SEDUCTIVE PREY

FILF'S AND FISTS

Ethan's conversation with his stepdad didn't go well, which we expected. And there wasn't much he could say as he was berated and shamed for not protecting Zara better. For being alive when Zara is not. Because, according to his stepfather, he should have protected her with his life.

Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I keep my distance from Ethan. He needs time to deal and heal, and I doubt his people would take kindly to him warming up to someone so soon after his wife's demise. So, out of respect for him, I stay in my lane. Allowing him to come to me when he's ready.

If he will ever be ready.

While it's no secret we're madly in love with each other, he started a life with Zara. And knowing him as well as I do, I know he took his role as her husband seriously. Honoring his vows to her, making sure she felt important to him, and showering her with affection.

Hell... it's what I love most about him.

He's so noble, and such a gentleman.

His relationship with his mom, Eden, and his grandma... it's more proof of just how fucking amazing he is. Which makes me feel like an idiot for letting him go.

I am an idiot.

So, as I watch him stand beside Zara's casket, his face riddled with guilt and sadness and pain... I make a silent vow to myself that if our love can survive this, I will never take him for granted again. And no matter how long it takes, I will wait for him to work through this.

I owe him that much.

His stepdad puts distance between them. Opting to stand on the other side of his mother, who comforts him, instead of beside Ethan. His red-rimmed eyes producing more tears than I thought Vampirically possible.

Ethan's stepdad is destroyed by the loss of his favorite niece and collapses during the funeral. Sobbing heavily for the girl who was more like a daughter to him.

The daughter he never had.

A daughter who isn't me.

As if they expected us to not be able to stay away from one another, the security around Ethan looks like the security around the president. With only his mom, his stepdad, and Eden allowed near him.

And all I want to do is comfort him.

To be by his side to support him through what must be one of the most difficult days of his life. Because today is the day, he buries his wife before his kind. Today his people have a front-row seat to his biggest failure and deepest pain. Today he is vulnerable and left bare for all to see and exploit if they wished.

The ceremony is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Even more beautiful than the service we held for Kyle. With a choir singing tear-jerking melodies in the background, white wisteria flowers dangling above her casket as some sort of mystical garden halo, and a large picture frame with a beautiful picture of Zara in it.

Her casket is carried by Ethan, his stepfather, and his new improved syndicate to her final resting place inside the royal mausoleum on Ethan's family property. Doves are then released to signify Zara's ascension from the cruel world that took her life to a new one.

And after she is finally laid to rest, we're all invited back to Ethan's parents' house for supper. Only I still can't get close enough to Ethan to say a word to him.

"I'm gonna go." I hug Eden goodbye.

"So soon?" She pouts. "But you haven't even had time to talk to Ethan yet. And there are a lot of things the two of you need to say to each other."