Page 76 of Burning Embers

“Admit that you’re super thankful for me, and I’m the best big foster brother ever,” he continues in a singsong voice.

“Eat shit and die!”

Jake catches sight of me first, and he seems to do a double take, blinking rapidly.

Oh…fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

I quickly pivot on my heel so I’m now facing the doorway, trying to get my breathing under control.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Slowly, my claws recede, transforming back into normal fingers, and my teeth shrink. The spurts of fur that havehaphazardly grown on my arms dissipate, leaving smooth, unblemished skin with a little bit of tattoos peeking out from just underneath my shirtsleeves.

Only when I’m positive that I have my wolf under control—and the fucker won’t go on a murderous rampage—do I turn back around with a tentative smile.

Izzy and Jake are both sitting up on the couch, staring at me. Izzy appears confused, maybe even a little worried, but Jake’s eyebrows are scrunched together so tightly that it looks like he’s taking a shit.

Motherfucking ice-cream truck.

“Hey.” I venture a step forward and then stop when Izzy’s sweet scent permeates the air.

It’s so potent and heady that I half want to close my eyes and inhale deeply like a creeper. But I don’t. I do, however, allow just a little bit to trickle into my nostrils. Call me a glutton for punishment, but a twisted part of me wants to see if she’s aroused by what she just did with Jake.

My shoulders actually sag with relief when I detect no difference between her scent at school and her scent now. Unless she’s perpetually aroused, then there’s no way she got hot and bothered by rolling around on the couch with Jake and?—

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Shame instantly fills me, and I feel like a ripe piece of shit. I shouldn’t have disrespected her privacy like that. So what if she’s aroused by another man? She doesn’t know about mates or werewolves—at least from what I can tell—so she has no reason to be faithful to me and my packmates.

I’m being a primitive, possessive asshole, and I can’t even blame my wolf for that. Yeah, he may be amplifying my emotions, but I’m the one in control.

You need to do better, Ethan.

I make a vow to myself—right then and there—that I’ll be her friend first and foremost. If she wants to talk about guys and crushes, then so be it. I have absolutely no fucking right to place a claim on her.

Hell, I barely even know her.

My wolf growls sharply in denial, but I shush him.

“Ethan, hey!” Izzy smiles at me then, and I swear all coherent thoughts flee.

I forget about my vow and my anger and my jealousy and even my wolf. The way she smiles, her entire face shifting to accommodate it… It makes me feel like I’m the only guy in the world.

My heart begins to race even faster in my chest.

“I heard that there were…errr…games?” I blurt stupidly.

I instantly want to facepalm.

Way to be articulate.

“Actually…” Jake stretches dramatically and rolls his neck from side to side. “I need to start getting ready for work. Sorry, bro. I completely forgot I have a shift tonight.”

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