Rise of the Banished She-Wolf Chapter 49

Evelyn

After Lily and Jack left, I turned back to the restaurant's interior to help Lydia.

I noticed how she still limped slightly on her right leg—an old injury that had never fully healed. Her silver hair was pulled back in the same simple bun she'd worn for years, and the lines around her eyes seemed deeper than I remembered.

Time had a way of slipping by unnoticed until moments like this, when I realized how much older we'd all become. Watching her work with quiet determination, I felt a pang of guilt for not visiting more often.

"Lydia, please sit down and rest," I said gently, taking the cloth from her hands. "Let me finish this." I guided her to a nearby chair, ignoring her protests about being perfectly capable. After quickly wiping down the remaining tables and stacking the dishes, I knelt beside her chair.

"Let me help with that," I said, gesturing to her leg. "Grandmother taught me how to ease the pain." I let my fingers work gently on her ankle, applying pressure to specific points, channeling a small portion of my healing ability into her tired muscles. The tension slowly melted away under my touch, and I watched as relief washed over her weathered face.

Lydia sighed with relief. "Just like Isabel. You have her healing touch." After a moment, her eyes sparkled with mischief. "That Alpha who came with you—is he your mate? His energy is quite powerful."

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. "Devon? No, we're... complicated." How could I explain what we were when I didn't understand it myself? "I met him when he was injured. I helped him, and since then, he's helped me more times than I can count."

"The strongest bonds often start that way," Lydia replied, her knowing smile making me wonder how much she could see that I couldn't.

As we moved to her small living quarters behind the restaurant, Lydia's expression grew serious. "There's something you should know about your family, Evelyn. Your uncle—the one no one speaks of—died in a territory dispute. Ethan is actually his son, not Jonathan's, though no one dares mention it."

I felt as if the floor had tilted beneath me. The revelation struck me like a physical blow. "But my father—Jonathan—he's always treated Ethan better than me, his biological daughter." The bitter irony of it burned in my throat. All those years of feeling like I didn't belong, of watching Jonathan favor Ethan—and now this secret.

"Blood isn't always thicker than guilt, so you should be careful of Ethan," Lydia said cryptically. "Be careful of Ethan."

She moved to an old trunk in the corner and removed a bundle of documents, her movements slow but deliberate. "These are the property deeds I managed to buy back after your father had to sell them when his business failed. This one," she pointed to a faded blue folder, "was where Isabel lived before marrying William. I quietly recovered them all over the years. I hope you'll restore them someday."

I accepted the documents, feeling their weight—both physical and symbolic. More pieces of my fragmented heritage, more responsibilities I wasn't sure I was ready for. "I promise," I said anyway, knowing I owed Lydia and my grandmother's memory at least that much.

The past wrapped around me so completely that I lost all sense of time. When I finally emerged from the restaurant, the streetlights were on, and Devon was still there, waiting.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I said, rushing over to him. "I had no idea I'd been in there that long."

"Hey, it's okay," Devon said with a gentle smile. "You looked like you needed that conversation. I didn't mind waiting."

His understanding only deepened my guilt. As we got into the car, I found myself quieter than usual, still processing everything Lydia had told me about my past.

"What are your plans for the summer break?" Devon asked after a while, probably sensing I needed a distraction from whatever was weighing on my mind.

I noticed the possessive gleam in his eyes but chose to answer honestly. "I'm thinking of going back to Portland for a while." Back to where I'd made a life for myself after exile, where I had some semblance of independence.

"And after that?" His voice was carefully neutral, but I could sense the tension beneath.

"I want to buy my own place here in Seattle." The decision had been forming in my mind for days, a need to establish something that was truly mine.

Devon's expression shifted subtly. "You could keep the apartment at Moon Bay. I could transfer it to your name."

"No," I said firmly, feeling a flicker of my wolf rise within me, silver flashing in my eyes. "I want something that's truly mine. A home I earned myself." Not charity, not protection—something I built with my own hands and effort.

Devon studied my face for a long moment before nodding. "I understand. I'll help you find something suitable." His voice softened, and the intensity in his gaze made my heart skip. "I just want you safe, Evelyn. To me, you're not just any wolf."

His blue eyes seemed to glow slightly in the darkness of the car, and I felt my wolf stir in response, recognizing something primordial and powerful in his gaze—something that both frightened and excited me.

In that moment, the distance between us felt both too great and not great enough.