Put me down!" Evangeline grumbled, kicking her legs.
The closeness made her skin burn, a pulse of heat thrumming through her veins. Her cheeks flushed as stunned eyes followed them—shock painted across every face. The mate bond buzzed between them, wild and unpredictable, and she tried shove away the sensation.
Inside the hall, Graham stood still, his expression unreadable as he watched his daughter being carried away by his sworn enemy. Her broken voice—begging him to kill her instead—still echoed in his mind. It stirred a sharp, unfamiliar ache in his chest that vanished as quickly as Ezaar disappeared through the doors.
This was better.
Evangeline was supposed to be his pride. His weapon. But now she was just a disposable pawn. The last shred of love he had for her melted the day she handed Samuel over to death. He'd kept her alive for politics, so whatever Ezaar did with her was no longer his concern.
Outside, Ezaar stopped beside a sleek black Rolls-Royce. He opened the back door and gently set her down on her feet.
"Get Inside."
Evangeline clenched her fists, biting back the urge to run. He'd catch her in seconds. He had the Guardian wolf, after all. One that was stronger, faster, deadlier than any wolves in existence.
With a sharp huff, she climbed inside.
Ezaar followed from the other side and settled beside her. "Drive."
The driver swallowed hard, his eyes flicking toward Evangeline. But when Ezaar's gaze locked with his, he quickly started the engine. Pack Solamire would burn tonight, and he wasn't ready for it.
Evangeline stared at Ezaar, her blood still boiling. He'd leaned back into the seat, eyes closed, legs crossed, his expression irritatingly relaxed, as if he hadn't just turned her entire world upside down.
Of all the people fate could've paired her with… why him? The devil who destroyed everything she loved. The mate who should have been her cure but turned into a curse, far more cruel than the monster who raised her.
Her gaze traced his features—his sharp jaw, how sunlight flickered across his skin. And she hated herself for looking. Hated that her chest fluttered faintly. That, even now, her heart still responded to the mate bond like a fool.
Ezaar's lips curled into a lazy smirk, eyes still shut. "Stare any harder," he drawled, "and you might end up falling head over heels for me, sweetheart."
Evangeline scoffed. "In your dreams," she muttered.
"I don't blame you, really," Ezaar went on with a sigh. "Being this devastatingly handsome is exhausting."
Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Hearing such crap must be more exhausting. I pity the people who need to be around you every day," she mocked.
"Alas." Ezaar chuckled softly. Tilting his head toward her, he continued with a warm smile, "You are one of those privileged people from now on."
Evangeline groaned and turned away. He was as infuriating as hell!
Ezaar laughed at her reaction. Oh, getting under someone's skin had never been this satisfying.
The car sped along the winding road. The trees blurred into streaks of green, and Pack Solamire vanished behind them.
Evangeline watched the lands disappear. She'd always dreamed of escaping—but not like this. This wasn't freedom. It felt like being traded from one prison to another. One darker, colder, and far more suffocating.
Her heart clenched as they passed the abandoned playground. The rusty swing swayed gently in the wind—her favorite place. She and Samuel spent most of their time here, an escape from their tedious lives. He promised they'd still play there when they were old. But...
Tears burned her eyes. The memories hit like broken glass.
Two years ago, Lunaris had erupted in joy.
Samuel Raymore, golden boy of the pack, had finally returned from university. There were banners. Cheers. He was already being celebrated like the next Alpha. But that joy died fast.
The shouting started late into the night. Evangeline could still feel every bit of it, the image of her father and brother at each other's throats.
"An omega from Solamire Pack?!" Graham's voice boomed through the pack house. "You must be out of your mind!"
"It doesn't matter who she is!" Samuel yelled back, eyes blazing with defiance. "She's my fated mate!"
"A mate you will reject!"
"I won't." Samuel disobeyed his father. "I'm going to marry Melissa."
And the fight was silenced by a hard slap. Her father struck Samuel for the first time and dragged him to the dungeons.
Evangeline had watched it all unfold in silence. Her breath stuck in her throat. Her feet were frozen. And then… she sneaked in to meet her brother, defying her father's order that had only ended in a disaster.
"Angel, please help me out of here!" Samuel begged.
"You need to reject her," Evangeline pleaded. "Dad is going to kill you if you don't, Sam! Please!"
"No, I can't. I love her!" Samuel was adamant. "Moreover, Alpha Ezaar promised to help us. He's arranged everything. I just need to meet them in the forest tonight."
Evangeline's blood ran cold. "No! You can't trust him!" she argued back. "He's on a mission to bring Father down. It must be a trap!"
"He never goes back on his word, Angel." Samuel insisted, his voice full of hope.
"No. I can't put you in danger."
"I can't live without Melissa. Please, Angel."
Evengeline hesitated. But the desperation in his eyes broke her resolve. So, she helped him escape. She'd hoped to hear from him months later—maybe a letter, a call, anything telling her he was safe, living a happy life with his mate.
But all she got… was a coffin. Her brother came back only a few hours later. Lifeless. Cold. Wrapped in a wedding suit like a sick gift.
"Alpha Ezaar is not like our father, Angel. He's a good man."
Those were Samuel's last words. And he was so wrong.
Ezaar had turned out exactly like her father. Worse. A man greedy for power. A devil who'd kill innocents just to quench his thirst for revenge.
Evangeline blinked, shattering from the memory. "Why did you kill him?" Her voice cracked. "My father poisoned your family, right? You should've killed him. Not Samuel!"
Ezaar didn't even flinch. "That's not how revenge works, honey," he murmured. "Your father took something precious from me, so I returned the favor."
Tears slipped down her cheeks. Her throat was tight with resentment. "So… is that why you bought me too?" she asked. "To torture me so it hurts him?"
Ezaar didn't reply. His silence said it all.
"If that's your plan, then you've already failed." Evangeline's voice came out soft, almost broken. "My father doesn't care what you do with me. I'm just a useless pawn to him."
She was once his cherished pawn, one he was proud of and waiting to flaunt to the world. But things changed after Samuel's death.
That made Ezaar turn. Slowly, his eyes opened, startled to feel tears in them. He looked at Evangeline, her expression struck his chest. What the heck was happening to him?!
Ezaar turned away, closing his eyes to hold back those damning tears. "We'll see about that," he muttered, convinced she was bluffing.
Useless? No. He had seen her power with his own eyes. The way her wolf could bring hell to its knees. Alpha Graham had been training her in secret for years, waiting to weaponize her at the right time.
That was why he'd bought her. Well—that, and his wolf's maddening cry to save their mate.
But little did he know, the wolf he sought was long gone... Destroyed and buried with Samuel.
Now all Ezaar had left… was a mate with no wolf, no future, and no intention of ever being his pawn.