Chapter 46

***Alpha Ethan*** 

“Can I stay pretty please?” Lily says, pouting. 
Beside me, Vi turns to her daughter and scoffs. “Lily, I’ve always asked you to come spar with me, especially after you met Opal last year, but you always said no!”
“But now I want to!” my niece says, linking her arm with Azrael’s and raising her head.
Today, I made the decision to have our training session in the backyard of the packhouse due to the pleasant weather and also because we wouldn’t do anything that Alicent couldn’t see if she showed up.
“Are you sure?” I ask her, crossing my arms.
“Yes! Please, Uncle Ethan!” Lily says, giving me her best puppy eyes.
“Fine,” I say and hear right away Azrael and Lily cheer, smiling at each other.
“But you have to focus, Lily. You’re not supposed to interrupt them!” Vi scolds, walking over to one of the benches under a tree in front of us and placing her purse on the bench. “If you don’t take this practice seriously, you won’t have dessert for a week!”
Lily’s head abruptly snaps to Vi. She looks at her mother with her mouth open before turning to her little mate. “See what I have to put up with?” she whines to him.
I shake my head. “Are you sticking around for the whole practice?” I ask Vi.
“No, not really. I’m waiting for Jordan. We’re going to go to Summerville together,” she answers, putting on her sunglasses.
I nod before turning to the children. “Let’s get started,” I say. Without hesitation, Azrael stands in an almost soldier-like position facing me. Lily looks at him and does the same. “As I’ve been saying in the previous days, now that you have your wolf, one of the most important lessons is to learn to control your emotions, especially sudden impulses. Any outburst of anger, fear, or sadness can trigger an involuntary shifting, which can put others in danger and expose our secret.” Both of them listen to me attentively without interrupting. “Learning to manage your feelings is not only an exercise in self-control but a form to ensure your safety. Now that you can shift, you have gotten more strength, and your instinct for protection and aggression is sharper.” I turn to the boy. “Especially since you’re an Alpha, Azrael.”
“I can feel the difference. Sometimes I feel my emotions so intense, almost like a boom inside me,” Azrael says, touching his belly.
“That’s why we are out here today, Uncle Ethan? Mom said walking helps calm my emotions.”
“Yes, Lily.” I nod down at her. 
Azrael says, turning to her with a beaming smile. “Good thinking, Lily! You’re so smart.” 
“Aww, thanks, Az. You’re clever too!” 
“You should come every day!” Azrael suggests, nodding his head. 
Her smile widens. “That’s a good idea. Your ideas are the best!” 
“Alright. Back to what I was saying,” I start saying, but Vi mindlinks me. ‘They’re so cute! It’s adorable the way they kept complimenting each other.’ I bet if I turn to her, she will have a smile on her face. “You need to learn self-control because it is the key to preventing hurting yourself or others. A simple walk outside or a run can help channel your emotions so that you don’t shift unintentionally. But if all else fails, remember that you can always rely on other pack members to help you when you feel like you’re losing control.”

🐺 🐺 🐺

Minutes later, as Lily, Azrael, and I jog slower than I could walk around the yard, I can already feel the effects of the approaching full moon. Almost every full moon, I’m haunted by nightmares of the witch and that fucking day, making it difficult for me to sleep and forcing me to relive my curse over and over again. 
Even Kral is starting to get restless. He needs to find his fated mate. But for that, we need to break our curse first. Fucking witch!  
“I’m getting tired, Uncle Ethan!”
“Just a little longer, Lily,” I say.
“You can do this, Lily!” Az says.
“Okay.”
“You can do it, sweetie!” Vi cheers when we run up to her, still sitting on the bench typing on her phone.
I turn towards the packhouse again, and then I hear it. Her laughter. I savor the sound. It trickles straight into my stomach and bursts in every direction from there. I abruptly look at the open kitchen window. She’s there. I can’t see her, but I can hear her. Then Little Dove’s laughter vanishes, and so does the strange sensation inside my chest. *I might have wanted it back*. 
When we jog near the kitchen window, I spot her and several Omegas talking in the kitchen. Even though she’s been living here for just a few months, I can see how everyone has gravitated toward her. Little Dove tries to talk to everyone as though she’s known everyone for years. I can also feel how hard it’s been for everyone to lie to her because they trust her. It’s probably because of her aura.
“Okay, let’s take a break!” I say as we run to where we were before.
The panting kids accept the water bottles that Vi offers them.
In the distance, my head instinctively turns to see Little Dove in the kitchen window. She’s staring at me, biting down on that full bottom lip of hers and making me feel slightly feral all over again. I was barely able to control Kral when she ran that morning. Kral went feral. She instigated his most primal instinct. My damn wolf enjoyed running after her so much that it was almost impossible to make him stop feeling the satisfaction of playing with her and turning around before he reached her. He liked toying with her too much. But I can’t deny I enjoy the chase as well.
I drag my eyes back to the kids, and at the same time, they follow my gaze in her direction. I look at her again as she waves to them before shifting back to talk to Maggie.
‘You like her.’ Vi mindlinks me as the kids talk to each other after waving back at Little Dove.
I snap my eyes at her. My pain in the ass sister has a smirk on her red lips. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
She gives me one of those sarcastic frowns that says, *sure thing, we both know you’re full of shit,* before her gaze snaps to the other side with a stern face. 
I don’t need to turn to know it’s her mate.
“Finally,” Vi says, sighing.
“Daddy! I ran so much today! More than I thought I could!” Lily says excitedly to Jordan, but he ignores her.
As he approaches, he just smiles down at her. 
“Alpha,” Jordan nods at me.
“What took you so long?” Vi snaps, crossing her arms. “I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour, Jordan!”
“I have other things to do, too, Vi!” He approaches her and tries to hug my sister, but she refuses him.
“I’m going to get my purse,” Vi says through clenched teeth, walking toward the bench she was sitting on for the last hour.
“Daddy, do you want to come to the next practice, too?” Lily says, looking up at her father, but even though he’s facing her, he’s looking past her. Jordan’s eyes roam over Little Dove, who is leaning against the kitchen window and talking to Maggie. It’s disgusting to sense his aura, which reflects his eager pleasure, like he had just been presented with a gift that he couldn’t wait to unwrap as he stares. 
“Daddy! I’m talking to you!” 
“Your mother’s changed a lot, Az,” Jordan says, his eyes never leaving the fucking window. “She’s so...” he doesn’t finish. He just ogles her in a creepy way.
What the hell? He has a fated mate. My sister! Jordan’s supposed to act like it!
I clear my throat, and he stops.
There have been many times over the years since I met Jordan when I very vividly imagined how good it would feel to rip out his throat, but this... this may have been the first time that I struggled to stop myself from doing it.
“... You’re ignoring me again as you always do!” Lily points once more, crossing her arms, unaware of her dad’s desire.
He smiles unapologetically at his daughter and it stirs an urge in me to remove that fake smile of my Gamma with a much-deserved fist to the face. 
Thankfully, Vi approaches us again, and then they walk away, or the prospect of ripping out his throat might be too damn tempting.
Judging by Vi’s curled lips, I’m not the only one who caught him.

🐺 🐺 🐺
***Alicent***

As I make my way to the backyard, I find myself struggling again to not stare at him. They’ve been here longer than they usually do, so I came to get Az.
Near the kids, Ethan stands with muscles taut, not in anger but ready for action. Something about it screams competence and skill. 
He wears a pair of gray sweatpants and a tight white T-shirt. Ethan always looks incredible. But this outfit... it is next-level amazing. 
Now I kind of feel like a bitch for snapping at him when he asked me if I ever get bored of staying in on weekends. I told him that I had a great routine that worked for me, so why would I change it?
I admit that my answer came out sharper than I meant as his stupid smirk flickers for a split second. But Ethan caught me at a really bad time right after I saw Chelsea’s message. After that, I didn’t see him for almost the whole week.
“Hey, buddy,” I say as I approach them. “Good lord! You’re really sweaty!”
“Well, that’s it for today, then!” Ethan declares.
“Mom, I’m so hungry,” Az says, turning to me.
“Me too!” Lily whines. “Can we eat before the bath? Please, Aunt Allie!”
“Fine. Let’s go,” I say, and they start to head to the mansion, but I stop them. “Hey, don’t you guys have anything to say to Ethan?”
The two turn sharply and say at the same time.
“Thank you, Ethan!”
“Thanks, Uncle Ethan!”
Then they start running towards the mansion, hand in hand, without looking back. I shake my head at them, then I shift my gaze to Ethan because now it’s socially acceptable. It wouldn’t be eye fucking him. “Thanks... Az has been really happy lately.” 
Ethan looks at my eyes for a beat too long before he opens his mouth to answer, but then his eyes drift upward, past me, to something above my head. I turn to see what’s caught his attention. That’s when I spot Kelly approaching. I turn my face back to him. 
His shoulders muscles look even more taut than before. “You wanted to see me, Alpha?” Kelly says in a sultry voice. Ethan looks at me, and then his gaze shifts to her, and that’s where it stays. On her. And suddenly, I feel like I shouldn’t be here. 
“Get ready. I’ll take you to the event tonight,” Ethan tells her.