Chapter 20
My mother was smiling for the first time since my father was taken away by pack Gammas.
“Oh, Judy. Good, you’re home. Look who came to visit,” she said, beaming as she looked at Ethan. “He told me he’d be able to help us if you cooperate with him.”
She shot me a questioning glance, as if seeking my approval. I’d told her that Ethan refused to help, but now he was making it seem like I was being uncooperative with his demands. He hadn’t shared what those demands were, and I wasn’t about to either. It would only break her heart further, and I didn’t have it in me to explain right now. I was exhausted from the day, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. The last thing I wanted was to deal with Ethan.
I folded my arms across my chest and shot Ethan a glare. He had that smug smile plastered on his face.
“What’s he doing here, Mom?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
She frowned at me.
“Is that any way to speak?” she asked, her brows furrowing. “I raised you better than that, Judy. Ethan has been a family friend for years. He’s your mate. He’s also offering to help us during our time of need. You should show him more respect.”
I pressed my lips together into a thin line.
“Do I need to remind you that we broke up?” I asked, still staring at Ethan but speaking directly to my mother. I needed them both to be clear: Ethan and I were no longer together, and if my mother was hoping for reconciliation, she was out of luck. That wasn’t happening.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends,” she replied. “He’s in the running to be our new Alpha. Regardless, he deserves our respect.”
Ethan stood to his feet, and I instinctively took a step back, wanting as much distance between us as possible. My wolf had been quiet since we saw him at Gavin’s villa with Irene, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong with her. She hadn’t blocked me since the day Ethan rejected us.
“I apologize for intruding,” Ethan said, keeping that same plastered smile on his face as he looked at me. I knew it was just for my mother, because I could hear the bitterness in his tone. “I was hoping for a moment of your time.”
“In your dreams, Ethan,” I said, then turned my back to him and stormed out of the living room. I wasn’t going to give him the time of day.
I wrapped my arms around my body as I ascended the stairs. Just as I reached my door and opened it, a hand pressed against my lower back, shoving me the rest of the way into my room. The door slammed shut behind me.
I whipped around to face Ethan, who stood there, arms folded across his chest.
“What the hell are you doing in here, Ethan?” I sneered.
“I should be the one asking you questions,” he retorted bitterly. “What do you think you’re doing flaunting yourself around Gavin Landry like that?”
I raised my brows, taken aback.
“Excuse me?” I asked. “What business of that is yours? Aren’t you engaged to his daughter?”
“Do you really think ‘whoring yourself out’ to Gavin is going to help get your father out of prison?” Ethan scoffed. “You’re delusional if you think he’d ever be interested in you.”
“You do remember the hickeys I had on my neck not too long ago, right?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
His eyes darkened at the mention of those hickeys, and he took a step toward me. I instinctively took a step back, not wanting to be anywhere near him.
“I asked around,” he muttered. “Apparently, Gavin was seen drinking a lot that evening. He wasn’t in his right mind. You must have taken advantage of the situation.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “I did no such thing!”
“I’m not sure who you’re trying to fool, Judy, but I’m not buying it. I know the kind of person you are. You’d do anything to help your family, even if it means sleeping with someone for a bit of money. Why not just take me up on my offer and end all this?”
“Because I won’t be your mistress, Ethan,” I hissed. “That’s insulting to everyone involved, including Irene. Don’t you care about her at all? How could you ask such a thing of me, knowing it would hurt her?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Don’t act like you care about her,” he replied dismissively.
“Someone has to,” I growled.
Ethan let out a humorless laugh before grabbing me, pulling me close, and completely catching me off guard. He wrapped one arm around my hips and the other around my back, pressing me flush against his hard chest. My heart nearly leaped out of my throat from the sudden motion.
“Just shut up,” he murmured before his lips crashed into mine.
Anger surged through me as his lips moved against mine, his tongue swiping across my bottom lip, seeking entrance. I kept my mouth firmly shut, refusing to give in. At one point, I would’ve been weak in the knees from his kiss, but now all I felt was disgust and betrayal. I no longer felt that same tingly sensation I once did from his touch. I just felt used.
