The Lightning Wolf Chronicles (Evelyn and Nadia) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Expectations Lead to Disappointment

Evelyn’s POV

I nodded.

Nadia took a shaky breath, her hands trembling as she cleaned another cut. Someday I’m gonna make Acacia pay for this.”

“Don’t.” I grabbed her wrist. “Promise me you won’t try anything. I can handle this, but if something happens to you because of me…

She met my eyes, and I saw anger mixed with something deeper. “You deserve so much better than this, Evie.”

“Maybe. But this is what I’ve got.”

From that day on, Nadia became my secret lifeline. Every injury got treated in her room, every silver burn got her special ointment that

actually helped with the burning. She never asked questions when I showed up at her window, just pulled me inside and got to work.

The physical pain didn’t go away, but knowing someone actually gave a damn? That made everything bearable.

My routine settled back into its old pattern – early runs, classes, training, home. The only difference was having a real friend who knew

the truth and stayed anyway. But I kept my distance from the five boys.

During training, I picked spots far from them. In class, I avoided eye contact. When we passed in hallways, I kept my head down and

walked fast.

Saturday cub training continued, and those guys started showing up regularly. They’d sit in the bleachers watching, sometimes coming

down to help. The kids loved them, especially Milo.

“Sister Evie!” One of the little girls tugged my hand. “Brother Milo says he’ll teach us new moves next week!”

“That’s great, sweetheart. Better practice hard then.”

I couldn’t completely avoid them during training, but I kept conversations short. Just training stuff, nothing personal. I could feel their confusion, especially Elliot trying to corner me for private talks, but I always found excuses to slip away.

Spring was coming to Polaris. Silver Pines sprouted new growth, and the air smelled like fresh flowers. Everything seemed peaceful, if you ignored the occasional lessons’ Acacia sent my way.

Orion’s POV

‘She’s avoiding us, I stated the obvious.

The five of us sat at our usual table in Wolf’s Corner, but the vibe was all wrong. Ever since that dinner, Evelyn had switched back to

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Chapter 15: Expectations Lead to Disappointment

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being a ghost the girl who lived in shadows.

“No shit, Lucian sighed. ‘Question is why.”

“Maybe her dad?” Magnus suggested. “Didn’t Elliot say Beta Raymond went ballistic that night?”

Elliot shook his head. ‘Dad was pissed, but I handled it. He’s left her alone since then.”

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“Then what’s her deal?” Milo asked, genuinely confused. “Did we screw something up?”

I replayed the past few weeks in my head. Evelyn’s change was too sudden from a girl finally showing who she really was, back to that

shadow deliberately making herself invisible. This wasn’t normal.

“Remember that day at the restaurant?” I said suddenly. “After Acacia showed up, she bolted.”

“You think…” Magnus’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, “but the timing’s pretty fucking suspicious.”

“Acacia.” Lucian’s voice went ice cold. “If that bitch actually did something…”

“We’ve got no proof,” I reminded them. And you know the rules. Unless there’s solid evidence, we can’t step in.”

That was the problem. We were stuck with this “survival of the fittest” bullshit. If Evelyn didn’t ask for help, we couldn’t interfere. Pack

tradition and all that crap we’d been fed since we were kids.

“This rule is stupid as hell,” Milo muttered.

“But it’s still the rule, Magnus said, frustrated.

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Silence fell over us. I knew we were all thinking the same thing we wanted to help her, but our own principles had us tied up in knots.

“By the way,” Elliot spoke up suddenly, “day after tomorrow is Evie’s birthday.”

“What?” All four of us whipped around to stare at him.

“Her sixteenth,” Elliot said.

“Why the hell didn’t you mention this before?” Milo demanded.

Elliot’s expression got complicated. “Because it’s also the anniversary of my mom’s death.”

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