Chapter 222: I Don't Want to Leave

Chapter 222: I Don't Want to Leave
Evelyn's POV

Rebuilding started. People were fixing the fences damaged in battle, cleaning up the traces left on the ground, handling the placement of those former Brandon followers who chose to stay after waking up.

When I got to the training grounds in the morning, training had already begun.

Milo stood in the center of the field, guiding a few young warriors through their movements. His voice wasn't loud, but every word came through clear. Those warriors adjusted their stances right after he spoke, nobody slacking.

I walked over to help.

Milo saw me and said, "Go eat. I got this."

"I can—"

"Go." He cut me off. "Don't need you watching over me."

I stood there, not sure what to say.

He's right, my wolf said. You need to learn to let go.

I know. But it feels strange.

Strange because you're not used to it. Give it time.

I really did turn around and head back.

Walking away from the training grounds, something settled in my chest. This feeling of handing things off and watching them get caught. Not dropped. Not messed up. Just... handled.

Strange, but not bad.

Back at the pack house, I sat down in the office to work on training schedules.

Got maybe halfway through when Nadia showed up.

"Evie."

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

I looked up. "So go eat."

"Come with me."

"I'm in the middle of—"

She walked over and scooped the papers right off my desk before I could finish.

"What're you doing?"

"I'll take care of this." She said it like it was obvious. "You're coming with me."

"Do you even know what that is?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Mostly."

I stared at her. Then gave up. "Fine. Let's go."

Nadia grinned and pulled me toward the kitchen.

Dora was working when we walked in. She looked up and smiled the second she saw us.

"Perfect timing." She grabbed two cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven and handed them over. "Eat 'em while they're hot."

I bit into mine. The warmth and sweetness hit all at once. "This is good."

Dora's smile widened. "Finally eating like you should. I remember when you first showed up here—thought a strong wind might knock you over."

Nadia said, "She looks way better now."

Dora nodded, then glanced toward where the triplets usually hung out. "That's what happens when someone's looking after you."

Heat flooded my face. "Dora—"

"What? I'm just saying." She looked completely innocent.

Nadia started laughing. "She's right though."

"Don't you start."

"Okay, okay." Still laughing.

I focused very hard on my cinnamon roll.

Later, I passed by the conference room and found Magnus going through files.

Detailed records on Brandon's former followers. Some had been under control when they came here. Others followed willingly. Each case needed different handling. Nadia's language skills had been crucial for this—her files were thorough, every person's situation documented clearly.

Magnus read with complete focus. Every so often he'd ask Nadia a question. She'd explain. He'd nod and move to the next entry. No wasted motion.

Lucian sat beside him with another stack of files. He looked over and said, "You read faster than anyone I've ever seen."

Magnus didn't look up. "That a compliment?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"Sure."

Magnus kept reading. Lucian grabbed another file and started in on it too.

I stood in the doorway watching. The two of them side by side, working through paperwork. It looked ordinary. Normal. Like this was what things would be like going forward.

Not dramatic. Just steady.

Orion walked over with more reports in his hands.

"Border patrol data from the reinforcements." He set the papers down. "Cyrus checked it already. Nothing unusual."

Magnus took it and scanned through. "Yeah. Clean."

Lucian stretched in his chair. "So we're really done? Like, actually done?"

"We can relax," Magnus said. "But we can't get sloppy. Juniper made that pretty clear."

"I know, I know." Lucian rolled his shoulders. "Just nice not being on edge every second."

Orion dropped into a nearby seat. "Conrad said Alpha King Nathan's coming in a few days."

I turned. "Really?"

"Yeah. Wants to see how things are here. Prince Alistair's coming with him."

Lucian said, "Guess we should get ready for that."

Magnus said, "Normal prep. Don't overthink it."

"Right. Fix what needs fixing, clean what needs cleaning."

I backed out of the room while they were still talking.

They had it handled. Didn't need me hovering.

Word came through later that afternoon—Mia had been rescued.

Conrad went himself to bring her back. From what I heard, they'd been locked in his room for hours now. Probably wouldn't surface anytime soon.

I exhaled when I heard that. At least she was safe.

Noise from the training grounds pulled my attention. I walked over and found Elliot and Freya at it again.

Someone called out, "Look at our future Beta over there. What's he planning to do with Freya once he takes over?"

Elliot immediately said, "Do with—what? Nothing. We're just friends."

Freya shot back, "What kind of friends trail each other everywhere?"

"I don't trail you."

"This morning you literally followed me out the door."

"We were going the same way."

"Your training ground's east. You went west."

"I was taking the long route."

"Halfway across the territory?"

"I like walking."

Everyone around them was struggling not to laugh.

Freya glanced at the crowd. They all immediately wiped the grins off their faces.

"Training. Now." She walked off without waiting.

Elliot stood there. "I really do just like walking."

Milo said from nearby, "Elliot."

"What?"

"Go after her. Same direction anyway, right?"

"I'm not—"

"Where you walking then?"

Elliot looked at where Freya went. Then started walking that way.

Milo said, "Called it."

I bit back a laugh.

Later, Mark and I did a sweep of the repair progress.

We walked the perimeter together. After a while, Mark said, "Things feel pretty solid right now."

"How so?"

"Just..." He thought about it. "Everyone's handling their piece. All those pieces add up. Nobody's carrying the whole thing alone."

He said it casual. Like an observation. Then kept walking.

We reached the northern edge and I stopped.

Looked out toward the border. Quiet. Fences repaired. Lights replaced. Most of the battle damage cleared away.

Mark stopped too, looking the same direction.

"Looks good."

"Yeah."

He said, "You know when I first got here, I thought this place was a disaster. Just wanted to finish the assignment and get out."

I turned to him. "And now?"

Mark paused.

Then said, "Now I still think this place is a mess of problems. But this place is pretty good."