Evelyn slept little that night.
The strange pressure she had felt at the window lingered in her thoughts long after she had drawn the curtains and turned the room into darkness. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same image again -- the silhouette between the trees, pale and unmoving, as though the forest itself had grown a second pair of eyes.
By morning, the feeling had not faded.
She rose before the servants knocked, washed her face, and stood for a long moment before the mirror while the manor slowly awakened around her. The morning light was pale and cold, slipping across the room in silver strips. Her reflection looked composed enough, but Evelyn could still see the tiredness beneath her eyes. She reached up and touched her cheek lightly, then let her hand fall again.
"Guests," she murmured under her breath.
That single word was enough to raise her guard.
Mina arrived with a dress laid neatly over her arms not long after. It was a deep shade of blue, elegant but severe, with silver thread stitched along the sleeves and collar. It was far more formal than anything Evelyn had worn since waking in this world.
She stared at it for a moment. "Your Alpha really does enjoy making a simple morning sound like a political ceremony."
Mina, who was arranging the dress carefully on the bed, offered a small, uncertain smile. "The visiting elders are from allied territories, Madam. The Alpha prefers all matters to be handled properly."
"Properly," Evelyn repeated, glancing toward the dress. "That usually means people stare at each other until someone says something sharp."
Mina looked down, uncertain whether that was a joke.
Evelyn sighed lightly and stepped toward the gown. "All right. Let's do this."
The gown fit better than she expected. Mina and another maid helped fasten the back with practiced efficiency, and when they finished, Evelyn stood before the mirror once more. The deep blue of the dress softened her features and made her look more composed than she felt. The silver trim caught the light whenever she moved, giving the whole ensemble a cold elegance that felt fitting for Blackthorne Manor, even if Evelyn disliked how much it made her look like someone who belonged in a room full of secrets.
"Madam looks beautiful," Mina said softly.
Evelyn smiled faintly. "You say that like you are trying to convince yourself."
Mina's face flushed slightly.
The maid led her out through the corridor soon after, and Evelyn immediately sensed the increased activity throughout the manor. Servants moved more quickly than usual, carrying trays of tea, polished silverware, folded linens, and fresh flowers through the halls. Guards stood straighter near the major doors. The entire estate had shifted into a more formal posture, as though preparing itself to receive criticism from people who mattered.
Evelyn spotted Cassian near the stair landing as she descended.
He was dressed in a dark formal coat over black trousers, his hair neatly combed back in a way that made him look older and more severe. Several books were tucked under one arm, and his expression suggested that he had already decided this morning would be irritating before it had even fully begun.
When he saw her, he paused.
For a second, his gaze moved over her dress, then returned to her face.
Evelyn lifted a brow. "What?"
Cassian looked away first. "Nothing."
"Your face says otherwise."
"It says nothing."
"Liar."
His mouth twitched, though he tried to hide it. "You're dressed too formally."
Evelyn glanced down at herself. "That seems rude."
"It is accurate."
She almost laughed.
The tension in the manor was already heavy enough, and yet her first meaningful conversation of the morning was with a teenage heir who appeared deeply offended by her wardrobe choices. Somehow that made the situation feel more survivable.
Before she could reply, Lucien emerged from the far end of the hall.
The change in the atmosphere was immediate.
Cassian straightened slightly, and Evelyn noticed the habitual shift that seemed to happen whenever Lucien entered a room. He did not raise his voice, and he did not need to. The household simply reorganized around him in an instant.
His gaze found Evelyn first.
He stopped.
For a fleeting moment, something unreadable crossed his expression. Not surprise exactly. More like a measured assessment of how she looked in the dress, how the color sat against her skin, how prepared she appeared to receive attention from the visiting elders.
Evelyn held his gaze and said dryly, "Am I dressed correctly for whatever judgment is coming?"
Lucien's eyes remained steady. "Adequately."
Cassian made a sound under his breath that might have been amusement.
Evelyn turned to him sharply. "Was that supposed to be helpful?"
"No."
"Honest at least."
Lucien's gaze moved briefly to Cassian, then back to Evelyn. "You will sit beside me."
That settled that.
The morning hall had been arranged with far more formality than Evelyn preferred. A long polished table sat in the center of the receiving room, surrounded by chairs upholstered in dark leather. Fresh tea steamed in silver pots. Plates of pastries, fruit, and savory dishes had been placed neatly at intervals, though the arrangement looked less like breakfast and more like a political display meant to suggest order and abundance.
Several elders were already present when Evelyn entered with Lucien and Cassian.
She recognized none of them.
There were three men and two women, all dressed in the dark formal colors of allied pack households. Their expressions varied from polite neutrality to cautious scrutiny, though none of them tried to hide the fact that they were studying her the moment she stepped into the room. Evelyn could feel the weight of their attention settle over her like a coat too heavy to wear comfortably.
Lucien seated himself first.
Cassian took the chair to his other side.
And Evelyn, as instructed, sat beside Lucien.
The eldest of the visitors rose slightly from his seat and bowed his head toward Lucien. "Alpha Blackthorne. Thank you for receiving us so early."
Lucien inclined his head in return. "You arrived with enough urgency to warrant it."
One of the women smiled faintly, though her eyes stayed sharp. "We heard the northern ridge has become unstable."
Lucien did not answer immediately.
Evelyn already disliked that woman.
He reached for his tea instead. "It has."
The room became very quiet.
One of the elders leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "Is this connected to the old border matter?"
The question changed the air instantly.
Evelyn felt Cassian go still beside her.
Lucien's face remained calm. "You know about the old border matter."
The elder's expression stiffened slightly. "There are stories."
"Stories tend to survive where records do not."
That answer was sharp enough to make the older man look visibly uncomfortable.
Evelyn took a small sip of tea, watching the exchange carefully. This was not a simple social call. It was a test, maybe even a probe, and the elders had likely chosen this morning specifically to see how much Lucien intended to reveal.
One of the women shifted in her seat. "Blackthorne territory has always been strong, Alpha. But if something sealed is becoming active again, our packs need to know whether the danger will spread."
Lucien's gaze lifted to hers. "If it spreads, you will know."
A faint pause followed.
Then the elder who had spoken first narrowed his eyes slightly. "That sounds reassuring in theory, but the allied packs will need more than that if the forest is truly awakening."
Evelyn could feel the undercurrent in the room now. Not just fear. Politics. Territory. Power. The kind of fear that made older wolves ask questions before they had earned them.
Lucien set his cup down. "You came to ask whether Blackthorne House is losing control."
The elder did not deny it.
Evelyn nearly sighed.
So that was the game.
The old wolves were here to determine whether Lucien was still strong enough to protect the border or whether this strange disturbance could weaken his standing. Apparently even a hidden seal beneath the forest was not enough to keep politics from finding its way into breakfast.
Cassian's fingers tightened slightly against the edge of his chair.
Evelyn noticed.
He was angry, though she could not tell at whom. At the elders, at the intrusion, at the pressure placed on his father, perhaps all three.
Lucien's tone remained even. "Blackthorne House is not losing control."
The eldest elder gave a small, careful nod. "Then perhaps you can reassure the alliance by allowing a cooperative inspection of the ridge."
No.
Evelyn felt the answer in the room before Lucien even spoke it.
His gaze turned cold enough to make the request sound foolish in retrospect. "No one enters the ridge."
The elder's face hardened. "That is a bold refusal."
"That is intentional."
Cassian looked down at his cup, clearly trying not to react.
Evelyn, however, had to work hard not to smile. Lucien had all the warmth of a storm, but he was terrifyingly precise when protecting something he considered his own.
The elder's mouth tightened. "If the border destabilizes, the neighboring packs will be forced to act."
Lucien's eyes narrowed faintly. "Then I suggest they act wisely."
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.
Evelyn could tell the conversation had reached the point where every word was measured for possible insult. The elders wanted access. Lucien wanted control. Cassian wanted to say something and was wisely choosing not to. And Evelyn, caught in the middle, was trying to decide whether she should continue pretending this all felt normal.
It did not.
Not remotely.
One of the other women finally spoke, more softly than the others. "The new Luna has been quiet."
Evelyn nearly choked on her tea.
Of course they would mention her eventually.
All eyes moved to her.
She smiled politely, setting her cup down with careful grace. "I prefer listening before speaking in unfamiliar rooms."
The woman studied her. "That is wise."
Evelyn did not trust the compliment.
The elder man beside her looked unconvinced. "A wise Luna can still be politically useful."
Lucien's gaze shifted toward the speaker.
The room chilled again.
Evelyn could nearly hear Cassian thinking the same thing she was.
That was a dangerous thing to say out loud in front of Lucien Blackthorne.
He did not raise his voice when he replied. He did not need to.
"She is useful already," he said.
The room stilled.
Evelyn felt every elder in the chamber recalibrate at once.
Even Cassian turned to look at his father.
Lucien's expression remained unreadable, but the meaning beneath the words was not difficult to understand. It was both assertion and warning, spoken with the simple certainty of a man who had no intention of allowing his household to be picked apart.
Evelyn was not sure what disturbed her more -- the fact that he said it so plainly, or the fact that the room immediately believed him.
The elder who had spoken earlier lowered his gaze slightly. "Of course."
The meeting continued after that, but the tone had shifted.
The elders asked fewer aggressive questions. Lucien answered only what he wished to answer. Cassian remained silent but attentive, and Evelyn, despite herself, began noticing patterns in the way the visitors looked at the manor, at the paperwork, at the portraits on the far wall. They were not just afraid of the forest. They were measuring the stability of Blackthorne leadership.
And Evelyn, in the middle of all of it, could not stop thinking about the words on the archive page.
Do not awaken what answers.
The ridge was not the only thing buried here.
Something about the manor itself seemed built around old silences.
By the time the elders finally rose to leave, Evelyn's shoulders had begun to ache from sitting so rigidly. Polite farewells were exchanged. Smooth words were offered. Assurances were repeated. None of it truly felt comforting.
When the doors closed behind the visitors, the room seemed to exhale.
Cassian leaned back in his chair immediately. "That was awful."
Evelyn glanced at him. "You looked nearly homicidal for half of it."
"They were rude."
"That they were."
Lucien remained seated for a moment longer, studying the table in silence before finally lifting his gaze to Evelyn. His expression was still controlled, but there was a strange stillness in the way he looked at her now, as though he had decided something and had not yet chosen whether to reveal it.
"You held your composure well," he said.
Evelyn blinked, slightly surprised. "That sounds almost like praise."
"It was intended as such."
Cassian looked between them, then muttered dryly, "I think I need more tea."
And despite everything -- the elders, the forest, the warnings, the pressure in the house -- Evelyn found herself smiling.