Chapter 49: Evelyn: White Lies
Evelyn~
I felt like Theron and Rael’s relationship really needed to be studied.
Just a moment ago, they couldn’t stop beating each other up, but now they were somehow able to sit at the same table and eat lunch in peace.
Theron would occasionally wince when the spoon accidentally grazed the cut near his lip, while Rael struggled to lift his spoon with his broken hands.
"Why don’t you ... let Dr. Caelis check you both first?" I suggested.
Rael clicked his tongue and kicked Theron’s leg hard enough to make the table shake slightly. "I’m not leaving you alone with this bastard."
"I’m also not leaving you alone with this rude brat," Theron shot back, spitting his words at Rael. "Just look at his eyes! He even has such perverted eyes!"
I replied to him calmly, "Rael hasn’t marked me yet."
Rael immediately pointed a finger at Theron and laughed right in his face. "See? Who’s the pervert now?! You’re the one who marked her first, so—"
Rael suddenly froze. The smile on his face went rigid, and he didn’t move at all, like a mannequin. He had probably just realized that what he’d said was actually a bad thing, something that should make him furious instead of proud.
"You ... you have ...." Rael looked at Theron in horror, as if he had just seen an ugly ghost standing right in front of him.
"Have I slept with Evelyn?" Theron raised one eyebrow and slowly smiled in the most infuriatingly smug way, clearly trying to provoke Rael. "Yes, I have."
Rael shot up from his chair so fast it nearly tipped over, his emerald eyes blazing like wildfire. "You son of—"
I quickly slammed my palm on the table before he could launch himself across it. "Sit. Down."
Rael froze mid-motion, his fists trembling, jaw clenched so tight I could hear the grind of his teeth.
He honestly looked like he wanted to crush Theron’s skull right then and there, but he chose not to, probably because he could feel my gaze drilling into him.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected them to actually listen to me like well-trained dogs. But ... maybe they were only behaving because they didn’t want me to shoot myself in the head again.
"Sit down, please." I patted Rael’s shoulder, then gently pushed him back into his chair. "Why can’t you two stay calm for even a moment? Besides, didn’t I already tell you both to let the doctor check your bodies at the same time?"
I repeated the last part, making sure they caught it. "At. The. Same. Time."
It had never crossed my mind that one day, I’d be bold enough to order two Alphas around like this ... and actually get away with it.
However, since they showed no signs of wanting to burn me alive for speaking to them so rudely, I kept going. "How about we talk about our problems after Dr. Caelis takes care of your wounds?"
Rael crossed his arms over his chest with a scoff. "I’m fine. I don’t feel any pain at all."
Theron let out a low chuckle, the corner of his mouth curling into that irritating smirk of his. "Oh, I do feel pain, mostly in my eyes from having to look at his face for this long."
Rael immediately turned toward him with a glare sharp enough to cut steel. "You want me to fix that for you?"
I groaned, pressing my fingers to my temples. "Alright, stop." I poured warm tea into their cups and slid them across the table toward them. "Here, maybe some warm tea will help you both calm down."
They kept glaring at each other but slowly began sipping the warm tea I’d given them. Then, without saying a word, they started drinking faster and faster, like they’d suddenly decided this was a competition to see who could finish first.
Seriously, why were these Alphas acting like children?
By the time they slammed their empty cups down on the table, their eyes were still locked in an unspoken battle, as if the tea race had somehow determined who was dominant.
How was I supposed to make them stop fighting every time they spoke or interacted?
Forget about having a proper conversation, I wasn’t even sure they could get through a single sentence without insulting each other.
"Try to get their sympathy by pretending to be hurt," my wolf suddenly suggested, giving me such a terrible idea. "Since they really don’t want you to get hurt, maybe it’ll work."
It sounded like such a rotten, manipulative plan. However, it wasn’t like I could use normal methods to make them calm down anyway.
"Listen," I began, pausing for a moment as I tried to craft the perfect lie to earn their sympathy. "We really need to talk about the situation we’re facing right now. I know it must feel like bad luck to have to share your mate with other Alphas, but ... I can’t control it either."
"Our fates are tied together, and if you kill one of my mates, then you’ll die as well." I bit my lower lip, debating whether I should really lie about this or not.
Eventually, I decided to go through with it. "More than that, if you hurt each other, you’re also hurting me," I lied. "This isn’t hypothetical or theoretical, it’s physically true. When you punch each other or slam each other’s bodies around, I can feel it too."
The room went utterly silent.
Rael’s glare faltered first, confusion flickering across his face, while Theron’s golden eyes widened in shock, as if he were suddenly rethinking his entire life’s choices.
"You’re saying ..." Rael began slowly, "that every time I hit him—" he jerked his chin toward Theron "—you feel it too?"
"Yes." I nodded with the most convincing sincerity I could muster. "Every bruise, every slam, every claw mark. It’s like you’re not just tearing into each other, but you’re also tearing into me."
I cleared my throat and deliberately avoided their gazes so I could deliver the lie more smoothly. After a moment, I forced my voice to sound as pitiful as possible.
"It ... feels really painful. That’s why I took such an extreme step like shooting myself in the head, so that I can finally get your attention."
Both of them went completely silent.
Rael’s fists slowly unclenched, the tension in his shoulders easing ever so slightly, while Theron’s jaw tightened as if he were holding back something, like anger, guilt, or maybe both.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between us grew heavy, thick with unspoken emotions.
Then, suddenly, almost in perfect sync, both of them slid down from their chairs and knelt in front of me.
Theron was the first to speak, his voice low and rough. "I’m sorry ... I’m really sorry."
His golden eyes were filled to the brim with guilt, the kind that weighed heavy on a person’s soul.
"This is my fault." Theron lowered his head, clenching his fists so tightly I worried he might crush his own bones. "I should have tried harder to control my wolf. I truly failed to protect you, and I failed as your mate."
Rael nodded. "Yes, he really is a fail—" He stopped mid-sentence when he realized this wasn’t the perfect time to start another fight. Instead, he suddenly gripped my hands tightly and looked at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen.
"I’m sorry." Rael pressed his forehead against my hands. "I didn’t mean to hurt you. I am truly sorry."
When it came to expressing their guilt, they each had their own way of doing it.
Rael kissed my hands more times than I could count, as if he was trying to erase every ounce of pain he had ever caused me.
His kisses felt so desperate, almost feverish, like he was terrified I might slip away from him if he didn’t hold on tightly enough.
On the other hand, Theron was the complete opposite. Forget about kissing my hand, he didn’t even dare to touch me, as if he believed he no longer deserved to lay a finger on me after causing me so much pain.
His posture was stiff, his fists clenched at his sides, as though he was holding himself back from reaching out.
Instead, he just knelt there, his golden eyes fixed on me with a depth of regret that almost felt suffocating.
"I’ll make it right," Theron said quietly, his voice rough, strained, like the words were tearing out of him.
"I’ll never let it happen again," Rael added quickly, almost tripping over his own words just to speak before Theron could say anything else. "You can hit me too if that makes you feel better!"
Theron immediately shoved him aside. "No, you can hit me instead!"
I took a deep breath, clearly exhausted by their endless banter.
"How about we stop punching each other instead?" I suggested. "We can do something else. For example ... hugging each other? That would feel much better, right?"