Chapter 12

"Soren," I said, standing up from my chair. "Is there something you need?"

Soren did not look at me. He kept his eyes fixed tightly on Amanda. His gaze was full of hidden warning and deep suspicion.

 It looked like he was completely on edge, like he was terrified that Amanda was going to say something she wasn't supposed to say.

"I heard we had a guest," Soren said, his voice deep and unusually cold. He took a slow step into the room, his eyes narrowing at my childhood friend. "Amanda. I did not expect to see you in my palace again."

Amanda stood up too. She did not bow to him. She did not show him the deep respect the other pack members showed him. 

Instead, her eyes turned incredibly hard, and she stared right back at the great Alpha with an expression of pure anger.

"I came to see my best friend, Alpha Soren," 

Amanda said, her voice dripping with cold sarcasm.

"Since you failed to keep her safe, I had to come and see with my own eyes that she was truly alive."

Soren’s jaw tightened. A small growl rumbled in his throat, but he quickly forced it down. He looked at me, a fake, nervous smile stretching across his lips.

"Evelyn, my love," Soren said, his voice suddenly shifting into a soft, romantic tone that felt entirely forced. 

"I just wanted to check on you. I did not mean to interrupt your reunion. Do you need anything? Food? More wine?"

I watched his strange behavior closely. My assassin mind was quickly taking notes. Soren was acting incredibly suspicious. 

He was practically vibrating with anxiety, and his eyes kept darting between Amanda and me, as if he wanted to physically pull her away from the room. He did not want us talking alone.

"No, Soren. We have everything we need," I replied coldly, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"We are in the middle of a private conversation. If you do not mind, please leave us. I will come to your chambers later tonight when Amanda goes to her room."

Soren looked like he wanted to argue. He hesitated, his eyes lingering on Amanda with a final, dangerous warning look. But he knew he could not force the issue without looking even more guilty.

He stepped closer to me, leaned down, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss onto my cheek. 

"Very well, my love. Do not stay up too late. I will be waiting for you."

He turned around and walked out of the room, closing the heavy door behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, Amanda let out a loud, disgusted hiss. She rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful and threw herself back onto the velvet chair.

"What a disgusting hypocrite," Amanda snapped, her voice full of pure venom.

I sat back down, my brows furrowing in deep confusion. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table.

 "Why did you act like that, Amanda? And why did Soren look so terrified when he saw you talking to me?"

Amanda looked at me, her anger suddenly turning into a look of deep, overwhelming pity. She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"He is terrified because he knows I know the truth, Evelyn," Amanda said quietly. She took a large gulp of her wine.

 "He is playing the role of the loving, guilty husband now because you came back strong and the whole pack is watching him. But you need to be smarter this time, Evelyn. You cannot fall for his fake smiles. There are a lot of people in this palace who wanted you dead three years ago, and Soren was the leader of them."

My heart jumped against my ribs. I gripped the edge of the table.

 "What do you mean? What did he do to me? Amanda, please tell me. I cannot remember anything about my past with him."

Amanda hesitated. She looked at the door, as if she was worried Soren was listening through the wood. Then, she looked back at me, her green eyes turning completely serious.

"Evelyn, before you disappeared, your life in this palace was a living hell," Amanda whispered, her voice trembling with old anger. 

"Soren did not love you. He married you only because of a political arrangement between our packs. The moment you arrived here, he treated you like an unwanted servant. He completely ignored your existence."

She took a deep breath, tears burning in her eyes again.

"When the pack elders found out you were barren and could not give him an heir, Soren did not defend you. He let them humiliate you in public. 

He brought other women into the palace right in front of your face, Evelyn. He slept with them while you sat alone in this very bedroom, crying yourself to sleep. The servants saw how much the Alpha hated you, so they treated you like absolute garbage. They starved you, they mocked you, and Soren just watched and laughed."

Amanda reached across the table and squeezed my wrists tightly.

"Three years ago, right before you went missing in the woods, Soren had already prepared the paperwork to reject you as his mate.

 He was going to strip you of your Luna title and throw you out of the pack like a common criminal. You were completely broken, Evelyn. You told me you wanted to die."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping into a terrifying whisper.

"The day you disappeared into the forest, you did not just go for a walk. You went out there to escape his cruelty. And I firmly believe that Soren or his Beta, Lucas, paid those Rogue wolves to take you away so they could finally be rid of you forever."

I sat perfectly still in my chair, the words washing over me like ice-cold water.

The pieces of the puzzle were finally complete. Soren's overwhelming guilt, the maids' open hatred, the kids' disgust—it all made perfect sense now.

 The great Alpha wasn't mourning a lost love. He was terrified that his dirty secrets were about to be exposed.

A slow, dark, and deadly smile began to spread across my lips.

Soren thought he was dealing with his weak, broken wife. 

He had no idea that the woman sitting in this room was an assassin, and that I was going to make him pay for every single tear the real Evelyn had ever shed.