<h4>Chapter 685: Putting On An Act</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    I tilted my head slightly, forcing my breathing to remain steady despite the way my wrists throbbed against the restraints. The silver bit into my skin every time I shifted, but I didn’t let it show... not fully.


    Instead, I let a small, almost mocking smile touch my lips.


    "Maybe," I said slowly, watching him carefully, "we already eliminated it."


    For a split second, I waited.


    I wanted to see it - the flicker of panic, the tightening of his jaw, the copse of that smug confidence he wore like a second skin.


    But it never came.


    The smirk stayed. If anything, it deepened.


    A soft chuckle slipped past his lips, low and amused, like I had just told him a particrly entertaining joke.


    "You?" he murmured, inching closer. "Eliminate the ancient soul?"


    His gaze sharpened, locking onto mine with an intensity that made my stomach twist.


    "You wouldn’t dare."


    My fingers curled slightly against the cold metal of the restraints. "Oh?" I challenged, even though something inside me had already started to tighten. "And why not?"


    He leaned in just enough for me to feel his presence, suffocating and invasive.


    "Because," he said softly, almost gently, "you and the Rogue Alphas wouldn’t risk Draven Thorne’s life like that."


    For just a second, my heart stuttered, but that was enough. Because in that one sentence, Damian had confirmed everything.


    Every doubt.


    Every theory.


    Every fear.


    That destroying the Great Evil wouldn’t just end it, but would end all its victims.


    A cold wave swept through me, but I forced my expression to remain unchanged. Inside, however, my thoughts were racing.


    We were right. We had been right to seal it instead of destroying it.


    If we had eliminated it back then... my throat tightened... Draven would have died. And not just him. Everyone else connected to that cursed thing would have been gone too.


    For a moment, relief surged through me - sharp and overwhelming - but I buried it instantly.


    I couldn’t let Damian see anything. Not a single crack. Not a single hint. So, I pushed away all my thoughts and forced myself back into the present.


    Unaware of the storm raging inside me, he straightened slightly, studying me with narrowed eyes.


    "So," he continued, like nothing had happened, "where did you and your dear Rogue Alphas lock it away?"


    There it was - the question again. And this time... I was ready.


    I let my expression falter, just a little. Enough to look uncertain. Enough to make it believable.


    "I don’t know," I said.


    The lie came easily. Too easily. And his eyes darkened instantly.


    "Liar."


    The word was sharp, immediate. But I didn’t flinch. Instead, I let out a small breath, as if tired, as if worn down.


    "I’m not lying," I said, softer this time. "I really don’t know."


    He didn’t look convinced.


    Of course he didn’t.


    So I gave him more.


    "I did go with them that night," I continued, letting my gaze drop slightly, like I didn’t want to meet his eyes. "To the academy. But I wasn’t allowed inside."


    That caught his attention.


    "They didn’t take you in?" he asked, a hint of curiosity slipping through.


    I shook my head faintly.


    "Some of the Council members were there," I exined. "Elders and Alphas. So the brothers didn’t want to draw attention."


    I paused, then added carefully, "They didn’t want to show any... connection with me."


    I let the word linger. Let it mean something. Let it imply something.


    Silence stretched between us for a second. And then, Damianughed. It wasn’t just a chuckle, but a full, amusedugh.


    "Of course they didn’t," he said, shaking his head slightly, like everything I had just said made perfect sense to him.


    I kept my face still, even though something inside me twisted at the direction this was going.


    "It’s almost funny," he continued, his gaze sliding over me. "The mighty Rogue Alphas... hiding their mated like that."


    I said nothing, did nothing. I just let him speak.


    "Do you even realize how ridiculous it sounds?" he went on. "Multiple mates? For one girl?"


    His lips curled.


    "And not just anyone. Them."


    I clenched my jaw internally but forced my body to remain rxed.


    "They are powerful," he said. "Feared. Respected. Wealthy beyond imagination." His eyes met mine again, cold and calcting. "And you?"


    The silence that followed was heavy, deliberate, almost... cruel.


    "A nobody. A weak girl," he finished, voice soft but cutting. "With no wolf."


    Each wordnded like a de.


    "Why would they ever dere you as their mate?" he added. "Why would they let the worldugh at them like that?"


    For a moment, just a moment, I wanted to snap. I wanted to tell him how wrong he was.


    To tell him that they had never been ashamed of me, that they had chosen me, that I was theirs... and they were mine.


    But I didn’t. Because right now... this was my weapon against Damain, and I wasn’t about to throw it away.


    So instead, I let my shoulders slump slightly, let my gaze dim, and let him believe it. Let him think I was the one suffering, the one unwanted and hidden.


    I looked at him again, keeping my expression carefully nk.


    "I told you," I said quietly, "I don’t know where the ancient soul is."


    I paused, then added, "It’s a confidential matter of the Council."


    His eyes narrowed slightly.


    "All they told me," I continued, "was that they have taken care of it and that no more lives would be in danger."


    The lie sat between us, and for a moment, Damian just stared at me. His eyes were searching mine, weighing, judging.


    And then, his expression shifted. Not in anger or suspicion, but disappointment.


    A quiet sigh escaped him as he straightened, running a hand through his hair. He fixed his sharp gaze on me as he muttered, "Why are you always so useless, Little sister?"


    I didn’t say anything. My attention was now on his hand that had dipped into his pocket. And when it came back out, I saw the syringe as it gleamed under the dirn light.


    My panic red instantly.


    "No-" I shook my head, the chains clinking softly with the movement. "No, please... don’t."


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