Chapter 24 Love, Money and Danger

*Ethan*

I didn't want to leave Diana. I stood there in front of her school until the last bell rang. I decided to send her a message telling her to have a good day in school. To my delight, she replied back to my message.

"I'll see you later ok? You have a good day too, Ethan. 😊"

I put my phone back in my pocket with a smile on my face. I am never going to erase any of her messages. Satisfied, I get into my truck and decide to go to the diner to see what I can do to help and to bond with the "Sullivan" men. Anyway, the diner is close by and if ever Diana would need me, I can get to the school quickly.

"You should have kissed her." Howl dislikes I have to go slow. "You were always quick with the other girls even if I didn't like them," he whimpered.

"She's different. I don't want her to reject me." Being rejected by your fated mate is like glass shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Unfixable. The pain with it, insurmountable. With the way I was feeling about her now, I knew there was no way I could be able to live with the pain of her ever rejecting me.

"Can we make time go by faster so she can 18 tomorrow and not on the 21st?" Howl whimpers. Usually when two wolves meet their fated mates, the mating bond is instantly formed. Unfortunately for me, Diana isn't 18 yet and therefore, has no idea what a fated mate is.

"Be patient, Howl. She is responding to my advances. Deep inside she knows I am the one for her and she is the one for me. Good things come to those who wait. Remember that, Howl."

"I have been waiting," he complains, "since you turned 18."

"What's a little while longer, right? What's important is we found her. Now, I just have to make her mine." Howl howls his disappointment. I laugh at my wolf. He was getting harder to control.

At the parking lot of the diner, I park beside the jalopy. I was surprised to see Lucas and Michael were inspecting it.

"Ethan, my boy." Michael shakes my hand once I got out of my pickup. "Diana is in school," he informed me.

"Michael, yes, I know. I dropped her off." Michael raised a quizzical eyebrow to my remark.

"You did?" He looked at Lucas who was taking a look inside the interior of the jalopy, his head hidden inside the car.

"I can feel you looking at me, Michael. Yes, he picked up Diana from home and drove her to school." Lucas bellowed from inside the car.

"So what are you both doing checking on the jalopy?" I ask the both of them. Michael again raised an eyebrow. I knew what Diana called her car.

"I was going to trade this in for a new car. You know, for Diana, as a birthday gift." Lucas replied, lifting his head from inside the car. I nod my head to his statement. That would be a nice gift.

"Can I chip in? I mean, add money to the car you want to buy her." I offer.

"Yeah, me too." Michael chimes in.

"This is MY gift. You two knuckleheads get your own gifts." Lucas replies, smirking.

"What would be a nice gift?" The question was directed to myself and not to them. "A house? For my future Luna?" Lucas gave me a hostile look when I mentioned the word Luna. I shrugged at him. Michael chuckled at our exchange.

"Don't you think that's a bit too extravagant?" Michael says, his head cocked to the side thinking of a good gift.

"Yeah, a bit extravagant unless you're her father. Maybe I should get her something she can use for college," I suggest out loud.

"College...Hmmm." Michael's eyes narrow thinking. "I'll get her a laptop. She has been saving to get one. Yes! I know what I can get her. Thanks Ethan." Michael comically punches me on the arm. I make a face. Now, I was the only one without a gift.

"Perfect. I don't have a gift for her." I tell them.

"That's ok, Ethan. She's only known you for a couple days so, basically she isn't expecting a gift from you. You two aren't close enough friends. I don't even think you have her number." Lucas blurts out.

"Number? That's it! I'm going to get her a new smartphone. She told me yesterday she's been wanting to upgrade her phone. Thanks, Lucas, for the idea. Or should I start calling you Dad?"

"Don't push your luck." Lucas said sternly. Michael laughed and patted Lucas on the back to lighten up.

"Come on Ethan. Lucas can go to the car dealership while you and I go shopping for Diana. Didi can handle the diner. Not a lot of customers today. Everyone's getting ready for the program later tonight. Let's take your truck. You're driving me around today." Michael nudges me to my truck. I nod my head agreeing to his suggestion and wave my hand to Lucas fo let him know Michael and I were leaving.

I unlock the car doors and we get in the pickup. I had something to do while Diana was in school. This is nice. All the men in her life are getting her gifts.

Michael gave me directions to an electronics store near the area. He said we could find everything we need there because beside the electronics store was a supermarket and a couple of boutiques.

"Lucas told Diana she's a wolf last night. Did she mention anything to you?" Michael asked while I drove.

"No. Did Lucas tell her I'm a wolf, too?"

"That I don't know. Probably that's why she hasn't mentioned anything to you yet. She doesn't know you're wolf, too." He pauses waving at someone he knew. "We plan to travel to the lake for her birthday so she can shift without being conscious of people around her. You wanna come with?" Michael asks.

"Sure. I don't want to miss her birthday. She is my mate."

"Good, because we need your truck. We can pack a lot of stuff in this baby," Michael said while taking a look at the back. I nodded my head in agreement.

After buying our gifts and some other stuff, we went back to the diner for lunch.

"I see you boys are getting along." My Aunt Daisy puts our orders in front of us.

"Thanks Aunt Daisy. I got you a new TV to replace the small one in your house. It's inside the truck. And I bought the groceries you wanted me to get."

"Aunt Daisy?! Ethan's your nephew, Didi?" My aunt nods her head at Michael while she pours him another cup of coffee. "Well, now I know why you stumbled here. So, while you're here in Portland, you'll be a regular here at the diner. During the weekend, it can get pretty rowdy. The high school kids like to hang out here at the diner," explains Michael.

"Yeah, and give Diana hell. Especially that kid named Michelle," I heard my aunt mutter under her breath.

"What's that Aunt Didi?" My aunt looked at me and was about to open her mouth, but shook her head and smiled instead.

"Nothing sweetie. You'll find out on your own. You know how High School is."

Michae sips his coffee and coughs to clear his throat. "Speaking of high school, there's a program today. Why don't you join us? 'Two Men and a Griddle' is a sponsor of the event. Lucas always participates in school activities. He didn't want Diana experiencing what he had to go through when he was in school."

"And what was that?" I ask.

"His parents were never around. His father was busy building his empire while his mother was always socializing...at parties." The life of the rich. Nothing else mattered but their money and their children were only seen as heirs. My father was the same as Lucas' father though my mother stayed home with us children. She couldn't stand the pretentious overbearing socialites and preferred to be covered in children's paint rather than makeup.

"You should talk to your mother about Lucas, Ethan. They were inseparable when they were kids. I came in later in Lucas' life so I don't know much about his formative years," Michael added. That was something I was already thinking of doing...I will talk to my mom and see what she knows about Lucas and his family.

My phone pings and I see my mother's alias. Speaking of the devil. I grabbed my phone and looked at the message.

"Your father is looking for you." Of course he is. My father was an astute man and I had a feeling he knew I was close to what I was looking for. It meant his "business deal", with the woman he wanted me to mate with, will not happen.

"Any problems, Ethan? You've been staring at your phone." Michael said, breaking my thoughts. My aunt was looking at me, concern in her eyes. She suspected it was a message from home.

"My father is looking for me. He wants me to mate the Johnson heiress of the Moon River Pack in the midwest." Michael lets out a low whistle.

"I know of the pack. Lucas has dealt with them when he was still Alpha of the Lotus Pack. Billionaire Johnson. I've seen the picture of the heiress somewhere. Sophia. She's pretty. Why not mate with her? She will make you the richest Alpha in the whole country." Michael sipped his coffee without taking his eyes off of me.

"What's money when you do not have love?" It was a rhetorical question and I wasn't expecting anyone to answer. My eyes found the picture of Diana with her father, Michael and my aunt hanging on the wall of the diner. They were all covered in confetti, hugging each other, with big smiles on all their faces. "You see that picture hanging on the wall?" I pointed to it and both of them looked. "That's what I want. I want to be included in the next picture, with Diana hugging me, too. Unequivocally HAPPY." My aunt sniffled, walked over to wall and dusted it off. Apparently, that picture meant a lot to her, too.

"A cash cow without the love of a mate. That's not how I envisioned my future to be. Sophia, I know, deep in her heart, she wants that too. She's just too scared to tell her parents." Michael nods his head to my starement. He understood what it was like for the children in rich families... being almost killed by the father of his Alpha once before.

"Well, you have some balls, Ethan. Not many of you are willing to go against tradition. However, I just need a few answers from you." Michael inched his face close to mine and I knew this wasn't good.

"Does your father know Eric Lockwood and if he does, is there any chance your father would tell Eric where we were if he happened to find out who WE are? I need to know, Ethan." Michael put his hand on my shoulder. "Diana's life is at risk."

I looked at him, my eyes wide. He nodded his head and patted me on the shoulder before straightening himself up in his seat. I run my fingers through my hair.

Goddess, I am such an idiot! I have put Diana's life in danger!