Page 66 of Ethan
Either way, I didn’t want to keep hiding behind him. I wanted to do better. Be better. For the pack, for myself. And maybe, for the people I’d let drift away too.
The quiet gave me a chance to think, and for once, I didn’t push it away. My mind wandered, as it always seemed to, back to Dean. I still didn’t know what I’d say if I saw him.
“Sorry” didn’t feel like enough. Not for the distance I’d put between us, not for everything I hadn’t shared.
But I knew I wanted to see him again. Maybe just to apologize, maybe to start fixing things.
The creak of the clinic door snapped me out of my thoughts. Cathy rushed in, breath sharp with panic.
“Ethan—” Her voice cracked. “It’s Micah. He left early this morning to surprise his grandfather, but Maurice never called to say he’d arrived. I tried calling again before coming here, but no one answered. It’s been hours.”
Her hands clenched the phone, twisting it nervously. “I-I can’t find any of the enforcers. Everyone’s out on patrol. I don’t know what to do… I just don’t know.”
I pulled a chair out for her. My own pulse quickened, but I forced calm into my voice. “Sit. Breathe for a second.”
Panic wouldn’t help either of us.
While she sank down, I opened the calendar on my computer, flipping straight to Devon’s account.
He’d always kept it more updated than mine. But when the schedule loaded, my stomach sank.
The enforcers’ patrol list was the same as mine, outdated. No sign of the new rotations.
Of course. Cooper had only recently doubled the patrols and added new drills. The new schedules hadn’t been logged yet.
“Maybe Cooper—” I muttered, pulling up his details, but the office line stayed empty. He was away visiting the Thornebane pack, not due back until the afternoon. Too late.
Across the desk, Cathy was already redialing, murmuring Maurice’s name under her breath, like if she said it enough times, he’d pick up.
I grabbed my phone. Dean first. Straight to a busy signal. Griffin, the same. No signal.
They had to be deep in the woods. My gut knotted tighter.
I swallowed, staring at my phone, thumb hovering over the screen.
I could waste more time chasing names, searching for someone else to take this on. Or I could face the truth: there was no one I could reach in time.
The image of Ben and Nick flashed across my mind. Their blood. Their broken bodies. The way it had been luck, not skill, that I’d been close enough to save them. Luck wasn’t something I could count on now.
If Micah was out there. If Maurice was hurt. If the wolves were circling…
A sharp panic dug into my ribs, relentless. But beneath it, a voice whispered, steady and clear:You know what to do. You have the skills. You have to act.
I tapped out a quick message to Dean, then Griffin.
My thumb hovered again. For a moment, I pictured Dean seeing it, the way he’d scowl, the way he’d call me reckless.
He’d tell me to wait, to think this through, to follow the damn rules. And maybe that was exactly why I couldn’t wait for him.
Rules were meant to keep us safe. But rules weren’t going to save Micah if I sat here doing nothing.
I shoved my phone into my pocket and turned to Cathy. “I’ll go.”
Her eyes widened. “Alone?”
“I don’t have a choice.” My voice came out steadier than I felt. “Stay here. Man the desk. Keep your phone on you, and don’t leave the clinic. I’ll call as soon as I get to Maurice’s cabin.”
“I should?—”
