Evelyn

Chapter 18: Maximus

I drove up the mountain, excitement coursing through my veins. I had a feeling Evelyn was going to love the place I was taking her. Seeing a familiar wooden building, I pulled aside and I parked in the parking lot behind Harriet's.

"Is this it?" Evelyn asked me, looks across from me through my foggy window and at the building.

"Yes," I smiled, turning the car off and opening my door. Evelyn hopped out of the car and followed. A gust of wind brushed against my face, and a smile made its way to my lips as I remembered where our town had received its name.

I turned around and looked at Evelyn when I heard a small sound escape her lips which sounded like, "brrr." Looking at her, I noticed the way she was holding her arms, and I stepped back, wrapping an arm around her. Then, I rubbed up and down her shoulder at a fast pace as we walked around the corner, hoping the action would warm her slightly. She leaned her head against my shoulder and I grinned from ear to ear at the contact.

Holding her close to me warmed my soul. There was something about having her near me that made me feel stronger like I had something worth being strong for. When we came to the front of the building, Evelyn paused and smiled.

Her smile is brilliant.

She turned to me and grinned even wider, before pecking my cheek. In hurried steps, she quickly went towards the door. I followed behind her chuckling to myself at the precious action. If it weren't for the cold biting my cheeks, the small blush that painted them might have been evident to her. As I entered the all too familiar store, I felt warmth pour over me. Evelyn's brown hair flicked from side to side as she took in the bookshop and cafe.

A large fireplace stood in the corner of the cafe, releasing warm air. Books, old and new, lined the shelves. Small black circular tables crammed against the walls, and a large coffee bar made of a local brown wood stood. It was serene, exactly why I had brought her. I had come a few times prior late at night when no one else was present so that I could soak up the atmosphere. However, it was midday and the small shop was packed with pack members. I felt myself grow rigid as I felt their stares. Rolling my shoulders back, I looked for their gaze with intensity. I growled. I wasn't unwelcome to stares, but I was to theirs. Their stares reeked of judgment and fear, and I smelled it the moment we walked through the door.

Evelyn turned around, looking at me with confusion. Turning around again, she looked towards people in the store who had begun bowing their heads, eyes pointed to the ground. It was a sign of respect in many packs. It was something I was used to, but watching Evelyn's body tense, I knew it was strange to her. She turned to me, the confusion only more evident on her face by the scrunched expression it held.

I cleared my throat, and stared out at the group of people, "You may rise," I  commanded in my Alpha voice. I watched as the people slowly looked up, eyes still averted from me.

It stung.

I was used to it, but still, every time I saw peoples fear it stung. It was why I avoided leaving my home except for pack work. No one I ruled trusted me except a select few. I looked to Evelyn who raised a brow at me, I simply shook my head at her, not wanting to explain.

"Come on," I whispered, taking her hand and guiding her to the counter.

If I hadn't known who the young girl at the counter was, her curly red hair would have let me know immediately she was a member of the Travis family.