Chapter 173

Ethan

“Ready for day two?” Laxus asks, stepping up to my side as I stand at the entrance to the arena. Who knew fighting yourself could be so exhausting, though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised I’m so tired. I’ve been going against a baser instinct, one that is currently out of the norm than it usually is.

Last night, after the fights, I spent over an hour trying to reach inside and pull Zev out, but I had no luck. I tried meditating, taking herbal medicine from the Pack’s healer, and calling out to Zev through the things he likes to do, though, I couldn’t risk shifting. I even visited Mrs. Denton again, but still nothing.

“Alpha?”

“I’ve got this,” I snarl, unable to stop myself. It’s like I can’t hold in the aggression, even though I know it’s too much. Laxus, not letting it bother him, nods. Thankfully, I have him as a good support system while Ryan isn’t here. Without him, I think I would’ve already snapped and killed someone.

“How’s it going?” Ryan’s voice pops into my head unexpectedly, making me jerk back. I hadn’t expected him to contact me.

“Get out of my head!”

I immediately regret the words, but again, I couldn’t stop them, so I try again, “Sorry. What do you need?”

“Uh, I just thought you may want to know Fiona went to the hospital because she was still sick two days after leaving your place. They’re waiting for the results of some tests,” he tells me, and there’s a hint of something I can’t quite recognize in his tone.

“Keep an eye on her. Let me know if anything happens that I should be aware of, and…”

“Welcome back to the arena, the undefeated Alpha of the hour…” I tune the announcer ou, knowing my time to talk to Ryan is short.

“Make sure she’s safe.”

“Of course, Ethan. Good luck in the fights.”

As I step onto the dirt of the arena floor, I spot my opponent. He’s large, at least twice my size and looks like he probably uses performance enhancers. It could make him more dangerous than some of the other men I’ve fought.

I don’t let it stop me from entering the ring, though, because I need to make these fights go as quickly as possible. If there’s something wrong with Fiona, I need to get back to her. I need to be with her, whether she wants me there or not, so I turn my attention to the man in front of me.

He doesn’t hesitate like my last opponent. This man charges forward with no fear, and something in my brain clicks before I lunge forward, and everything goes dark.

Third Person POV

“It’s happening again.”

“Look at his eyes.”

“There’s no mercy.”

The crowd whispers as they watch Ethan Montgomery struggle against the large Lycan King’s guard.

Then, they’re shifting, and Ethan’s wolf is pouncing. Long, sharp k-9 teeth sink into the King’s guard’s neck, and he roars. The larger wolf bucks Ethan’s smaller, sending him sailing through the air.

The crowd lurches to the edge of their seats, gasping when Ethan’s wolf pins its red eyes on the King’s guard. The announcer had said these were both undefeated, so their anticipation grows the longer the wolves tussle.

They roll around on the ground, snapping and clawing at each other, and then, Ethan’s wolf melts away to reveal his human form.

Ethan

My awareness slams back into me, rocking my body and making my head spin. What the hell just—

Something crashes into the back of my body, throwing me to the ground.

My vision flickers, and no amount of shaking my head stops it from changing. Instead of worrying about it, I kick the giant wolf off of me and get to my feet. I can’t risk shifting, but from the look of his bloody neck, and from the metallic taste in my mouth, I already did.

The wolf snarls across from me, crouching in preparation to pounce. I blink in attempt to clear my vision, but it flickers again, going dark before coming back. Shit. I can’t fight like this.

Then an idea comes to my mind, something my father taught me when I was a kid. Let your senses guide you. So, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, focusing my hearing and smell to make up for the lack of sight.

“Come at me,” I growl, wanting to get this over with.

The air around me shifts.

The sound of footsteps thump against the ground.

His scent grows closer.

I let the familiar tingle in my fingertips grow until my claws slice through my skin and come out fully.

Then, I strike, slicing my claws through the solid mass of flesh that hurtles toward me.

Fiona

“Does this look right? The color is kind of…” Well, I don’t know. It’s a mix between a purple and blue color, but just a second ago, the liquid was almost yellow.

“Yes, Eclipse Orchid gives it the purple color. Did you add the lemon and Icori Root with the rainwater before adding the Eclipse Orchid?” Sophie asks. I nod, looking down at all the ingredients in front of me.

“Does it work?” I ask, looking at the tea we made. It probably didn’t make more than three cups worth, but we also didn’t use all the ingredients.

Sophie stirs the spoon one more time before setting it aside on the dry cloth.

“This one is probably my favorites for nausea, but it also helps get rid of body aches and sometimes headaches if you add enough Icori Root in, which we did,” she says, smiling. Her expression is open and kind, and I briefly wonder if she’s helping me because of Ethan or if she’s helping me because she wants to.

With the people around him, like Ryan and Sophie, I’m not sure if I should trust their intentions. But how could I not? Sophie is so kind and has been helping me so much with this.

“This is actually the first tea I ever made with my grandmother, the original owner of the book,” Sophie says, pouring the tea into a pot. “She’s one of the oldest healers in our pack and taught me a lot about making herbal and healing remedies in this book.”

“She’s a healer in your pack?”

“Sure is. She’s so good at helping people that I want to be just like her. My goal is to become a Pack Healer one day,” Sophie explains, and honestly, I could see that. Her kindness and care of people would definitely be a good asset when healing people.

She then passes me the kettle and points at the stove. “It’s best when it hot, so you should boil it at medium heat for seven minutes.”

Nodding, I set the kettle on the stove and turn the dial to follow her instructions. I don’t love that Sophie is pulling me further into Lycan culture with these recipes and the healing book, but at the same time, it was my choice.

And besides, I’m enjoying myself. My mother and I cooked and made things together all the time before she died, but since then, I’ve been making things for other people but not out of love. It was out of necessity, which takes the fun out of it.

“You know, I’m impressed with how quickly you’re picking up on our healing techniques. When you join the pack, you should…”

Her eyes connect with mine and widen as her words drop off. We both stare at each other as her words hang between us.

When you join the pack…

When not if…

But that’s not happening. I don’t have the heart to say the words because she’d looked so happy as she said it. I’m sure she knows what happened between me and Ethan, but she doesn’t bring it up. Instead, she turns and moves the whistling kettle off the stove.

The loud ring of my phone startles both of us, making us jump. Quickly, to get out of the awkward silence between us, I snatch up my phone.

“Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Fiona Bowen?”

“This is she.”

“This is Silvercrest Hospital. We would like you to come in to talk about the results of your blood tests. Could you come in today?” The woman asks. Today? I glance at Sophie and then at the clock. Isla gets off work in two hours, so I could go when she gets home.

That would give me time to finish up these remedies and change clothes.

“I could come later today, would that be alright?” My mind flashes back to images of my mom laying in a hospital bed, and I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. Hopefully, she doesn’t want me to come now. I don’t want to go alone, especially if I’m going to get bad news, which I hope isn’t the case.

“Of course. You can come anytime before eight pm. When you arrive, come to the ER and give them your name. They will direct you from there.”

I nod, then remember she can’t see me, saying, “Thank you. I’ll be there in around six.” Then, I end the call, clutching the phone in my hand and taking a deep breath. I need to let Isla know, and I need to mentally prepare for whatever I’m going to hear at the hospital.