Chapter 106

Fiona

His office has been empty all day.

When I got to work this morning, Ethan was nowhere in sight, so I thought maybe he was coming in late. That was, until Ryan came to tell me Ethan wouldn’t be in today or tomorrow. He’d taken the days off to travel back home, which makes my stomach turn every time I think about it.

Was there an emergency in his Pack?

I try to keep my mind from wandering and try to focus on my work, but the idea of Ethan working on something dangerous won’t leave my head. It sticks to me like a fungus, gnawing at me and filling me with a nauseous feeling.

Time moves by slowly, as if I’m in a fuzzy bubble that only gives me a blurry view of the world around me. Delivering papers and eating lunch doesn’t provide the joy I’d felt previously. Talking with coworkers feels forced and fake. Working feels sluggish and quiet.

Too quiet.

The silence is so loud it rings in my ears that I have to close my eyes multiple times to try and block it out.

My computer dings with a notification that I’ve got a new email, and I have to force myself to open it and scan the contents. The student who requested an interview with Ethan is asking for a follow up with new questions. He provides the new questions, and I promise to pass the new information to Ethan so he can approve the meeting.

When the kid came in for the first time, he was nervous. Ethan handled the interview well, and as I watched them talk, it seemed like he even enjoyed the interaction.

The student replies almost instantly, and his words make my jaw drop.

“Thank you so much, Luna. I look forward to seeing you again when I visit and meet Alpha Montgomery. Have a nice day and don’t stress too much about work.

James Denton.”

Confusion fills me as my mind reels. Ethan hadn’t said anything before about the student being in his pack, but what really surprises me is the use of the Luna title.

Hadn’t Ethan told people we weren’t together? I figured with the upcoming marriage he would’ve let people know that his human mate wasn’t in the picture anymore.

I groan and rub at my temples, trying to chase away the headache I feel forming behind my eyes. Why hadn’t Ethan told me this kid was a Lycan? Was he trying to hide it or keep it from me?

My phone rings, and I jump with a jolt at the sudden, unexpected sound. I glance at the screen and groan again when I see Chris’s name. Didn’t he get the message last time he saw me? Talking to him is very low on my to-do list and honestly, I could go a few more weeks or longer before talking to him.

Clicking the button on the side of my phone, I send the call to voicemail and take a deep breath. Chris is not the man I want to talk to, but the person I want isn’t here, so it makes my decision to leave easier… and harder… I don’t know.

Everything is spinning out of my reach, and I can’t control it. I’ve been thinking about leaving for days, and now Ethan isn’t here. I’d also noticed at lunch that I haven’t seen Angela all day, which I thought was strange until I overheard one of her friends say she took a few days off.

So, neither Ethan nor Angela are here.

I tried not to think about what their collective absence means, but the thoughts fester, and I can’t help myself. Are they off somewhere getting married?

After everything he said at the club about not wanting Angela, I thought things may be better once I got back to work today. Clearly not, though. He’s gone, and now I’m left to stare at my computer screen while trying to figure out what to do with my life.

Tears burn my eyes as I squeeze them closed in an attempt to block out the pain that claws its way through me.

Ryan

“Hey, Fiona, could you help me find the file for…”

Fiona sniffles and blinks slowly, staring at her computer in a blind daze as she straightens a stack of papers in front of her. She doesn’t see or hear me as I approach, her attention unfocused and not unlike a zombie as she moves sluggishly.

“Fiona,” I say softly, stepping up to her side. I don’t want to scare her, but when she straightens the same stack of paper for the third time while mindlessly staring at her computer and moving with no purpose.

The phone on her desk rings five times before she picks it up.

“Mr. Montgomery’s office, can I help you?” She asks, her voice coming out raspy and hoarse. Then, I notice the tears slowly streaming down her cheeks.

“There’s something wrong with Fiona,” I tell Ethan through our link.

“What? Where is she?” Ethan demands, the heightened stress and worry coming through the pack bond.

Fiona speaks with whoever is on the phone for a moment before hanging up and sighing. She doesn’t wipe away the tears falling, but she doesn’t see me either. She just sits there, her usual happy and light personality having been erased and replaced by this sad, empty shell of a woman.

“She’s at her desk, but I’m worried about her,” I tell him, sending the mental image of her through the link.

“What the hell is she crying about?” Ethan growls angrily. “Did something happen?”

Shaking my head, I scratch at my neck. I don’t usually have to deal with crying women.

“Not that I know of. Everyone lately seems to love Fiona, so I don’t think she’s being bullied, and Angela isn’t here today, so it wasn’t anything she could’ve said or done,” I tell him, thinking through the day. Fiona hadn’t come to me at all for help with anything or to even talk.

Actually, lately, she’s been keeping to herself a lot more.

I glance at the woman my friend is completely in love with and suck in a quick breath of air when she sets a cardboard box on top of her desk. She gathers several little items from her desk, setting them into the box before grabbing each of the personal items she brought.

Crap.

“She’s packing her desk up to leave.”

“Do not let her go!” Ethan shouts. “Look after her and do everything you can to keep her from quitting. She can’t leave before I have a chance to make things right.”

“I won’t let her go, Alpha,” I swear before stepping up to Fiona’s side. If she leaves, Ethan and our pack will lose an amazing woman, and even if they don’t know it yet, Fiona would make a great Luna.

Reaching out, I lay a careful hand on Fiona’s shoulder, but it still makes her jump and whirl toward me with wide eyes.

“R-Ryan, what are you… I was just…” she looks down at the box she’s packing then back up at me with a devastated expression. “I can’t stay any longer.”

The crack in her voice makes my wolf whine and beg to help his Luna. He’s gotten attached in the short time we’ve known her.

“Can you give him more time? Ethan doesn’t want you to leave and neither do I. You’re Ethan’s mate and that makes you my Luna,” I tell her, hoping it will at least get her thinking about what her leaving will do to those of us who like her.

“But he’s marrying Angela. I can’t stay here if he’s with someone else, Ryan. It’s killing me and they’re not even married yet,” she mumbles. Her hair creates a curtain in front of her as she drops her teary eyes to the floor to hide from me.

A soft growl vibrates through my chest as I reach out to her, lifting her chin.

“Ethan will not marry Angela. He’s not with her right now, and I apologize for my tone, but get that idea out of your head,” I growl, trying to forcer her to understand. “Ethan wants to be with you, not Angela. It may take him a while to find a way to get out of this marriage arrangement, but you have to give him the time to work it out. You can’t just leave.”

Fiona stares up at me with wide eyes that seem to be clearing up a bit. So, I repeat myself to drill the idea further into her head.

“Ethan wants you, not Angela, and he won’t let anyone push him into a marriage he doesn’t want. So can you give him a little more time?”

She nods, whispering, “Yes. I want to be with him.”