Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Idreamed of wild things and love. Ethan lay beside me, his long fingers stroking my bare shoulder. Contentment bloomed inside me, my heart so full it felt like it might burst.
We lay together for what felt like hours, curled together in an unfamiliar bed in a room I’d never seen before. But it didn’t matter.
We were together.
I buried my nose in his chest and inhaled, making Ethan laugh.
“Weirdo,” he said fondly.
“You smell like the woods,” I murmured.
The scenery changed. We stood in the woods. Faint light trickled through the trees. Ethan and I faced each other, several feet apart.
“You did this,” he said.
Confused, I took a step forward. “Did what?”
Sarah stepped into the woods, her long golden hair streaming behind her. “Hello, Moira.”
I froze. “What are you doing here?”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You brought me back, didn’t you? How sad for you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Moira,” Ethan said. “Why would you do this? I thought we were happy.”
I stared at him. “We weren’t happy,” I said, confused. “You were still in love with Sarah.”
“That’s right,” Sarah said. “Me. Not you. Ethan no longer needs your help. He has me.”
But Ethan didn’t look away. “Help me, Moira. Help me remember.” His stricken look broke my heart.
“I’m trying. I promise—”
“Don’t bother,” Sarah said, her eyes changing from blue to emerald green. Her features morphed, melting into a woman with dark hair and familiar features.
“You should have come to me,” my mother said. “You could have saved him from all of this.”
“Moira,” Ethan said. He tried to step forward but couldn’t. Streaks of darkness rose from the ground and wrapped around his calves, trapping him in place.
Sarah poked out her bottom lip in a pout. She walked over to Ethan and walked her fingers up his chest. “Remember who you loved first.” She pressed a kiss to the edge of his mouth. “Who you loved best.”
She slid her arm around his waist and turned to smile at me.
Ethan’s brow furrowed as those black streaks moved up his body, wrapping around his throat to force his face down to look at Sarah. His eyes darkened, and a slow smile forced his lips up.
“There you are,” Sarah whispered.
“Sarah,” Ethan murmured as his lips claimed hers in a heated kiss.
I awoke with a startled gasp. Ethan’s scent still floated through the room.
“What the fuck?” I whispered. This dream felt like something more. Like we were together at the same time, in the same place, outside of time.
Had magic linked us together, or was this just a weird coincidence?
I lay back against the pillows, my mind whirling. Ethan seemed just as confused as I was, but he also saw me. He remembered me. His attention wasn’t all on Sarah. Not until that magic wrapped around his body.
Maybe there was hope. If he remembered me in the deepest reaches of his subconscious, all was not lost.
I rolled out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to flip the coffee pot on. Even after last night’s revelry, I felt okay. Just to be sure, I downed another small bottle of hangover potion.
Caelan already knew about Ethan. He might have already told the others, but I texted him to be sure.
He responded almost right away.
Can’t reach Ben, but the rest are aware. Be careful out there.
I will.
Ari erased your scents last night, but Ethan is suspicious. He’s always been a little paranoid but imagine him dialed up to ten.
Got it. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks, Moira. Glad everyone made it home alive.
I sent him a smiley face back. Caelan was on my shit list for a long time, but he’d really turned things around. I hoped someday he could find what Evie had.
Now I felt like he finally deserved it.
I sent Evie a note asking if she had another way to contact Ben. She shot me back a number I didn’t have and a martini emoji.
You are a terrible influence, but we should do it again soon.
We will, but let’s keep the trespassing to a minimum next time.
We’ll see.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and walked out to the small patio at the back of my apartment. Several of the shifter children were outside wrestling with each other on the dewy green grass. Laughter rang throughout the area as their parents supervised.
I waved at everyone and sat at the small iron table. As much as I loved living on the Keep, there were times when I wanted to walk outside and see nothing but green trees and a sunrise.
Most Keeps were active, their shifters always in and out of the main house or patrolling the grounds. Ethan’s Keep was the only exception, but I think that was because his people were so spread out. Rowan had dorms all over the place, and I lived close to one.
The house Rowan offered to build was further away, but there was never a day that went by when I wasn’t greeted by multiple shifters.
Evie had grown used to the chaos. I loved Evie enough to tolerate it. And most days, I wasn’t too bothered. But today, waking up and coming out for a little peace and quiet on the heels of the awful dream, I longed for solitude.
I pulled out my cell and texted Ben’s secret number. My phone rang a few seconds later.
“Moira,” Ben’s deep voice drawled. “I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll delete all evidence of your secret number as soon as we talk.”
He chuckled. “A man’s gotta have some freedom from the other Lords, ya know?”
I listened to the screech of laughter. “I totally understand.”
“I’ve heard some rumblings about Ethan. Is that why you’re calling?”
“It is.”
“Everything okay?”
My heart squeezed. “Depends on who you ask.”
Ben went silent for a moment. “Alright. Tell me what you think then.”
I told Ben everything, chatting for so long I went in to get another cup of coffee. When I finished, Ben didn’t say anything for so long, I thought we’d been disconnected.
“Ben?”
“I’m thinking.”
“That’s all I’ve been doing since the moment it happened.”
“I’m sure you know you can’t let Sarah live.”
Ben had always been a little no-nonsense. He saw most things in black and white, and it had bitten him in the ass when he lost Evie because of that habit. Since then, he’d become a little more flexible.
Except in this case.
“That’s what I’ve heard,” I said dryly.
“Her walking in this world defies the laws of nature,” Ben said. To his credit, there was compassion in his voice. “I know how difficult this must be for you, and I am impressed with your restraint.”
“Why does everyone think I’m an indiscriminate killer?” I grumbled.
Ben laughed. “No one does, but we all know you have the capability to be one. Evie had the capacity as well and look how much restraint she showed to us all.”
“Yeah, she did a huge favor to all of you assholes.”
Ben snorted. “That she did.”
We chatted for a little while longer. When I was about to hang up, Ben said one more thing.
“I have not been a Lord for long, and I believe this gives me a better perspective on the Lords. Ethan has been the head for many years now, and I know it makes him a little prickly.”
I smiled to myself. Ethan was more than prickly. He was grumpy as a bear sometimes.
“I’ve seen in him a great capacity for love, more than any of us have shown. I hope you can come back from this together, Moira. Please reach out if you need assistance. I will do my best to help.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
I disconnected and shut the patio door. One more cup of coffee and I could start trying to untangle the web my mother had entangled us in.