Chapter 14

“I did, but-” I tried to reason with him. Ethan turned away from me, his shoulders tensed.

“Do not enter my room without my permission.” His gaze was hard. I had seen him angry before, but never at me. Being on the receiving end of his cold personality made my insides feel queasy.

The earring must definitely belong to Sarah if he was being this protective of it.

I nodded and ran up to my room to hide away. The embarrassment of being caught and chastised twisted my heart strings and I wanted to be alone.

I didn’t get far. My phone rang, and Sammy, my best friend, asked if I would go out with her for drinks. I figured I needed something to get me out of the house and dispose of my bad mood.

I accepted and snuck back down the stairs.

Sammy was easy to find as I entered the bar. Her brown hair with streaks of bright pink in it made her stick out of the crowd. She was sitting at a high-top table with two tall, colorful drinks already in front of her.

“I ordered your favorite!” She sang as she saw me approaching. Her beaming grin dissipated once she noticed the expression on my face, “What happened?”

“I think Ethan is dating someone,” I shrugged, trying to seem unbothered. I didn’t want her to know that I got caught snooping around and chastised for it.

“Why do you care?” Sammy interrogated. “Have you developed feelings for him?”

“No!” I waved my hands around to shush her. “No, our relationship is on paper only. We aren’t in an actual marriage, just a legal one.”

Sammy’s bristled energy eased up, but she didn’t look completely convinced.

“Well that’s a relief. But, look at me, don’t let your weird gooey emotions get all mixed up with him.” She half-joked. “It’ll just get messy and you’ll get hurt.”

“I know that!” I defended myself. I must not have seemed convincing, she squinted at me with a knowing look.

“Trust me, he’s got a pretty face and a nice salary, but he’s a complex character,” Sammy took a couple sips of her drink and pushed mine towards me. “He’s got trauma from what happened with his parents and his pack. It’s too much for one person to handle.”

I nodded as she spoke, taking long draws from the straw of my drink. The alcohol burned my throat as it went down, but I ignored it.

Ethan’s Pov

The earring felt heavy in my hand.

It belonged to my mother. She was wearing it the night she was murdered.

My parents were the picture perfect as-seen-on-tv type of family. They and their friend, Andrew, once controlled the largest wolf pack in the world. No one dared threaten them and they did what they could to ensure all members of the pack were happily taken care of.

That’s why it was such a shock when the day I turned fifteen, my parents were mugged and killed by a couple of rogue wolves. They took everything, not a single morsel was left aside from the earring.

I was left with nothing.

Andrew was a mess afterwards. He told me that the rogues got ahold of my parents’ wealth and coveted it all for themselves. He cried the entire time he told me and took me in during the grieving process. He gave me the single earring as a token to my mother.

A few weeks later, I was in Andrew’s study looking for a book. Sitting on the corner of a shelf was the match to my mother’s earring. Andrew told me only one could be salvaged that night.

That’s when I realized.

Andrew was the one who orchestrated the murder. He took the entirety of the wealth and the pack’s resources and used it to make himself the most influential and powerful alpha in the werewolf world.

Even after learning the truth, there was nothing I could do to get revenge at the time. Andrew was older than me, a bigger wolf and a man.

I left the pack to grow my own empire and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

I only hoped that the time was drawing nearer as my own company and pack continued to expand.

A large crash from downstairs broke me from my thoughts.

I rushed from my room and down the steps to find Ava leaning against the front door. The potted plant beside it was knocked over in front of her.

“Whoops,” She hiccupped with a giggle.

“Ava,” I chuckled at her state. Her cheeks were flushed from alcohol, her eyes glossier than usual. “Where have you been?”

She shrugged in response, dramatically showing that she was planning to ignore me.

“Who let you get this intoxicated?” I asked, concerned about her safety. I didn’t want another man to have been spending time with her alone when she was in such a state.

“Sammy!” She sang out, her arms swinging wide. “She knew I was in a bad mood and needed to dance it out.”

Her arms raised above her head, she started swaying her hips to imaginary music. She stepped around erratically, having no real rhythm to her movements.

I raised my eyebrows and sucked in my cheeks to keep from laughing at her outright. I felt a little bad about earlier. Ava didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of my frustration.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders to stop her dancing. She used my body to support her own weight and keep herself upright as I guided her up the stairs towards her room.

“Let’s get you to bed,” I snickered.

When we stepped through the doorway, I turned to tell Ava to get some rest, but she ambushed me. She looped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to my own in a sloppy, drunken kiss.

Despite my mind telling me to stay rational, my heart was thrumming against my ribcage. I kissed her back without much thought. It was as though it was second nature to me - as easy as breathing.

I led Ava towards her bed, pushing her down onto the mattress. She let herself fall back with no resistance. Seeing her eyes gazing up at me and her hair splayed around her made something rouse in the pit of my stomach.

I covered her body with my own, capturing her lips once again. She giggled into the kisses, stopping to mewl every now and then.

Her noises only spurred me on.

My hand traveled down towards the hem of her shirt, lifting it up just enough to press my palm underneath the fabric onto her bare skin.

I gripped at her sides, feeling my way up her body. My thumb just brushed the flesh of her chest when her body arched towards me.

She pushed me away, suddenly looking a little green.

I flipped onto the bed away from her, and she ran to the connected bathroom. The door slammed behind her and I could hear her retching into the toilet.

My chest was heaving after the fact. My mind started to clear. It was like the minute Ava started kissing me, I was in a haze and couldn’t control my body any longer. I wasn’t myself when it came to her.

I was primal, animalistic.

I couldn’t understand why I felt such a strong attraction to her.

Between this moment and the coat I had to keep on my bed, it was a puzzling situation. The suit jacket smelled like her soap and was comforting to sleep with, but that didn’t mean anything romantic, did it?

The bathroom door opened and Ava staggered back to the bed. She looked considerably less drunk, but far more tired. She settled into her mattress and dozed off within seconds.

I debated whether I should stay or not, but the idea of leaving the real Ava for the replica-jacket sounded awful. I laid down beside her and fell asleep almost immediately, surrounded by her scent.

It was the best sleep I’d had in months.

The next morning, Ava’s rustling woke me up. I gravitated towards her during the night and wrapped my arms around her tightly.

“Ethan!” She gasped in surprise, I could only imagine the blush on her face. Sleepily, I pulled her into me.

“Relax,” I teased, eyes closed and mouth brushing against her shoulder as I snuggled her more. “We crossed a pretty significant line last night, no need to be embarrassed.”