Chapter 74

Ethan’s POV

Ava and I returned home shortly after her conversation with her mother.

She was angry. I could feel the energy pouring out of every pore on her body. I didn’t think she was mad at me or her mom, but she was mad for sure.

“Are you okay?” I asked once we pulled into the driveway. I turned the ignition off and angled my body so I could see her better. She was staring straight ahead at the house, eyes glazed over in thought, and posture stiff beyond belief.

“I’m just…” She trailed off and shook her head, “I don’t know what I am. I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I nudged her shoulder with my own, “You’re Ava. You’re an amazing pastry chef, wonderful friend, and damn good Luna. Who your father is won’t change any of that.”

Ava shot me a small, tired smile, but it fell quickly and she returned to her somber expression.

“I’m going to bed,” She told me with her face scrunched together in thought. “I need to sleep on everything.”

I nodded and watched as she got out of the car and retreated into the house. With a sigh, I rubbed my face and tried to process all of the information we had been given that day. Her mother had gone through so much, and I knew Ava was hurting because of it.

I wanted to help, but wasn’t really sure how. I wasn’t sure if she’d want my help either, our relationship wasn’t exactly perfect at the moment.

When I finally entered the house, Ava had already disappeared into her room for the night. Olivia and Mars were sitting on the couch, their movie paused on the television as they looked up at me.

“What happened today?” Olivia asked, noting the dark aura of the house.

I shook my head, “I don’t think now is a good time to talk about it.”

Mars nodded and I could tell Olivia was fighting the urge to demand more information than that. I smiled at them and sat down on the recliner in the corner of the living room.

“I need to fix my relationship with Ava,” I said, looking between the two of them for answers or suggestions. Mars sat quietly as he thought. Olivia scrolled on her phone, searching for something. Or, maybe, she was ignoring me and was tired of having conversations about my failing love life.

I couldn’t really blame her for that.

“Start small,” Olivia suggested after a few minutes. “There’s a ton of flower shops near here - I looked and there are three within a two mile radius - Flowers are always welcome.”

Mars nodded in agreement, “Plan easy dates, too. Nothing fancy like dinner at a five-star place. Do take out and a movie sometime here. Give her a chance to get to know you better.”

I took their suggestions in stride, mentally noting each one and trying to figure out when I should use them. Flowers, take out, simple dates: I could do all of that no problem. The question was whether Ava would allow me to do that for her or not.

Even if it’s not to mend a bond between us, that could all at least distract her from her problems for a little while.

Ava’s POV

I woke up to knocking on my bedroom door.

“I’m coming!” I shouted, sleep slurring my words. I shuffled over to the door and turned the knob. No one was standing in the hallway, but there was a vase of fresh roses and lilies sitting on the floor just on the other side.

A note was laid gently between the petals:

Ava,

Please join me in the living room this evening for dinner and a movie.

Love,

Ethan

I sucked in a breath and suppressed a smile at the gesture. Ethan was good at surprising me when I least expected it, and a movie would be the perfect escape from constantly thinking about what my mom told me.

I spent a lot of my day in my room. I showered and pampered myself with lavish oils and masks. I dried and styled my hair afterwards, but still dressed in a simple pair of sweatpants and a comfortable sweater for the casual dinner and movie.

When I was ready, I stepped down the stairs. Mars and Olivia were out for the night, something about going out of town for the weekend, and the house was almost completely silent.

The only sound I heard was the soft music filtering out from the living room. I approached the room and when I turned the corner, there was a box of pizza sitting on the coffee table and several more bouquets of flowers displayed around the room.

An old early two-thousands romantic comedy was paused on the television, and Ethan was waiting for me on the couch.

We started the movie and sat together on the sofa. We ate our pizza quickly, and though it was a little awkward at first, Ethan draped his arm across the back of the couch and invited me to sit against him.

It was comforting. I forgot how nice it was to be embraced by Ethan, to be surrounded by his scent. I leaned into his side and settled against him, relishing in the warmth wafting from his body.

The movie continued on. Ethan pressed a slow kiss to my cheek, and I giggled at the contact. He shifted his mouth, trailing kisses from my cheek, behind my ear, and down the sensitive area of my throat.

I groaned and tilted my head to the side, exposing more of my neck for him to assault with kisses and love bites. I gasped as I felt his teeth nip at the hollow of my throat, and I ran my hand through his hair, tugging on it slightly as he increased the pressure of his bite.

Ethan started to run his hands over my thighs, trailing higher and higher until I felt a spark of pleasure between my legs and I had to put a stop to it.

I stood up, pushing him away.

He looked up at me with bleary eyes and a confused expression.

“I can’t do this, not yet, not again,” I turned to run up the stairs and retreat back into the safe space of my room.

I wanted to be with Ethan, deep down I did, but after the news I just got from my mom and the argument from before, I knew I wasn’t ready to give myself to him again. Not fully.

I washed my face and got ready for bed, and as I was crawling under the covers there was a knock on the door.

I rolled my eyes, expecting it to be Ethan, but I found Olivia waiting for me on the other side.

“Ava, I heard that you and Ethan are going through a hard time,” She wrung her hands together and tried to let herself into the room.

I looked at her point blank and pressed my lips together in a firm line, “Olivia, I’m sorry but I don’t want to hear from you and your perfect relationship. I have my own problems that actually don’t involve you.”

I closed the door before she could say anything else.

On the other side of the door, Ethan and Mars’ voices joined Olivia’s. Seemed they were all waiting out of sight to listen in on Olivia’s words-of-wisdom.

Olivia’s voice chimes out among them, “It’s got to be her resisting her wolf’s urges. When you find your mate you can’t try to stifle the wolf. It’s why she’s being so moody.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from lashing out at her while I was listening.

Ethan’s voice could be heard next:

“I’ll just need to go bigger, then, and try harder.”