Chapter 57
Ethan's POV
Amelia sat across from me in the dim light of my Pack House’s meeting room, her hands twisting nervously in her lap. Her hesitation hung heavy in the air.
I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table between us, my leg tapping impatiently beneath the table.
"You’ve been avoiding this conversation for too long," I said, my tone low but firm. "It’s time to come clean, Amelia. Who is he?"
Her gaze flicked to the door, as though she could find an escape there. When she finally looked back at me, her eyes glistened with barely restrained tears. "He’s my cousin," she whispered, her voice cracking.
I sat back, my jaw tightening. "Your cousin?"
Amelia nodded, her fingers curling tightly around the edge of the table. "I haven’t seen him in years. We were close once, but after I joined the Pack, we drifted apart. He… he started coming around again after Aiden and I..."
My wolf bristled at the mention of Aiden, a low growl rumbling in my chest. "And you didn’t think to tell us this before?"
"I was scared!" Amelia blurted, tears spilling over. "He’s not the same person I grew up with. He’s dangerous now, and I didn’t know how to bring it up without making it worse for me."
For a moment, I wrestled with my own instincts. The anger, the betrayal on Olivia’s behalf – they simmered just beneath the surface. But Amelia’s fear wasn’t just for herself; it was for her family too.
"Why is he working with Aiden?" I pressed, keeping my voice steady.
She shook her head, wiping her cheeks. "I don’t know. Money? Revenge? He didn’t say much, just that Aiden promised him something big if he helped take you down."
"Take me down?" I repeated, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. "Aiden doesn’t learn, does he?"
Amelia flinched at the venom in my tone, but she straightened her posture, meeting my gaze with a flicker of defiance.
"I know I should have told you sooner, but I’m telling you now because I don’t want this to go any further. He’s lost, Alpha. Please help him without…" Her voice faltered. "Without hurting him too much…"
I leaned back, studying her closely. Her plea seemed genuine, but my trust in her was zero. "If you hadn’t aligned with Aiden, kidnapped my Mate, lied through omission…”
I took a deep steadying breath so I wouldn’t cast her out against Olivia’s wishes. “You should have trusted us," I said finally. "If you had, we might not be in this mess."
"I know," she murmured, her shoulders slumping. "But I want to fix it. I’ll do whatever it takes."
Her words hung in the air as I considered her position. Amelia wasn’t a threat, not directly, but her connection to Aiden’s Rogue network complicated things.
She could be useful, but she also couldn’t be left unchecked.
"You’ll stay in the Pack," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. "You can’t leave Pack Lands. If Aiden calls, you call Marlus immediately. And if you so much as step out of line, Amelia…" I let the warning hang.
She nodded quickly, relief washing over her face. "I understand."
I stood, towering over her. "Good. Because if Aiden uses this connection against us, I won’t hesitate to act. Do you understand me?"
Her eyes widened, but she nodded again. "I won’t let it come to that."
As Amelia left the room, I stared after her, my wolf pacing restlessly. Aiden had signed his death warrant with this attack.
But the problem wasn’t just Aiden; it was the cracks he was exploiting in the people around me. Those cracks needed to be sealed before everything came crumbling down.
Olivia stood in the center of my office, arms crossed, her eyes blazing with frustration. The tension between us lingered, and my wolf had reached a breaking point.
She was here to take Amelia home, but I shut the door before she could walk out of it again.
“You can’t keep shutting me out, Ethan,” she said, her voice sharp and unwavering. “Every time I try to understand what’s going on, you either deflect or dodge the truth.”
“I’m not shutting you out,” I replied, forcing my tone to remain calm even as my patience frayed. “I’m trying to protect you.”
She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “Protect me? By keeping me in the dark? That’s not protection, Ethan, it’s control.”
My jaw tightened. “You don’t see the bigger picture, Olivia. If you knew half of what I’ve been through –”
“Then tell me!” she cut in, stepping closer. Her gaze was fierce, challenging. “Stop deciding for me what I can or can’t handle. I’m your partner, aren’t I?”
Her words struck a nerve. My wolf bristled at the implication that I wasn’t treating her as my equal.
“You have no idea what it’s like to lose a Mate,” I growled, my control slipping for a moment. “And to have that used against me by Derek, Aiden, the Council—they’re playing games that could destroy us if we’re not careful.”
“And you think I’m not aware of that?” she shot back. “You think I don’t feel the weight of everything, every single day?” She paused, her voice trembling. “You make me feel like I’m just another pawn to you, too.”
Her mother’s words shot to the front of my mind: Just because she can feel it, doesn’t mean she believes it. The complete 180 in my thoughts disarmed me for a moment, and the anger between us dimmed.
But then she added, “Matthew doesn’t treat me like that.”
The mention of his name ignited a fire in my chest. My wolf surged forward, a low growl escaping before I could stop it. “Matthew?”
“Yes, Matthew,” she said, her tone defiant. “He listens. He supports me. He doesn’t make me feel like I’m some… obligation.”
The word hit me like a blow. “Obligation?” I repeated, stepping closer until there was barely a breath of space between us. “You think that’s what this is to me?”
“I don’t know what this is to you!” she snapped, her voice breaking. “You won’t invite me in.”
My wolf clawed at the edges of my control, demanding I claim her, mark her, end this maddening distance between us. But I couldn’t.
Not like this. Not in a moment of anger.
“I’m doing everything I can to keep you safe,” I said, my voice low and strained. “But if you think Matthew has your best interests at heart, you’re blind. He’s manipulating you, Olivia.”
She stared at me, her expression unreadable. “At least he’s honest about what he wants,” she said softly, her words cutting deeper than any knife.
For a long moment, we stood there in silence, the chasm between us stretching wide.
“You don’t trust me,” I said finally, my voice rough.
“And you don’t want me,” she replied, her gaze unwavering.
Her words landed like a final blow, and as I let her leave, my wolf howled in frustration, pushing me right to the edge of control.
