Chapter 80

I wasn’t really sure what Ethan was planning when he mentioned his night full of romance for us. I truly did not anticipate what it was.

Ethan helped me get dressed due to my cast and stitches, and once we were at the building for our night out, I stared up at the beautiful building in awe.

We were standing in front of a large, ornate church with giant stained glass windows and hauntingly beautiful music pouring from the open doors.

“What’s this?” I looked at him with a laugh. The open doors revealed a beautiful wedding arch at the end of a blood red, aisle carpet.

“Mars and Olivia,” He smiled, fixing the tie on his suit, “They’ve decided to get married.”

My jaw dropped open, “How did I not know?”

Ethan shrugged and led me to a side entrance, “You’ve had a lot going on, they didn’t want to make you feel bad or anything.”

I shook his shoulder as we entered the church and he led me down a hallway into a comfortable looking sitting room. Makeup and dresses were littered on the couches and Olivia was putting on eye makeup in a compact mirror.

“You!” I abandoned Ethan’s side once I saw Olivia getting ready for her wedding. “You are such a sneak, why didn’t you tell me? Congratulations!”

Olivia put down her mascara and laughed, embracing me in a quick hug, “Like Ethan said, I was worried it would put you out.”

“You didn’t even hint at it, it came out of nowhere!” I exclaimed. Ethan made a spot on one of the couches and settled while the two of us talked. Since it was my first time out of the house after the accident, he was not keen on letting me out of his sight.

“You worked so hard on my first wedding, I thought it would be a nice surprise for you to just have to show up to this one,” She winked and started putting on her lipstick.

I pressed a quick, friendly kiss to her cheek and let her finish getting herself ready.

“Ethan,” Olivia called out as I went to sit beside him.

He looked up from his phone with a hum.

“Will you walk me down the aisle?” She asked, “My father couldn’t make it tonight.”

Ethan beamed and stood up, “Of course.”

He was all smiles the rest of the night up until the moment of truth.

Olivia wanted me standing by her at the altar, and I watched opposite from Mars as she sauntered down the aisle with Ethan as her escort. She looked beautiful. Her wedding dress was similar to the first one, but with an ornate train and a lace veil to accompany it.

She was ethereal.

I glanced at Mars and he had tears sparkling against his lower lash line. It was the perfect wedding, the perfect ceremony.

It was everything a wedding should be.

After the vows were said and the ceremony was over, it was time for the reception. My wedding didn’t get a reception, and Olivia’s first wedding didn’t even make it to the reception.

I was excited to let loose at the party and forget my worries from the past few months.

Ethan and I spent a majority of our time on the dancefloor at first. I liked being able to show off the fact that Ethan spent so long grooming me to be able to dance perfectly and never miss a step. Ethan liked showing me off to the other alphas in attendance.

It was silly, carefree, and probably the best night in my life. Well, maybe the second best. The night that Ethan and I realized we were mates was pretty special, too.

Ethan twirled me on the dancefloor, my skirts billowed around my calves, and I felt my stomach fill with butterflies every time Ethan’s hand grazed my lower back.

As the next song came to an end, Mars came up to the two of us.

“Ethan,” He placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, “Can I talk to you about something?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow and glanced over at me, “Whatever you have to say you can talk about in front of Ava, too.”

My heart swelled at his defense, but Mars only shook his head.

“It’s a surprise for Olivia and - I’m sorry Ava - I don’t trust that she can keep it a secret from her.” Mars wrung his hands together and gestured to the side of the reception hall.

Ethan glanced at me with a knowing smile, “Okay, I’ll see you in a minute, yeah?”

I nodded my head with a chuckle and headed back to the table Ethan and I were assigned. It was a quaint table that only sat four people. The other two seats belonged to Olivia’s cousins that she was very close with.

They were on the dancefloor somewhere, living it up.

I approached my assigned seat and noticed a little white card sitting on my empty plate. I plucked it up, and read it slowly:

Ava,

Meet me at the beach for an extra surprise.

Ethan

I grinned at the note, biting my bottom lip. Ethan was so generous and thoughtful. He definitely loved me, not just out of obligation due to our status as mates, but it went beyond that. I could finally see it.

Ethan Velasco loved me for me, and I loved him.

I put the note back down on the plate and snuck out of the reception hall and down the sidewalk that led to a small, private beach. Once I reached the sand, I slipped off my heels and hooked the straps around one of my fingers.

I swung them around as I skipped through the sand towards the water.

As I got closer, I saw the lone figure of a tall man casting a dark silhouette against the pale moonlight. It was Ethan, I thought, waiting for me and waiting for me to see him for the surprise.

“Ethan!” I called out towards the figure. He turned slightly to look at me, I couldn’t see his face, and he waved for me to come closer. I picked up my pace and approached him as quickly as I could.

However, the closer I got to the man, the more I realized he looked nothing like Ethan.

I was only a yard away from him when I was able to see some of his features. His hair was blonde, his nose was large and hooked, his eyes were dark - not icy blue like Ethan’s.

“Who are you?” I gasped and tried to take a step back.

The man started walking towards me, taking large steps and taking no time to be almost right next to me. I started trotting backwards, about to turn and make a full run for it back to the reception hall, but several other people emerged from the dunes of the beach.

The people, previously hiding in plain sight, had guns all pointed at my head as they encircled us. I spun around, looking for a way out or a gap in their formation. There was none, and even if there was a space to make a run for it, their bullets would get me before I could get away.

“Ava Velasco,” A deep voice came from the dark silhouetted man. “Obey and you will live.”

I opened my mouth to scream for help, but I could hear Ethan’s voice screaming my name in the distance.

The man looked angry, he signaled to his men with a fist and called out.

“Grab her! Now!”