Chapter 42

While my ‘What’ was expressed in a surprised tone, Kelly’s high-pitched one was filled with absolute horror.
She steps closer to Ethan. The sound of her high heels clicking on the floor is as sharp as how annoyed she looks. “Will you take *her*?” Kelly abruptly turns her gaze towards me. Her face contorts into a grimace of disdain, as if I were a disgusting cockroach smashed on the floor. Then she shifts to Ethan with a much softer face, “But we have plans.”
He turns to her and commandingly says, “They are canceled.” Ethan lets out a breath, seeming almost to convey a sense of relief, before he directs his eyes to me. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
I make the mistake of glancing at Kelly, only to find her already gazing back at me. If her fiery stare could kill, I’d be toast.

🐺 🐺 🐺

“I used to work at that store before I started teaching,” I tell Ethan, pointing out my window in the direction of a yellow thrift store where most of my clothes came from. “You score a nice discount if you work there!” I go on. Not that Ethan has asked for that information, but this silence since we left his house is only making the nerves fluttering in my belly worse. If he wouldn’t talk, then I would.
Thank God, minutes later, we are already parking in front of Logan’s house.
Az, who had been sleeping the whole way but woke up when we got to the city, starts to take off his seatbelt just like me. When I look at Ethan, he’s doing the same thing. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll walk you in,” he says, moving to open his door, but I throw up my hands like I’m stopping a crime.
“Oh! No, no, no need for that!” I squeak. “You’ve been stuck in this car forever. You must be dying to... stretch your legs, get some, um, alone time?”
He squints. “Alone time?”
“Yeah! You know, bathroom stuff! You drove a lot! All this sitting, probably messing with your... insides? Like, surely your bladder’s in crisis by now. Maybe even... gastro-intestinally speaking?”
He just blinks at me.
I wave my hands for emphasis, digging my hole deeper as I hurry to get out of the car like Az. “Listen, all that road rumbling, it’s gotta churn things up, right? You can go now! I wouldn’t want to be responsible for any… surprise diarrhea or an unleashed fart.”
Did I just say diarrhea?
Kill me now. Please, God.
Ethan looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. Maybe he hasn’t heard me?
The answer to that comes when I hear Ethan bursting out laughing. The sound of his laugh is almost contagious, I hadn’t seen him laugh so freely before.
“Mom, you said fart!” Az points and then giggles, with his hands on the straps of his backpack outside the car.
As I close the car door, I can’t help but laugh, too, even though I want the ground to open up and swallow me.
I just don’t want Logan to know anything about him.
“I’ll meet you at the nightclub in a few hours,” I say to Ethan through the car door window.
“Okay,” He puts his seatbelt back on, still laughing loudly.
But then his laughter abruptly is cut off and his demeanor turns stern when Logan opens the front door and appears. Ethan gives me a short nod before starting the car and driving off.
I let Az greet his father and get inside the house before I make my way over to Logan.
“Well, well, well,” Logan says. “I thought you’d know better, especially with your higher income.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
He walks closer to me. I use all my might to not step back. “I’d have never imagined my sweet ex-wife would whore herself around to have a place to live.” His smirk turns into a smile when he notices my eyes widen in understanding what he’s talking about. “Yes, Az told me you’re living in a man’s house.” Logan looks in the direction Ethan’s car drove off. “Judging by his expensive car, I’m guessing that must be the man.”
“I’m not whoring around, Logan. I would never do that, and you know it.”
“I hope you’re telling the truth, Allie. Because no mother of my child will do that. You’re not allowed to sleep with that guy!”
“You know you don’t have the right to ask me for that, right?”
“You don’t want to make me angry, Allie. I want to see which judge will let you have custody of your child by living in someone else’s house because you’re whoring yourself,” Logan threatens. “Or are you there out of his charity?”
I open my mouth, not knowing what to say. Part of me can’t shake the feeling Vi and Ethan have been letting me live there for this very reason like I’m just another cause for them, just like the charity events they’re always invited to.
Logan goes on, “Az loves staying here with me. At least I know that won’t be a problem to prove. He always begs so much to come over to my place. You know, I think what’s been on your account is too much since you’re living in another man’s house. You really don’t need that much money, Allie.”
“What? Logan, I’m moving out of his place. I need to pay my future rent and the repairs on my car—”
“Oh, please! With a car like that giving you rides, you don’t have to worry.”
“But—”
“I insist,” Logan interrupts impatiently. “It’s the best thing to do right now. I’ve been paying some extra bills, and this money will help. Thank you, Allie. But don’t worry, I’ll leave a small part for you.”
“You’re so generous,” I reply, looking away from him so he doesn’t see my sarcasm this time.
“I’m serious, Allie. It’s just temporary. I’m already job hunting. Soon enough, I promise you, you won’t have to deal with sending me money just so I don’t starve.”
This surprises me. “Okay...” I say hesitantly, looking back at him.
“Would you like to come in? Chels is getting her hair done, but she’ll be here soon. You should give your friendship a chance. She misses you.”
I try hard not to roll my eyes. “I have some things to take care of. Maybe next time,” I say with a tight smile.
“Uh, Allie,” he says, sounding worried. “Is your arm better? You know I didn’t mean to hurt you that day, right?”
Unconsciously, I run my hand over my arm. “Hm, yeah...”
“That’s good. Anyway, I’ll see you here on Sunday night then.” He turns around and heads back to his house. “Too bad you can’t stay. Chels is going to stay with Az while I look for a job this weekend. I got three interviews.”
My eyes widen. “You promised me she wouldn’t be alone with him!”
“She regretted that, Allie. She didn’t do that on purpose. You really should give her another chance,” he says. To my disbelief, he actually seems to believe what he’s saying.
“Now that I think about it, Logan. You’re right. Maybe I should give her a chance. Look, I was planning on doing something with Az this weekend. Since you won’t do anything with him, why won’t he come back with me later?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! Sure. Also, Chelsea will be free,” I say like I care about her.
I care about *my son* being around her.
“Okay then. If that’s what you want, but you’ll owe me for that.” He winks. “See? That’s why I like you, Allie. You’re so easygoing! Chelsea will be happy to know that. See you tonight then!” Logan says with a wave.
I wave back with a smile that I don’t feel.

🐺 🐺 🐺

As the evening sets in, I return to the nightclub, and not long after that, we are almost at Logan’s house again.
“It’s such a shame I couldn’t see Shawn,” I say, trying to start a conversation again and put that awkward diarrhea conversation behind us.
“You’re so close. You just missed him by a few minutes. He had to run to the manufacturer to get a special liquor for the bar,” he says almost with a smirk as if there was something behind it.
Ethan parks the car in front of Logan’s house.
“I’ll be right back.”
“I’m not waiting here.” He shoots me a look.
“Seriously, I’ll go real quick. You don’t even have to get out of the car,” I say.
But he gets out of the car anyway.


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***Alpha Ethan***

She knocks on the door of a way nicer house than her old crappy place. Did she live here before she moved to that dangerous neighborhood?
I look down at her. Little Dove is looking at the door. She seems so small and lost. For a moment, I want to hug her.
I’ve been suspecting someone might have hurt her the last time she came to Summerville. That’s why I suggested coming along. Maybe her ex-husband?
The door opens, and a man with a scruffy beard appears; he’s a little taller than Alicent. This fucker must be her ex-husband. I’m finally meeting him. He looks at her with a smile, then his eyes shift up and up to me, and he takes a step back. Smart guy, I see.
“You’re late,” he says to Alicent, approaching her. “Az is sleeping.”
“Sorry, I should have come sooner!”
He touches her shoulder affectionately, and I almost detect a wince on her part. “Chelsea hasn’t come back yet, but I talked to her on the phone, and she said she was excited that you can reconnect again.”
“Uh... sure,” Little Dove says. She looks uncomfortable with his hand still on her shoulder, his thumb making a continuous stroke. But she doesn’t seem bothered enough to ask her ex-husband to take his fucking hand off her. I could, but then I’ll take his hand off her shoulder and off his body at the same time.
Fuck. Why should I let myself care this much about her? My goal is to wait for my fated mate.
I try to ignore the dread and bitter jealousy that has suddenly worked its way into my stomach as I see him touching her.
Idiot. This is exactly why I’ve been working hard to keep her at a distance.
I don’t want her.
‘Your erection would beg to differ,’ Kral says in my mind.
For fuck’s sake!
“Oh, this is Ethan,” she says, pointing to me and leaving his grip on her shoulder. “Ethan, this is Az’s dad.”
“Hi,” He says, taking a step back and raising his hand in my direction. I raise an eyebrow in response. After a few seconds, he finally lowers it when he realizes that I’m not going to touch his hand. Well, for his own good. Then, he says to Alicent, “I forgot to tell you, Allie. I canceled some plans for tomorrow. Az could stay here now.”
“No need! I’ll take him with me,” Alicent says in a rush, waving her hands around like she’s trying to swat a fly.
“Fine, if that’s what you really want. But let’s be honest, you should leave him here with me, you know, his father. Seems selfish, don’t you think? Keeping a son from his own dad,” he says in a playful tone.
“You couldn’t be more wrong. She’s one of the least selfish people I know.” My narrowed eyes dare him to disagree.
The fucker opens his mouth in indignation. He looks at Alicent, and when she doesn’t say anything, he seems to get angrier. “I’ll go get Az,” he finally says and hurries off.
“Okay,” Alicent says with a big smile at the mention of her son.
I scoff. Her meadow green eyes find my black ones. “He’s under a lot of stress right now with his job search. He didn’t mean it.”
I roll my eyes and scoff again.
Those are the last words we exchange until we reach the Blackmoon. On the way, she’s been pretending to be asleep, but little does she know that I can hear her heartbeat.
When I park the car, she gets out and insists on carrying her sleeping son.
“He’s too heavy for you. Let me carry him,” I offer again.
“I insist,” she says with a sweet smile. “I know I might sound like a momma bear, but I really miss my little one after the time he spent with his dad.”
I walk beside her with one hand placed on her small back. I want the gesture to be reassuring, so she knows that I can carry her child if she can’t handle it, but part of me just itches for any excuse to touch her.
She isn’t for me. Fuck.
Little Dove looks at me and gives me a sweet smile and before I get trapped in her bright green stare, I push the door open and when she walks in instead of following behind her, I turn around and disappear into the night.


🐺 🐺 🐺
***Alicent***

After laying Az down on the bed, I return to get his backpack that I’ve forgotten in Ethan’s car. When I enter the mansion again, I notice how silent it is. Probably almost everyone is asleep right now. At first, I thought that only Vi’s family lives here, but then I found out that a few other families live in the wings of the mansion as well.
I hug my son’s blue backpack to my body with a smile. Little does Ethan know how wrong he was.
I *am* selfish. I am relieved that Az is here with me.
But when I saw him defending me from what Logan said, it made me want to pull him closer and wrap my arms around his neck and, just for a moment, hold him tight as if he were mine.
My person.
God knows how much I’m trying not to feel anything for him, but Ethan makes things hard when he does things like he did today, like stopping what he’s doing to take me to Summerville and defending me at the slightest offense that Logan says.
Before I can go up the stairs, I see Kelly coming down them. Her eyes narrow at me.
I wait for her to come all the way down the stairs before I try to go up, but she stops me by standing in the way when she gets to the bottom of the stairs.
She steps towards me, inches away from my face, I take a step back, and she takes one forward, keeping the same distance.
“I know he fucked you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re special. You weren’t chosen because you’re something. No, you were just convenient. Easy, really. Just a one-night stand. Nothing more.” I open my mouth to argue, but to say what exactly? Even if I have words, she doesn’t let me speak; she continues to invade my space as I walk backward. “Don’t settle into some false sense of pride because Ethan chose to do you a mere favor today. You’re nothing special, Alicent. A man like Ethan wouldn’t even spare a glance in your direction if I was at the Moonlight that night.” Kelly’s voice drips with disdain. “*A homeless human on the run*. You’re just a pathetic charity case.”
I’m taken aback by her words, but nothing could prepare me for what happens next. In a heartbeat, she shoves me hard, and I feel the world tilt as I crash into the far wall of the spacious living room. My head slams against it with a force that I can only describe as superhuman strength.
I have never seen it before.
What is... she?