Chapter 20
I woke to a heavy, grounding weight pressing me into the mattress.
The tart pomegranate and dark chocolate filling my senses was heavenly.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the unforgiving morning light.
I opened my eyes to find a muscular, tanned leg draped over my stomach, pinning me to the silk.
I gulped. The light sliced through the floor-to-ceiling glass, illuminating every silver thread in the sheets and every purple bruise on my exposed skin.
Despite the brightness, the tower was quiet.
Ethan. A thin sheet was all that covered his waist, his chest a wall of tattooed muscle only inches from my face.
My eyes trailed the length of his chiseled torso, memorizing the dark tattoos that mapped his skin.
I remembered those hands. I remembered the steam and the way he had held me steady when I couldn’t hold myself.
I tilted my head back, taking in his face without the mask. His jaw was a sharp line, brown hair messy against the pillow. Before I could look away, his eyes snapped open. Green locked onto mine, and a small, knowing smile pulled at his lips.
“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice a deep rumble that made the frame vibrate. “How did you sleep?”
“Good morning, Alpha,” I whispered, heat crawling up my neck. I looked down at the white button-up I was wearing—his shirt. I slept well. I was out of it, but I remembered. “Thank you for… the bath.”
His smile didn’t fade, but his jaw tightened. “Ethan.” He shifted, the heat of his body radiating against my side. “Not Alpha—Ethan.”
He made me feel softer, vulnerable. My face heated and my chin dipped as I murmured, “Ethan.”
A growl of approval vibrated against my chest. “How does your head feel?”
“Heavy,” I admitted.
His gaze lowered, locking onto my neck—the tender mark Shane had left behind.
The air in the room seemed to thin. Ethan didn’t move to kiss me or claim the spot for himself; instead, he reached out with slow, deliberate grace.
His fingers grazed my wrist, sending a current up my arm, before he slid his hand up to my shoulder.
His eyes darted to my face and when I said nothing, he continued.
His palm was a furnace against my skin as he followed the line to my neck, his thumb coming to rest just below my jaw. He traced the edge of the bruise.
“He’ll never touch you again,” he promised. “I may not know how to be a good man, but I’ll end anyone who tries to take you from me.”
He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine.
I relaxed into him and his heat. Beneath the sheets, I felt the heavy press of his hips against my thighs.
My eyes flew open as something thick and hard dug into my stomach.
Green hid behind closed eyelids as he moved back, letting out a low, dark chuckle.
He lifted his leg, moving off me, sitting up.
The sunlight hit the muscles of his shoulders. “This is the first I’ve ever slept in.”
He stood, wearing only his briefs, and I quickly averted my eyes, though I caught the silhouette of his tattooed arms in the mirror. He headed toward the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind him.
Heat pulled in my core, snapping me out of the spell.
The fact I’d just slept with my mate—not just a man, but the Mad King—had me scrambling out of bed.
I caught a glimpse of the towers below. I waited for the sound of the water, expecting him to call me in, to demand I join him.
At Half Moon, a mate claim was an immediate thing.
I’d seen males haul their mates away mid-conversation, driven by a biological fever that ignored everything but the need to mark and possess.
But Ethan’s hands had remained respectful. Even under the cover of nightfall, he’d let me sleep. He’d caged me in his arms, but he hadn’t taken me.
Was I not enough to break his restraint? Or was it different because his wolf didn’t feel mine? Maybe there was nothing in me for his beast to call out to.
I lifted my hand, the oversized sleeve swallowing my fingers, and sniffed the cuff of his shirt—pomegranate and dark chocolate wrapped around me like a shield.
On the dresser sat a neatly folded pile of clothes: a loose long-sleeve v-neck, denim shorts, and silk lace underneath.
I moved with a speed born of panic, pulling on the shorts as the sound of the shower cut off.
My body was finally waking up to the reality of where I was—and who was in the next room.
I fumbled with the material, wiggling as I yanked it over my curves.
A dry breath escaped as I remembered the last time I’d gone was with Gabe on top of the mountain. My heart panged as I thought of my best friend.
I was just slotting the button into place before sliding my feet into the strappy black heels left on the floor when the bathroom door opened.
Ethan walked out, dressed in a white t-shirt that did nothing to hide the power of his frame.
I’d only seen him in a tux, but he wasn’t any less beautiful.
I kept my eyes on the ground as his presence overwhelmed the room.
His eyes cleared, the telepathic white fading back into focus.
I briefly wondered who he’d been talking to when he reached out, his hand resting lightly, possessively, on my waist.
“There are face towels and a new toothbrush on the counter,” he murmured, his thumb grazing the denim of my waistband. “I’ll wait out here. Take your time.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, walking past me. I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and bolted for the bathroom, closing the door with a soft, final click.
I sighed, gripping the edge of the marble vanity.
My eyes dropped to the counter, freezing on the fracture in the stone—something that hadn’t been there last night.
He must have gripped it instead of reaching for me.
It sparked something warm in my chest: proof that whatever he’d been holding back, he’d fought to keep it that way.
In the mirror, my eyes locked on Shane’s purple bruise that stretched around my throat.
In the empty space in my chest, it felt like a nail punctured my heart where Ethan’s teeth mark should have been.
I wore my weakness, while my mate was prepared to go to war with Half Moon for a woman he hadn’t even claimed.
My mind drifted back to the Academy—the damned place that had never offered an escape from Half Moon.
Being two years older than the twins, the pack hadn’t cared about my education, but Mavy had refused to attend without me.
She had demanded I be placed in her year, and they had acquiesced.
It was the only comfort I’d been allowed.
I splashed cold water over my face and cleaned up quickly.
A few minutes later, I pulled the door open, the cool bathroom air following me back into the warmth of the bedroom. Ethan was standing by the window, his back to me, silhouetted against the desert sun. When he turned, power and heat reached out, encircling me.
“Are you ready, Wildflower?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely a breath.
Ethan didn’t head straight for the door. Instead, he turned me toward him, his thumb hooking under my chin to tilt my face up into the light.
“I won’t lie to you. The Table is already convening in the lower levels,” he said, his voice dropping.
“Odis kept Jaxon contained last night, but he was released this morning. The visiting Alphas believe that because Shane is an heir, his blood is too royal to be spilled when there is no cause for war.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “Will they make me return to Half Moon?”
The thought made my stomach churn. If I went back, I wouldn’t just be Shane’s, I’d never leave Half Moon again. I’d rather the desert swallow me whole.
“They cannot,” Ethan growled, the sound vibrating through his chest and into my own. “But they will try to use the law to see him leave here free of punishment. They want to see you. They will ask you to recount last night’s events.”
He pulled his hand from my chin, only to reach back and smooth a stray hair behind my ear. His touch was surprisingly tender for a man who looked ready to kill.
“After you’ve eaten, I’m going to take you to the council room. You’ll have to show them what he’s done to you.” My hand flew to the bruise on my neck. “And then I’ll remind them why I am the King of this territory.”
I wrapped my arm across my waist, the shame of my secret making my shoulders hunch. “I don’t have a wolf, Ethan. I’m nothing without one. I’ll only make you look weak.”
Ethan stopped, his hand tightening on my waist. “You survived without a wolf to snap back at him—that’s a different kind of strength.
And you’re my mate. If these old men have a problem with that, that’s the only thing they need to keep in mind when they address you.
” His hand encased mine in warmth as he finally led me toward the door.
“Someone is waiting in the hall. He’s been there all night.”
With that, he took hold of my hand again, and led me out of the sanctuary of the bedroom and into the hall, where Gabe stood.
He was leaning against the opposite wall, looking like he’d aged overnight. His eyes were bloodshot, his gray tuxedo replaced by rumpled clothes, and the sight of him made a knot of guilt tighten in my chest.
I knew he’d been spending time with Olivia—the bond pull was unmistakable—but he’d pushed it down the moment he realized I was in trouble.
He pushed off the wall, rushing toward me. “Ady? Are you okay? I didn’t know if I should—”
He didn’t get to finish as he wrapped his arms around me. Instantly, the air in the hallway curdled. A low, menacing rumble vibrated through the floorboards, and every hair on my body rose in warning.
I felt the vibration in his chest against my back before I even saw his face. I looked back to see Ethan’s eyes fixed on Gabe’s hands, his pupils blown wide until the green was almost swallowed by black. He wasn’t looking at my friend; he was measuring how to kill him.
Gabe froze, his eyes widening as he immediately lifted his palms in the air and stepped back. Ethan cracked his neck, his jaw set in a hard line as he fought for restraint.
“I have just found my mate,” Ethan said, his voice a deep warning. “Don’t touch what’s mine.”
“My apologies, Alpha,” Gabe said, bowing his head, though his eyes remained on me. His gaze traveled down my body. “I haven’t seen her since… I was thankful she was okay.”
“He’s my friend, Ethan,” I mumbled, slowly leaning back until my spine hit the solid muscle of Ethan’s chest. “And the only family I have.”
Ethan didn’t answer. He simply tucked his head low, his breath hot against the column of my neck, right beside the bruise Shane had left. “We’re headed to breakfast,” he told Gabe, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. “We’ll catch up later.”
“Report to your Alpha,” Ethan commanded. “Tell him she is under Desert Moon’s protection, and he has until I get down there to remember whose territory he stands on.”
Gabe nodded, the tension in his shoulders dropping slightly.
He gave me one last lingering look—part relief, part apology—before turning toward the elevator at the end of the hall.
He disappeared behind a set of doors. Ethan remained still, his gaze fixed on the empty hallway until the hum of the elevator faded into silence.
He didn’t loosen his grip on my hand, but the crushing tension in his shoulders began to bleed away as the hallway opened up, the air growing warmer as we approached the terrace.
Behind us, the weight of Shane and the looming Table remained, but ahead, the scent of something heavenly sweet began to drift through the air.
I didn’t know what the day would hold, but as we stepped into the light, I realized I wasn’t walking into it alone.