Chapter 211: Wait for Me, We'll Talk After This is Over

Chapter 211: Wait for Me, We'll Talk After This is Over
Evelyn's POV

Half an hour after the assembly order went out, the main hall was packed.

I stood by the side entrance watching people come in. Some of them still had that blank look in their eyes just a few days ago. Now they were back. Delta Griffin stood up front, shoulders square. Warriors scattered through the crowd, serious but awake.

Finally got everyone back, my wolf said.

Yeah.

The noise died down without anyone asking. People just stopped talking. Alpha presence did that—even before Adam showed up, the whole room knew to listen.

Adam walked out from the side door.

His steps were steady, shoulders loose. No forced posture. He reached the platform and looked around, eyes moving across every face.

Then he spoke.

"These past few weeks," Adam's voice came out level, like he'd thought it through and was just filling everyone in, "I made calls. A lot of them. Wasn't my head doing the thinking, but they happened anyway, and they hit all of you."

He stopped.

"Starting now, I'm pulling back everything I ordered under that mess. Anyone who got kicked out—you're back in. Anyone who got their movement locked down—it's done. That goes for the Sentinel squad too."

When he said that, his eyes found mine. Held for maybe two seconds. Then moved on.

Something turned over in my chest. Not gratitude. Something heavier. Like watching someone break surface after nearly drowning.

Adam kept going. "Made you watch a circus. When this is over, I'm buying drinks. Consider it me saying sorry."

The tension cracked. Couple people actually laughed.

Adam came down and walked straight over.

"Your show now," he said. "You know what we're dealing with better than I do."

I nodded, pulled in a breath, and headed up.

Every face turned.

I looked around the hall. Magnus and Lucian sat front row, both locked in. Magnus had his arms crossed, leaning forward a bit. Lucian held a pen and notebook, ready to write.

I started talking. "Brandon shows up tomorrow. Backup gets here the day after. So we've got twenty-four hours on our own."

Dead quiet.

"Here's how we're splitting it," I said. "North border—terrain's a nightmare up there, needs someone who actually knows it—"

"I've got it."

Magnus stood up. Voice flat. "I know that area. I'll take the team."

I looked at him. Waited a beat.

"Alright."

Magnus sat back down.

Lucian threw in, "I'm going with him."

"Fine."

"Thanks," Lucian said.

"Don't," I said. "You've always been solid."

Lucian didn't answer, but he settled back in his seat. Something in the way he moved looked easier, like he'd been carrying weight and finally put it down.

I kept going. East line—Cyrus and Mark. South—Sophia. West—Griffin would handle it himself. Personnel, backup routes, communication fallbacks. Went through the whole thing. Took maybe twenty minutes.

That's when I realized Freya was gone.

Scanned the room. Didn't see her. Right as I was about to ping her through the link, the doors opened.

Freya walked in with five people I didn't recognize trailing behind.

She cut through the crowd, walked straight up, and pressed her hand down on top of my head.

I knocked it away. "Where'd you go?"

"Border run," Freya said, turning to point at the five newcomers. "Found these guys. They got out from Brandon's side."

I looked them over. Worn out—clothes dirty, some blood, but their eyes were sharp.

"They know what Brandon's planning for tomorrow," Freya said. "You should hear it."

Next half hour turned into controlled chaos.

The five runaways laid out Brandon's whole setup. Three-pronged hit, heavy push north, fake pressure south, cut off the west. Standard playbook, but with the terrain on his side, we were looking at a problem.

Mark jumped straight in. "So we flip it. North can't hold, we pull them in deep, trap them in the inner ring—"

"That's got holes," Cyrus cut him off. "North's too messy. You pull them in, you're giving up control. We need to—"

"What holes? I'm saying—"

They started going at it. Sophia stood nearby with her notebook, throwing in comments here and there to push both their ideas toward something that might actually work.

This is how it always goes, my wolf said. They argue, but they figure it out.

Better hope so.

Went on another twenty minutes. Finally locked down a rough plan. Team leads got their assignments and started heading out to prep.

Crowd thinned.

I stayed on the platform watching the hall empty out.

Then I spotted Milo and Nadia still against the wall.

Both of them just standing there, looking different directions. That kind of silence where both people were waiting for the other to crack first.

Right when I was about to walk over, Milo spoke.

"Why didn't you say something before you left?"

Voice stayed calm, but I heard what was underneath.

Nadia turned her head. "Why do you think?"

"I don't know," Milo said. "That's why I'm asking."

Nadia went quiet for a second, then answered. "I was scared the magic stuff would catch me too. More scared that if I told you, you'd want to stop me. But back then, nobody could tell if that was really you or the control making you think that. I didn't want to put you in that spot."

Milo looked at her. Didn't say anything right away.

After a bit, he said, "What about you? You weren't scared going out there alone?"

"Course I was," Nadia said, voice soft. "But somebody had to do it."

Someone yelled from outside. "Milo! Need you to check the team assignments!"

Milo didn't move. Still watching Nadia. "Next time, tell me."

Nadia pushed back. "Would you let me go?"

"No," Milo said. "But I'd come with you."

Then he started toward the door.

Couple steps later, he turned around. Eyes on Nadia. "Wait for me. We'll talk after this is over."

Nadia didn't answer. Just watched him leave.

I walked over and grabbed her hand.

"Forget about them," I said.

Nadia looked at me. Eyes a little red, but she smiled. "Who?"

"Guys," I said. "All the same. Wait till we're about to fight a war before they remember to actually say what matters."

She laughed, then went quiet. After a minute, she said, "When I left that day, I wasn't sure I'd make it back."

I didn't say anything. Just held her hand tighter.

"But I kept thinking," Nadia went on, "I needed to do something. You were all out there doing things. I couldn't just sit around. Even if I didn't know how to help, I had to try."

I looked at her and smiled. "Thought Milo was the only one scared."

Nadia stopped, then shook her head with a small laugh. "I was terrified. But being scared doesn't mean you don't do it."

She paused, looked at me. Expression turned serious. "We're going to get through this, right?"

I nodded.

"We will."