Chapter 8 Ethan
ETHAN
I’m staring at the ceiling, wide awake, my thoughts circling, caging me in. Sophie’s scent still lingers in my mind, that soft, grounding scent of her has just enough of an edge to drive me insane.
Every embrace, every glance, every goddamn moment we’ve ever shared—it’s all replaying on a loop I can’t stop. And then there’s Tyler and Brodie. My pack. Or what’s left of it. The distance between us feels like an open wound that won’t heal. I can’t stand it anymore.
With a growl, I throw off the covers, grab a hoodie, and head downstairs. The faint glow of light spilling from the kitchen catches my eye. I hear the soft clink of a spoon against ceramic and know I’m not alone.
When I step into the room, I see Lily sitting at the table, a steaming mug of tea in her hands. She looks up at me, her sharp green eyes narrowing in that way that says she already knows more than I want her to.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asks, taking a slow sip, her lips quirking in knowing amusement.
“Something like that,” I mutter, reaching for my own mug.
She snorts, setting her mug down with a grimace.
“Pregnancy sucks, just so you know. Between the backaches, the kicking, and this constant need to pee, sleep is basically a myth.”
I pull out a chair across from her and sit down, folding my arms on the table. “Sorry, sis.” The comment doesn’t begin to sum up how I feel for my sister. Pregnant and alone. What a shit show.
And still, all I can think about is my own shit. And for the hundredth time in the past few days, I feel like a complete fucking asshole.
She shrugs, “Well, we all have to eat a shit sandwich sometimes.”
I know she’s in pain despite her cavalier attitude. I reach out, putting my hand over hers, and give it a squeeze. She stares at me a moment, and I wonder when she got so smart.
“So mighty brother of mine,” she says, raising an eyebrow, “what’s going on? And don’t even try to say ‘nothing’. I can smell the tension on you from here.”
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Well Sophie, for one. And Tyler. And Brodie. All of it. Seeing her today—seeing them together—it’s like the universe decided to throw every unresolved thing in my life at me at once.”
Her expression softens, but there’s still that knowing glint in her eyes.
“And?”
“And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” I admit, the words coming out sharper than I mean them to.
“Tyler’s still here, but it feels like there’s this wall between us. Brodie’s back out of nowhere, and Sophie…she’s throwing everything into chaos just by being here. I don’t know where I fit anymore.”
Lily leans forward, resting her chin on her hand as she studies me. “You’re not going to figure it out by hiding in your room.”
I let out a low groan, dropping my head into my hands.
“What should I do, Lily? I don’t want to keep waiting for shit to straighten itself out.”
She shrugs, her voice calm but firm. “You’re their Prime, Ethan, even though Brodie could be, it’s you. You don’t wait for them to come to you. You make it happen. Call them.”
Her words hit me square in the chest, and for a second, I just stare at her. I know she’s right. She always is. But admitting it out loud feels like a whole other battle.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I say, my voice low.
“You start by picking up your damn phone,” she replies, her tone light but with an edge of steel. “It’s not about perfect timing or saying the right thing. It’s about showing up.”
I exhale slowly, pulling my phone out of my pocket. My thumb hovers over Brodie’s name. He might not even pick up. Hell, I wouldn’t blame him.
“Now or never,” Lily says softly, her smile warm and encouraging.
That truth settles in my chest like a weight, heavy but resolute. It’s about damn time I admitted it.
I stare at Brodie’s name for a moment before I tap the phone screen, crafting a text.
Ethan: We still need to talk about…things.
I hit send before I can second-guess myself, then pull up Tyler’s contact and send the same message.
Ethan: Can we meet about…everything that’s been going on?
It starts with them—with us. If I want to have any chance of fixing this, of figuring out what the hell to do about Sophie, it starts here.
As I head back toward my room to change, a strange sense of purpose settles over me. It’s not much, but it’s a start. And I feel like I’m moving toward something instead of running away.
The faint buzz of my phone pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance down to see Brodie’s reply.
Brodie: About damn time brother.
Ethan: Meet me at the coffee shop.
A small smile tugs at my lips.
Tyler: I already had my coffee.
Ethan: Tough luck. You can stare at us like a weirdo while we drink ours.
Meeting the other night had been nice. Catching up and getting used to one another had been a good first step, but we hadn’t magically come together again like I secretly hoped we would.
Lily is right. This doesn’t happen without me saying it’s going to happen. It’s time for me to step up.
“Is there actually any coffee in that?” Tyler asks me as I bring my large, sweet, delightful caramel-flavored coffee to the scuffed little table we picked out in the corner of the shop.
I wink at him. “Sugar keeps me agreeable..”
“I don’t think it’s working,” Brodie says, chuckling as he brings over his own coffee.
“Hey, I’m not the awkward one who’s just sitting here in a coffee shop, empty-handed,” I shoot back, glancing at Tyler.
Tyler rolls his eyes. “I don’t need a bunch of help to get going in the morning, dickhead,” he says to me. “So, what’s going on? Why the early meet-up?”
I sigh and take a sip of my coffee to give myself time to gather my thoughts.
“I told Sophie I’d go over to her place this morning and help her out with that staircase. But then I started thinking about how I’d need you two to help. Which made me think about how much I really need to get this shit between us sorted out.”
“By ‘this shit’, I presume that you mean our pack,” Tyler replies, leaning back in his chair. Unable to hide the insecurity he feels. Our bond is rusty but not dead and I can feel his unease in it.
I nod. “I want to bring the pack back together,” I say firmly. “But I also think that we need to figure out how to bring Sophie into it as our Omega.”
Brodie’s brows lift at this and he toys with the sleeve around his cup.
“Our Omega,” he echoes. “Do you think she would actually be open to joining a pack? You guys told me she’s always wanted to hide from her Omega stuff and that she doesn’t have any interest in being officially recognized in that light. ”
I nod. “Yeah, I know she said that in the past, but it was a long time ago. I have to hope things have changed…for all of us. And with her inheriting the inn, she’s going to be here all the time now, unless she decides to throw in the towel.
And I wouldn’t blame her, I mean that place is falling down. ”
“And you don’t want her to leave again,” Tyler says helpfully, always quick to see the truth behind people’s words.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I want a chance to make things work with her this time, but I don’t want to do it solo. I think she needs you guys too.”
Tyler and Brodie exchange a glance which speaks volumes about how quickly our pack dynamics can be brought back to life.
Tyler exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his hair before leveling a heated look at Ethan and Brodie.
“Look, I won’t lie—I’ve been holding back out of respect for you. But every damn instinct in me has been screaming to claim her since the second she walked into our lives. Having her this close, smelling that sweet… It’s been hell. So yeah, finally making this official? I’m all in.”
“Hell yes,” Brodie agrees. “Although I think I miss having a pack more than anything else. Being a stray isn’t good way to live.”
I wince. “I’m sorry I did that to you guys. I was…scared,” I admit.
“But you’re not scared now?” Tyler prompts. I feel a smile slipping over my face as I look at them across the table. “No,” I say, and I mean it this time. “I want us to be a pack again. And I want us to try and win over Sophie.”
Brodie grins and holds his hand out over the table. I shake it firmly, feeling the power of our bond roaring back to life. I turn toward Tyler.
“What do you say?” I ask him, holding my hand out. “Want to come back into the fold and spend some quality time with us trying to fix a staircase and a crumbling old inn for a fucking gorgeous Omega?”
Tyler looks into my eyes for a long moment, as if he’s pondering what to do about the situation. For a moment, I can’t read him or smell him, and I feel a flicker of fear that he’ll back out, turn me down.
But then a grin stretches across his face, and he takes my hand. “I’m in. I missed you idiots,” he says.
Relieved, I shake his hand, then lean back in my chair and look at my phone.
“Time to head over to Sophie’s. You sure you don’t need some caffeine before we go?”
Tyler shakes his head, looking at my cup and grimacing again.
“Nah,” he says. “I think you’ve got enough sugar in that cup for the whole town. I’ll probably have to spend all day getting you to focus so that we can actually get something done.”