Chapter 127

Theodore’s POV

Every time Eva brushed her knee up against mine in the carriage or leaned her head on my shoulder or interlaced our fingers, I breathed through my nose and reminded myself that it was better than the reverse scenario. I’m not sure I’d be able to go through with this plan if some other guy were going home with my mate. And then I’d think of how much Violet must hate this situation, and I’d have to stop myself from throwing Eva off me.

I knew it took a lot longer to get from Owen’s palace to Midnight than to Darkmoon. By the end of our first travel day, Violet was probably back home, hopefully getting a head start on a plan to get us back together.

I honestly felt like I should get a gold fucking medal for how much affection I was putting up with from Eva, but apparently, I wasn’t hiding my feelings about it as well as I thought I was. Halfway through the second travel day, Eva turned to me in the carriage as we bumped along, looking up through her lashes with eyes that looked almost sincere.

“I know this is an impossible adjustment for you, Theo. I just hope that in time, you’ll learn to trust this bond that the Goddess has blessed us with, and me along with it.” She looked like she wanted to kiss me but thought better of it and patted my hand instead.

Thank the Goddess.

And then there was the second carriage trailing behind us.

Eva apparently had several “friends” from her rogue days who had insisted on coming with her to guard her during the transition period. Their reasoning was that Alpha Donovan was beloved in the country while rogues, such as Eva, had a bad reputation. There were concerns that one being replaced with the other would not be well received by the public.

It would have been a good point if I didn’t have a long history of fighting and successfully changing the prejudice against rogues in my territory specifically and if I weren’t more than powerful enough on my own to protect anyone stupid enough to attack my mate.

Between the lack of logic and the fact that all her “friends” were too well dressed for rogues with no resources, I had no doubt they were spies hired by Owen to keep an eye on me. Their presence was sure to complicate the situation at best.

When we finally got back to Midnight, Alpha Tyron Hayward and his wife, Helene, were waiting in my sitting room. I greeted them enthusiastically, earnestly happy to see familiar and friendly faces. After we embraced, Eva cleared her throat, unfortunately reminding me she was there.

“Tyron, Helene, meet Eva,” I hesitated, hating the words I knew I had to say next, “my new mate.” They embraced her brightly, though markedly less so than they had when meeting Violet.

“Yes,” Tyron said, “we heard you’ve had quite the past few days. We figured we better come check on you.” He gave me a look as if to ask if things were truly alright.

I loved that he knew to ask even if I couldn’t be honest with him about it.

I turned to introduce Eva’s “friends” next, a task that was going to prove difficult since I didn’t know their names. Instead though, I spied Sophia and my Beta who I had sent home ahead of me strolling down the hallway to my left.

“Ah, there’s my Beta, who I desperately need to speak with. Eva, darling,” I added, hoping I wasn’t laying it on too thick, “would you and your friends be so kind as to entertain Tyron and Helene for a few minutes while I check in with Dahlia?”

“Of course, my dear,” Eva responded, eyes gleaming at the chance to host at the Midnight Castle. If I could manipulate her in a small way like that, maybe there was hope this scheme of Violet’s would work after all.

I hurried down the hall to intercept Dahlia and Sophia.

The first thing I noticed was that my Beta was off. “Dahlia, what’s wrong?”

She startled at my voice, wiping away a tear as Sophia rubbed her back. “Oh, nothing Alpha Nightshade,” she sniffed, straightening her back and batting Sophia’s hand away as she blinked away any remaining tears. “All is well.”

I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows, angling for the real answer.

Dahlia cleared her throat but kept herself together. “With the new…” she glanced to the front of the castle where Eva was sitting across from Helene, “…arrangements, I won’t be seeing Kincaid as often. It’s just an adjustment – which will not interfere with my duties as your Beta.”

I winced internally at this unintentional consequence I hadn’t thought of. “Dahlia, you have been my most trusted Beta for decades. We will arrange for you and Kincaid to visit each other regularly.”

She sniffed again, the tears threatening to reemerge. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” I reassured her. “In fact, take a few days off this week to go visit him in Darkmoon.”

Dahlia let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you, Alpha – and welcome home. How can I assist you?”

She glanced toward the front again.

I lowered my voice so only she and Sophia could hear me. “Would you take Eva’s friends to get settled in their new rooms? And please set up a spare room for Eva; we will need time to adjust before we share a room.”

I marveled at how easily I lied to Dahlia. The truth was I couldn’t stand the idea of Eva in the room that belonged to me and Violet. But I didn’t know how long my excuses to keep her out of it would last.

Dahlia nodded, disappearing down the hall and leaving me alone with Sophia. I turned to her next, lowering my voice even more and giving her a conspiratorial look. I really hoped this didn’t backfire.

“I know you don’t work for me anymore, but I need your help, too. I need you to keep working for Violet, secretly, while pretending to help Eva take over Midnight’s Luna duties. Can you do that?”

Violet had a habit of making everyone love her. I was banking on the statistical probability that in the short time Sophia had known my mate, her loyalties had shifted from whoever Midnight’s Luna would be to Violet Donovan specifically.

By the gleam in Sophia’s eye, I had bet correctly.

She straightened her shoulders and winked. “Consider it done, sir.”

“Thank you,” I said, trying to replicate what Violet would do in this situation. She was always so good about letting people know she was grateful for them.

I led Sophia down the hall, calling to Eva. “Darling,” I cooed, gagging internally at the way her eyes lit up at the pet name, “Sophia here will help you get settled in and assist you in taking over Midnight’s Luna duties.”

Eva sprang from the couch, way too excited to take on her new role. The two disappeared upstairs after Dahlia and Owen’s supposed spies, and I turned into the sitting room, finally alone with Tyron and Helene. But before I could open my mouth, Tyron beat me to it.

“I know mates when I see them,” he whispered so his voice wouldn’t float upstairs, but his eyes were steeled, “and Eva is not yours.”