at the moment,” she said. “This Luna gathering really did a number on her and she’s trying to work through a lot of things at the moment.”

“What sort of things?” he pressed.

Nina shook her head. “She didn’t give me any sort of ideas, nor did she even give me a chance to ask. All I know is that she went off to have some time alone with herself.”

Alexander didn’t know what to make of it. His previous feelings of worry were now accompanied by irritation. Were the two of them so distant from each other that she didn’t even consider the possibility of coming to him to talk?

Then again, why would she?

It’s not as though he had made any effort to make her feel secure enough to do so. He clenched his jaw and snarled a curse under his breath.

He glanced back at Nina. “You have no idea where she is right now?”

She shook her head. “Honestly, sir. If you ask me, I would advise you to give Evelyn her space.”

Nina bid him goodnight, leaving him to stew in his own dangerous thoughts. What if the reason why Evelyn hadn’t chosen to speak to him was because she didn’t trust him? What if she had grown to resent him?

Perhaps I should have set more time aside for her. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so isolated and alone. I need to know what happened at that gathering.

As much as it continued to eat away at him, Alexander had no choice. He gave Evelyn time to deal with her thoughts on her own. But as time went on, his worry only grew worse.

When he turned to glance at the time on the wall again, it had read just a little past twelve-thirty. He had gone back to the bedroom to check if she had returned. She hadn’t.

He called upon a few of the staff members who were doing their last rounds around the house.

“Have any of you seen Evelyn?” he questioned.

Thankfully, one of them stepped up. “Last I saw her, she was walking outside in the gardens.”

Without another word, he took off toward the back of the house toward the terrace. The lanterns were still dimly lit, giving the place an ethereal glow. He scanned the area until he saw a slim figure emerging from beyond one of the tall bushes. Evelyn.

His heart twisted in his chest as he watched her closely. Good God. The poor girl looked like a zombie. She’d been, unknowingly, dragging her feet while wearing a serious yet solemn look on her face.

It was hard to believe that this was the same woman who had come gliding down that main staircase, looking nothing short of a princess. Glowing and utterly vibrant. Now, she looked as though someone had sucked the very life out of her.

Although she looked remarkably beautiful before, Alexander came to the conclusion early on that preferred her to her natural self.

Oh, yes. Something was clearly bothering her. Nina mentioned that Evelyn needed some time to clear her head...Well, it didn’t appear that did much good for her.

A long moment passed before Evelyn lifted her gaze from the ground to find him sitting there, waiting for her.

“It’s late, you should come to bed.”

“Is that a direct order?” she asked coldly.

Alexander’s heart actually stammered in his chest. He couldn’t believe how taken aback he was by her response. Although her tone held zero anger or menace, it lacked its usual warmth and kindness.

“Not necessarily. But I know that you won’t be feeling too well tomorrow if you don’t get some rest.”

She gave him a skeptical look. Once that held over a dozen different questions.