Chapter 101

***Alpha Ethan***

My hands feel Little Dove’s skin. It’s soft like flowers. Her mouth is so sweet. I’m dying to taste her pussy again because I know it will be like heaven.
Before the curse was broken, I thought what I felt for her was intense, but it’s not even close to what I feel for her now. I didn’t lie. My precious Little Dove can ask me for anything, and I’ll happily give it to her on a silver platter.
Her big green eyes are fixed on me, wide and vulnerable. My chest tightens. She deserves the truth. All of it.  
Cupping her soft face and looking into her teary eyes, I say, “I have something important to tell you—”
“Alpha? I’m here.”
What the hell?
I don’t turn around. My blood runs cold, and my jaw clenches so hard it’s a miracle my teeth don’t crack. “What do you want, Kelly?”
I’ve felt someone getting closer, but I couldn’t care less. Right now, all I care about is telling the truth to the love of my life.
But Kelly’s voice was enough to make her breath catch in her lungs. Little Dove stiffens in my grip, her eyes dropping to the ground as she pulls back, shoulders curling inward. No. Not again. I tighten my hold just enough to stop her from slipping away. I’m not letting her go. Not this time.  
She wipes her tears hastily, refusing to look at me now. My heart twists painfully.  
“Didn’t you say you needed to talk to me?” Her voice is sickly sweet. Her footsteps crunch against the fallen leaves, closer than before.
I blink hard, taking a slow, steady breath and forcing myself to stay calm. “Yeah, but not right now.”
Kelly’s laughter reaches my ears. “Oh, my bad. It’s just that Vi said it was something important.”
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Little Dove’s eyes flash with hurt before she schools her expression into something blank and distant.
“No, you’re not.” My voice is firm, unyielding. I won’t let her misunderstand this. I turn slowly, finally facing Kelly. She’s leaning casually against a tree nearby us, dressed in skin-tight gym gear that leaves little to the imagination. Her sports bra is so short it barely covers her breasts, not that we werewolves mind nudity. “Kelly, we’ll talk later. Leave. Now.”  
Little Dove tugs at her wrist, trying to free it from my grip, and that’s when it hits me—I’ve been holding onto her this entire time. It’s also when I realize just how terrified I am that she’ll flee again if I ever let her go.
No. I can’t take it anymore. I have to tell her everything. 
But she whimpers, and when I look into her big green eyes, I see fear. Immediately, I loosen my grip, afraid of scaring her, and she says, “You can talk to her. You don’t owe me any explanations.” 
“Baby, no. It’s not what you think,” I say, but her eyes dart to Kelly, then back to me, full of pain she can’t hide.
“I don’t care, Ethan. I don’t want to know.” Quietly, she whispers to me without knowing that Kelly also can hear her, “Did you… ask her to come here too?”
“Of course not. I need to talk to you about something important. Just you, Little Dove.”
She glances at Kelly, then back at me. Lifting her chin stubbornly, she says, “I don’t want to hear it.” Turning her back to me, I hear her say, “I’m leaving.”
“Wait—”
“No.” She turns around sharply, pinning me in place. “Don’t follow me. I want to be alone.” 
I watch her go, my heart sinking with every step she takes. She doesn’t look back, her figure disappearing through the dense trees toward the packhouse. The leaves whisper around her as if they’re mourning, too.  
I spin on my heel when she’s no longer in sight, fury igniting in my chest as I face Kelly. “For Goddess’ sake! What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you come here now?” 
“Oh, I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Kelly replies, walking towards me. “I wanted to come to the pack sooner, you know? But I only found out the curse had been broken recently.” She takes a step closer, her fingers lightly grazing my chest. “Now that you’re free of the curse, there’s nothing stopping you from having a Luna.” 
I slap her hand away, the touch burning my skin. “You’re right. Because I already have one.” 
Her smile fades for a second before returning; her aura is, as always, neutral, even though I sense a bit of anger coming from her. “Who?” 
“Alicent. She’s my fated mate.”
Kelly’s full lips tighten. “Her? A human? Alpha... Think about it.” Kelly looks at my chin because I’m her Alpha, and we don’t have a family or mate relationship. She can’t look me in the eye for long unless I tell her to. “Look at us. We’re perfect together. How long have I lived here? Years! Our brothers are each other’s fated mates. You could do better. You deserve better.” She moves closer. “Unlike Alicent, I’m a she-wolf. I understand our world. I’m stronger, smarter and better. Choose me, and I’ll give you everything you want. I’ll do anything—”  
“Enough.” My Alpha tone lashes out, cutting through the air like a blade. Kelly flinches, eyes widening as she instinctively bows her head, her body trembling under my aura. I feel disgusted by her for proposing something so barbaric. “Don’t you ever insult my mate again. Don’t you dare say you’re better than my perfect mate!”  
She whimpers, her knees buckling as my power crushes her. “I-I’m sorry... Alpha...”  
I step closer, looming over her. “Alicent is your future Luna. I’ll only forgive you for interrupting me this time because you didn’t know what I was going to do. But, touch a hair on Alicent’s head, and I’ll kill you, Kelly. Do you understand me?”  
She whimpers in pain from the pressure of my aura.
She nods rapidly, her voice breaking. “Yes... Alpha... I understand...”  
“She’ll be your Luna. You better accept this soon because she’ll know about our world *today*.” 
I release her from my aura’s grip, and she collapses to the ground, gasping for air. She wipes her tears, smudging her perfect makeup. “We will see.”  
“What did you say?” I order angrily. 
“Nothing. Nothing, Alpha!” she cries from the mental pressure of my aura again, submitting on the floor. “I’m sorry!” 
I look at her aura, and it remains neutral, without any kind of resentment. I stop torturing her. “I can’t talk to your brother. If he doesn’t answer me by the end of the day, he won’t be the Gamma of my pack anymore.” I say firmly. “Go. Now.” 
Kelly immediately stands up, wiping her tears and smudging her makeup even more. She looks up at me with her lips in a thin line. I narrow my eyes at her. 
“I’ll let my brother know you’re looking for him. If you’ll excuse me, I have something urgent to take care of right now.” She smirks.
“What’s so urgent?” I demand, my eyes narrowing.  
“Work related.”
I nod, and she runs off as if she can’t waste another second. For the pain I’ve put her through, I can’t blame her.
I stare at the spot where she disappeared, my gut twisting uneasily. Her aura, as usual, was neutral, no anger, no jealousy. Too neutral. The other times her aura has reasons to be neutral, but right now? 
It doesn’t feel right. 
I run my hand over my face.
Fuck! 
Everything was going so well. I literally had Little Dove in my hands. 
I let out a growl, my wolf thrashing inside me. Then I shift and let Kral run.

🐺 🐺 🐺

“What can I help you with?” I ask Little Dove. Seconds ago, she entered my office, a few minutes after I got here, after I shifted back.
“I need something,” begrudgingly, she says shyly.
“*Anything for you, my Little Dove*.” My mate. My perfect Luna.
“Ew. Get a room,” Vi says, sitting on the sofa on the other side. 
“I have to go to Summerville.”
“I think I heard you wrong. What did you say?” 
She rolls her eyes. “I need to borrow a car because I have to go to Summerville!” Little Dove says, facing me. 
Leaning back, I cross my arms and rest my head on the chair. “And what do you *have* to go there for?”
She presses her lips into a thin line, seeming to think about it. “Can I borrow a car or not?”
“I’ll drive you, Allie,” Vi says.
“*No*. You’re not leaving here.” Though my tone is stoic, deep inside, I’m afraid. 
Afraid that she’ll run away again. 
Afraid that something will happen to her. 
Afraid that she’ll come back like she did the last time she fled.
“What?”
“I can’t let you go.”
Little Dove’s hurt gaze makes me uncross my arms. “Don’t you trust me?”
“What do you need to go there?” I ask instead.
“If I have to answer to you, it won’t be *trust* anymore, Ethan.”
“Ian, I can drive her.”
“You said this time it would be different,” Little Dove says to me quietly as if my sister couldn’t hear her. “I’m trying, Ethan. But after everything you’ve done... If you want my trust again, you have to start trusting me first.”
Fuck!
“If we leave now, we’ll be back before sunset. How about that?” Vi suggests.
I narrow my eyes at my sister.
“Okay. But if anything unexpected happens, you let me know right away. I don’t care what it is. Let. Me. Know.”
“I’ll protect her,” Vi replies, knowing my inner conflict.
“Thank you.” Although Little Dove’s smile is one of relief, she doesn’t look all that happy to be going before she leaves my office.
Her words echo in my head as I get up to follow them without her knowing.
*If you want my trust again, you have to start trusting me first.*
Fuck.
I’ve screwed up with her. 
She’s right.
Sitting back in my chair, I start planning how and where I’ll tell her about my world tonight.

🐺 🐺 🐺

Two hours crawl by.  
Three.  
I stare at my phone, the screen mocking me with silence. No reply from Vi. Not to my first text, not to my second. Nothing from Little Dove either, even though she’s got that new phone Dad gave her.  
My chest tightens. Something’s wrong. I feel it.  
Screw this. “I’m going after them.” I’m already on my feet, my nails digging into my palm.  
Dad barely looks up from his laptop. “Ethan, you know how your sister is. She probably stopped by the mall and forgot about her phone. You know how she gets.”  
I grit my teeth, pacing the length of the office. Every tick of the clock scrapes at my nerves. 
An hour passes, dragging itself painfully slow. I can’t take it anymore. “That’s it. I’m done waiting. I’m going to find them.”  
Mom’s eyes widen, sitting next to my dad. “You don’t even know where they are, son.”  
“I don’t care,” I snap, my voice harsher than I intended. I shove my phone into my pocket. “I have a bad feeling about this.”  
“Then go!” they say in unison. I suddenly feel them worried.  
I don’t waste another second. My feet carry me to the garage before I can even think. I jump into the first car I see, the engine roaring to life beneath me.  
The tires screech as I tear out of the driveway. Minutes later, the gates of my pack open just in time to avoid a collision. My pulse is racing, my hands tightly gripping the wheel.  
Why didn’t they answer? What the hell happened?  
‘You should have followed them!’ Kral growls. 
I slam the steering wheel. Damn it. He’s right.  
I press the accelerator harder, the car lurching forward, trees blurring past the window.  
Then, miles later, I suddenly stop breathing when I spot Vi’s red car parked on the side of the road.
No. No. No!
The side of her car is fucking crumpled like it’s taken a hard hit. I press down on the gas, speeding up until I’m right behind her. Without even turning off the engine, I slam my car into the park, throw the door open, and step out.
They never made it to Summerville. They got just far enough away from my pack that my sister couldn’t communicate through the mindlink. 
I run to the passenger side, and as my eyes scan the scene before me, my blood runs cold.
Vi has her head resting on the steering wheel, unconscious. Her face is bloody even though she has no injuries. The smell of witchcraft is unmistakable in the air. But worst of all, my Little Dove is nowhere to be seen.
I open the car door and get in, carefully trying to wake my sister. Panic is growing exponentially in my gut. “Vi, Vi, wake up!”
Vi mumbles something groggily. “Ian?”
Thank Goddess. “Vi, what happened? Are you okay?”
Her eyes widen in panic, mirroring mine, and she lifts her head slightly to meet my gaze. Her chin quivers as she whispers, “They got Allie, Ian.”
My hands tremble with anger. She doesn’t even need to tell me who they are because the whole place reeks of rogues and, especially, her ex-husband.