Chapter 14
EMMA
I didn’t think I’d be seeing Ethan soon–so far from his pack and surrounded by a group of unfamiliar faces.
I can make out the aghast look on his face as his eyes wander down my body, even from this distance. His gaze drinks me in before it rests on mine again, and I gulp as he maintains eye contact.
“Emma?” I remove my eyes from him to turn to Elijah at the call of my name and he has one brow lifted. “Is something wrong? Why did you stop?”
Everything is perfect.” I respond, stealing one last peek at the dimmed corner of the room Ethan remains before I follow through Elijah’s lead
“Woo–hoo! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Bianca screams over the noise of the music as we settle at the bar side. “Hi.” She grins at the man who stands behind the platform and he sighs as he drops his hands in front of him. “You’re back. And you brought
one more.
Lips are sealed. I promise,” Bianca blinks at him and he shakes his head. He looks at me and Elijali before he disappears and I mutter a thank you as Elijah pushes out a stool for me before occupying the one next to me, Bianca staying by my left side. “He’s a friend.” She tips her chin in the bartender’s direction, explaining their conversation, and I nod as I look around the
space.
I’m awed by the sight of boilies gliding against each other in the middle of the room and those at the far corners pressed closely. I’ve never steppeil foot in such a place like this and these scenes are foreign to me. Is it alright to just do intimate stuff at the corners of a club? It’s closed, that’s sure, but each time the blinking lights shine in that corner, their actions are visible.
“I bet you haven’t had a night like that.” Bianca’s voice steals my attention off the obscene view and she’s grinning with her lips curled when I turn, her eyes shining with amusement.
“What?”
“Making out in the corners of a club? Knowing someone might watch yet you can’t help yourself, nor do you want to stop. Have you ever felt a thrill like that?” Her words send a shudder through my body, and I lick my bottom lip before I shake my head Bianca laughs. “Oh, you haven’t been living life at all, my darling. That’s one of the best feelings. It gets better when the koy pining you against that wall is hot,” She winks before she turns away, bobbing her head to the rhythm of the music playing
I find my eyes back on that corner and I imagine myself being like that; pinned against a corner with the room crowded and the intimacy visible to all eyes if they just look hard enough. I don’t know why, but the vision of the guy doing that in my head shows as my stepbrother and blood rushes to my ears as I’m reminded of the one incident.
“Drinks are here.” Biança announces before I make a mess of my thoughts and as Bianca mumbles some words to the bartender, Elijah leans closer to my side, his mouth brushing against the shell of my ear as he speaks, “That guy won’t stop
staring.”
“Uh?” He nods his head in a direction and my eyes follow. I don’t see who he speaks of, but I don’t need to because I already know “Do you know him?” Elijah asks and when I look back at him over my shoulder, his face is so close to mine. His shine under the blinking lights and for a second, I still before I clear my throat and shake my head, shifting back in my seat. “I don’t think so. Hey, I need to use the restroom real quick. 11 be back.”
Eyes
“Will you be okay on your own?” Bianca asks and I nod with a smile. “I won’t get lost. Don’t worry.” Elijah’s eyes follow me and I give his shoulder a small tap before I walk away.
I slide between sweaty bodies and manage to find my way in the dimness. The music and noise become distant as I step into another part of the building. It’s quiet here, and I stride down the empty hallway in search of the restroom. I find it at the far end and I waltz in. The door is halfway closed when a foot sticks out, ceasing it, and Ethan is making his way inside faster than I can blink
“What are you doing?”
“I should be asking you that. I’m surprised to see you here,” he mutters as he shuts the door behind him and steps before me. “So far away from your pack.”
Chapter 14
“I could say the same about you.”
“I’m here with my friends. I come here often when I require a getaway.”
Silence settles between us, and Ethan rocks on his heels as he slips his hands into his back pockets. “It’s nice seeing you. You look different–good different”
“Why are you speaking to me?” I ignore his compliment and he lets out a defeated sigh. “I see you’re still mad. I deserve it. Your were my best friend and I should have defended you more than I did. It’s just Zoey’s story was persuading and I couldn’t deny
what I-
“Right. Zoey. I don’t see her around. Forgot about your betrothed?” I lift a brow, making sure he hears the sarcasm in my voice and his shoulders drop. “Emma.”
I shake my head, “It’s in the past, Ethan. I’ve moved on and so should you. I haven’t thought about any of you since I left and I
won’t ever.”
“But you were still my—“
“Daughter of Selene.” Those words echo to me again just like when I got out of the car carlier–the voice sounding faded but clear. I flinch as I snap my head around, but it’s just me and Ethan in the restroom.
When I look back at Ethan, he’s staring at me with raised brows and I let out a shaky breath. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” He looks confused and maybe I’m going insane because I heard it. Twice now,
“Nothing. I–Goodbye Ethan I attempt to walk past him, but his hand shoots out to grab my arm. “Our paths shall still cross again, Emma. Believe me.
I stare into the desperation of his eyes before I shake his hold off and walk out of the restroom. My heart thunders in my chest and I’m quick an my feet as I trot down the hallway, goosebumps rising on my skin at the faint echoes I’ve heard. Morcover, whatever it is refers to me as my mother’s daughter
What’s it?
I look back toward the restroom before rushing back to the party, letting the noise drown out whatever insanity I felt.
I’m startled from my sleep as my phone vibrates against the mattress
I yawn before grabbing the device, my heart jumping to my throat as I sit up because I know who it is. Will gave me this phone the night of the last attack, saying to keep it with me always and dial the first–which is also the only–contact on it in times of emergencies.
I’m guessing the contact belongs to him and since no one else knows of the phone, it has to be him calling.
I take the call and press the device to my ear. Whatever dazedness is left clears from my eyes as his voice booms through after the first seconds of silence. The sound is deep, and it sends a tingle through me even if he says just two words. “Training ground.”
“Right now?” My eyes go to the clock on the wall and it reads two am. He’s asking me to go to the training grounds at two in the morning?
“Now. Come down.” The line cuts and I stare at the phone before tossing it to the side. I move out of bed and I’m halfway through when I realize I’m still in the dress I wore out. It was an exhausting night after Bianca forced me to take two or more drinks and I got tipsy to the point Elijah had to tuck me into bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and didn’t care to be out of the dress
“Never again,” I groan at the dull ache of migraine as I walk to my closet to grab a hoodie. I throw the hoodie over the dress before walking out of my room.
It’s eerily silent when I make my way out of the pack house. Only the sound of birds chirping and leaves ruttling as strong wind blows by can be heard when I step into the training grounds.
10:05 PM ₫ □ ·
Chapter 11
The light from the moon casts a shadow against his frame, and my breathing hitches at the sight of Will,
I haven’t seen him in eight days and he shockingly looks better than the last time 1 laid eyes on him. Maybe the fact that he’s dressed in a white button–down shirt tucked into black suit pants has to do with it. Half of the buttons of his shirt are undone. and he has the sleeves rolled to his elbows.
I swallow at nothing because my throat is dry as I step into his space. “Alpha. You called-”
“Take a stance.” He doesn’t let me speak and my brows furrows at the coldness I hear in his voice.
What’s going on?
“Take a stance and come at me.” He wants a match?
I have no idea what’s happening and Will doesn’t look like he’s answering questions, so I take a stance like he’s asked. He motions for me to come at him and I push the tight dress higher up my thighs before I attack.
I don’t hit him. Of course, I don’t. I didn’t think I’d, but I also didn’t think Will would slam me to the ground. And that’s exactly what he does; he catches my hand and throws me in the air before forcing me back to the ground. He ensures I’m only a bit from the footing before he slams me down, but the force he exerts is still much and it fucking hurts.
He gets up and stares me down before motioning for me to come at him again. What the hell?
I get up and repeat the action. Once again I end up on my back, the pain shooting down my spine and I hiss as Will stands over me, the muscles of his face tightened with his jaw clenched.
Annoyance sips i
into my veins when he signals for me to attack again, and I get up. This time, I don’t launch forward. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Hit me. Try to land a punch.”
“You’re hitting my back on the floor under excuses of training? Are you trying to kill me or something?” I snap, not caring that I stand before the Alpha of a pack
“You wouldn’t be on the floor if you could land a damn hit!” He barks and takes a step forward. He sounds angry, and the emotion radiates off him in red waves, but whatever the fuck for? I’m the one getting my back bashed into the ground with zero effort from him. I’m the one who should be mad!
“You’re an Alpha. I’m just—
“It doesn’t matter!” His voice rises. “If you had trained hard enough instead of partying around, you wouldn’t be on your back so easily.”
I jerk my head back as I stare at him in disbelief. “Is that what this is about? Because I went out to have fun with “Fun!” He repeats the word like the taste of it on his tongue aggravates him. “You got drunk while you had barely covers your thighs. You reek, and that’s what you call fun?”
my
friends?”
on a
a dress that
“I’m sorry if me letting myself enjoy life for just a night angered you so much, Alpha” I scoff and he takes yet another step towards me. Although he looks and sounds angry, I can somehow see the restraint in his eyes, but I do not care for it. Not right
“You do not speak to me in that tone.” He rasps, his aura clicking on and off, but I’m too enraged to recognize that danger and I retort. “Do not speak to me like I’m a child! Like I don’t know what I’m doing. Like YOU own me
“I do own you! I brought you here! I am the Alpha of this pack. I am your Alpha and you’ll speak to me with respect!”
“Or what?” I challenge, threading on dangerous ground once again.
Will go silent for only a
y a millisecond before I suddenly have
my
back to a tree. He takes control in a blur and crowds me.
He’s erased whatever distance was between us and I can make out each feature on his face now–the twitch of his brows, the narrowing of his eyes, and the snarl in his mouth. My breathing sputters when he leans forward, not seeming to care that our mouths are almost touching and we’re sharing breaths.
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Chapter 14
“Or I won’t hold back.”
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