Chapter 652

Silver:

I could not believe Elgin had done that. It felt as though he wanted me to suffer.

Still, I kept my mouth shut. When he returned, he found me sitting on the couch.

“The council leaders are requesting a leadership meeting,” I said flatly.

“Okay,” he answered, straightening his wristwatch.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Hailey and Hannah burst out of their room and ran straight to him.

The moment he saw them, his face brightened.

I had told them to do that.

Maybe then he would remember that he had two daughters who loved him more than anything and stop putting all his faith in that fucking bitch, Elara.

“Hey, my little angels.”

The moment Elgin saw them, his face brightened.

I knew this would work.

“Daddy, we have a special event coming up,” Hailey said eagerly. “And we have participated in a skit. Our teacher wanted to know if you’ll be there.”

My daughters were playing their part perfectly.

The graduation was real, of course.

The school had organized several fun activities, likely as a distraction from everything that had been happening lately.

The children had been plagued by nightmares and sleepless nights.

And then there was the monster who had killed the last remaining leader.

With so much fear and uncertainty hanging over everyone, the school had decided the children deserved a day of celebration.

I had already registered our family for the event.

“That sounds exciting. When is it?” Elgin asked, rubbing his hands together to show his little angels that he was interested.

“Daddy, it’s in four days, and we don’t even have our costumes yet. I’m also performing in a skit about two loving parents, but you haven’t even taken me to get my costume. You were supposed to be part of it. You’re playing our dad.”

Hailey puckered her lips and threw a small tantrum at her father.

I knew that even if he didn’t take me seriously, he would definitely take them seriously.

And he did.

He immediately looked upset that his daughters were upset with him.

“I’m really sorry. Tell me, what do I need to do?” Elgin asked, lifting both girls into his arms before carrying them over to the large couch and sitting beside me.

“Okay, well, we should go today. And then tomorrow too. And on the third day, you’re going to learn the dialogues with us. Okay?”

Hailey pointed at his nose, making him chuckle at the way she was trying to boss him around.

He hated being told what to do by anyone except Hailey and Hannah.

They were his gems.

I knew he loved them more than anything in the world, even more than himself.

“Okay, got it.”

Elgin seemed excited until his face suddenly fell.

“We have a very important elders’ meeting,” he uttered under his breath.

“That’s all right,” I spoke up. “The

meeting has been pushed until after

the event. The kids are going through a lot, and the council,

net’

members decided they need time to

mourn the loss of the leaders,” my

voice came out soft.

I have forced myself to not react to any of his scummy actions for now.

“In the meantime, they’ll all be attending the school event. It’s going to be a grand celebration. Almost all the packs will be there there will be huge screens, a massive stage, and

activities for everyone.”

I explained why it was so important to my daughters that he didn’t ruin this for them.

He nodded slowly before smiling.

“Well, then we’d better learn those lines.”

He kissed Hailey’s forehead before turning to Hannah and gently pinching her cheek.

Thankfully, the girls kept him distracted.

Still, I caught moments when his expression darkened.

Even while we were planning the

skit, even

while the girls tried on their costumes and laughed at their reflections, he seemed preoccupied

“Are you okay?” I asked. “Do you miss Elara?”

The question earned me an exhausted look.

We were sitting side by side on the girls’ bed while they played nearby.

“I don’t care about her at all, okay?” he snapped.

The answer should not have pleased me as much as it did, but hearing it felt oddly satisfying.

“Then what’s bothering you?” I asked.

He dragged a hand down his face before letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Silver, I’m only keeping her around because she’s my leverage against Madeline.

But now something’s gone seriously wrong.”

His jaw tightened as he cracked his knuckles.

I had known something was off.

For the last two days, he hadn’t seemed like himself.

I’d suspected there was more happening beneath the surface.

“What happened?”

I rested my hand on his, and the heat coming from his skin startled me. He felt

feverish.

“You remember when we arrested her?” he asked and I nodded.

“The reports came in today. The monster didn’t hurt her.”

That immediately caught my attention.

“It pinned her to the ground, but it never injured her. Not even a scratch. Everyone

who saw it was stunned.”

His expression grew darker.

“And then it started attacking the others. Almost like it knew who hated her and who didn’t.”

A knot formed in my stomach.

“That’s what worries me,” he continued. “A monster protecting Madeline is not

something any of us can ignore.”

By the time he finished, cold dread had settled over me.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Madeline wasn’t special.

So why was the monster treating her as if she was?