Evelyn

Chapter 21: Evelyn

Breakfast plate and coffee in hand, I carefully made my way up the staircase. The last few days, Maximus and I had stayed in the pack house, the rogue issue too much to leave.

As each day went by, he and I collected more and more information. The puzzle we were trying to solve was slowly coming together. I told him how I had learned the rogue woman's name was Fran, and it proved to be our only lead.

Winding down the hall, I tapped my mate's office door with my foot.

"Hi, sweetie," he smiled, opening the door. He pecked my lips before taking the plate and coffee out of my hands. He turned and set them on his desk before sitting back in his office chair. He ran a hand through his hair.

"How is the progress going?" I asked him, walking around the desk to stand beside him. He snaked a large arm around my waist pulling me in beside him and pointed at a file. I picked it up, giving him a questioning glance and he nodded at me.

Francesca H. Wilder the cover of the file read.

Fran

I flipped it open and saw the image of a smiling woman in her thirties. She had a distinctive blonde streak of hair that stood out against the brown. Beside the image was another image, this one featuring a similar but much more aged-looking woman. She had grey hair with a white streak. Her face featured crows eyes, and deeply etched wrinkles, reminding me of the rings of a tree. She scowled rather than smiled. It took me a moment to realize it was the same woman in both images.

"What do you know about her?" I asked him, as I perused the file with my gaze.

-Evergreen Pack
-Family died in a fire
-Close ties to the Oak family

"We know she believes I am somehow culpable in the death of her family and her Alpha and Luna," he spoke softly.

I turned and looked at him brushing some hair out of his face. "Why would she think that?" I asked.

He sighed, "I was there the night of the fire. But Ev," he paused and looked at me with his ice blue eyes, "Ev, I was six years old when that fire happened. I had nothing to do with it."

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion.

"It's alright though," he began, "The Alpha of Evergreen... the last surviving member of the Oak family is coming to visit. Hopefully, he can help us find the source of this absurd accusation."

I nodded and kissed his forehead, leaning my head on top of his. "Yeah," I smiled softly, "I'm sure he will help bring us answers."

He looked up and I lifted my head. He swiveled his chair so he was facing me, hands resting on my hips. My stomach did a flip at the gesture, a soft blush fighting to fill my cheeks.

"What about the kids?" he asked gently, "Anything more useful they've told you?"

I thought for a moment. The sweet angels I had spent the majority of the past days with flooded my mind. Mira had slowly opened up and proved to be a sweet gentle girl underneath her tough exterior. Miles had proved to be a competitive fierce little fellow underneath his own sweetness.

"Mira still won't tell me more about the 'bad man' but she did tell me yesterday that her last name was Shia."

"Shia?" Maximus asked rubbing his chin. He hadn't shaved in the past few days due to stressing over protecting the pack, and a bit of stubble had grown on his face. "Shia, Shia, Shia...it sounds so familiar," he mused.

I shrugged, "Could you see if Gamma Xerxes could look into it?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "No... Gamma Xerxes doesn't specialize in tracking people down... Connor on the other hand..."