Chapter 78

My mind goes blank for a moment as Logan’s words sink in.
“Yeah, Allie. I can tell by your silence that you’re shocked, too.” He says indignantly, “Can you believe my fiancée cheated on me? My fiancée, Allie! Can you believe that?”
God, I’m probably losing my place in heaven as my mouth opens into a silent laugh. “Oh, Logan, really?”
“Yeah. She cheated on me. She cheated on me with my rich boss, Allie!”
“Crazy times, Logan. Crazy times.” I cover my mouth to silence my laughter.
“Me, Allie!” he yells. “ME!”
“I bet you didn’t see that coming.” I’m now full-on smiling.
“Of course not! I never imagined Chel would do this to me.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong, Logan? Like,” I say, remembering what he said to me when I caught him in bed cheating on me with her. “Maybe *it’s not what you think*.”
“Sweet Allie. You never assume the worst in people, do you?” he sighs. “No. Allie, I’m sure about that. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw her cheating on me, but I didn’t stop her because I really need this fucking job.”
“But you have to remember that this is *a physiological thing*, Logan. You told me yourself that men have hormones that make them not think straight, remember? It’s just pure instinct. It’s part of their nature as a race. As a human being.” I repeat his very words that had been on a loop in my head for months after we broke up. I slap a hand over my mouth to keep from bursting into laughter at the absurdity of his own words.
“But she said she loved me, Allie! She said she’d never do something like that!” He yells. *Hey, buddy, you told me that too, remember?* I think to myself. “And she could have just closed her legs for my boss. Instead, I saw her getting in his Porsche with him, bouncing on his dick like she had no respect for herself.” 
I hold back from pointing out the twisted thinking he just said. *Oh, no*. This is my moment. 
“But that might not have meant anything to her, Logan. She could have had sex with him, and it wouldn’t have meant anything because, you know, you’re the one she loves.” I can barely contain my smile, I swear.
“Those who love don’t cheat! Not like that!” he yells hatefully. I pull my phone away from my ear to laugh a little. 
You don’t say, Logan?
“Maybe she did it to make you realize that you need to dress better, you know.” My voice comes out steady, like I’m actually being serious about this, but the grin on my face that I catch in the large mirror on the bedroom wall as I walk past says otherwise. “Maybe she just cheated on you so that you can grow up. *Be a better person*. Maybe it’ll help you two connect even more.” 
“And who the fuck wants to grow up and be a better person that way?” He snorts indignantly. “It just disconnected us. Chelsea shouldn’t have done that to me!” 
“But then again, I’m starting to think it’s your fault, Logan.” 
“What do you mean, Allie? Are you crazy, woman?”
“What were you doing in the parking lot when she was cheating on you with your boss, huh?” I ask, tsking with my tongue. “If she knew you were watching, she would have gone somewhere else with him.”
“Yeah. That bitch might have gone if she knew. She’s been cheating on me ever since I got the job. When I told her my boss was powerful and rich, she wanted to meet him in person,” he tells me before I hear him take a big gulp. He must be drinking something.
“But Logan, think about it,” I say, sitting on the bed and crossing my legs. “You don’t want to throw away your future marriage with her. After all, you’ve been together for a while. You’re not going to let this small thing get in the way of that, are you?” My cheeks hurt from forcing myself not to laugh.
“I don’t want anything to do with her anymore!” he screams. “She cheated on me, for God’s sake. Just thinking that I spent every penny you gave me on her,” he says, and I clench my free hand into a tight fist. “She used me! She never cared about me. She was only with me because of the people I met that she could meet too.”
“Who are these people, Logan?”
“Allie, focus on me. Chelsea cheated on me with my boss when we were about to get married!”
“And you’re being so *ungrateful*, Logan,” I say, returning the words he once said to me. “And what about everything she did for you, huh?” 
“*Oh*... I get it now,” Logan says in a more sober tone. “Fuck! You must be loving this right now, right, Allie? You must think it was well deserved just because I cheated on you with her.”
“Well, I couldn’t help but notice the irony, you know?” I know he can hear the smile on my lips in my voice.
“I thought you were on my side, Allie. But you’re just making fun of me. You don’t care about my pain.”
“Logan, I know better than anyone what you’re going through. Unlike your affair with Chelsea, we were married for ten years.”
“And you never cheated on me,” he adds, and I nod at that, even though he’s not here to see it. “Unlike Chelsea. I should know, once a cheater, always a cheater.” He takes a deep breath. “When are you getting married?”
“Uh, Logan, I have to go. I’m kind of busy right now,” I answer right away. “But if you need anything, just know I’m here. Bye.”
I hang up the phone before he can answer back. I don’t want him to know that Ethan and I aren’t getting married anymore. Part of it is because I’m embarrassed for calling off the wedding immediately after I told him, and also because I don’t want to say it out loud. It’s still too painful.
“Mom?” Az says as he comes out of the bathroom.
“Az! You scared me! Were you in the bathroom the whole time?”
“Is that true?”
“What?” I ask suspiciously.
“Dad called off the wedding with Chelsea?”
“Azrael!” I say, standing up abruptly from the bed. “You shouldn’t listen to other people’s private conversations.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want to interrupt your call,” he answers, coming towards me. “But is it true?” He opens a small smile.
“Yes, buddy. They broke up. He needs your support right now, okay? Remember how bad I felt when we broke up?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll call him later.”
“You’re a good boy, son,” I say, stroking his lush hair. “But don’t do that anymore. I don’t want you to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations!”  
“Okay, I’m sorry, Mom.” Az hugs me and then looks into my eyes with a frown. “Mom, are you okay? You seem a little sad.”
As much as it was fun to make Logan get a taste of his own medicine, now that the call is over, everything Ethan and I talked about seems to hang over my shoulders.
“I’m fine, son,” I smile at him.
“Mom, you said I shouldn’t lie to you, and you’re lying to me,” he says with a cute, serious face.
A smile forms in my mouth. “I’ll be fine, okay?” I hug him again.
He doesn’t respond for a moment, then he hugs me back. “Fine, Mom.”

🐺 🐺 🐺

A door slams shut. “I’m home,” a deep voice booms. 
“Ethan!” I squeal and race out of the living room. 
I race down the passage, leaping at Ethan as soon as I spot him. He looks tired, but he still catches me as I throw myself at him. I wrap my arms and legs around him, holding on tight. 
“Whoa, there, hey, Little Dove,” He pats my back, placing one hand under my ass to hold me against him. I lean back and pepper his handsome face with kisses. 
I’ve been greeting him this way ever since we decided we were together and going to get married. It’s been almost a week since he told me the wedding was off, and even now, I still greet him this way.
The first few days, I felt confused, not knowing if we were really together or not, but he practically hasn’t changed with me at all. We’re still the same, without sleeping together in the same bed, of course. He told me he’d protect me, and I believe him. 
Ethan is a good and decent man. He would never put me in danger. And to be honest, I simply can’t stay away from him anymore. He had to spend the whole day taking care of something outside the mansion but still here in Blackmoon and I almost asked to go with him. 
Even though we’re not going to get married, at least we’re together, and with the protection he’s offering me and my son right now, that’s all that matters to me.
Ethan starts to laugh, placing a hand around the nape of my neck, holding me still as he takes my mouth in a full, deep kiss. 
His tongue slides between my lips to tease. My body reacts immediately, and I press my pussy against his stomach, rubbing up and down. God, what have I become?
Someone clears their throat from behind us. “I’m glad you’re here, son.”
Ethan pulls back from our kiss, patting my bottom, then I release my arms from around his neck, controlling myself hard to not let out a murmur of protest.
Then Arthur says dryly, “Let’s talk in your office.”
Ethan kisses the top of my head and whispers in my ear as his dad doesn’t wait for his son to answer and rushes out ahead of him, “You know where to wait for me.”
He gives me a slap on the ass, and I let out a small squeal before running upstairs to his bedroom with a huge smile on my face.

🐺 🐺 🐺
***Alpha Ethan***

I scowl, storming out of my office and leaving my dad behind.
My mind is spinning out of control. 
I can’t believe he’s complaining to me about my relationship with Alicent even after I called off the wedding. Hell, I definitely don’t deserve a ray of the light she shines in my life. Yesterday, I fought with my mother because she said that some pack members believe I’ve already have chosen someone as my chosen mate. She said it was because of the way we’re together, as though I already have a mate. Today, my father came to complain that, behind Little Dove’s back, some pack members already call her Luna, that this madness needs to end. How will my fated mate feel when I meet her? My father made sure to throw it in my face.
Fuck. I feel like I’m doing everything wrong.
I don’t know how the fuck my fated mate will feel because I’ll probably never find her!
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
I enter the room, slamming the door behind me. I go straight to the open window when I spot Little Dove sitting on my bed.
Goddess, she’s so innocent. Her aura shines brightly with purity. I deserve all this stress and all this curse just for putting her through all of this.
“Ethan?” 
I sense her getting closer.
I don’t answer. I close my eyes to control my temper.
“Are you mad?” she asks in a small voice. 
I sigh. “Yes.”
“Is there a reason you can’t look at me right now?” 
I take a deep breath, then I feel her small hand being placed on my back. “Can I help?” she asks. She’s so sweet.
“No.”
Much to my surprise, instead of asking me why, she asks, “Do you need a hug? That always makes me feel better.” 
My lips twitch. I still don’t spin to look at her.
When I don’t answer right away, she moves her hand slowly away. “Az usually likes my hugs too. But I can back up, and we can pretend that I’d never said that,” she whispers. 
“Yes,” I say, and when I realize she stands there frozen behind me, I clarify, “Yes, I want a hug.” 
“Right,” I hear her say. 
Suddenly, her small body springs into action as she throws herself at me. I thought she would hug me slowly because I’m mad right now, and maybe she’s afraid of me. But, no. Her face smashes into my back, and she lets out a groan of pain. 
I growl. “Little Dove?” I try to turn to face her, but the tiny woman is clinging to me like a baby koala to its mama. Even though her slim arms don’t reach all the way around me, Little Dove doesn’t let me go. “Did you hurt yourself?” 
“Don’t worry.” 
I growl again before saying, “Let me see you.” 
“No. I’m giving you a hug.” 
Goddess, she’s fucking adorable.
I still then take another deep breath. I feel the tension in my body slowly unwinding. And I allow myself to feel the calm that her pure aura transmits. Her arms try to tighten around me even more and I place my large hands over them to help her stay in that position.
Right now, I just want to feel her close, pretending she’s *mine*.
The warmth of her embrace and aura seeps into my skin, dissolving the anger that had been gripping my body. As I exhale, a wave of calm washes over me, and for the first time in days, I feel a sense of peace settling in, soft and soothing, like the embrace itself.
‘Ian, can you hear me? Yes? Yes? Yes?’
‘Yes,’ I mindlink back. My sister must be arriving in Blackmoon by now if she can mindlink me.
‘Great! You won’t believe this, Ian!’ I hear Vi let out a squeak of excitement. ‘I’ve found someone who knows exactly where the fucking witch is!’