Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Chapter 68

Sophia stood only a few steps away from Evelyn, yet it felt as though there were an entire room between them.

Her hands were clenched at her sides as she watched Evelyn calmly stand beside Adrian—talking, smiling, being happy.

The more she watched, the more she wanted to ruin it. Evelyn always got the better deal, the better man. Even now, when she had managed to get Kael from Evelyn, she somehow managed to find an Alpha much wealthier than Kael. Her jaw tightened the more she watched. Evelyn should be miserable. She should be ashamed and crying for a second chance.

Sophia looked away, her gaze shifting to Kael, who was beside her and also staring at Evelyn.

Sophia’s anger deepened.

She had imagined Evelyn arriving alone. She had imagined people whispering about the woman who had lost her title, her husband, and her place in Silver Creek.

Instead, Evelyn had walked into the summit looking more confident than ever.

And Kael couldn’t seem to stop looking at her.

"Kael." She called, but he barely reacted.

"Kael," Sophia called again, this time sharper.

His eyes finally shifted to her. "What?"

Sophia forced a smile. "Nothing." She turned back toward the stage, but her fingers tightened around her glass.

She hated this. She hated the way Evelyn seemed untouched by everything.

The donations continued. One Alpha after another stepped forward to announce what they had contributed to the summit. Land, silver, medicinal supplies, weapons for border patrols, food for packs affected by the recent shortages.

Evelyn listened quietly, occasionally speaking to Adrian when he leaned toward her.

She looked around the hall, catching sight of Lucien, whose gaze would flicker to her once or twice, then to Kael and Sophia, then to Soren, who gave her a small smile.

In all of this, she remembered she hadn’t seen Damon. Usually, she would have him making sarcastic comments or making jokes, but he wasn’t there.

She made a mental note to send a message to him after the summit.

She turned her attention back toward the stage as another donation was announced.

Beside her, Adrian leaned closer. "Tired now?" he asked.

Evelyn cocked a brow. "Somehow I am not. It hasn’t been as exhausting as I expected."

Adrian looked at her. "You say that now, but when it truly hits, you’ll be singing a different tune."

Evelyn chuckled at this. Somehow, she’d grown fond of Adrian and his way of speaking. She shook her head and focused on the donations.

The Alpha at the podium moved through the remaining names on his list, his voice carrying easily over the hall. "From the Ashworth pack—grain reserves for the eastern territories."

Applause. A polite nod from the Ashworth Alpha as he stepped back into the crowd.

"From the Draymoor pack—a shipment of steel for weapon forging."

The Alpha of the Draymoor pack stood up and acknowledged the hall before sitting down.

Evelyn watched as they called on different Alphas from different parts of the realm, each of them standing to acknowledge their donations. After about fifty donations, the donations were finally coming to an end.

"That concludes the formal donations for this year’s summit," the Alpha announced, beginning to fold the parchment in his hand.

A steward stepped up beside him suddenly, leaning in to murmur something urgent near his ear. The Alpha’s brows lifted slightly as he glanced down at the list again, then nodded.

"Ah—it seems there’s one more," he said, straightening. He smiled widely this time. "From what I hear, this is a special donation. Perhaps the biggest of the night."

At this, murmurs began to fly around the hall.

"This donation is the most important of tonight. A donation made by our dearest Alpha Kael and Luna Sophia of the Silver Creek pack."

Kael’s brows furrowed, searching through his mind for a donation he’d made, but none came to mind. He glanced at an equally confused Sophia.

"Did you make a donation without my knowing?" he asked, but she shook her head, also retracing her steps for any donation she may have made, but none came to mind.

"I’m certain I didn’t."

"Perhaps it’s a mistake. I’ll speak to the director after the ceremony has ended," Kael said.

Meanwhile, a large box was brought out to the table where other donations were placed.

The moment Sophia’s eyes landed on the box, something cold settled low in her stomach.

She knew that box.

No—she told herself she was imagining things. There were hundreds of boxes in the realm shaped just like that one: plain wood, sealed with a simple clasp. It meant nothing.

"Shall we see what our Silver Creek pack has so generously prepared for us tonight?" the Alpha asked, already reaching for the clasp, his smile widening in anticipation of whatever grand gesture awaited inside.

The Alpha lifted the lid, and for a second, he simply stared into the box.

His smile slowly disappeared. A strange expression crossed his face as he reached inside and pulled out the first item.

A piece of delicate red silk.

The Alpha looked down at it, clearly unsure what he was supposed to do with it. "What in the—"

A few Alphas exchanged confused looks.

Then the smell reached them. It was strong, unmistakably feminine, and far too personal for something that had been brought into a room filled with dozens of important Alphas and Lunas.

Someone near the front coughed awkwardly, and another Luna covered her nose.

"What kind of donation is that?" someone whispered.

"Is that—is that Luna Sophia’s undergarment?" a Luna asked, pointing at the red silk taken out of the box.

The smell was unmistakably of sex. It was putrid and thick in the air. It smelled exactly like Sophia—and even more like Kael.

Sophia felt all the blood drain from her face.

She had sent this to Evelyn. She had wanted to humiliate Evelyn. But this witch—she had just dragged Sophia through the mud.

Kael was beside her, even more confused at the smell and the underwear. "What’s going on here? Who brought that there?" He growled.

"Keep calm, Alpha Kael. The donation has come from your pack itself, and look—there’s a note attached to it," the Alpha in charge said.

Sophia’s knees weakened, and she staggered backward, her heart beating rapidly. She feared she was having a heart attack.

The Alpha took out the note and read it, his brows furrowing with each read. "Lady Sophia sent the donation!" the man announced.

"What? How is that possible?" Kael growled.

"Sophia did this to humiliate Lady Evelyn! She knew she would be attending and pulled this off. How pathetic!" someone from the crowd said, and soon the hall was buzzing with more words.

"How could the Luna of such a pack do this? All to make her Alpha’s ex jealous?"

"How shameful! What has Evelyn done to deserve this level of cruelty?"

Sophia was drowning in their words, their disdain and horror at the donation. Sophia’s eyes darted wildly across the room until they landed on Evelyn.

She stood there, calm and composed, watching it all unfold with the faintest, unreadable curve at the corner of her mouth.

Something in Sophia snapped. "You!" She screamed. "You did this!"

She was moving before anyone could stop her, shoving past startled Lunas. "How dare you humiliate me like this!" she screamed, lunging toward Evelyn with her hand raised. "In front of everyone—how dare you!"

Evelyn caught her wrist mid-strike without so much as flinching and shoved her back hard enough that Sophia stumbled and hit the floor, her gown pooling around her.

"Tell me, what exactly have I done, Sophia?"

"You—you made this donation! You wanted to humiliate me! You did this!" Sophia screamed.

"Me?" Evelyn pointed at herself. "But how, Sophia? How would I have gotten a box that came from your pack, filled with your things, addressed in your name?" She tilted her head slightly, watching Sophia’s humiliation curdle into something closer to panic. "Unless, of course, you sent it yourself."

Sophia’s face went white. "I would never—"

"You just said I did it," Evelyn interrupted calmly. "Yet you cannot explain how I could have gotten the box."

Sophia opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

The hall had gone almost completely silent.

Every eye was on her, waiting for her.

Sophia shook her head, seeing she was totally cornered. This wench! There was only one way left for Sophia to escape the humiliation.

She let her eyes roll back and allowed herself to collapse.

"Luna Sophia! Luna Sophia!" They screamed around her, the maids immediately getting into position and hurrying her out of the hall.

Kael hesitated for a moment, eyes darting back to Evelyn before finally following his mate.

Across the hall, Lucien watched the entire exchange in silence, his jaw tight. He knew already that Evelyn wasn’t a woman to be played with, but seeing this, he remembered what she’d told him. "Don’t interfere in my fight with Kael. I’d be damned if I let him live happily. He isn’t a man who deserves to sit among rulers you’d call respected."

He gulped hard and looked away. He never wanted to be her enemy the way Kael was. Never.