Page 83 of Roaring Flames

“I don’t hate you,” I snap immediately. Instinctively.

I don’t know why I’m trying to comfort him, only that I am. His pain pries me apart in a way I haven’t allowed it to in months. Maybe even years.

Ethan laughs, but the noise is devoid of any humor. “You can’t even freaking look at me anymore, Em.” He blows out a breath. “I know I messed up. Iknowthat. And I know you have no reason to trust me anymore?—”

“I trust you with my life. With the life of our mate,” I cut in, my tone scathing. I rub a hand down my face. “I’m so fucking angry at you, Ethan. When I look at you, I just see that night all over again.”

The blood.

The screams.

The tears.

A shudder works its way through me, causing the breath to seize in my chest.

“I could apologize a million times, but it won’t make a difference,” Ethan whispers. “I know I fucked up. I know what I did is unforgivable. I know all of that. We’re tied to Desiree because of my actions, because of what I did. If I could go back in time, I would.”

“Why did you do it, man?” The question has been haunting me for a while now. “I supported you. I did everything for you. How could you do this to me? To our pack? To yourself?”

Ethan doesn’t respond, and I wonder if he’s thinking of an answer. The silence stretches between us until it’s as taut as a bowstring, but still, he doesn’t respond. Doesn’t offer an explanation.

But that’s okay.

I’m not the one who needs the answers to those questions. He does.

“Will you ever tell Izzy about…?” I allow my words to taper off, leaving the question unspoken, hanging stagnant in the air like a plume of poisonous gas.

“I’ll tell her,” Ethan says, finally lifting his head to stare at me. He uses his pointer finger to slide his glasses back into place. “I’ll tell her everything.”

“She won’t hate you,” I whisper, the words tugged from between my numb lips. “That’s not the type of person she is.”

“We barely know what type of person she is,” Ethan points out. “We pushed her away. We can blame Ashton all we want, but it’s all of our faults. You. Me. Reid. Ashton.”

“I’m not giving up on her.” I don’t know if my words are a warning, a threat, or both.

“I’m not either.”

Both of us recline back in the beanbags and allow the silence to settle between us. It’s not necessarily comfortable, but it’s no longer fraught with tension. Dare I say that it’s companionable?

Internally, I plan.

The next time I see Izzy, I’ll prove to her how sorry I am.

We’re a pack, and I’ll do whatever it takes to pick up our shattered pieces and make us whole once more.

Thirty-Three

IZZY

The next week passes in a daze.

I attempt to lose myself in my homework assignments—they have been piling up since I haven’t attended school in days—but my mind is a million miles away.

I can’t help but replay my conversation with Hale, Gerry, and Jake over and over in my head.

They knew my parents.

Befriended them, it sounds like.

---