CHAPTER 4 Love Is For Fools And Children
Ethan's POV
Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck feel possessive, as if she doesn't ever want to let me go. Much to my surprise, I feel the same way. I want more than anything for this moment to go on forever. I look deeply into her eyes. They're dark brown with flecks of gold and green. I feel like I could stare into her eyes forever. I'm about to kiss her plump mouth when my phone rings.
I instantly snap back to reality. What am I doing? I scramble out of the vehicle in a daze. Quickly I gather my wits about me. I answer the minute I'm back on my feet. "Yes," I say, hearing gruffness in my own voice.
"Alpha, is this a good time?" My beta, Silas, really knows how to pick his moments.
No, my wolf says in my mind. It seems he wants to return to the mystery woman, too.
"Yes, I'm not doing anything important." Contrary to my words, the desire to turn back for just one more look at...her...overwhelms me.
"Good, because I've found him."
"The traitor?" We both know better than to name the man. There are spies everywhere and werewolf hearing is a hundred times better than that of humans. It doesn't pay to give too much away on a dark, empty street.
"Where?" My wolf growls in my mind. We both welcome this distraction. The chance to make my Omega, Gregor, pay.
"At the cabin," Silas replies.
Perfect. The cabin is close at hand but, most importantly, isolated enough that no one will hear Gregor's screams.
Gregor and I had been best friends since we were cubs. We'd found our wolves at the same time. My wolf howls sorrowfully in my thoughts. He remembers running through the forest with Gregor's wolf. He was my best friend. When I found out he'd sold pack secrets to our rivals, my heart was broken. Then my anger took over. Gregor would pay. But first, he would tell me my enemy's darkest secrets.
On the way to the cabin, I can't keep my thoughts straight. I can't stop thinking about her. I can still smell her sweet musk. Those big green eyes filled with desire. Her body yielded to me, drawing me in. I've known lust before. But this, this feels like something more. I feel like I'm starving and the only thing that will calm my hunger is...her. I grit my teeth. I have to forget her. I am the Alpha of the SilverPine Pack. This...infatuation...is nothing more than a lapse in judgment. All that matters to an alpha is power. Love is a distraction. "Love?" My wolf whispers in my mind.
"No!" I growl out loud. Of course, it isn't love. I don't believe in love. Love is for fools and children.
I need to get my mind back on the task at hand. No more frivolous distractions.
Silas is waiting for me outside the cabin when I arrive. It's pitch black and I allow my wolf's eyes to take over. I see the flash of yellow from Sila's eyes alongside the glow of the cigarette before he extinguishes it.
"Are you going to be okay doing this?" Silas asks.
I grin. Gregor broke the most important pack rule: never choose another pack over your own. The fact that Gregor was willing to turn his back on the pack for something as trivial as money, made the omega the worst kind of traitor.
"We're ready." My eyes flash yellow signaling that my wolf is more than ready to go into battle against our old pack member by my side.
Silas opens the cabin door for me and steps aside for me to proceed. He moves to follow but I hold my hand to his chest keeping him in place. "This is between Jackson and I."
I don't know what I expect to see on Gregor's face when I step inside the small, wooden cabin. Fear definitely. Contrition maybe. I never imagined he'd stare at me with defiance in his eyes.
"Ethan." Not Alpha Ethan. Just Ethan.
My wolf growls and I barely manage to keep the sound from escaping my lips. Steady, I say in my mind.
"Gregor," I reply.
"So, I take it you want to know why?" He's grinning from ear to ear as if he savors making me wait for the answer.
"Do enlighten me. Please tell me why you sold our pack secrets after I made you my omega."
Hair erupts over Gregor's body. He lifts his arms high and starts to pull against the silver rope that binds him. There's no way he can escape. The silver on his wrists will make him too weak. He continues to try though. He snarls and yanks hard. This time, to my surprise, the silver rope strains and then, impossibly breaks. He must've been exposing himself to silver over a long period in order to overcome it. The pain must've been unbearable.
I step back expecting him to attack. Instead, he pulls a bloody rag from his pocket. "Markos said you gave the order." He tosses the bloody rag at me. "This is all I have left of my brother."
I had nothing to do with his brother's death, but I can see someone has made up Gregor's mind about my guilt. There's no point in arguing. Doubtless, it was Markos who killed his brother to frame me. "I'm sorry, Gregor," I say. "This was Markos, not me."
"Liar! He's going to make you pay. He's going to form an alliance with the SilverPine Pack. Together they will destroy you."
The mention of the SilverPine Pack reminds me of my planned mating. Suddenly my mind is filled with the strange beauty I'd lain with. How can I marry anyone after what happened tonight? All I can think of is her. My green eyed beauty.
Markos reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, white pill. Before I get the chance to stop him, he places it in his mouth and swallows.
"Markos!" Sila's speaking breaks me out of what feels like a trance. I didn't even notice him enter the room. "What have you done?"
I look down at my one time friend. He's convulsing and froth bubbles at his mouth. Then he is completely still. Sadness sweeps over me, but I push it down. Now is not the time.
"Did you manage to get anything out of him?" Silas asks.
I shake my head briefly. Though I'd really learned everything I needed to know about my friend. Why didn't he just come to me about his brother? I look at my beta. My true friend. "Come on, buddy. We have a party to get to."
At the Choosing Party, I try to wipe the memory of Gregor's last moments from my mind. I take a deep breath and feel a sense of peace wash over me. It's good. Feeling in control again.
There is Alpha Ronan. He stands with his daughter. The woman I'm supposed to take as my mate.
I grit my teeth. There's something familiar about her. The gentle wave to her long, luxurious hair. Her figure is curved in all the right places, small around the waist, and wide at the hips. I itch to place a hand on the small of her back.
That woman!
Now I'm seeing her in strangers. She begins to turn and in the instant our eyes meet I almost let out a gasp before I catch myself. It's as if the very air has escaped the room.
It's her! It's the woman I'd lain with.