Chapter 6 — Ethan
This place is . . . well, something.
Seeing Thea in the courtyard as I struggled not to get my face ripped off by the biggest fucking wolf I’ve ever seen was the last thing I ever expected to happen.
She appeared out of the corner of my eye like a flash of white light.
When I looked over and saw her, her white-blonde hair up in a bun, loose wisps flowing in the breeze, and wearing an equally flowy dress over a very pregnant body, my first thought was that the beast had killed me and we were both in the afterlife.
I don’t know why they stopped attacking me as soon as Thea showed up, but I’m thankful for it. I’m even more thankful that they brought me to this guest room, instead of back to my cell. It is probably the most extravagant place I will ever stay in.
The ceiling soars at least twelve feet high with wooden beams that look older than my hometown.
The four-poster bed could fit three of me and is draped in sheets softer than anything I’ve ever touched.
A bookshelf holds stacks of books written in a language I might learn to read, given a couple of months.
There’s even a fireplace with actual burning logs, crackling away like I’m in some period drama.
In Creek Falls, luxury meant the motel had cable TV. This place is what I always imagined those fancy hotels in New York or Vegas would be like, except with old-money-historical-society vibes.
A servant named Marko brought me a stack of neatly folded clean clothes. Even saying ‘servant’ in my head is so weird. He encouraged me to freshen up and make myself comfortable, but specifically said, “Please remain here until someone retrieves you.”
I took a shower in the adjoining bathroom, which is basically a small marble palace.
The shower alone is bigger than my entire bathroom back home, with multiple jets shooting water from all directions.
The towels are as soft as clouds against my skin, and the herbal soap smells like a forest after rain.
Even the toilet looks like it belongs in some rich guy’s mansion.
There’s a knock at the door. When it opens, Thea pokes her head in with a big smile on her face.
Man, is she a sight for sore eyes in every way that matters. Her pale skin looks flushed and healthy, and her platinum hair is bouncy and shiny. Her eyes sparkle like diamonds as she walks into the room. I could jump for joy.
“Hey,” she says, giving me a little wave.
I don’t have words. I rush to her and hug her tightly. This past year, I lost the closest thing I ever had to a sister, and now I’ve got her back.
“Thank God.” I pull her closer. “I was so worried that you were. . .I’m so happy to see you.”
She hugs me back just as tightly. I take a step back to look down at her, and she’s wiping away tears. “I missed you too, Ethan. God, you got me turning on the waterworks over here. You know, us pregnant women are very sensitive.”
I wipe a tear from her cheek and cradle her head in my hands, taking her in for a moment. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” I lean back a little, acknowledging her belly. “Better than okay, apparently.”
“Yeah.” She laughs, her face flushing a little. “Dr. Olcan says I’m due in six to eight weeks, if you can believe that.”
My head is spinning. I don’t even know how to respond to that information. “Wow, so soon?”
Marko slips into the room and sets a stack of books on the desk before dipping his head.
“Thank you, Marko.” Thea flashes a grateful smile and he exits without a word. She turns back to me, patting the stack. “You need to read up on Lycan and Shaman history before the summit.”
“Okay,” I say. “But I want to know everything that happened to you.”
She nods. “It’s— it’s quite a tale. I hardly know where to start.”
“Try the beginning.”
She nods. “Sure. It is a lot though, and I’m starving. Have you eaten?”
I think for a moment. “I guess I haven’t.”
She laughs. “Didn’t think so. Have a seat. I’ll take care of it.”
As I settle onto the couch, she cracks the door and leans out.
I catch pieces of her order to Marko, which consists of a long list of things I’ve never heard of, with “sandwiches” being the only familiar word.
But the easy back-and-forth between them and the way she rattles it off like she owns the place, it already feels like old times.
I don’t know how long we’ve been talking.
We’re eating these sandwiches that taste close enough to corned beef on rye that I can almost fool myself into believing that that’s exactly what they are.
Thea did start explaining the meat to me, but I had to stop her.
I’m a foreign man in a foreign land. Sometimes, it’s better that I don’t know everything.
Over these sandwiches (and about five different types of fruit and vegetables), Thea tells me about the events that have occurred over the last year that she’s been gone, and it’s a doozy.
If I wasn’t sitting in some strange castle with werewolf claw marks on my neck, there’s no way I would have believed a word of it.
So, the story in a nutshell: On the night she disappeared, some crazy cult kidnapped her from Creek Falls and were about to use her as a living sacrifice.
But, fortunately, she was rescued by Alpha Xander and the Crescent Pack, who brought her to Kortan.
They call it a fortress, but from the little I’ve seen, it reminds me of a medieval castle.
That’s when Thea discovered that she was not human, but was in fact the so-called “hybrid” prophesied to save their pack from some big genocidal event. I let her tell this story, staying quiet for the most part, really just trying to digest it all.
She pauses after a while and looks at me carefully. “Sorry. I’m sure all of this sounds insane.”
“It’s a wild story” is all I can really say. “Who knew there was a whole werewolf society living somewhere outside of Creek Falls?”
She blinks, and I can tell that what I said doesn’t sit right. “Well,” she says, “it’s a bit more than that. It isn’t like Clarion is just down the road. It’s a whole other world. . .or dimension, I think.”
A whole other dimension? I let that one settle without trying to poke at it.
Thea continues, “The good news is that, for the moment, you’ve been allowed to stay.” She pauses. “The bad news is that I don’t know if that will be a permanent thing.”
I don’t like the way she hesitates when she says that. “Care to explain what that means?”
“It’s a matter of law. Humans are strictly prohibited from being in Clarion. You weren’t supposed to be brought here in the first place, but Rhiannon didn’t know what else to do. They were supposed to kill you the minute you discovered them in my apartment.”
The scratches on my neck start to itch a little. I think back to the moment when Rhiannon hesitated, when the big one stopped her with a photo of Thea and me. That’s why she was questioning my relationship to Thea.
“So, if I’m not supposed to be here, are they going to send me home?”
She shakes her head, and alarms go off in my mind.
“Thea, I’m thrilled that I get to see you and that I know you’re okay now, but I need to get back to my life at some point. They can’t keep me here.”
“Keeping you here is the best option of the two, right now.”
I study the remnants of all the food we’d just eaten. “So, the only other option is to kill me after all, isn’t it? Maybe not now, but eventually...”
She shakes her head quickly. “You’re special to me, and that means Xander is compelled to keep you alive. I’ll make sure it never comes to that. Even if I have to take on Rhiannon myself.”
Rhiannon. The beauty with a chip on her shoulder. My brain is pulled in a different direction. “She’s a big deal around here, huh?”
“Commander of the guard.” Thea’s eyes drift down to my bruised and clawed neck. “I hope she didn’t hurt you too badly.”
“Nothing a Tylenol and a good night’s rest won’t cure.
” I pick over the crumbs on my plate as the details of Rhiannon’s face float to the forefront of my mind.
Eyes like amber honey and a smoky stare, the kind that could trip a man up if he was caught in it.
It’s weird how I’m inexplicably attracted to a woman that tried to kill me. “She seeing anybody?”
Thea raises her eyebrows and laughs. “Oh, no. Ethan. You— you aren’t serious, are you?”
“I mean, she’s a little aggressive. And I’m definitely not her favorite person in the world at the moment. But it can’t hurt to ask, right? Maybe she’s got a shitty boyfriend and just needs somebody to treat her right.”
Thea quickly looks down at the remains of her sandwich.
Ah-ha. “Okay,” I say. “So there is a shitty boyfriend. Got it.”
“No.” Thea shakes her head and her voice seems tinged with sadness. “She’s single. As far as I know.”
“As far as you know? What does that mean?”
“It means you should stay away from her, Ethan.” Thea leans forward, her blue eyes suddenly serious. “Better yet, don’t hook up with any of them. Lycans aren’t like humans. They’re stronger, faster, and their emotions run hotter. Rhiannon could literally rip your head off if she wanted to.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Go on.”
“I’m not joking! She’s not exactly known for her patience or even temper. Everyone is terrified of her.”
“So what you’re saying is she’s powerful, passionate, and doesn’t take shit from anyone?” I grin. “That sounds incredibly sexy.”
Thea stares at me for a beat before breaking into laughter. I join in, and for a moment, it feels like we’re back at Cid’s Diner, gossiping during our break.
“You’re impossible,” she says, shaking her head.
“I prefer ‘optimistic.’” I wink, but I still can’t help wondering what it would be like to get under Rhiannon’s skin in a completely different way.
“Did you miss the part about her being able to kill you? I’m not going through all this trouble to keep you alive just for you to get yourself killed by flirting with our Commander.”
“I always try my best not to get killed.”