Chapter 194
Junox POV
“I won’t hurt Matthew, Augustin linked to me, touching my hand and placing a gentle kiss on it. Just Quinn and Maddox. I understand your protective feelings toward him. He was your best friend and confidant. I saw your connection at the ball, and I’m not jealous because I know I have your heart. He’s a friend, and a loyal one at that. I can’t make the same promise about Kieran, though.*
1 felt grateful for Augustin’s understanding. I remembered how Matthew had deliberately made a fool of himself at the ball to protect me, to draw attention away from my reaction. As the leader of Forestvale, his drunken performance would probably make headlines, but he’d done it anyway, to spare me
embarrassment.
I also knew Matthew had no idea how to play polo. Going up against our team could be dangerous for him. But I didn’t care what happened to Kieran. He deserved whatever punishment came his way for bringing Cassandra and her uncle. If he wanted to cause trouble, Augustin was welcome to teach him a lesson.
Good luck to him, I thought, not really caring much either way.
‘I can’t wait for the Purplemoon, Freya said, gently rubbing her slightly swollen belly.
Adryx kissed the spot on her neck where his mark would soon appear.
“Should we start heading out?” Freya suggested. “We could all ride in the same car to Goldenvale.“–
Scarlett seemed a bit down, probably because she wanted children but wasn’t pregnant yet. And I could see Scarlett was about to refuse, so I quickly jumped in. “That sounds perfect. Don’t you think, Scarlett?”
She shot me a look, then smiled. “Whatever you say, Mrs. Juno.”
We all giggled at that.
Back in our room, I dressed in a simple black dress with a small hat, while Augustin wore his formal regalia. He looked as handsome as he had the night of the ball, like a prince from a fairy tale.
“You look like a prince, I told him, straightening his collar.
He smiled, pulling me close for a kiss. “And you look like my queen.”
I felt nervous about the polo teams but kept it to myself. Overall, though, I was excited about the celebrations ahead.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.
‘Come in,” Augustin called.
To my surprise, Evanth entered. He wore regalia similar to Augustin’s but with different decorations. While Augustin’s uniform was embellished with gold thread, Evanth’s had plain cream–colored threading. He looked handsome, the Levenston family crest prominent on his uniform.
“I hear I’m doing the ribbon–cutting,” Evanth said, looking at Augustin.
“You are, Augustin confirmed. ‘You’ll also welcome the guests on my behalf. You’re a Levenston too, after all.”
Evanth walked toward Augustin, his gaze shifting to me. “She’s good for you,” he observed. ‘I’m proud of you. Elowen shouldn’t know I said this, but I thought you might act like Father.”
Augustin pretended not to understand, frowning. “What do you mean?”
Evanth looked at me and smiled. “Seeing how cold you are to your ex and what you did for her, I can now officially call her family and talk about family secrets in front of her.
His eyes filled with tears as he began to reveal the family history. “Father had a fated mate named Charlotte. She was an evil bitch. He didn’t reject her for
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Chapter 194
Mother; he shared them.
Evanth wiped away a tear. “It wasn’t really sharing. We were sent to the west wing. That’s why I didn’t want to go there when you sent me
Charlotte is why Father hated me so much. She would set me up, and Father would ‘discipline‘ me. He did things to me that I could never tell Mother about a That’s why I was silent for most of my childhood.”
“When we left, I was happy, but Father made us come back. Mother was forced to be Charlotte’s slave–massaging her, washing her feet, everything. There were things I had to do because it would shame my mother.”
Father would beat her if she didn’t get Charlotte’s food taste right or messed up the menu. I don’t know if Mother ever told you, but Father would lock her in the dungeon for days. He’d lie and say she was visiting family that didn’t exist–family he’d killed.”
“Mother’s brother, Rodolfo Montalvo, could have become the Lord, but Father married his sister and took the position. Father controlled the Council; there was a balance of power then.”
‘Father killed our uncle so he could divorce Mother and marry Charlotte. I prayed Charlotte would die painfully, and she did.”
“Father seemed to repent and became better to Mother. When she had you and realized you would inherit his position because you were an Alpha, unike me, he began to spoil her. He tried everything to make her forget, but I doubt she ever did.”
Evanth’s revelations about his childhood had stunned me into silence.
I could imagine the trauma Evanth had experienced as a child, watching everything happen and being unable to speak about it.
And for the first time, I felt genuine compassion for Evanth, seeing him not as an enemy but as someone who had survived unimaginable trauma.
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We all thought Evanth was just a do nothing bad guy. We never thought about how he became that way.
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