Page 84 of Awakening

He stands and backs away from me with his hands on his hips. “What did you hear?” he asks, looking at the ground.

“Everything,” I say with a strangled sob, burying my face in my hands.

“Olivia.” He comes for me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

I jerk away from him, shooting off the bed and scurrying to the other side of the room. “Don’t fucking touch me. Don’t ever touch me again.” I shake my head while I release uncontrollable sobs. “I don’t know what’s going on in this place, but all you’ve done is lie to me. I’m sure you’re brainwashing me to believe the insanity I heard you talking about.”

“Brainwashing? What the fuck? No,” he barks. “That’s not true. I love you. Just let me explain things to you. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Don’t say that to me. Don’t ever say that to me again. You don’t love me.”

“Bullshit.” He comes at me, taking my upper arms in his hands and walking me the rest of the way back until I’m against the wall. “I love you more than fucking life itself. You are everything to me.”

“You said I’m not human anymore. How do you possibly explain that, Ethan?”

“I can. Just listen. Please, Olivia. Do it for Evelyn.”

My eyes widen and anger boils in the pit of my stomach. “Don’t you throw her in my face,” I say, not even thinking as my hand flies up in the air. He catches it and pins it against the wall.

“That’s the second time you’ve attempted to do that since last night,” he says. “Do I need blindfold you and tie you to this bed again to remind you who we are together?”

I push him in the chest with my free hand. “You will do no such thing to me. As you said, that requires a level of trust, and I don’t have a fucking ounce of that for you right now.”

He sighs, lowering his forehead to mine as he holds me in place. “Olivia, please. I promise you it’s not as scary as it must have sounded. Just let me explain.”

“I’m not interested.” I try to escape his hold and go around him to no avail.

“I don’t want to be this way, but let me put it to you like this, you’re not leaving this room until you let me explain.”

“Ass,” I say, shaking my head. I know if he doesn’t want me to leave, then physically he can keep me in this room. I’m no match for him. “Fine, explain. But, let go of me.” He backs away, allowing me my freedom in the room, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that he blocks the door with his wall of a body instead.

“Tell me what you heard that scared you.”

“I told you, Ethan. I heard everything. Alpha. At least now I know who Lu is, as in Luna, though I still don’t have a fucking clue what it means. I also heard you call me your mate again like you did the other day, obviously by accident, and talking to Max about your society, whatever the hell that means. And, what do wolves have to do with any of this?”

“Fuck,” he says, shaking his head. “So, you heard literally everything.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” I cross my arms and stare at him as my breathing remains choppy from my crying.

“I think before we go any further, we should get Chloe and Nick over here.”

I frown and shake my head. “Why? So you can gather your brainwashing team to work against me? No. Forget it. I don’t trust them right now either. I knew something felt strange about this place. Whatever it is, they’re in on it. Aren’t they?”

“There’s nothing to be in on, Olivia. I just thought a little support might help.”

“No, it won’t. You’re a big boy. You can handle this all on your own. Now, you wanted to explain, so explain.”

“I don’t know how to say this to you.” He pulls his hands down his face. “I need you to keep an open mind, Liv. Please.”

“Just say it.”

“Okay.” He looks me dead in the eye. “There’s a society most people don’t know about…well, most humans, that is. We’re werewolves, Olivia. We have our human form, but we also have genes that make it possible for us to shift into wolves. I’m one, Nick’s one, Chloe’s one, and now you are too. You weren’t always. You were human when we met, but I discovered that you’re my mate, and you decided to transition so we could lead our community together…as Alpha and Luna.”

My mouth drops open as he continues to talk. “When you were taken by Ian, you were pregnant with my baby and we were engaged, just as you’ve been told. He drugged you with two different drugs. One was to cause fetal harm, and the other was to try to destroy our mate bond. You know the part about being hit with his car and the amnesia. If it weren’t for one of the drugs you were given, our mate bond would have overruled the amnesia, and you would have remembered me. I didn’t tell you because I was worried it would be too much.”

“Is that all?” I grab the phone from the bed, and cross my arms after sliding it into the pocket on the front of my sweatshirt.

“That’s the quick version of things, but I’ll go into as much detail with you as you need. I’m so sorry you had to find out like this. I promise you, I was eventually going to tell you.”

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