Chapter 116

Fiona

Falling apart in Ethan’s arms is easy. Too easy, honestly. The warmth he provides naturally makes me want to sink into him and forget everything that’s around us. The weight of his arms around me increases the sense of security, letting me know nothing could breach his protection. His whispered words calm the rattled and sad little girl inside.

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs, pressing the millionth kiss to my temple. My fingers tighten in his shirt as I lift my head, finally seeing the soaked cotton beneath me.

“I’m sorry about your shirt,” I mumble, sniffling. “And about ruining dinner. I shouldn’t have answered the call.”

Shaking his head, Ethan cups my cheeks tenderly, wiping the last remnants of my tears away as he looks into my eyes. The soft concern in his eyes nearly melts my battered heart.

“I understand family trouble, and from what I heard, none of this is your fault,” he says. The supportive smile that pulls at his lips makes my stomach tighten with guilt.

“But you wanted this trip to be just the two of us and not even a day has passed, and I’m already—”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Fiona,” he interrupts. To prove his point, he kisses my forehead softly and continues, “Dinner may be pushed back a little bit, but it’s not ruined. Everything is ready for us to take back down to the beach. We’ll just need to bring some lights now.”

I stare up at Ethan, trying to find any hint of annoyance. All I find, though, is a set of bright, confident eyes, a soft smile, and warm hands rubbing circles on my thighs underneath the hem of my dress.

What did I do to deserve him?

Leaning in, I kiss him. It’s not hard or hot like our previous kisses. This time it’s slow and warm, my ‘thank you’ to him for helping me. Our lips move together slowly, and Ethan’s hands slide up my thighs to my waist, pulling me straddle him.

“We… we should get to dinner,” I mumble against his lips. He nods in affirmation but neither of us pull back. We simply sit there for a moment, basking in each other’s presence. My forehead falls to his, my eyes closing as I breathe in his spicy pine scent. I let my hands rest on Ethan’s neck while my chest rises and falls, syncing with his.

I could sit here forever just being with him, but the loud wail from my stomach makes us pull apart and laugh.

“Let’s get you fed,” Ethan says, lifting both of us from the couch before setting me on my feet. I follow him through the menial tasks of gathering our dinner, putting our shoes on, and walking down to the beach. It’s even harder to find our way in the dark, but I keep my hand on Ethan’s arm, letting him guide me.

His glowing gold eyes are bright in the dark, and luckily, there doesn’t seem to be anyone around. The night air is just cool enough that I stick close to use Ethan’s body heat to keep me comfortably warm.

“Here, hold this for a second,” Ethan says, passing the basket to me. I take it and watch as he proceeds to push sand until we have a decently flat place to sit. Then, he pulls out a blanket and lays it on the sand.

Together, we take each plate of food out of the basket provided by the bungalow’s owner. I didn’t realize I was on the phone long enough for Ethan to finish making the food, but he did.

A spread of chicken wraps, pasta salad, cookies, and drinks are now spread out on the blanket in front of us. It may not be a fancy dinner, but it’s ours. I don’t need anything fancy to make me happy. Ethan’s company is enough for me.

As we eat, I look out at the ocean and listen to the soothing crash of the waves.

“This place is peaceful. What if we lived here, unlike back home,” I murmur, pulling my knees up to my chest once I’m finished with my food. “How peaceful would it be if my family were normal? Do you think it would be something like this?”

I turn my head, resting it on my knees and leaning into Ethan. He hums in thought. It would be much better, in my opinion, but there are some good things that came out of the chaos of my family. Meeting Ethan, for one.

“Maybe, but every family is different,” Ethan finally says, pulling my attention to him.

“Like yours?” I question, gently probing. I don’t want to be too forceful with my questioning and make him uncomfortable, but I would like to know more about his family.

“Like my family,” he mutters, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I let him adjust to where I’m leaning into his side and resting my head on his chest again. “They’re demanding, rough, and have one track minds, so I understand the struggle that comes with a family that doesn’t listen to your wants and needs.”

Turning my head up, I find his eyes, suddenly curious about how it was growing up with parents like his. I don’t really know them, but I’ve seen how they treat him during this forceful marriage negotiation- if you can call it that.

“What makes your parents so tough on you that they think they can force you to marry someone? Other than that, I don’t know much about them, and you seem to be well enough off…” I let the words trail off, unsure what exactly to say that won’t make me sound like a brat.

Ethan chuckles, his lips brushing my forehead as he looks out at the dark water.

“Being the eldest son of an Alpha couple is usually a dream any Lycan would want, but they don’t see behind the scenes. They don’t know the struggle between loving your parents and hating them, wanting to succeed or being normal, striving for leadership and wanting to be part of the crowd,” he says with a sigh, and I can almost feel the heavy weight he carries just from the sound.

“There’s so much responsibility and power that comes with being an Alpha that I’ve trained almost as long as I’ve been able to shift. There’s an unbelievable amount of pressure that comes with being an Alpha because I have the lives of so many people in my hands, but sometimes that pressure is too much,” he tells me, looking down. “It’s why we have mates, to relieve some of the pressure. My Luna will take part in the leadership position when we mate, meaning that pressure will be on her as well.”

On her.

On me, I realize

Ethan’s head rests on the top of mine, and he continues talking, “Everything I’ve ever done was mapped out and planned by my parents. They trained me to take over, but they have trouble letting go of the reins. Throughout my life, I’ve only ever chosen a few things for myself, and now that I’m a candidate for the Lycan King Election, they’re extra—”

“King?!” I gasp, bolting up and turning to face him. “You’re trying to be a… they have a King? And you want to be him?”

I didn’t know where his explanation was going, but toward Kingship was not it. Clearly, there’s plenty more I need to learn about the Lycan community.

Ethan chuckles, but I grab his face in my hands.

“What are you talking about? This isn’t funny!” I screech, my voice cracking with surprise.