The Luna they betrayed became Untouchable

Chapter 42: Chapter 42

The Valemont dining hall had never felt so cold.

Breakfast was served in silence. The clink of cutlery against porcelain was the only sound that could be heard. Evelyn sat at the head of the table, a position she had never claimed for herself, but one Varek had insisted upon when she’d first arrived.

Celine’s gaze flicked to her, then away, her jaw tight.

The silence stretched, unbearable, and finally, unable to keep still any longer, Celine set down her fork. "She’s sitting at the head of the table," she said.

Varek looked up. "What?"

"The head of the table," Celine repeated, her voice carefully sharp. "That’s your seat, Varek. You’re the Alpha of this pack."

Evelyn blinked, taken aback. She had never asked for this seat. Varek had insisted she sat there, and Celine herself was present that very day.

"Celine..." Evelyn called quietly.

"She can’t continue to sit there. It’s not right. You are the Alpha of Valemont, not her."

Varek’s brow furrowed. "What are you talking about, Celine? You know fully well that we don’t follow those rules here. Evelyn is family."

"Family doesn’t need to sit at the head of the table to prove it," Celine snapped. "But apparently in this house, it does."

Varek set his own cup down with more force than necessary. "You’ve said nothing about this in weeks. Why now?"

"Because I’ve held my tongue for weeks," Celine said, her voice rising, cracking at the edges. "I won’t do it any longer."

Evelyn set down her own fork, her voice quiet. "Celine, if this is about the seat—"

"It’s not about the seat." Celine’s voice cracked. "It’s about everything. Everything that’s happened since you came back."

She turned to Evelyn, and for a moment something almost pleading crossed her face. "Forgive me. I love you, Evelyn. I do. But everything that has gone wrong in this house since your return—all of it—is because of you."

Evelyn’s breath hitched at her words. She hadn’t realised Celine felt so strongly about her.

"Celine," Varek growled out.

"When exactly will it be enough?" Celine snapped, her composure fully gone. "When will it be enough, Varek? How much of this family’s future are you willing to burn for her?"

"Shut your mouth," Varek snarled.

"No, I won’t." Celine’s hands were trembling now, though she didn’t look away, didn’t back down. "The Valemont estate has lost ten million silvers since Lucien’s ban began. Ten million, Varek. Merchants who’ve traded with this house for generations are refusing our coin entirely now. Packs that owed Alpha Roman favors have gone quiet rather than answer our letters." Her voice cracked. "And why? Because Evelyn decided she could stand toe to toe with the most powerful man in this realm and somehow win."

Evelyn swallowed hard, unable to speak.

"Enough, Celine."

"She’s just a woman, Varek!" The words tore out of her, sharp. "The same as I am. The same as any of us. And yet you’d let this entire house burn down around us before you’d ask her to stop." Her breath hitched, something close to tears in her voice now. "I love her. I do. But loving her doesn’t mean pretending the ground isn’t disappearing beneath our feet."

"CELINE!" Varek growled, his chair scraping against the ground.

Celine glared at him, her chest heaving heavily. It was almost as though she’d been keeping this in her mind for the longest time.

Evelyn set her fork down slowly, her hands steadier than she felt.

"She’s not wrong."

Varek’s head snapped toward her, disbelief cutting through his fury. "Evelyn—"

"She’s not." Evelyn’s voice stayed steady, though something in her chest had gone tight and cold. She looked at Varek directly. "How much have we actually lost? The real number, Varek. Not whatever you’ve let me believe."

Varek’s shoulders hunched defeatedly. "Fifteen million."

Evelyn couldn’t believe her ears. She stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

Varek hesitated, then sighed heavily. "Fifteen million silvers." He sank back into his chair, suddenly looking older than he had moments before. "That’s what we’ve lost since the ban began. Fifteen million. And more packs are cutting ties every day."

The number hit Evelyn like a physical blow. Fifteen million. All because of her.

"That much? Just from yesterday to today?"

Celine scoffed. "Open your eyes, Evelyn. The pack has—"

"Leave here, Celine. This minute, leave!" Varek growled so deeply, his Alpha aura exploded.

Celine flinched, eyes filled with hurt, then she inhaled deeply before storming off.

"Varek—"

"She’s wrong. Money is money, but family will always be family. And of everyone here, Evelyn, you are family."

Evelyn stared at the door Celine had just stormed through, then back at Varek, something in her chest tightening at his words.

"You shouldn’t have said that," she said quietly. "Sent her off like that."

"She had it coming." Varek’s jaw was still hard, though something in his eyes had already begun to soften, guilt creeping in behind the anger. "She had no right to speak to you that way, in front of everyone, at our own table."

"She wasn’t wrong, though. That’s what makes it worse." Evelyn’s hands had gone still in her lap. "Fifteen million silvers, Varek. That’s not a number either of us can simply absorb and carry on as though nothing’s changed."

"We’ll manage."

"Will we?" Her voice cracked, just slightly, before she pulled it back under control. "How long can Valemont manage, exactly? A season? Two? What happens when the merchants who are still speaking to us finally stop as well?"

Varek said nothing, but his silence was answer enough.

Evelyn pushed back from the table, rising slowly. "I need air."

"Evelyn—" Varek called, but Evelyn shook her head.

"I’m not angry with you, nor could I ever be angry with Celine," she said, without turning. "I’m angry that I let myself believe this would be simple. That I could threaten a man like Lucien and walk away clean." She paused at the door, her hand resting briefly against the frame. "Kael only had a pack to lose. Lucien has an entire realm bending to his will. I forgot the difference."

Before Varek could speak further, she walked out, Tristan following silently.

Neither of them spoke for a long while. When Tristan finally did, his voice was careful. "What will you do?"

Evelyn didn’t answer immediately, her jaw locked hard. "I don’t know yet, but I refuse to sit still and let Valemont bleed for something that was never their fight to begin with. I’ll fix this. I must."

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