Ethan stared at Caleb with tortured eyes before taking a small step back, his head shaking slowly, a shuttered expression falling on his face.
“It must just be because you haven’t been around her in so long. But as soon as you see Vick again, it will change.” His voice was flat. Resigned. And driving a knife into Nat’s gut yet again.
Caleb snorted.
“You’ve already proven you don’t know how this works. I know who I want. Who I love. And it is and always will be Nat.”
He pulled her into his body more strongly.
“You know what? Tell daddy whatever you want. Because it won’t make a difference. And if anyone tries to hurt her…” Nat swallowed at the menace in his tone and the darkness in his eyes. “They won’t try again.”
He looked down at her, a grin spreading across his face.
“I’m ready to go,” he said as he swept her up into his arms to carry her around the car.
“Wait! I didn’t get to ask anything!”
“Yes you did!”
“But he didn’t answer! Caleb…” she whined, but he was already putting her inside the car.
“Didn’t you hear? I’m the alpha. Shh. We’re going home.”
He snickered when she glared and tried to shove him away, pausing to kiss her softly for a moment and waiting until her lips softened under his before pulling back. His hand reached up to rub the worried line between her brows.
“You’re giving me a headache with that line,” he teased, but she couldn’t bring herself to laugh. Fear was eating her up inside.
“What if—“
He kissed her firmly, halting her mid-sentence, before quickly pulling away and closing the door. Nat leaned back with a groan as she waited for him to get in the car with her, barely noticing that he stopped and spoke to Ethan for a moment.
And then he was climbing in beside her with a smile in his eyes, his hand slipping under her skirt. She didn’t even try to stop him. She just clung to his wrist and turned to stare at the window as he drove.
“Hey,” he said softly, squeezing her thigh as they pulled out of the lot. “Where are you going?”
Probably to some sort of wolf hell for stealing him.
“Just…thinking,” she sighed.
“Yeah, bad thoughts. Don’t listen to Ethan, Nat. Clearly he’s bought into whatever his dad has told him but it’s not true.” His tone was stern, and she turned toward him, her eyes pleading.
“But what if it is?”
“It’s not!”
“But what if it is!” she cried, getting louder as he glowered at her. “You don’t know! What if you meet her and everything suddenly makes sense? And you realize you made a terrible mistake with me!”
“Nat—“
“No! You can say whatever you want, but you don’t know!”
“I do know! I already met her!”
Nat blinked in shock.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t remember! Clearly she couldn’t have meant that much to me. And she doesn’t sound like the nicest person either, by the way. Evidently she hit me as soon as we met.”
A frown touched her lips.
“When was this?”
“I don’t know. When we were two or so,” he mumbled, watching the road.
Nat stared at him. Blinked. Stared some more.
“SHE WAS A BABY!”
“That’s a toddler! Not a baby!” he said, raising his voice and glancing over with a fierce expression.
“Caleb, that is the most ridiculous…” her voice was strangled, and he broke in.
“No—the most ridiculous is thinking I would ever—EVER, NAT—want anyone but you!”
She smacked her hands over her face with a small cry.
“Stop saying that! Stop saying everything nice and perfect and wonderful,” she wailed behind her fingers. “I don’t want to be even more heartbroken when you meet her again and find out you were wrong.”
A deep sound of frustration welled up from inside him, and he gripped her thigh a little too hard beneath her skirt, pulling a squeak from her as she clamped down on his wrist. He eased his grip, soothing the skin softly, and she whimpered as her body responded.
“Come on,” he said, tension heavy in his voice as he parked in the drive. “I want more privacy for this conversation.”
“Caleb—no! What we talked about before—you can’t do that now!”
“Why not!” he demanded, looking over at her with outrage in his eyes.
“Because you need to know if she’s the one—“
“Nat, for the last time: I ALREADY KNOW.”
“Well then I need to know!” she exploded, yanking her door open. She pulled out of his grasp when he reached for her, and he turned to shove his own door open, cursing under his breath as he got out. She saw him stop and rub his forehead when he saw her sitting on the front steps, staring off to the side with miserable eyes.
“Nat…” he sighed, sitting down beside her.
His head tilted while he stared at her, and she could see his expression softening from the corner of her eye.
“Nat,” he whined. “Look at me…”
Her eyes went to his almost without thinking, and she frowned for a moment before lifting her brows helplessly when he spoke.
“Nat…I love you. Nothing can change that. Please…please trust me.”
“I do trust you, Caleb,” she whispered. “But I know you. You are so stubborn and so sure of yourself. And you haven’t been around your own kind in so long! I just…I just don’t see how you can possibly know this for sure.”
He sighed and lifted a hand to tuck a long strand of hair behind her ear. He lingered on her cheek, his thumb stroking her softly.
“Then I guess…” he sighed again deeply. “I’m going to have to meet her again to prove it to you.”
Fear clenched her stomach, freezing her in place, and he groaned before leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
“You are the most frustrating, stubborn girl…” he murmured against her skin. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat and do our homework and definitely not take our clothes off so that I can slide myself deep inside you and tie you to me for thirty minutes…an hour… I wonder how long it will take my knot to shrink enough to let you get away again,” he whispered into her neck, sending a shiver through her body and pangs between her thighs.
He groaned again, and she pushed him away quickly, her cheeks flushed.
“You’re right. You need to meet her. Again. And…” she swallowed. “If it turns out Ethan is right, then…” She took a deep breath. “I will always love you. Like a sister.”
His brows lifted, and he bit the inside of his cheek. Then a glint came into his eye.
“When it turns out that he’s wrong, I’m going to love you like a brother who loves his sister a little too much…”
“That’s sick, Caleb.”
He just grinned, and she shook her head at him, trying not to laugh.
God, how could she bear it if Ethan was right?
“Come on. I’ll make you dinner tonight,” she said, standing and holding out her hand. He took it, his brows raised happily as he got to his feet beside her.
“What did I do to deserve that?”
“You’re wonderful, Caleb,” she said seriously, looking into his eyes, eyes growing soft again beneath her gaze. “And no matter what happens, I’ll always, always think that.”
He shook his head with a helpless sigh.
“Frustrating, stubborn girl…”
And then he pulled her inside, and they spent their evening laughing and working and playing and finally falling asleep side by side, while Caleb whispered all the things he was going to do to her once she changed her mind.
“Natty, what’d you get for number seven?” Preston whispered.
Nat mouthed the answer over her shoulder, glancing up at the teacher’s back as she turned around to make sure she hadn’t been caught. But he was droning on about the court system. Civics might have been a bit more interesting if he didn’t just read from his slides. At least he waited until the end of class to collect homework, so they had time to finish what they were supposed to have done the previous night.
“Are you going to the Homecoming dance this year?” he whispered again, and Ethan glanced over at him from his seat a row away. “Why not?” he continued when she shook her head.
“Did you have something to say to the class, Preston?” the teacher asked loudly, turning around.
“Uh, no, sorry. Keep at it, Mr. Jones. This is super exciting stuff!”
A few students snickered, but the teacher’s expression didn’t change.
“I’m glad to hear you like it, since you’ll be joining me for detention this afternoon.”
“Oh, come on—naw. I have work!”
“You should have thought of that before talking in my class. And don’t think about skipping out again, or I’ll have to call your father for an impromptu parent teacher conference.”
Nat glanced back at Preston, seeing his growing anger, and held up her hand.
“It was my fault—I…had a question about the homework.”
The teacher raised his brow.
“Well, then you’ll benefit from some extra time after school as well. I’ll be seeing you both at 3:30 sharp.”
Nat’s jaw dropped a bit. What a dick.
“Oh, come on, that’s bullsh—“
“I’ll be there!” she said loudly, trying to cover Preston’s outburst.
“Shouldn’t there be some sort of deferral offered when someone has to work?” Ethan asked evenly.
“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Harland. Why don’t you join them and write me an essay on the merits of an alternative system of governance! I will consider your feedback carefully. Anyone else wanting detention today?”
Nat waited for Ethan to point out he had practice—athletes were given special treatment when it came to things like this—but he said nothing.
Not daring to look around at Preston for fear of riling him up, she slumped on her desk with her head in her hand, keeping her eyes down so she wouldn’t glare at the teacher. Seriously. Some of them acted like they never heard of students with shitty parents—students who might actually need their jobs.
The bell rang and the students shuffled out, the hum of conversation growing quickly in the hall.
“Natty, you shouldn’t have done that.”
They were headed to lunch together as usual. She and Caleb were in different lunch periods this year, a situation he was not happy about, so she’d been sitting with Preston, weirdly her only real friend at the school, a situation Caleb was really not happy about. She had a few sort-of girl friends, but she was so worried about people finding out about Caleb that she tended to keep everyone at arms-length. Preston was just immune to her rebuffs.
And Preston had been remarkably persistent. Even after the little kiss Caleb had planted on her their freshman year, he just kept trying to talk to her. She couldn’t shake him, so eventually she stopped trying. Besides, it turned out they had a lot more in common than she’d known, and underneath all his bravado and trying to look tough, he was a rather sensitive guy.
“Why? Caleb will be in practice—I would have just been sitting around waiting on him in the car anyhow. I’m sorry it didn’t work though. Are you…going to be okay?” she asked hesitantly, looking up at him.
“You mean because of my dad? Fuck that. I ended that shit over the summer. Finally surpassed my old man,” he said, flexing his now very filled out muscles.
Nat rolled her eyes but gave him the grin he was seeking.
“You should have tried out for football,” Ethan said, sounding a bit bored.
Preston looked over as if surprised to find him walking with them, but Ethan had been joining them at lunch ever since she’d invited him early that semester when it became obvious—to her, at least—he wanted to know Preston.
“If I had a rich daddy who bought me anything I wanted, maybe I would have.”
Ethan scowled.
“They have resources to help poor students. It wouldn’t cost you anything.”
Preston shook his head at him.
“Dude, you’re so privileged, I can’t even talk to you. I don’t have time for sports because I have to work so I can do things like eat. And keep my piece of shit car working. Why are you even hanging out with us? Go talk to your own kind.”
Ethan’s face reddened when Preston turned back to Nat with a wave of his hand. She hesitated. She kind of agreed with Preston’s general point, but she didn’t want to make Ethan feel unwelcome. Plus, considering he was a wolf, it was probably better if Preston didn’t get on his bad side.
“You know, Ethan stuck up for you in there.”
If only Preston knew what Ethan was—that would certainly get his interest. He still asked about ‘her wolf’ on occasion, even though she’d told him that he’d run off years ago. And he’d had the tattoo on his stomach fully fleshed out by an actual expert. Nat wondered if that’s what had first drawn Ethan’s attention, since Preston had been showing off the rather fierce looking wolf to her after class one day. Either that or the six pack he hid underneath his standard I-don’t-give-a-shit old t-shirts.
“Oh yeah,” Preston said, eyeing Ethan again and scratching his head. “Well…thanks.”
Ethan shrugged, not looking at him, and Preston rolled his eyes as he turned back to Nat. What? he mouthed when he saw her expression.
After dropping their things off at their lockers, Preston took his packed lunch and secured their standard table while Nat and Ethan stood in line. Nat couldn’t help but be a bit envious at Ethan’s ability to simply order whatever he wanted. She was on the free lunch program, and beggars really weren’t allowed to be choosers. But if she and Caleb got into college the way they were planning…
A sinking feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach. That was before. All the plans they’d made…
“What is your sister like?” she blurted out.
Ethan’s eyes grew guarded.
“Well…I think…a lot like your brother.”
The knot in her stomach grew. Generous, brave, loving, protective…and beautiful.
Her eyes fell, and she blinked rapidly, trying to chase away the stupid tears that were far too close to the surface lately.
“Does she…have you told her?” she asked quietly, lifting her eyes once more to see him cautiously examining her.
He shook his head.
“My dad is on a business trip right now and my sister is at college. I haven’t told anyone.”
Relief made her weak. Not yet. They wouldn’t take him from her yet.
“How,” he whispered, his eyes growing intense, “did it happen?”
“What do you mean?”
He stared at her in frustration.
“I mean is there something he did to make it possible? Some…medicine? Herbal supplements? Something he ate?”
His gaze was practically a glare, and Nat wrapped her arms around herself.
“Possible…you mean…” Her face filled with heat. What part exactly wasn’t supposed to be possible? Just how much had he heard them saying in the car? Because there were some things she couldn’t even talk about with Caleb. There was no way she was going anywhere near them with Ethan.
“How did he ever kiss you?” he hissed, leaning close to her ear before drawing back to wait for her answer.
Nat’s face was flaming, but confusion filled her. Kissing wasn’t supposed to be possible?
“Well, it hurts him…but…” A sudden frown pulled at her mouth. “Ethan, how badly does it hurt?”
“It feels like you’re being cooked from the inside out,” he said, his eyes burning.
Nat blinked. Caleb couldn’t hurt that much…could he? While she was feeling—while he made her feel—the most exquisite, perfect pleasure? Her stomach twisted as she stared at Ethan, countless memories running through her mind.
“And if…” she whispered, “you shift? What do you feel then?”
Ethan frowned.
“I don’t know. We aren’t supposed to in front of…” he inclined his head. Humans. “Why? Does it not hurt then?” he demanded.
Nat shook her head.
“I don’t know…Caleb…might not have wanted me to know how much he was hurting.”
But whatever he’d felt before, he’d finally, finally found a way past it. That’s what he’d meant. After years of torturing himself to be close to her, his body had offered him a way out. And all she’d done was to push him away.
She swallowed. God, when had she become so selfish? With her perfect, beautiful wolf?
“But when he’s…like you. He just takes the pain?” Ethan continued, frustrated confusion in his eyes.
Nat nodded dully. Every day. For three and a half years. Kissing her. Touching her. The pleasure was so intense she could barely breathe. Intense pleasure for her. And intense pain for him.
“It doesn’t hurt at all with your mate?” she said in a small voice.
Ethan shook his head.
“And…you have a mate?” she asked hesitantly. She’d really thought he was into Preston.
Shrugging, he looked away.
“Yeah. They keep us apart mostly until we’re done with school so the females don’t get pregnant too soon. But we have chaperoned visits a couple times a year.”
So much for her intuition. Maybe he was just lonely and wanted a friend.
They reached the food area and grew quiet while they checked out before heading back to Preston with Ethan’s tray looking a bit more appetizing than her own. A couple of Preston’s friends had joined him, including the one boy who used to throw rocks at her. She quickly nabbed the empty seat at the end of the table as far from him as possible, and Preston looked over at her with disappointment while Ethan hesitated, eyeing the only remaining seat.
“Natty, I saved you a seat beside me!”
“I like this spot,” she murmured, not looking at him, and heard the other two boys snicker.
“When you gonna give it up, Preston? Those legs are locked.”
“Shut up.” Preston grabbed the other boy’s shirt across the table while Ethan sat down with caution. The boy just kept snickering, and Nat couldn’t help being disappointed that Preston wouldn’t just go ahead and hit him already. He always grabbed him when he said things like that, but he never actually did anything. Caleb would have probably knocked him out. Not that anyone would say anything around him.
Caleb had been her protector for so long now, she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be alone. Moments like these reminded her.
She trailed her fork through the instant mashed potatoes in slow circles, a heaviness inside her that wouldn’t leave. What would happen if he was wrong? If he saw his mate and everything changed? Who was she without him?
Her fork stilled and her vision blurred. The answer was easy. She was what she’d always been.
Nothing.
“You could have gotten out of this, preppy. Your kind gets a free pass.”
The three of them were sitting in detention alone, Mr. Jones having abandoned them for an argument he seemed to be having on his phone. They could hear his raised voice on occasion from far down the hall.
Ethan scratched whatever he was writing a bit harder.
“We’re not as different as you think,” he muttered, and Preston raised a brow at him.
“Oh yeah? You been on welfare, too?”
“Not everything is about money!” he snapped, looking over at him.
“Only rich people say that,” Preston said calmly, leaning back with his arms behind his head, exposing a sliver of the wolf on the cut line of his abs beneath his shirt.
Ethan turned away again, his brow pulling together furiously as he dug the pencil into the paper harder until the lead snapped. Preston snorted, and Ethan turned back to glare at him.
“It doesn’t matter how much money you have when your father chooses everything in your life!”
“So you do whatever daddy tells you or he’ll take away your allowance? Cry me a fucking river.”
“It’s not about the money!” Ethan raised his voice, and Nat looked over at him with worried eyes. But Preston just laughed at him mockingly.
“So what’s this—“ he reached over and tugged Ethan’s collar, causing him to jump. “And this—“ He flicked the button on Ethan’s designer jeans, leaning back again as Ethan blinked rapidly. “And that car you drive. And every single thing I’ve seen you wearing or using. You’re like a walking CK ad.”
“It’s Armani,” he whispered, staring at him wide eyed. Preston snorted again and put his arms behind his head once more, holding the back of his neck and exposing more of his stomach.
“Whatever, dude. The point is you clearly like daddy’s money. So don’t pretend you’ve got it tough.”
Nat felt the blood drain from her face. Ethan was staring at him…and she knew that look.
“Ethan…?” she said tentatively, and Preston darted a glance at her before looking back to Ethan and frowning.
“Dude. You sick or something?”
Ethan’s chest was expanding and contracting quickly, his eyes still locked on Preston.
Nat stood slowly, walking over and stepping between them, blocking Preston from his sight. He seemed to stare through her.
“Ethan,” she whispered, carefully kneeling in front of him until his eyes turned to hers. “Think of something else.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Preston said, getting up to go squat down beside her.
“Preston, just—go watch the door!” she said, panic entering her voice as Ethan’s eyes turned back to him and the look she knew so well began taking over completely.
“Fuck that. I want to watch the prep spaz out,” he said fascinated.
“Would you go!” she cried, pushing at him, only to stop at Ethan’s voice.
“I can’t stop it,” he whispered, his hands slowly unbuttoning his shirt.
“What the fuck?” Preston laughed.
Shit. Shit shit shit. What should she do? Nat’s eyes flew around the room, spotting the closet. She ran over to see if it was unlocked and grabbed her hair when it wasn’t. Shit.
Her eyes flew back to Ethan who was now standing, still undressing in a daze, his eyes locked on Preston who was laughing and pulling out his phone. She ran over and snatched it out of his hands.
“What the fuck, Natty? I seriously need to get this on video!”
“Will you stop?” she said desperately, her eyes darting to the door. She began trying to pull him toward it. “Go make sure the teacher doesn’t come back!”
He let her pull him for a moment, grinning at her, but stopped short before they reached the door.
“Nah. Think I’ll stay for the show. Is he on meds? Rich kids are always on something.”
Ethan had nearly everything off now.
“Oh my god…give me my phone, Natty. Please. You can’t do this to me.”
The classroom door had a window. If anyone walked by…
She held onto Preston, yanking him hard toward the door with her.
“Ow! Geez. Shouldn’t you be the one leaving? If your brother hears you’ve been looking at some naked guy, someone’s head is going to roll.”
“Preston, stand right here. Don’t let anyone see in. And whatever you do, don’t scream!”
“Scream?” he laughed before joking, “I have a bigger dick than that, Na—“
But his words cut off with a strangled sound as his eyes lifted over her shoulder, and she slammed her hand across his mouth a moment before the yell could make its way up his throat.
Preston grabbed her, frantically trying to pull her with him out the door, but she smacked him hard, jolting him out of his panic.
“Will you stop?” she hissed, pulling the door shut again and praying the teacher hadn’t heard anything. The blood had completely drained from Preston’s face, and he flattened his back against the wall, his grip a vice on her arm while he looked past her with horrified eyes.
Nat glanced over her shoulder and for a moment could only stare in awe.
Ethan was beautiful. He was smaller than Caleb, but his huge form still took up far more space than an ordinary wolf. His warm golden coat glinted in the sunlight streaming through the window, and she sighed for a moment, leaning her head on Preston’s shoulder. It was just so amazing that they existed.
But the voice down the hall snapped her back to attention, and she dragged Preston back to stand in front of the windowed portion. His body was taller and wider than hers, so if anyone did pass by, he had a better shot at hiding Ethan.
“Just stand here,” she said in a soft voice, stroking his arm a bit to try to soothe him. He just kept clinging to her. Sighing, she turned back to Ethan, whose eyes were locked on Preston.
“Ethan, you have to turn back. Mr. Jones could come back any minute. Just…turn around. Think about…homework. Or…your dad! Think about your dad! What would he say if he found out you shifted?”
A whine sounded in the wolf’s throat, and he took a step back, lowering his head.
“Okay, then, well…just turn around and think!” she said exasperated. Caleb got so fixated when he was like this as well. Maybe it was common not to think quite as clearly in wolf form. Or at least, quite as humanly.
Ethan whined again, his eyes turning back to Preston, and Nat looked up at him.
“Say something,” she whispered. “Let him know it’s okay.”
“Okay?” he said hoarsely. “What the fuck. I mean…what the fuck.”
Ethan’s whine grew more insistent, and he licked his muzzle, lowering his head further and starting to approach. Preston pressed himself against the door more strongly.
“Come on. You have a wolf tattoo! Are you seriously going to be a scaredy cat now?”
He glanced at her, and Nat was glad to see a bit of indignation enter his eyes. But they were all too wary when they returned to Ethan once more.
“Jesus,” he whispered, swallowing. Ethan whined again, coming closer slowly, until he stood right in front of him. He kept his head low, his eyes on Preston’s, and whimpered as he reached out to nuzzle the hand Preston had flattened against the wood behind him.
“Fuck,” he said hoarsely when Ethan began licking him, and Nat leaned close to the door, trying to see down the hall. She couldn’t hear Mr. Jones anymore.
Preston slowly let his hand relax, dropping it to his side while Ethan licked him more strongly and started to press into him.
“Ethan, I don’t hear—“ But her words were cut off when they all heard the footsteps rapidly approaching an instant before Mr. Jones pushed at the door, looking up in shocked annoyance when it didn’t open fully. His eyes widened when he saw Preston and Nat’s faces.
“What are you kids doing? Get back in your seats!”
He shoved harder, causing Nat to yelp when it hit her toes and pushing Preston over, pulling Nat with him into a heap of fur and bodies and tangled limbs.
And then they were all looking up, two pale faces in a bit of a panic…with one calm, naked boy between them.
