Chapter 204: The Party's Over

Chapter 204: The Party's Over
Evelyn's POV

I stepped out of the corridor into the main hall. Acacia's voice was still going.

She stood next to that ridiculous flower-covered throne on stage, doing her best impression of graceful composure. But she was losing it. I could see it in the way her fingers kept clenching, how her eyes darted across the crowd too quickly. Searching for something.

The triplets, obviously.

I leaned against the corridor entrance and settled in to watch.

"Tonight is so special," Acacia said into the microphone, her voice carrying through the speakers. "We're not just celebrating our future Alphas' birthdays. We're also here to—"

She stopped mid-sentence. Looked down at the stage floor.

Magnus and Lucian's chairs sat empty.

Her smile stuttered. Just for a second. Like a light flickering.

Cyrus, I said through the mind link. Her dad?

Staring at the stage, Cyrus replied, voice steady. Hands on the railing though. Ready to move.

Got the stairs covered, Sophia chimed in. He's not getting past me.

Want backup? Mark asked, sounding way too eager.

Yeah, so you can throw a punch in five seconds? No thanks, Sophia shot back. Just watch the exits.

Fine.

Acacia stepped down from the throne. Her dress dragged behind her, making soft scraping sounds against the floor. She was still trying to look composed, but her steps were too quick. She reached the stage edge and scanned the room again.

Nothing.

I watched her face shift through emotions like flipping channels. Confusion. Anger. Then this weird theatrical outrage that looked completely fake.

She cleared her throat loudly. "Everyone, I need to tell you something really important."

The noise in the hall dropped a notch. Not everyone stopped talking, but enough people turned to look.

"Tonight," Acacia said, her voice shaking in that practiced way, "someone sabotaged this party. Someone took our future Alphas—Magnus and Lucian—by force."

She let that hang in the air.

Then kept going, voice getting sharper. "This isn't just insulting to them. It's an attack on all of us. This is—"

Pause for dramatic effect.

"Treason."

That word spread through the crowd like spilled water. People's expressions changed. Some started whispering. A few frowned.

I stayed where I was, watching the whole performance.

Good acting. Terrible material.

Acacia's eyes swept across everyone. Slow and obvious, like she was hunting for someone specific. Left side to right. Front rows to back.

Then she locked onto me.

I didn't move.

She raised her hand, finger pointing straight at me like some kind of courtroom drama.

"Her," Acacia's voice went up an octave. "Evelyn. She's the one who took them."

Everyone turned to stare.

I straightened up, kept my hands in my pockets, didn't change my expression.

Nice pointing form. Bet she practiced that in the mirror.

Movement rippled through the crowd. A few pack members started walking toward me. Not running. Just walking with purpose. Following Acacia's lead like good little puppets.

I watched them come. Didn't run. Didn't say anything.

Because I heard footsteps behind me. From the back corridor.

The noise in the hall cut in half, like someone turned down the volume.

Magnus walked out first.

Lucian followed. Orion came last.

All three of them moved steady and calm. Nothing like that dead-eyed control from before. This was different. This was them.

Every head in the room swung toward them.

The people heading my way stopped cold. Turned around. Stared at the stage instead.

Acacia saw them too.

Her face froze completely. Then her smile crawled back up, working way too hard. The curve of her mouth looked painful.

Magnus cut through the crowd, heading straight for her. Each step had weight behind it. No wasted movement. Just walking with clear intent.

People got out of his way without being asked.

I stayed by the corridor, watching.

That's an Alpha walk if I've ever seen one.

Magnus stopped about three feet from Acacia. Close enough to talk. Far enough to make a point.

Acacia's face lit up, smile going sugary sweet. "Magnus, great timing. I was just telling everyone—"

She reached out to grab his arm.

"Party's over."

Magnus's voice wasn't loud. Didn't need to be. Clear and flat, like he was reading a grocery list.

Acacia's hand froze mid-reach.

She blinked, smile still plastered on but confusion starting to show in her eyes. "What?"

"The party's over," Magnus repeated, tone unchanged. "Acacia, stay with security. You're not leaving the pack house until we figure this out."

The entire hall went dead silent.

Everyone stared.

Acacia's smile started cracking like old paint. Her hand dropped slowly. She turned to Lucian.

He was looking at the ceiling.

She turned to Orion.

He looked back at her with completely empty eyes. Not angry. Not mocking. Just nothing. Somehow that was worse.

Acacia took two small steps toward the nearest exit. Testing.

Every exit had extra bodies now. Not obvious. Just enough to notice.

She stopped walking.

"You can't just—" Her voice climbed higher. "This is my party. I organized this whole thing. You don't get to—"

Nobody answered.

The whole room watched her like she was dinner theater. Not curious. Not concerned. Just entertained.

She stood there for maybe two seconds, face going red, voice starting to shake. "My father won't let you do this to me. He's right there—"

She looked up at the observation balcony.

I followed her gaze.

Her father stood at the railing. Making direct eye contact with her.

The message in that look was crystal clear to anyone paying attention. Pull it together. We're not done yet.

Acacia sucked in a breath.

I watched her shove all that panic back down. Hard and fast, like stuffing clothes into an overfull suitcase.

Then she forced the smile back onto her face.

But it didn't work right this time.

Like something cracked that got patched over badly.