Rise of the Banished She-Wolf Chapter 38

Evelyn

After staring at screens for hours, I finally walked out of the research facility, and that cool evening air felt amazing on my face.

The testing for Dr. Anderson's project had been brutal—totally fried my brain. I pulled out my phone, which I'd put on silent during the session, and my heart sank. Devon had called and texted me like ten times, each message getting more worried about where I was.

The last text just said: [Call me. Now.]

Shit. I took a breath and called him back. He picked up immediately.

"Where the hell have you been?" His voice was tight with worry, which did something weird to my stomach.

"I had to go to Portland for some stuff," I said, trying to sound casual while making up the lie on the spot. "Just finished up, heading back to my place now."

Silence. I could practically hear him deciding whether to grill me for details. Part of me hoped he wouldn't—explaining my work as Aurora would open up way too many questions I wasn't ready to answer.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked, his voice softer.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just beat. It was last-minute."

"Next time, give me a heads up before you vanish," he said. "I was worried."

The way he said it made something flip in my chest. After we hung up, I grabbed a cab.

Back at my apartment, I was completely wiped. I threw on some pajamas and crashed on my bed, my laptop still open on my desk with the hacker program I'd been working on. I was out cold in seconds.

Someone pounding on my door dragged me back to consciousness. I squinted at the clock—6:30 AM—and groaned. Who the hell shows up this early? I stumbled to the door, expecting Mrs. Whitmore with another one of her cleaning emergencies.

Instead, Devon was standing there with this huge paper bag that smelled incredible. My stomach growled.

"Morning," he said, taking in my messy hair and wrinkled pajamas. Great. I probably looked like I'd been hit by a truck. "Figured you might need breakfast."

Before I could say anything, he walked right past me into my apartment. I just stood there, still half-asleep, watching him clear the takeout containers off my coffee table and start unpacking food.

"You didn't have to do this," I said, trying to fix my hair.

"I wanted to," he said simply. "Pacific Northwest special—smoked salmon bagels, blueberry muffins, good coffee, fresh juice."

Everything looked amazing, and I could feel my hunger pangs intensify. I sat down across from him and took the coffee he handed me, grateful to have something to do with my hands.

"If you like it," Devon said, watching me with those intense blue eyes, "I could do this more often."

I took a bite of the salmon bagel to avoid answering right away. Holy shit, it was good—rich, smoky salmon, creamy cheese, perfect bagel. Probably the best thing I'd eaten in months.

"This is incredible," I admitted.

Devon smiled, and it completely changed his face. My wolf stirred, responding to him in a way that both excited and scared the crap out of me.

"Have dinner with me tonight?" he asked, trying to sound casual but his eyes were intense.

I hesitated. That pine and wilderness scent he always had seemed stronger this morning, making my heart race. My instincts were pulling me in two directions—toward him and away from him. After all, his dad had been the one to sign off on suppressing my wolf and exiling me three years ago. Could I really trust any Hall, even one who looked at me like that?

"The word 'yes' escaped my lips before my brain could veto it."

At 7:30, Devon drove me to school in his fancy SUV. The car ride was comfortable but charged with this tension I couldn't figure out. Devon asked about my classes, offered to pick me up later. Such a normal thing, but it felt like more.

On campus, I found Lily waiting at our usual spot, practically bouncing with energy.

"There you are!" she said, hugging me.

"Yesterday was so boring without you."

"Sorry," I said with a small smile. "Had some stuff to handle."

"Stuff more important than me? Impossible," Lily teased, walking with me toward the computer science building.

"You should learn programming," I suggested. "Then you'd have something to do when I'm not around. Something besides just waiting for whatever your family decides for you."

Lily made a face. "Computers are so boring."

"They're freedom," I said, thinking about how my coding skills had kept me alive and independent for three years. "Skills no one can take away from you."

We got interrupted when we walked into the department meeting room. The department chair was talking to a bunch of students and waved us over to sit down.

"As I was saying," he continued, "given the exceptional programming talent we've seen, I'm appointing Evelyn Gray as the new chair of our computer club, effective immediately."

People started murmuring. I sat up straighter, totally caught off guard. From the corner, Kate's voice cut through the noise.

"Professor, with all due respect, Evelyn just transferred here. How can she possibly lead the club when she barely knows our systems?"

I had to bite back a smile. 'Systems I could hack in my sleep,' I thought.

The professor adjusted his glasses. "Ms. Gray's abilities speak for themselves. This isn't a popularity contest, Kate. It's about who has the skills to move the club forward."

Kate's face went red, but she shut up. I caught her glaring at me like she wanted to murder me.

After classes, I sat on a bench near the school gates, looking at computer club info on my phone. Devon had texted he'd pick me up at four.

A sleek black car pulled up—Victoria's luxury sedan. I watched Kate storm out of the building toward the car, obviously still pissed about losing her position.

My heart started pounding when Victoria spotted me. After saying something to Kate, she walked over, her designer heels clicking on the pavement. I straightened up, bracing myself.

"Evelyn," Victoria said, her voice fake-warm. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," I replied, keeping my face neutral. "What do you want, Victoria?"

I couldn't bring myself to call her "mother." Not after everything.

"Can't a mother check on her daughter?" Victoria's smile looked forced.

"You could have, for the past three years. But you didn't." The words came out sharper than I meant them to, old wounds ripping open.

Victoria's fake smile cracked a little. "I heard about your new position with the computer club. Kate has been working toward that leadership role for two years."

"And I earned it in two weeks," I said flatly.

"Listen," Victoria said, lowering her voice. "As your sister, Kate needs this position for her college applications. I'm asking you, as your mother, to step aside."

I laughed—a cold, bitter sound that surprised even me. "After three years of complete silence? After you and the family turned your backs on me? Now you're asking for favors as my mother?"

"We've allowed you back into the family," Victoria hissed. "We've accepted your... abnormality. That white wolf of yours has always been a source of shame for us."

Something snapped inside me.

"Allowed me back? You never wanted me back! And where were you when I needed protection? When I was exiled at eighteen?" My voice got louder despite trying to control it. "Were you fighting for me then, Mother? Did you even cry when they suppressed my wolf?"

Victoria's eyes went wide at my outburst.

"Or were you too busy grooming the perfect daughter in Kate to give a damn about what happened to me?" I continued, years of bottled-up pain spilling out. "Tell me, am I even your daughter at all?"

Just as Victoria opened her mouth to answer, a sleek black SUV pulled up. Devon got out, his presence immediately taking over the whole scene.

Victoria and I both froze, the tension between us crackling like electricity.