Chapter 40

***Alicent***

He stares at me, his dark eyes fixed on mine with an intensity that sends a chill down my spine. Is that concern in those pitch-black depths? 
No, I have to be misreading him. 
I must be imagining it, seeing something that isn’t there, or maybe something I just wish were there.
“Did someone hurt you?” Ethan demands.
I’m struggling to hold back the tears in my eyes, threatening to fall. The difference between Logan’s poisonous touch on my arm and Ethan’s cautious touch is striking.
I shake my head, lying. “I messed up and hurt myself.”
Based on the icy expression on his face, it’s clear that he doesn’t believe me. “It doesn’t seem like this was unintentional,” Ethan says in a deep voice, and a shiver runs through my body. He looks like he is ready to murder someone. 
I try to pull away from his grip, but his hold refuses to budge. “Could you please let me go?” I ask. When I try to tug free again, and he doesn’t budge, a sharp pain shoots through my arm. I wince, biting down a cry, “Ouch!”
He immediately let me go. “Sorry, Little Dove.” Ethan looks uneasy at my arm.
*Little Dove*. He didn’t stop calling me that. The nickname should make me angry like it always does. But now, the way he said it feels different. I like it. Maybe it’s because he’s been avoiding me all week, but now I feel special for the nickname he has just for me.
I’m so lame.  
“Don’t worry... It’s nothing.” I whisper, feeling my cheeks blush. 
As soon as I see Vi’s sleek, shiny car pull up in front of the mansion, I quickly tug down the sleeve of my worn sweater. I don’t want her to notice, or else she’ll fuss about it, and I don’t want to lie to her.
She steps out of the car, her arms loaded with a rainbow of boutique bags. “Allie!” she calls out, beaming as she heads my way. “I was this close to hunting you down! I need your help to choose my dress for an event tomorrow!” She slips her arm through mine as she reaches me. Luckily for me, it’s not the injured one.
“Not even a ‘hi’ for me?” Ethan asks her, arching an eyebrow.
Vi grins. “Please. You should be thanking me for saving you from this dull event.”
“Oh, believe me,” he sighs, shaking his head. “I probably should’ve thanked you the moment you decided to pay for all this on my card.”
Vi just laughs, flipping her hair. “Oh, that’s the bare minimum for the honor of representing you!”
I glance at the heap of bags, wide-eyed. “Wait—are all these dresses?”
“Do you think there are too few?” she asks me, pausing to look down at the bags in her arms. “Oh my Goddess, you’re right. Now that you mention it, I definitely should’ve gotten more.”
Goddess? 
Which religion does she follow?
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard people around here mumbling about a certain ‘Moon Goddess’ whenever things go slightly awry, like a spilled coffee or forgotten wallet, even someone dropping their phone. This Goddess apparently has her hands full handling these people. I mean, this week, the mansion gardener muttered, ‘Moon Goddess, help me,’ just because he found a dandelion in the lawn. I’d like to think that if there’s some cosmic Moon deity watching over them, she’s probably got bigger fish to fry than rogue weeds.
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I start wondering if this is some local religion or cult thing. 
Do they only worship the Moon Goddess? Or is the Sun God worshiped as well?
Do they have little shrines where they leave sunscreen bottles as offerings for the Sun God? Maybe a daily prayer at dawn, chanting, ‘Bless us with your warmth, oh Sun God, but please, no sunburns!’
Still, instead of the Sun God, this Moon Goddess, apparently, is on speed-dial for everything. It makes me wonder if this ethereal deity actually specializes in daily catastrophes.
Somehow, I feel like they’re living in a whole different spiritual dimension here. Ugh. I really hope this place isn’t a lunar cult or something.

🐺 🐺 🐺

The morning sun stretches over the schoolyard, casting a warm, golden glow over everything—the brick walls, the line of cars in the drop-off zone, the cheerful blur of children in colorful backpacks moving toward the entrance. I’m just about to walk to the door when I spot Ethan. He stands by a tree, half in shadow, watching me with that familiar, unreadable look. 
I initially chalked up the first week of not seeing him to mere coincidence, but now I’m pretty sure Ethan’s been avoiding me on purpose. It’s been a whole week since he saw my arm, and despite his ongoing training sessions with my son, I’ve hardly seen him. 
Before I can turn away, he steps forward, closing the distance with quick, purposeful strides. There’s no greeting, no hesitation. Ethan simply reaches out and takes my arm, his grip firm but not rough. The noise around us fades, the chatter of parents and kids blending into a distant hum as he slides his fingers down to where the injury was. His hand is warm, pressing against the fabric of my sleeve as he pushes it up slightly to inspect the healing wound.
For a second, I’m frozen. It feels like my body doesn’t want to pull away, and I want to be trapped under the weight of his gaze as he inspects the faint pink scar. His warm touch makes my clit throb. His thumb brushes over the spot where the skin is still tender, and I almost moan, more from his touch than the pain.
“Still sore?” he asks, his voice low, almost soft—something I wasn’t expecting.
“It’s fine,” I mutter, trying to tug my arm back, but he doesn’t let go right away. 
Ethan’s fingers linger just a second too long before he puts the sleeve of my sweater back down, but he continues to hold my hand. 
A car horn blares from behind us, snapping the moment in two while Az approaches us and out of nowhere he starts growling and glaring at Ethan. 
Ethan gives my hand a final squeeze and finally lets go, grinning at my son. 
I pull Az closer and turn his face towards me. “Buddy, I can’t believe I’ll say this, but, you can’t growl at Ethan,” I scold him, trying really hard not to laugh. “Or anyone!” 
“But he held your hand too long!” He says, looking up over his shoulders to Ethan.
The sun catches the faintest smile on Ethan’s lips as he steps back.
I rolled my eyes at his theatrics. Yet, I have to smile as well.
Az must have picked up this habit from the little kids here. From the very first day of work, I’ve noticed them doing this growling thing. It’s strange but also adorable.
“Lily!” Az says and runs to her, leaving us. She is with a group of their classmates not so far away.
Once again, our gazes meet, and everything else seems to fade away. The warmth of his touch fades, too, but the reminder of it lingers long after he lets me go.
God, how and why does this man make me feel this way? 
My son is right. How unprofessional of me to have such obscene thoughts about this man while I’m still on the cock. I mean, *clock*! Don’t think about his cock. Don’t think about—
“Thank you for coming,” Penny, the school principal, says to Ethan as she approaches us. Instantly, Ethan and I take a step away from each other. Penny gives me a motherly smile before turning her attention back to Ethan. We’ve grown close over the past few days, especially since I’m her youngest daughter’s teacher. “I know you’re busy, but I needed to talk to you in person.”
Ethan clears his throat. “No problem.” 
“Can I talk to you alone, Alpha?” 
Alpha? ALPHA?
I frown. What the hell?
It’s not the first time I’ve heard people refer to Ethan like that, but I thought I was hearing things. I school my reaction with a forced smile. “Of course, see you later,” I say to Penny, and without waiting for her response, I quickly turn towards my son, who is standing relatively close by, leaving them alone.
“Alpha, I think you should consider...” I hear Penny say as I pretend I’m searching for something in my bag.
Okay, so I did not mishear her. She for sure said *Alpha*.
Penny’s voice goes up and down like she’s trying not to be loud but keeps forgetting. “... Your parents. But Alpha...” 
Again, Alpha? What? What is going on here? It’s like a cult or something?
And it’s getting kind of weird because now that I’m actually paying attention to what’s happening around us, instead of just drooling over Ethan’s ripped body, I begin to notice people nodding their heads in his direction. Who is he?
Their slight nod is mostly out of respect, I mean, I even understand that he knows everyone here since he’s apparently the leader, but calling him Alpha? Seriously? Alpha?
Who does Ethan think he is?
A group of children walk by and greet him with a respectful nod, and to my surprise, Ethan returns their gesture, looking all leader-like. However, Penny says something I can’t hear that makes him drop his smile abruptly and immediately lock eyes with me. Shit. He must have seen me staring.
I turn my face away, but it doesn’t do much good as he comes towards me, with Penny looking worried, following behind him.
“Are you planning on moving?” Ethan asks sharply.
I pull my hand out of my bag and take a step back at the same time. “What?” I look at him and then shift my gaze to Penny. Oh, darn it.
She told him. I asked Penny if she knew of any places up for rent since she knows everything around here. I didn’t want to ask Vi about it since she’s probably not keen on me moving out. 
“We can’t live in your house forever,” I answer. 
“That’s up to me to decide,” Ethan says right away. 
Yeah, I’m definitely in a cult, and Ethan thinks he’s everyone’s leader. But he is not mine.
“Do I get a say?” I ask, crossing my arms. 
He looks at me, his hands on his hips and his jaw flexing. We stare at each other, yet in the corner of my eye I can see Penny looking back and forth at us, but then shaking her head like we’re two school kids.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll find you a *decent*,” he practically carves out the word ‘decent’ as he arches his eyebrow, “new place for you and your son. Is that okay with you?” 
Decent. Not like the last one.
Well, that sounds... pretty well. I was expecting some kind of threat or him throwing it back in my face, I don’t know, anything but that.
Maybe it’s just out of politeness—or the fact that he’s actually doing me a favor without us clashing first—but before I can stop myself, I feel my cheeks warm as I answer him, “Yes, Alpha.”