When The Wolves Come Out

Chapter 35

I yawn, rubbing my eyes. I roll over in bed to see Stefano next to me, peacefully sleeping. I stretch out my body and shiver, noticing that my shoulders were bare. I slowly look under the covers, seeing no clothes on me whatsoever. Huh?

I look at Stefano, who is also naked.

Crap. Maybe I'd had one too many drinks last night.

I blush ferociously at the thought and Stefano's eyes slowly flutter open. He smirks, looking me up and down. I bury myself further under the covers, hiding my face.

"Good morning," he says in a raspy voice, chuckling.

"Morning," I reply, my voice muffled from under the duvet.

"Aw, come on. Is that any way to treat your future husband?" He laughs and I push the covers away, pulling a large t-shirt over my head and getting out of the bed. "Don't cover it up!" he jokes before following me.

I turn around to see him still fully naked, standing confidently in front of me. "Ahhh!" I squeal, covering my eyes.

"You didn't have that reaction last night," Stefano says, still laughing.

"Yeah because we were drunk!"

"If that helps you sleep at night..." He smirks, pulling on some clothes.

We head downstairs for breakfast where Alan is already sitting at the table along with Max. They both look up at me expectantly.

"Well?" Alan says, leaning forwards.

I pull up my hand, revealing the ring that was still placed on my finger.

Max applauds. "'Bout time Stefano got some!"

"Shut up." Stefano blushes and rolls his eyes, although I can see a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"We're going hunting today," Alan says. "You can come too, Lyn. Just to keep watch if you'd like."

"Sure," I agree.

~~

I wrap up in one of Stefano's jumpers to keep warm in the forest. I enjoy the attention from him that I missed for the past week, and now we feel closer than ever.

"So, Lyn. You will keep watch over there and shout if you see any movement, okay? We'll stay close to the area," Alan explains as we walk through the trees. I nod.

We come to a clearing in the woods, and everyone shifts into wolf form except for me, being the only human.

Stefano's wolf nods, looking at me through the same hazel eyes before the pack disappears, leaving me by myself. I sit down on a rock, filing my nails. What else was I supposed to do? I only came because it would please Stefano and the pack.

Suddenly, I hear a rustle in the trees in front of me. I immediately stand up, poking out my nail file. "Who's there?"

More rustling.

I hold my breath, ready to call out for Stefano when a familiar man steps out from behind a tree. His dark brown hair is tumbling over his forehead, longer and curlier than before. His body seems more muscly and stronger than before, his skin more olive-toned. However, I look up at his face to meet the same chocolate brown eyes that I knew all too well.

"Ethan," I whisper, so quiet that you could barely hear it.

"Ash." He stares at me intently, taking in my every feature. "You've changed so much."

He takes a step towards me but I step back, poking out my nail file even further.

"Don't," I warn.

"I guess you haven't changed that much then."

"What do you want, Ethan?" I say, my voice sounding harsher than I intended. I try to cover up my nerves by standing tall, but it doesn't seem to be working.

"I didn't plan to see you here." He rubs his eyes. "Just taking a walk."

Silence stretches between us and I feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Ash."

I meet his eyes.

"What happened between us?"

Confusion now replaces my nerves. He was seriously wondering why I ran away?

"You never let me explain myself, Ethan. You didn't even try to listen to me... I thought you didn't love me anymore." My voice cracks slightly, and I have to remind myself that he's not a part of me anymore.

"Ash, I never stopped."

I take in a sharp breath and pull the nail file away. Ethan stares at my hand, confusion spreading across his face before he stops breathing completely.

"You're engaged?" He scoffs, suddenly angry.

I kick some leaves on the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"It happened yesterday," I mumble.

"You moved on," he whispers in disbelief.

"What did you think would happen?" I pluck up the courage to look at him. "That I would just mope around for the rest of my life?"

"Grayson and I are your mates... Why are you marrying someone if..." He suddenly seems to catch on. "You have three?"

I nod, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

"Ash, please don't cry. After you left, I never forgave myself. I couldn't stop thinking about you—"

"But I did," I cut him off, wiping my eyes. "I had the nerve to move on from the people I loved."

"Please, Ash, I hate to see you cry. You know that." Ethan steps towards me and I let him engulf me in his arms. I breathe in his familiar scent of the woods during winter, making me cry even harder into his shoulder.

"Sshhh... Come on, Ash. We can get past this. Come home with me—"

"I can't." I pull away from the hug, stepping backwards. "I'm engaged."

"But I still love—"

The sound of wolves running towards us cut Ethan off, and soon we were surrounded by members of the pack. I spot Stefano and he immediately runs up to me, wiping my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Lyn, what happened?" he asks, his voice soft and calming.

There's rustling in the leaves behind me. I take deep breaths, looking over towards where Ethan was, but now he was completely gone.