Chapter 26 The Cold Between Us
Evangeline:
The next morning, the world felt different.
Not louder. Not harsher. Just… colder.
A kind of cold that seeped through the walls of Knight Tower and settled into bone.
The kind that made you wrap your arms around yourself even when sunlight streamed across the floor.
I stood in front of my mirror, adjusting the high collar of the soft-grey dress Helena had sent up. It was modest, covering almost everything.
A strategic kindness. The fabric hid the bruises well enough that only the sharpest eye would notice the shadows beneath.
I knew who had the sharpest eyes in this house. And he wasn’t looking.
A knock sounded.
Not a servant’s knock. A firmer one. Protocol.
“Luna Evangeline?” a male voice asked.
My stomach dipped.
The escort.
I forced my shoulders straight. “Come in.”
Harrow stepped in, head bowed so low it scraped shame. He wouldn’t meet my eyes, and that told me everything. This wasn’t his choice. But he would follow orders. He had to.
He cleared his throat. “Alpha Grayson… has assigned me to accompany you to the council wing.”
I nodded, even as my chest tightened.
Of course he had. The new rules: Supervision. Shadowing.
“Thank you, Harrow,” I said softly.
He flinched at my politeness.
“I... I’m just doing what I’m told.”
“I know.” And I did.
None of them wanted to be doing this. But the Alpha’s word was law.
Harrow finally dared a glance at me, then quickly away.
“Everyone saw the footage. The real footage.” His voice cracked. “We were wrong about you.”
A part of me wanted to forgive him. Another part couldn’t bear the weight of that responsibility.
“We all make mistakes,” I murmured. Except mine cost me everything.
Vivian watched from the doorway, arms folded, eyes narrowed. She had not slept; I could tell by the lines tightening around her mouth. She had taken a seat in the Hart war room last night, refusing to leave the tower without me.
“Your weapon?” she asked coldly.
“I’m not allowed to carry one,” I reminded her.
Her face darkened. “Convenient.”
Harrow stiffened. “Lady Hart...”
Vivian lifted a hand. “Save it. You’re escorting my daughter as if she’s a criminal. We all know what this is.”
Harrow swallowed hard.
Helena appeared beside her, softer, quieter, but with eyes that held storms. She touched my cheek gently.
“Breakfast first. Come.”
I followed her, Harrow three steps behind.
Walking through the halls felt like walking through a theatre I no longer belonged in. Every servant dipped their head, but not one held my gaze. People moved aside as we passed, whispers trailing like smoke.
“She’s not dangerous, right?”
“They cleared her…”
“Maybe she’s cursed.”
“No, look how pale she is.”
“She looks… broken.”
Each voice pressed against my ribs like a silver shard.
Helena slipped her hand into mine discreetly. “Ignore them.”
“I’m trying.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” He shook her head remorselessly.
We entered the breakfast hall. The long table gleamed. Marcus sat at the head, calm as a mountain. Isabelle across from him, pale and polished, face perfectly composed, her grief an elegant mask sharpened by politics.
And then there was him.
Grayson stood near the windows, hands clasped behind his back, gaze on the city below. He didn’t turn when we entered, but his shoulders tensed.
My wolf whimpered quietly.
Mate…
But he didn’t move. He didn’t greet me. He didn’t look at me.
He didn’t do anything...
Marcus cleared his throat. “Evangeline. Please sit.”
Helena took her seat across from Marcus, the Luna's seat.
I took mine next to hers. Vivian stood as a wall behind me like a general.
Grayson finally approached, slow and steady.
He stopped one seat away.
“Good morning,” he said. His voice was polite.
Neutral. Emotionless. Something inside me shrank.
“Good morning,” I managed.
His eyes flicked to my sleeve, the place the bruises still hid beneath the fabric. His jaw tightened, just barely.
His wolf surged.
I felt it, like heat against my skin, a pulse brushing my soul with its sorrow.
But Grayson forced him down instantly. He looked away. He always did.
Isabelle’s gaze sharpened. “Is the Luna feeling well today?”
I stiffened. Helena’s hand came down on mine under the table.
Vivian’s gaze turned lethal.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You look tired,” Isabelle added sweetly.
Grayson shifted his weight. “Isabella...”
She raised a hand. “I merely want to ensure stability. The pack is watching. We all must behave… appropriately.”
Vivian’s voice sliced the air. “You wouldn’t recognize appropriate behavior if it signed your tax decrees.”
Isabelle smiled at her like they were playing chess.
“Still bitter, Vivian?”
“Still breathing, Isabelle?”
Marcus coughed. Hard. “Ladies, enough.”
The men always said that when the women got too honest.
Grayson finally sat across from me, posture rigid.
Harrow stood guard behind him, Vivian behind me.
The table felt like a battlefield marked with invisible lines.
I lifted my cup. My hand trembled. I prayed no one noticed.
Grayson noticed. His eyes flicked down, fast, sharp...
before he looked away again, as if seeing it burned.
My wolf curled in my chest.
Mate is hurting. Hold her. Fix it.
But Grayson’s voice came cold:
“After breakfast, you will visit the council wing. Harrow will accompany you. Then you will return to your quarters.”
My chest tightened.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His jaw twitched.
Then he said something low, quiet enough the others might have missed it:
“It’s for your safety too.”
A lie.
A kindness?
A cruelty?
I didn’t know anymore.
I nodded.
The meal passed in silence.
When we stood to leave, Grayson finally met my eyes, really met them, for the first time since the arena.
And for one heartbeat, I saw something flicker.
Guilt.
Conflict.
Regret.
Something that almost looked like...
No.
Impossible.
Then Isabelle touched his arm, light as a whisper.
“Grayson.”
He blinked.
The softness vanished.
Just like that.
He turned away from me.
Harrow motioned for me to follow.
Vivian’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “If he hurts you in any way...”
“He won’t,” I whispered.
But the truth hurt more than any bruise:
He already had.
And he still was.
Just quietly now.
As we walked out, my wolf curled smaller inside me, her voice fading into a soft, aching whimper.
Mate is slipping farther…
And I whispered back inside my chest, the words trembling:
“I know.”