Page 10 of Stuck with my Pack
“Exactly,” he interrupts, his tone harsher now. “And now you’re back, thinking what? That you’ve got it all figured out? That I’m just going to pretend that you didn’t rip my heart out.”
His words cut deep, but I refuse to let him see how much. “You don’t know me anymore, Ethan. So stop pretending you do.”
There’s a flicker of something in his eyes—hurt, maybe—but it’s gone as quickly as it came. He takes a step closer, his towering frame nearly brushing mine.
His scent, a mix of pine and rain-soaked earth, swirls around me like turbulence. It makes my head spin in ways I hate and crave all at once.
“I know enough,” he murmurs, his voice quiet and intense. His huge body crowds me, and I feel swallowed up by him. And I don’t want to come up for air.
“And I know enough to see that you’re still the same judgmental Alpha who can’t see past his own assumptions,” I snap, my voice firm.
He exhales sharply, his jaw tightening as if holding back something he wants to say. Instead, he shakes his head and turns toward the door.
“Good luck, Sophie. You’re going to need it.”
As he steps into the hall, his words hang in the air, heavy and sharp, and I’m left standing there, feeling the weight of his judgment and my own uncertainty pressing down on me.
5
ETHAN
The stairs creak under my boots as I plunge down the stairs and out of the inn, every step reverberating with the storm raging inside me. I barely notice the muted lighting of the inn or the smell of aged wood and faint vanilla that clings to the air—Sophie’s scent. It clings to my senses, maddening and inescapable, and no amount of deep breathing can chase it away.
I tell myself I don’t care. It’s none of my business what she and Tyler do, but the memory of her flushed cheeks and the way Tyler had looked at her—like he was ready to devour her—burns in my mind. My fists tighten at my sides as I hit the front parlor, my jaw clenched so tight it aches.
The cool evening air hits me as I shove the front door open, but it does nothing to calm the fire under my skin. My feet carry me toward the orchard almost on instinct, the rhythmic crunch of gravel and dirt underfoot barely grounding me. The rain is steady now, soaking through my shirt, but I don’t care. I need the space, the solitude. I need to think—or not think.
Her laugh echoes in my head, bright and unguarded, the way it used to sound around bonfires when we were younger. I can still see her there, the way her face glowed in the firelight, the way she leaned into me like she trusted me with her whole world.
And then she left. No warning. No goodbye. Just…fucking gone.
I reach the edge of the orchard, the familiar scent of apples and damp earth surrounding me, but it’s not enough to erase her. Sophie’s scent still lingers, soft and grounding, with that wild, maddening edge. It’s burned into my senses like a mark I can’t erase. Everything in me demands I run back there and claim her. I want her to submit to me. I want to bite her while I lose myself in her. I want to feel her slick and taste her. We used to lose each other to pleasure, and I missed that more than I realized.
I growl, kicking at a loose stone in the wall between our two properties. A large portion of the wall tumbles down the hill, but the sharp movement does nothing to release the knot in my chest. Why did she have to come back? Why now, after all these years? And why does she still have this hold on me?
I lean against the nearest tree, the bark rough against my back. The rain slides down my face, mixing with the sweat on my brow. Her words from earlier cut through the haze in my mind:“Not everything needs saving, Ethan—especially not me.”
The sting of her tone, the defiance in her eyes—it felt like a slap, but damn it if she wasn’t right. I can’t fix everything. I know that. But it doesn’t stop the ache, the need to protect her. To fix what I couldn’t the first time.
But it’s not just Sophie. It’s Tyler, too. And Brodie.
The pack is in shambles, and it’s my fault. I was supposed to hold us together, to be the anchor. But instead, Brodie took off, and Tyler… Tyler’s still here, but it’s like we’re strangers some days.
And then there’s Sophie. Seeing her with Tyler earlier—how their scents mixed, like a song I’ve always known but forgot—felt like home.
I slam my fist against the tree, the dull thud reverberating through my arm.Can this even be fixed? Can I make this work? Can we make this work? There really is no future without Brodie and Tyler. And we need her.The thought feels too big, too heavy, and for a moment, it threatens to crush me.
“Fuck!” The word tears out of me, raw and guttural, carried away by the rain.
The silence that follows is deafening. I let my head fall back against the tree, my eyes closing as the rain drips down my face. I’m so goddamn tired. Tired of running in circles. Tired of trying to do it all alone. Tired of pretending I don’t want more.
Because I do. I want her. I want Tyler. I want Brodie. I want my pack.
The truth settles in my chest like a weight, heavy but resolute. It’s about damn time I admitted it.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I unlock it with trembling fingers. My thumb hovers over Brodie’s name for a moment before I tap it, crafting a text.
Me:Feel like grabbing a drink? Meet me at the bar in an hour?
