Chapter 105

Ethan

“We can’t let her leave,” my wolf growls, itching to come forward. Fiona’s friend glances back at him, nodding once to let him know she’ll keep Fiona safe, but I don’t want that. I want to be the one at her side keeping her safe and helping her through the pain she’s feeling, but she doesn’t want that.

She doesn’t want me with her, and it’s not only killing me, but my wolf whines in protest as well.

“What if she runs?” He asks, pacing in a circle with a huff of frustration and worry.

My hands curl into fists as Fiona is led out of the alley by her friend. After she finally stopped crying, I let Fiona use my phone to call her friend to take her home. It kills me to watch her walk away because my wolf is right. She might run and it would be because of my parents- because of this stupid marriage mess.

She’d been distant, pulling away and staying as far from me as possible while at work. I couldn’t get her to look at me. Anytime she saw me coming, she walked the other way or suddenly became extremely busy to where she couldn’t talk.

At first, I thought it was the kidnapping or the fire, but I was kidding myself. Of course, it was about Angela.

I thought Fiona understood that I was working on a solution, but tonight clearly made things apparent. She doesn’t believe I could fix things, or maybe she won’t let herself have the hope of a relationship.

Giving her time to come around isn’t working. It’s only giving Fiona more time to decide when and how to leave me.

After all, that’s the reason I came to find her tonight. I was working late, thinking of ways to convince both pack elders that a marriage alliance isn’t what we need when Ryan came to my office.

“You need to see this,” he’d said as he set a laptop on my desk. “Our system flagged some searches on other company websites that you won’t like.”

“Was someone sending confidential information?” I ask as he taps into his email.

“No, they—”

“Did they do something illegal?”

“No, Alpha, but Fiona…” Ryan trails off as I look at him. I catch the small wince before he points at an email he just opened. What could Fiona have been looking at that flagged the security system?

I let my eyes scan the email that lists several company sites and the times they were accessed. Confusion nags at my mind as my eyes move to the next image.

4:56 pm- Samuel’s Construction- General Receptionist

My eyes move down to the next line and the next and the next.

4:42 pm- City Hall- DA Personal Assistant

4:24 pm- Advocate Alliance- Executive Assistant

3:59 pm- Healing Touch Therapy- Front Desk Receptionist

There are probably ten to fifteen of these job descriptions and locations in the security feed. All of them are clumped into a two-hour period of time from the end of the workday today. I hadn’t noticed anything strange about her today that’s been different from the last two weeks, but she did run out quickly today.

Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose as I realize exactly what Ryan is showing me.

“She’s looking for another job,” I mutter, my chest tightening at the thought.

“Our mate wants to leave,” my wolf says, lowering his head at the same time I do.

“That’s what it looks like, Alpha,” Ryan says in a hesitant tone.

I growl, “This is my fault. I should’ve never entertained the idea of taking Angela as a wife. She isn’t my mate.”

Ryan closes the laptop and sits in the chair across from me, clasping his hands together.

“Damn right,” my wolf shouts.

“Have you thought this through?” Ryan asks, leaning in a bit to look at me carefully.

I nod. It’s all I’ve been able to think about other than the fact that I want her beside me at every moment. If I took over as the Alpha of the Midnight and the Silverclaw Packs, I could make whatever decision I wanted, but it wouldn’t stop the allegations that I’m not fit to be the Lycan King because of my human mate.

Combining the two Packs would boost my status which could then help with the election of Lycan King. Being in charge of such large packs would show everyone I can manage and rule, even with a human mate. My problem was that I don’t have a way to combine the packs other than the marriage.

Neither my father nor the Midnight Pack Alpha would go for a simple merger. They have their sights set on this marriage, and no matter what I say, they won’t pull their claws out of it.

“She is our mate, and I will be with her even if I have to challenge the Midnight Pack Alpha to keep her,” my wolf states calmly.

“Challenge him?” I ask, thinking about it. He’s older, not in his prime anymore, and should be stepping down soon anyway. A challenge could work in my favor, and it would give me a chance to take over without marrying Angela.

“What if I challenged him?”

I don’t need to clarify who because Ryan knows exactly who I’m thinking of. He bolts up in his seat, his back straightening. Wide eyes stare back at me as he fumbles for what to say.

“You want to challenge the Midnight Pack Alpha?” Ryan asks slowly.

I nod. If it’s the only way to be with Fiona, then I’m willing. These last two weeks without her have killed me, and she hasn’t even been gone. She’s been right outside my office the whole time. Her scent has been enough to keep me and my wolf at bay, but the thought of her leaving me and not being close is too much.

“I’m not sure that’s a wise decision. Our two packs have been at peace since we were kids, Ethan,” Ryan says with a shake of his head. “If you take over forcefully with a challenge, the Midnight Pack may take it as a disrespect.”

I nod again, having thought of this. Challenging the Alpha of a pack so closely aligned with my pack could cause a rift in trust when I win. That would only cause more problems in the long run, but I have to think of some solution.

Losing Fiona is unacceptable.

“Then talk to someone- an elder, the council, or someone who would know what to do,” my wolf demands. “I will not lose my mate because some aged wolf wants to seem more powerful than he is.”

Nodding, I rake my hands through my hair.

“I would need to find someone who isn’t biased or prejudiced against Fiona for being a human,” I tell my wolf, thinking through the council members and the elders of my pack.

My wolf howls in excitement, and he doesn’t have to say anything for me to know exactly who he’s thinking about. He jumps to his paws and spins in a circle before growling playfully at me when he realizes I’ve thought the same as him.

“I’m going to take a quick trip to meet with Mr. and Mrs. Denton.”

Ryan perks up in his chair, saying, “That’s a great idea. He stepped down from the council when he mated Mrs. Denton. He could offer some really good advice.”

“He could.”

I was always amazed at Mr. Denton’s retirement from the council. He wasn’t forced out or asked to leave because he had a human mate, but he left to be with her of his own will. As a kid training to be an Alpha, I thought it was ridiculous to give up a council position for a woman, but now, I understand.

He didn’t want to lose his mate, and neither do I.

Fiona is the most important person to me now, and I’ll do whatever I need to in order to keep her.