Page 4 of Ethan
One more second and we’d both lose control. Claws. Fangs. Blood. And then a roar shattered through the building.
“Enough!” The word didn’t just carry authority. It was alpha command, raw and unforgiving. Cooper.
I staggered back, body locking up like I’d hit an invisible wall. My wolf snarled but obeyed, retreating with a reluctant growl.
Across from me, Griffin’s shoulders heaved, his claws half-shifted before pulling back. He straightened, breathing hard, and I hated how steady he looked.
I was a mess. My nose was bleeding, my lip was split, and my ribs ached like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them. I could barely see out of one eye.
My shirt was torn at the collar. And still, I stood there, jaw clenched, not willing to admit how much it hurt. Carter’s boots thudded as he approached fast, furious.
Cooper was right behind him, calm but radiating that same chilling control I remembered from the summit.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Carter barked, stepping between us.
Before I could even throw out some half-baked excuse, Cooper’s voice cut in, low and cool.
“Stand down. Both of you.” Cooper didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.
His aura pressed down on me like cold stone, quiet dominance that didn’t scream but simply was. My wolf curled its tail instinctively.
I straightened out of sheer stubbornness, wiping blood from my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Call for a healer,” Cooper said to someone.
“He started it,” I muttered.
Carter turned on me with a glare that could’ve turned a river to ice. “He what?”
I didn’t respond. My pride was already bleeding more than my mouth.
Griffin didn’t gloat. He just rolled his shoulders, wiped a smear of blood from his knuckles, and said, “Kid’s got a lot of energy. You sure you want to leave him here, Carter?”
“Oh, I do,” Carter snapped, dragging a hand down his face like he was holding himself back from doing something drastic. “Because if he comes back home, I will throttle him myself. But it’s Cooper’s call. He decides whether he wants to keep my sorry excuse of a brother, or toss him right back into my lap.”
I could barely stay upright. My knees felt like rubber, and every breath made my ribs throb. The corridor tilted to the left, and I blinked hard, trying to steady it.
Carter’s words finally sank in, sharp and cold. And my heart dropped. After that little show I’d just put on, Cooper probably already knew I didn’t belong here.
That’s when I caught the scent. It hit me like a freight train, knocking the fight right out of my lungs.
Fresh pine. Rain on warm stone. Sweetness threaded with something deeper, earthy and steadying. Calming. Like standing barefoot in forest soil after a storm.
My head whipped toward the hallway just as someone rounded the corner.
And then everything stopped.
He moved like a breeze but looked like he could hold his own in a hurricane. Average height, lean but strong, about my age.
Short dark hair, and the most striking green eyes I’d ever seen. Not just bright. Alive. And currently, furious. He was scowling at me like I’d knocked over his favorite bookshelf.
But those eyes…they practically glowed. Not literally. But close enough. Like they could see straight through every wall I’d ever built.
And I felt him. His presence slid over my raw nerves like balm and fire, all at once. My wolf, still snarling and half-feral inside me, went deathly still.
Frozen mid-growl. Breath caught. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. I just stared, dazed, stupid, and bleeding, at the most gorgeous person I’d ever seen.
The green-eyed man looked me over, taking in the bruises, the torn shirt, the blood dripping down my chin. His scowl deepened.
