Chapter 9 9
Evelyn's POV
I could still hear Elsa’s voice echoing in my head, and every word made my blood boil hotter as I stormed down the hallway, clutching my purse tightly.
The audacity! The sheer, unbelievable audacity of that woman.
“I cannot believe it.” I muttered to myself. “Elsa, daring to speak to me like that all because of that little slut who claims to be my son’s mate? That gutter rat?” My heels struck the ground harder. “She has lost her mind completely.”
I reached Caesar’s room and pushed the door open without knocking only to see my son standing there, calmly folding clothes into a suitcase. My eyes landed on the flowery top, and my jaw clenched.
Uttering a curse under my breath, I walked right up to him and yanked the clothes straight out of his hand.
“What is wrong with you?!” I snapped. “Is this what she has turned you into? You've become a weakling because of some girl from the slums…”
Caesar turned slowly toward me. And with a completely neutral face, he asked. “Who the hell are you?”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. “Oh, now you’re denying your own mother?” I scoffed, pointing to myself. “Because of that girl who disrespected me? And I don’t know why Elsa is defending her, but she needs to be taken out of this house. She doesn’t deserve to be here or breathe under this roof!”
But Caesar merely bent down, picked up the clothes I flung on the floor, dusted them gently, and smiled. “Are you talking about Jenna, my mate?”
My eyes widened. “If Jenna is the one I put in her place downstairs, then that’s exactly who I’m talking about!”
“Jenna is a really nice person, Mom.” He said, still smiling. “You’d like her if you got to know her.”
“Are you insane?” I snapped. “Can’t you see she is beneath you? Send her out of this house or exile her, if you must! Just make sure she’s gone.”
He chuckled, then stretched out both hands and placed them on my shoulders gently. “Come on, Mom.” He said. “Jenna is a really nice person. Just let go of the anger in your heart and try to know her. She’s the sweetest person, she’s brave, and…” He paused, his eyes softening into something I had never seen from him. “I love her so much.”
Was this my son? I reached up slowly and pressed my hand against his neck and surprisingly, his temperature was normal.
“Are you sick?” I whispered. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not acting like my son, Caesar Greywood.”
He laughed lightly. “Maybe that’s because I’m in love with Jenna. And trust me, Mom, the moment you get to know her, you’ll love her too.”
“Caesar.” I said sharply. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”
“Yes.” He said simply. “I’m talking to my mom… right?”
“Yes, I’m your mother, but…” The rest of the sentence died in my throat.
This isn’t my son, this isn’t Caesar Greywood.
He has never spoken to me like this, he has never smiled at me, never been gentle or kind. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time Caesar had been nice to me at all.
Not after all the years I spent needling him, provoking him, and shoving myself into his life just to irritate him. All because it entertained me and gave me the satisfaction of disrupting the peace of the family that had cast me aside.
But now he was smiling at me?
No.
No, no, no. Something was definitely wrong.
I stepped back. “You know what? I’m leaving. I’m leaving.”
I didn’t wait for his answer. I stormed out of the room, my heart pounding. “That’s not my son.” I whispered to myself. “Something is definitely going on. That person in there is not Caesar Greywood.”
As I marched down the hallway, everything clicked together. A few days ago, Jericho told me Caesar had found his mate and was bringing her to the packhouse, to introduce her to Roman and Elsa. And not to me, his real mother. I was furious, so furious that I swore to come here and shake everything apart and throw their precious little family into chaos again because they deserved it.
But this wasn’t what I expected. I expected to see Caesar furious, irritated and unhinged. Instead he was calm, warm, and affectionate.
‘I needed answers.’ I said to myself, storming into Jericho’s room without knocking.
He was seated on the edge of the bed, flipping through a book, but he immediately rose when he saw me.
“Jericho! What’s going on with Caesar?!” I panicked. “Something about him is weird. That’s not my son. Why is he being nice to me? What’s happening?!”
Jericho walked toward me quickly and cupped my cheeks in his warm hands. “My love.” He said softly. “Calm down and take a deep breath.”
I did as he instructed and my breathing steadied, but my hands still shook. “What is happening?” I whispered. “That’s not Caesar.”
Jericho guided me to sit on the edge of the bed. “Sit down first.”
I sat, trembling while he walked to the nightstand, poured water into a glass, brought it to me, placed it in my hands and I downed it all at once. Then he took the cup back, set it aside, and sat beside me, resting his hand on my thigh.
“Evelyn.” He began. “Do you remember the plan we formed to assassinate Caesar?”
I nodded slowly.
“Well.” Jericho continued. “Some days ago, Nathan told me Caesar was planning to visit with his mate. So without telling you, Nathan and I went ahead with the plan. Which led to the death of Caesar’s mate, but unexpectedly, Caesar survived. However, the injury caused severe damage so he lost his memory. And the first person he saw when he woke up was Jenna, so now he thinks she’s his mate and the person he was planning to introduce to the family.”
He remained silent for a second before he continued.
“Because of that one stupid mistake, Caesar is still alive and my plan to take over the position of Alpha has failed.”
Seeing the anguish on his face pulled something inside of me tight. I reached up, cupped his cheeks, and made him look at me. “No, baby.” I whispered. “The plan is not ruined. We can still do something, we can still use that useless girl, Jenna, to our advantage.”
He blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Our original plan was to kill Caesar, knowing fully well that Roman’s health is deteriorating so Caesar’s death would have crushed him and he would have been too weak to continue as Alpha. Then you would take the position.”
Jericho nodded, listening intently.
“But now.” I continued, “I have a better idea.”
His eyes sharpened. “Go on.”
“Why stop at Caesar?” I whispered. “Why not take out everyone except you? Then you automatically become Alpha.”
Jericho tilted his head. “And what does Jenna have to do with that? How are you planning to use her?”
“We could poison both Caesar and Roman, and then make it look like it’s Jenna’s fault.” I said softly. “Once they’re dead, and she’s blamed, there will be no one else left in line but you.”
Jericho’s lips curled upward into a wide, victorious grin.
“Evelyn.” He murmured, brushing his thumb over my lips. “Do you know why I love you?”
I smiled sweetly. “Because I’m beautiful?”
He shook his head slowly. “No, it's because you’re smart.” He leaned closer. “And your plans never fail.”