Chapter 263

#Chapter 263 – Hesitations It’s almost four o’clock and Victor still isn’t home.

I stand at my kitchen sink with a glass of water, pretending to stare contemplatively out the back window when really I’m just staring anxiously at the black screen of my phone, which is propped up against the window’s glass. The boys are upstairs with their tutor and others – Betas, housekeepers, Burton – bustle around the house behind me, so it’s not like I’m alone.

But still, I feel very alone without any word from my mate.

I sigh, moving my eyes from my phone and to the newly-green trees outside of the window. I know that Victor can handle himself, and that there’s nothing really that I should worry about. If it just wasn’t Amelia…

Amelia, this woman who worked so hard to destroy our lives. Half of me can’t really blame her – Victor did dump her on her wedding day and shack up with me pretty quickly after. Her rage I get. But the violence to which she retorted for her vengeance…

That part of Amelia scares me. It’s just so foreign to me.

I sigh, picking up my phone and swiping through it, looking for missed messages I know aren’t there.

Silence.

I even went so far as to text Edgar, which I haven’t done in months, because Victor said he was in on the mission. Nothing from him either. I close my eyes and put my phone down, saying a little prayer that everything’s all right.

And then I leap about a mile in the air when I feel someone touch my shoulder.

“Oh!” Bridgette says, surprised when I spin on her with a little shriek. “Oh god – Evelyn – I’m sorry – I didn’t mean –“

But then her eyes move to the hand I have pressed against my chest. Or, more specifically, to the gigantic diamond perched on my ring finger.

“Oh my god! Evelyn!” She says, her eyes suddenly wide and thrilled for me. She wraps me in a tight hug, rocking me back and forth. I laugh, swept away by her happiness, and hold her tight in return.

“Thank you, Bridgette,” I say, pulling away and smiling at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you about it yesterday – I wanted to tell people in person –“

“We need to have a party!” she says, her eyes wide.

“No,” I say, laughing a little. “No party – we’re so busy. We’ll save all the partying for the wedding itself.”

“And when will that be?” she asks, eager.

I shrug, truly not knowing. “We haven’t planned it yet.”

“Ugh, a wedding,” she says, pressing her hands together beneath her chin happily. “That’s so wonderful. Just what this family needs.”

I smile at her, putting my arm around my shoulders, and consider that she was planning her own wedding not too long ago. And that…well, I hope that this isn’t making her jealous. I would feel horrible if my own happiness were to make her feel bad.

“How are things going with you and Rafe?” I ask quietly, truly curious.

“Oh,” she says noncommittally, rolling her eyes a little. “Complicated, I guess…”

I give her a little squeeze around the shoulders, not wanting to push her if she doesn’t want to talk about it. I point to the full coffee machine and raise an inquisitive brow and Bridgette nods quickly. I pour her a cup.

“Where is Victor?” she asks curiously, looking around. “He’s usually…buzzing around here, with the rest of them.”

“I don’t know,” I say, shrugging and handing her the warm mug. “He’s been away all day, handling something. Did you come here looking for him?”

“A little,” she says, sighing. “I wanted…some perspective. On his brother.”

I nod, understanding. “You might have a hard time with that,” I offer. “It’s not that he wouldn’t want to help. Its just that… I actually don’t think the two of them really have the words to talk to people about each other. They feel deeply as brothers but they’re not…great at expressing their emotions.”

Bridgette rolls her eyes. “Tell me about it,” she says, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of her coffee. “Emotionally repressed Alphas.”

“Ah,” I say, blushing a little. “They’re not so bad once you get them going.”

She grins at me then, and I laugh when I realize that she knows exactly what I mean. These Kensington boys – they feel deeply. You just sometimes have to break the surface to get to it.

I frown suddenly, looking around the room. “I know that Victor’s gone for the day, but did Rafe go with him? Or is he here?”

“I don’t know,” Bridgette says, curious. “I haven’t heard from him in a little bit.”

“Hmm,” I say. Victor had mentioned Edgar was going with him this afternoon, but he didn’t say a word about his brother.

So where the hell was Rafe?

_______________________ “Do you really think the time is now?” Victor asks Annabeth after a moment of contemplative silence.

“To take it?”

“Well,” Annabeth says, steadily holding his gaze. “I think that there is certainly a power vacuum now, with Walsh and Willard out of the picture. No Alpha has recently been able to conclusively demonstrate their strength, or that having a Supreme would benefit all of the packs by uniting them under a singular leadership.”

“And you think,” Victor continues carefully, “that with Walsh and Willard…absent…”

“Absent,” she says, her mouth quirking in a little smile. “Yes, with them conveniently absent, Victor, I think that you have demonstrated, with your neat little three-day war, that you’re well able to deal with threats, and that you have the lives of wolves – all wolves, not just Alpha-born wolves – at the heart of your policy.”

He nods, considering it. Of course, this has been his plan for a long time, but…

Now?

Already?

“The only thing that might raise an eyebrow,” Annabeth says quietly, “is the idea of a…single Supreme.”

“I’m not single,” Victor says hastily, with a frown.

“Well, I know that,” she says, raising her eyebrows. “But Victor, it’s the twenty-first century – and your relationship status is part of an every-day news cycle. People have been on a scavenger hunt for months. Evelyn is part of the picture, of course, but there are still many who believe that you’ll return to Amelia – and still others who are coming up with all sorts of other conspiracies. Some, for instance, are calling Bridgette is your new ‘pet’ –“

“Bridgette?” Victor sputters, leaning forward in sudden shock. “Seriously?”

“She’s been seen coming to and from your home –“

“She was engaged to my brother!”

“Was.” Annabeth says definitively, holding up a finger. “And now she’s not. And yet she’s still seen coming back and forth from your house – not his. The house where you’re living with the mother of your children, but whom you have not publicly recognized – people figured out that the last engagement you tried was a failure, so they’re coming up with all sorts of theories -”

“Oh my god,” Victor interrupts, not wanting to know more, putting his head in his hand. “Is it seriously this bad?”

“Actually, it’s kind of delicious,” Annabeth says, laughing, “for those of us not directly involved. The conspiracy blogs are having a field day – it’s good reading. But yes, if you desire to be taken seriously, I’d suggest…settling down. Officially.”

“Well,” Victor says with a sigh, smiling a little at her. “That’s easily done, at least. I asked Evelyn to marry me. And this time she said yes.”

“Victor,” Annabeth gasps, thrilled, leaning across the desk. “You didn’t! That’s wonderful!”

He can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he leans back in his chair. “So, that, at least, is solved. But you really think…with that done…”

“I think you need to tell everyone, if that’s the move you decide to make. Or marring her, publicly, would be best. But Victor, if you decide to move forward, I’d suggest you strike while the iron is hot. You won’t be the only one who is eyeing this position. But, you will be the only one with my support.”

Victor sits back into the chair, nodding quietly, thinking it over.

Supreme Alpha.

It’s what he’s wanted for quite a long time – since he took over the position of Alpha of his family’s pack and learned that he liked the work.

But…he couldn’t do it yet.

There were still some more loose ends to wrap up first.

And those loose ends all lead directly back to Evelyn.