Ethan greeted the new day alone. Physically, at least. Emotionally and spiritually, he shared a tie to Hannah, and through Hannah, Noah.
Eyes closed and hands fisted around the railing of his deck, he opened his mind. Two thick, luminous tethers extended from his soul, one joining him to his wolf, the other to Hannah. He couldn’t see the bond she shared with Noah, but he felt it. Noah was a shadow in Ethan’s mind, strengthening him.
He used a metaphysical hand to examine the new coiled rope. A single stroke over the shimmering cord, and awareness settled over him, along with need. The yearning to seek Hannah out overwhelmed him. He wanted to feel her skin pressed to his and to hear her cries of completion in his ear.
On top of the physical craving for his mate, possessive and protective instincts consumed him. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing or with whom. He knew, of course. She was with Noah and would remain with him until the next full moon. Holding him. Kissing him. Loving him. She’d fall asleep in his arms and wake up with his scent in her lungs. Not Ethan’s.
His growl started as a low rumble in his chest and built into a deep snarl that left him vibrating with anger. Their mating wasn’t supposed to have ended up with them separated or with Hannah crying and seeking comfort from Noah. Yet it had.
It was Michael’s fault too.
Muscles locked, Ethan tightened his grip on the wooden railing. Every fiber of his being reached for Hannah—his mate, his lover, his friend. He wanted to hold her. Soothe her injured pride too.
But he couldn’t. He had to pretend as if she meant nothing to him. As if Noah, the male who first taught him how to love, meant nothing to Ethan.
His wolf whined, sharing his pain. The animal’s small whimper was one Ethan had heard many times over the years, and it wasn’t Hannah it had cried for.
Every night Noah had walked away from them, it had been saddened. Ethan had suffered from loneliness and jealousy for years when it came to Noah. The looks of lust on females’ faces for Noah had infuriated Ethan. Often he’d been tempted to yank Noah behind him and snarl at anyone who’d dare try to take Noah away or sway his devotion. The need for secrecy and the knowledge that Noah loved him had eased Ethan’s intense emotions.
Was the situation he was in with Hannah any different? She loved him. Or she had before he’d humiliated her.
No. Ethan couldn’t think of it that way. He had no choice. Protecting Hannah came first.
Yes, he knew that. It didn’t make what he’d done okay.
And if Noah hadn’t left her alone, he never would’ve hurt her…
Ethan shut the thought off and curled his hands until his nails dug into his skin. No. He would not go there. Noah had made a choice. There was no going back in time to change it. Hannah had survived. Ethan had made sure she was safe and wouldn’t be alone. Noah was with her, bonded to her in a way even Ethan hadn’t fathomed. Both his lovers were safe, and he’d never be separated from them. That was all that mattered. Together they would heal any wounds caused by the previous night’s events. First, he had to make plans to ensure they had a future. Nobody ever promised love was perfect. He’d fight with everything he had to hold onto it, though.
Ethan dragged in a deep breath, letting the tension drain from his body. He had a decision to make, one that went against nature. The primal side of him balked at the idea. The rest of him understood the necessity of it. As a shifter who would soon be alpha, he had to weigh the choices and pick the best one, not only for him but for his pack and their species as a whole.
His gaze drifted to clearing where he’d met Hannah. Her visit had opened up a world he’d never known possible, but it had also brought to light a fact that shamed him. She hadn’t come to his pack lands looking for a mate. She’d wanted to find out if Tanner males were as depraved as they were perceived. As much as he wished it differently, shifters outside his pack viewed them that way. Years of Michael’s influence had built their reputation.
If members of their own species considered his pack corrupted, what would humans think of them? Or of shifters in general?
He’d worried for years about how his species would be received once the general public learned of them. So had nearly every shifter, no matter the variety. It was why their elders made the historic move and reached out to the humans. The deals and the laws they’d helped establish paved the groundwork for human-shifter relations. But was it the right choice?
Were they really above the law?
That was the point that had left a sick feeling in his gut in the days since he’d wielded those same historic edicts—holding him exempt from human interference. The human government would essentially turn a blind eye to the fact he was going to commit premeditated murder.
Shifter law said it was his right. The strong should survive. If a male could no longer hold on to his position, he didn’t deserve to live. That was what he’d been taught.
And it was that very attitude that would destroy them.
Ethan took a deep breath, letting his choice settle over him, then took out his cell phone and turned it on. A missed call and a text message from Ella showed on the screen.
I have news. Some good. Some bad. Call me.
The time stamped on the text was a little after midnight. Tension radiated through him. He’d missed her call. Anything could’ve happened in the hours since. He selected Ella’s number from his contacts and dialed.
“What happened?” he asked before she could get her greeting out.
“Owen wasn’t one of the shifters being auctioned, but our agent managed to get the contact information of a buyer who might be able to locate him. Or at least wolf shifters who meet the description you gave us.”
He pushed back the frustration. The humans weren’t giving up on Owen. They were fighting for him. Ethan would do the same.
“Thank you, Ella. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t thank me until I bring him home to you. If he’s still alive, I promise I’ll find him.”
He grinned. “I know, and I’ve decided to do my share to help bring him home, along with all the other shifters and humans who’ve been deemed expendable.”
“How so?”
“I’ve changed my mind about Michael. I’m not going to kill him.”