Page 150 of Unforgivable

So fight it fucking is.

"Is that your issue, Rick?" I say softly, letting my hands hang loosely at my sides, ready. "You think you deserve my female?" This asshole's brother is one of those males, and he thinks he can be with Lyri?

I duck the first punch, but the second hits me right in the gut. My breath whooshes out, but I still manage to kick Rick's ankle out from under him. Giles jumps in, getting in two solid hits to my exposed right side before I elbow him in the nose.

"Fuck!" he shouts out, clutching his bleeding face.

"Asshole. Will she want you when we fuck up your pretty face?" Rick snarls.

"I'll still be sexier than you, shit-face," I snap. He's on me just a heartbeat later, one arm linked around my neck, strangling me. I elbow him twice, but it only loosens his grip for a second. Giles comes in swinging, punching my stomach repeatedly. They're getting in good licks when I feel Rick let me go. Gasping for air, I sink to my knees.

"Just remember, you MateLess fucking dog, that's where you belong; right there in the dirt."

They leave, thankfully, as I cough into the ground. Fuckers. I swear to the goddess, they're fucking lucky that I have better control of my wolf now that Lyri is with us.

Gingerly I roll over, facing the sky. The moon shines brightly down on me. It's a full moon in just two days.

"Lyri's right. You are a bitch," I wheeze out.

I lie there, staring at the moon and wondering why she's done this to Lyri and me. Then again, if Daan weren't such an asshole, then I wouldn't have Lyri in my life. She would be this untouchable female, a Luna.

I smile, crossing my arms under my head. I'm the Luna's male.

I lie there in the dirt for a few minutes, just listening to the calm of the woods at night to my right, and the raucous bar to my left. I feel peaceful for the first time in a long time. Yeah, so the way I got my female wasn't conventional, but it's all done and dusted.

The shuffling footsteps snap my peaceful moment. For a moment, I wonder if Giles and Rick have returned for more, and I prepare myself to run towards the bar if that's the case.

The figure who skulks out of the shadows of the forest isn't Rick or Giles, however.

It's Ethan Pierson.

I silently apologize to the goddess. She's given me a gift tonight. Ethan walks past me, only twenty feet away, not looking in my direction once. I see him glance backward at the Watering Hole, but not once does his gaze fall to me. Licking my lips, I climb to my feet as silently as possible. Thank the goddess Gramps trained me to be as silent as possible when stalking prey.

I walk after Ethan, careful to stick to the shadows. He walks behind the Watering Hole towards town. My vision sharpens, taste becomes alive as the colors of the world become muted. My wolf, the crazy bastard, is on board with me for once.

Shaking, I follow and follow until he reaches Main Street. When he starts walking along the better-lit areas, I realize what rough shape the prissy little pup is in. His clothes are dirty, smudged, and wrinkled, hanging off his frame as if he's lost weight. He has at least a few days worth of a beard, and his hair is a touch too long for the wolf I remember as being way too concerned with his appearance.

He stops walking close to the clinic. Closer, closer, I creep forward until I can hear him talking on his cell phone.

"I don't know, Cloe!" He pauses, sounding out-of-breath. "They're in town tonight... Cal disappeared. So many of us have disappeared," he practically sobs. Gritting my teeth, I slide under a parked SUV to get closer. It's worth the risk.

"...I don't know. No one's come for me yet. No one... no one knows..."

I use just my fingers to pull my body under the SUV, closer and closer. My stomach hurts from earlier, but I ignore it. I want to get closer, to hear the person on the other side of this phone call.

"...when are you coming back? Dad keeps talking about killing her, Cloe. He's going to die, and then they'll know it was me..."

Ethan sniffles a little, "...Dad's really angry, Cloe. Mom is barely speaking to either of us. She just cries a lot..."

I edge closer. I'm only a few feet away from Ethan, but I can't hear Cloe. She may be whispering on her end.

"... What do you want me to do about that? You did this," he hisses, "you wanted Daan so badly..."

Now I can hear her, but it's wordless shrieking.

"... Stop it, Cloe! There's nothing that can be done now. Does he... does he know about me?"

I hold my breath. Killing Ethan isn't the priority anymore. Even my wolf has calmed down. This is too interesting and too valuable.

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