Chapter 18

Ethan pulled me away from the crowd, I had to run to keep up with him. He only stopped once he found a secluded decorative sofa in the corner of the room. A few people were mingling around it, but ultimately it was pretty quiet.

I sat down softly on the cushion, looking at Ethan’s hard expression.

“Are you okay?” I asked. Reaching out to grab his hand and tug him towards the sofa to sit with me.

He gave me a small smile and nodded.

“I have to meet with some people quickly. So stay here and don’t wander off while I’m gone,” He half-joked. I assured him I would stay put, but another werewolf came towards us before he could leave.

He was tall, very tall; with bright red hair and a devilish smirk plastered on his face. Ethan bristled at the intrusion.

“I didn’t know you were such a softie, Ethan,” The mystery werewolf laughed with a shake of his head. “You disappear for a few years and come back completely changed.”

“I haven’t changed,” Ethan frowned, but the red-haired man ignored him.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” He gestured between Ethan and I, his eyebrows raised.

Ethan rolled his eyes, but complied, “Mars this is my wife Ava. Ava, this is my childhood friend Mars.”

“Lovely to meet you, Ava.” Mars looked me up and down, as though he was taking his time to burn my appearance into his brain.

Ethan‘s face hardened.

“Mars, I need to speak to you,” Ethan grit out. Mars nodded, telling him to continue, but Ethan shook his head, “Privately.”

“I’ll be here,” I spoke up with a smile, though it was only halfheartedly.

Ethan nodded and turned to take Mars to a more secluded area. Mars followed, but looked back at me over his shoulder giving me an overexaggerated wink.

My lips curled into a small frown. Who did he think he was?

Despite my expression, he found it amusing. I crossed my arms and sunk deeper into the sofa cushions, disgusted.

While they were gone, I had the time to think back to Ethan’s reaction to Sarah. I couldn’t understand why he was so upset over her if he claimed that they were nothing.

It frustrated me, the way he refused to tell me anything about his past. What I knew I only knew because of Sammy and her rumors. I felt like there was so much missing from Ethan’s past. He might as well be a stranger to me.

It was more upsetting that Ethan knew nearly everything about me on top of it all. Though I know he treats me well, I was at a loss when it came to him.

I was humming along to the live music, waiting for Ethan and Mars to return, when Sarah and a few other women came walking towards me.

I stood up as they approached, a little on edge by their presence.

“Ava,” Sarah gave me a sweet smile, “I wanted to congratulate you on your marriage to Ethan. I’m sorry, I didn’t know about it earlier. I would not have acted that way if I had.”

I opened my mouth to thank her and accept her apologies, but one of her groupies stopped me.

“Look at her,” She scoffed. “Why would Ethan choose you? I saw you gorging yourself at the desserts table earlier, and you don’t look like someone strong enough to be a Luna. I can’t even smell a wolf on you.”

A few of the other girls in Sarah’s group cackled at the statements, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. I looked away from them, not wanting them to see that their words were affecting me.

Sarah gasped at her friends and chastised them all.

“Ignore them,” Sarah took a step away from her group. She approached me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t pay any mind to what they say.”

She was being so nice. That pitying feeling came back. Reluctantly, I told her it was okay, that they were just words.

She smiled and pinched my cheek.

“Aren’t you so sweet!” She gushed. The way she said it felt very patronizing, but she probably didn’t mean to be. A bitter taste filled my mouth at how perfect she was.

Ethan returned to the spot . He left me, and pulled me into a sweet embrace. He ignored Sarah’s very existence and looped his arm through mine.

“Hello Darling,” He greeted.

“Ethan!” Sarah perked at his presence, even if he didn’t acknowledge her, “Would you like to dance with me?”

Ethan blinked, his gaze never wavering from mine.

“Ava, would you care to join me for a dance?” He asked, and I glanced over sheepishly at the group of girls watching us.

I leaned into him so that they wouldn’t hear, “I don’t know how to dance.”

He shook his head with a smile and gripped my arm a little tighter.

“I’ll teach you,” He assured, “There’s no time like the present to learn.”

I gulped and debated declining. There’s no way, after everything he had done for me, I could ever tell him no. Not after, he saved my mother and got me my dream job.

In my case, Ethan could have anything he wanted.

He guided me to the dance floor.

As romantic of a gesture it was, I don’t think Ethan thought about what he was doing when he offered to teach me to dance. I had absolutely zero experience, which was clearly reflected in the way I kept stepping on his toes everytime I went to make a move.

“You have heavy feet,” Ethan teased in my ear as we danced.

I apologized, but he merely shook his head in response, and he kept joking throughout the duration of the song.

He winced with every misstep, but tried to play it off. I did try to warn him, now there was no going back until the song was over.

Every so often, though, I would glance over his shoulder while our bodies were pressed together. I could see Sarah standing on the sidelines. Her dismal expression as she watched the two of us, made me feel guilty. As though I was just rubbing the marriage in her face.

Once the dance was over, Sarah approached me and asked if I wouldn’t mind having a talk with her by the swimming pool.

I excused myself from Ethan and followed her, I didn’t give him a chance to tell me no.

Curiosity was gnawing at my insides, I was hoping I could get information from her about their past.

We sat on a bench in the vacant pool. She started the conversation by sniffling and recounting her relationship with Ethan.

“Ethan and I were childhood sweethearts,” She told me with teary eyes. “I knew about his engagement, but he told me he would break it off for me when he got older.”

I listened intently.

“Then, we broke up over a silly, childish argument. We were so in love, we had been for years!” She started crying a little harder, the tears rolling down her cheeks. “He reached out to me the other day for a business opportunity. I thought he wanted to get back together, but apparently he married you.”

I pat her hand, trying to seem as though I was a friend to her for the moment.

“He did it just to spite me, you know? He doesn’t love you, he loves me!”

I recoiled away from her.

“I’m sorry,” I insisted.

“Please, he’s being silly. You must know that you don’t have a real relationship.” She pleaded, “Leave him and I will love him the way he needs to be loved.”

Sarah wasn’t someone who would be cruel on purpose. I believed her when she said that Ethan had once loved her and that she loved Ethan back.

However, now Ethan was cold to her. He ignored her. There were no indications that he harbored any feelings for her anymore. I shook my head.

“I can’t do that,” I told her. “I won’t leave Ethan. It’s his choice to make.”

Her eyes dried the second I uttered those words. Her face grew dark and she glared at me. I stood to get further away from her, nervous by her change in demeanor.

She stood with me and grabbed my elbow harshly. Her grip hurt.

“You can’t compete with me,” She growled, yanking me closer to the pool by my arm. I tried to pull away from her, but she had wolf-strength on her side.

“Let go!” I cried as we got to the edge by the water

“Okay,” She smiled, shoving me into the pool.