Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
ETHAN
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
I can’t believe I just had sex with Izzy and told her I loved her…all within the same few minutes.
And I’m just going to ignore the fact she didn’t say it back or even acknowledge it.
Yup. Not going to cry whatsoever.
I also can’t believe that I allowed Grayson—my sister’s ex-boyfriend and a virtual stranger—to call me a “good boy” in the bedroom and order me around.
I honestly don’t know what came over me.
It’s not as if I’m sexually attracted to Grayson or anything like that, and I definitely don’t want him fucking me, but having him in control…
It was hot as fuck.
I want to do it again. Multiple times.
But of course only if Izzy is there as well.
Apparently there’s a side of me that I never knew existed.
Holding Izzy in my arms now, I feel warm and safe and so incredibly in love I think I may burst into a million glittery pieces.
I just wish she felt the same.
Izzy lazily traces patterns into the skin of my arm, which is coiled around her waist, and I swear my body turns into one giant goose bump at her touch.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about,” she whispers, shifting slightly.
The movement reveals her perfect breasts to me, and my mouth waters as I stare at them. All I want to do is lean forward and capture that dusky-pink nipple in my mouth…
Focus, Ethan! You horny dog.
Pun unintended, of course.
“Like how we’re going to get you out of here?” Grayson says, his voice breaking on the final word.
He reaches for the nightstand but frowns when he doesn’t find what he’s looking for. Realizing quickly, I shift slightly so I can reach for the backpack by the bed and grab his water bottle. I toss it to him, and he chugs it down with a grateful nod.
“You know I can’t leave,” Izzy says, exhaling roughly.
“Can’t or won’t?” I question.
“Both.” Izzy shrugs slightly. “I have this…power inside of me, this power I can’t explain, and I won’t leave here when I don’t understand it. The last thing I want to do is risk hurting anyone, especially the people I love.”
My heart skips a beat at hearing her say the L-word, even if it’s not directed at me. Maybe one day it will be, but that’s something I’ll have to work for. I can’t just expect Izzy to forgive me because I shaved my head and fucked her senseless.
I need to woo her. Take her on dates. Show her through actions how much she means to me. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be worthy of those three little words.
“There are answers here,” Izzy continues. “About me. About my past. About everything going on. I’m determined to find them.”
Grayson’s arms constrict around Izzy. “Is that what you want, baby?”
“I don’t want to leave you guys, but it’s what I need to do,” she says, shifting again.
I finally give in to the overwhelming urge growing inside of me and cup her breast, rubbing my thumb against her nipple. It hardens almost instantly, and my cock jerks against her backside.
Horny bastard.
“That’s not the only thing you want to talk about, is it?” Grayson stares at her expectantly, and she swallows, even while she simultaneously presses her tit farther into my hand.
“No,” she confesses breathily. “It’s not.”
She’s silent for a moment, no doubt collecting her thoughts, and I absently rub her tight nub between my thumb and forefinger, relishing every soft gasp.
“I want to know what’s going on with…us. With all of us.”
I freeze instinctively, her nipple still squeezed between my fingers. A sphere made of tiny blades rolls around in my throat.
“What about us?” I whisper.
A part of me expects the worst. Is she going to end this thing between us? Tell us it was a mistake? I think I would curl into a ball and die if that were the case.
What we just did was magical and wonderful and beautiful and absolute perfection. If she regrets it…
Swallowing is impossible. Every muscle in my body tenses simultaneously, something she can no doubt feel with my arm around her.
She clears her throat. “I think it’s obvious that I have…feelings for more than one of you. That I’m mated to more than one of you.”
She stumbles over the M-word, even as my heart leaps for joy, dancing a jig in my chest complete with cartwheels and pompoms.
“I know how powerful and all-consuming the mate bond can be,” Grayson whispers, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “I won’t ask you to choose between us. I’m a selfish, possessive asshole, but I’ll never wish to take away a part of your soul. And that’s what they are to you.”
The pang lighting along my sternum returns, more vicious than ever.
“I want to be yours, Izzy,” I say softly, studying her beautiful features.
She possesses the kind of face that steals the breath straight from your lungs.
The kind that artists would kill for to have as their muse.
Every time I stare at her, I fall just a little bit harder, a little bit deeper.
She’s just so…perfect. And I don’t mean physically.
Everything about Izzy calls to me, from her witty sense of humor to her compassionate heart to the soft smiles she graces us with when she’s experiencing genuine amusement.
“I can’t speak for the others, but I know I’m okay with having Grayson join our little family.” A low chuckle escapes me before I can contain it. “Obviously.”
It’s not like I allow just anyone to call me “good boy” and convince me to strip naked.
“But it’s not just your pack and Grayson,” Izzy confesses.
“You’re talking about Ansel, aren’t you?” I say, thinking of the warlock.
I know that he’s in love with her, and I’m beginning to believe that it’s not one-sided.
“Yes.” She shifts slightly so her face is shoved in a pillow. “And Christian.”
I blink at her. “Christian Montgomery?”
As in our vice principal. As in Ashton’s older brother. As in the wolf that’s fated to go feral because he doesn’t have a pack.
Izzy twists so one eye can peer at my face. “He’s my mate too.”
I take a moment to process her confession. I’ve never heard of lone wolves having mates before, but then again, I suppose it’s not impossible. Just because Christian doesn’t have a pack mark doesn’t mean he never received a mate one.
An indecipherable emotion claws at the inside of my chest. It takes me a solid second to realize it’s fear.
If Christian is her mate, and he goes feral, what will happen to Izzy?
“We’ll figure it out, Gracie,” Grayson says, tugging Izzy farther against his chest and rubbing her back. “All of this. Our relationships. Your powers. Your family. These attacks.”
“We’re yours,” I confirm. “I’m yours.”
Even if you’re not mine.
Izzy opens her mouth to respond when a heavy thump sounds from right outside the door. All three of us instantly tense.
Then, as one, we jump from the bed and grab our clothes. I throw on the pair of jeans I borrowed, while Grayson slips his own on. Izzy simply grabs the Henley I wore earlier and shoves it over her head, leaving her legs deliciously bare.
“Stay here,” Grayson snaps at Izzy, stalking towards the door.
Izzy gives him a droll look. “Really? When has that ever worked on me?”
She arches an eyebrow, and Grayson rolls his eyes before shooting me a pointed look. I nod and move to stand beside Izzy, prepared to grab her and pull her away if we’re under attack.
Grayson tenses and slowly pulls open the door…
We all freeze when we see the body lying on the ground.
I don’t recognize the warlock, but he appears to be in his mid-thirties with messy brown hair, a disheveled beard, and the beginnings of a beer belly. Blood covers the majority of his body, seeping out of the ragged marks on his chest and stomach.
Marks that look awfully like…werewolf claws.
What the fuck?
Grayson glances in both directions, but there doesn’t appear to be anyone else in the hall with us.
Who is this man? And who—or what—killed him?
Is the attacker still around?
I suddenly want to pull Izzy back, lock the door, and make sure no harm can come to her.
“Is he okay?” Izzy asks, blinking.
Grayson crouches beside the stranger. “Is it normal for him to lie like that without moving, speaking, blinking, or breathing?”
“Um…”
“What the fuck happened here?” Soraya storms down the hallway, her gaze intent on the man at our feet.
“It wasn’t us!” I blurt quickly, realizing how this would look to her.
It would be less obvious if I held up a sign that read GUILTY in bright-red color.
Soraya shoots me an annoyed look. “Of course it wasn’t you. But we need to get rid of the body, and quickly, before you three are tried and arrested for a crime you didn’t commit.”