Rise of the Banished She-Wolf (Evelyn) novel Chapter 85

**Where Falling Leaves Whisper Stories Written In Silence by Ryn Jace Reed**
**Chapter 85**

The surgery stretched into a grueling four hours, each minute feeling like an eternity. By the time I stepped away from the operating table, my hands trembled with fatigue, but the sight of Aileen lying there, stable and breathing, filled me with a flicker of relief. The silver had been successfully extracted, her wounds meticulously cleaned and stitched, and I had applied the healing herbs that would aid in her recovery.

“Remarkable,” Charles’s voice cut through the haze of exhaustion as he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. His gaze was fixed intently on me. “Truly remarkable skills.”

I chose to ignore him, turning my back as I scrubbed the blood from my hands under the cold water, letting it wash away the evidence of my work.

“My men say you operated without any reference materials or assistance,” he continued, his tone dripping with a mix of admiration and something darker. “I doubt even the best human surgeons could have saved her.”

“I’m not here to earn your praise,” I shot back, irritation bubbling beneath my skin.

“No,” he replied, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, almost too intimate. “You’re doing this because you care for these people. Admirable, yes, but also foolish. You should never reveal what you truly value, Evelyn. It only makes you vulnerable.”

I turned to face him, fatigue weighing heavily on my shoulders, making it difficult to maintain my usual defenses. “What do you want from me, Charles?”

“I think you know,” he said, his eyes flashing that unnerving red again. “You should have been mine from the very beginning. Your skills, your intelligence, your beauty—they all belong with me.”

“I don’t belong to anyone,” I retorted, my voice steadier than I felt inside.

He stepped closer, invading my personal space, and I forced myself to stand my ground, refusing to back away. “I know you’re Aurora, the legendary hacker. I need your skills. And I know what you are—a white wolf, the rarest of your kind. I need that too.”

“For what purpose?” I asked, my heart racing as I braced myself for his answer.

“That’s for me to know,” he replied, a smile curling on his lips that never reached his eyes. “But here’s my offer: become my wife, and your friends will leave this ship alive. Refuse, and…” He shrugged nonchalantly. “The ocean is very deep.”

The chill in his voice sent a wave of ice through my veins. This wasn’t merely a human criminal I was dealing with—Charles was something far more sinister, something inhuman lurking beneath his polished exterior.

“You have until tomorrow morning to decide,” he said, turning on his heel to leave. “Choose wisely, my dear.”

Before Taylor could respond, the door swung open with a forceful bang. Two armed guards stormed in, flanking one of Charles’s assistants, whose expression was as cold as ice.

“Mr. Ashford requests that the patient’s visitors be relocated to separate quarters,” the assistant announced, his voice devoid of any warmth.

Taylor protested vehemently, but the guards had already seized his arms, dragging him away with a firm grip.

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to project an air of confidence I didn’t truly feel. “I’ll stay with Aileen. I’ll be fine.”

As they pulled Taylor from the room, our eyes locked for a brief moment—a silent promise that he wouldn’t give up on me. I nodded slightly, then turned back to Aileen’s bedside, my mind racing through a whirlwind of escape plans.

From the security monitor mounted on the wall, I could see Charles observing us from his control room, a smug smile playing on his lips. He believed he had me trapped, cornered with no option but to accept his sinister offer.

He was gravely mistaken. I had faced far worse odds before; I just needed time to devise a plan to save us all.